The spread of Sufism led to the development of mystical-love poetry
Posted by Nimira Dewji
In the early years of Islam, poetry was largely non-religious, such as praise poems (madih), hunting poems (tardiyyat), and satire (hija‘) largely in the qasida (or qasideh) form (a long mono-rhyme (aa, ba, ca) similar to an ode).
The earliest examples of religious poetry in Islam are to be found in the verses of a small group of poets who were companions of Prophet Muhammad. The most famous poet was Hassan ibn Thabit (d. 669), who wrote poems in praise of the Prophet as well as to spread the messages from the Prophet. In the years following the Prophet’s death in 632, a number of the poets composed eulogies in his memory as well as poems inspired by verses of Revelation.
Islamic religious poetry seems to have emerged in the late eighth century in association with the widespread movement for religious and social reform. Initially, this poetry focused on the fear and wrath of God. The spread of Sufism, which focused on the spiritual and mystical life of Islam, led to the cultivation of the introspective style of religious poetry.
From the Arabic suf meaning ‘wool,’ likely referring to the woollen garments worn by the ascetics, the Sufis are also known as “the poor,” fuqara, plural of the Arabic word faqir, darvish in Persian, whence the English words fakir and dervish. Sufism developed in opposition to the increasing worldliness of the expanding Muslim community, and to deepen spirituality.
Rabia al-Basri (ca. 717–801), considered to be the earliest Sufi saint, is widely credited with pioneering the concept of adoring the divine rather than fearing the wrath of God. Although she did not leave any written works, she was referenced by the notable Persian poet Farid al-Din Attar (d. 1225) and is believed to have possessed a lost monogram about her life.
In the next century, the wrath of God was replaced by love for Him and a quest for divine union in this world. Some of the finest mystical-love poems were composed by Dhu’l-Nun (d. 861) and Mansur al-Hallaj (d. 922). Other notable poets composing mystical works in Persian and Arabic include Ibn Hani (d. 973), al-Sharif al-Radi (d. 1015), Nasir-i Khusraw (d. after 1072), Al-Shirazi (d. 1078), Ibn al-Farid (d. 1235), Ibn Arabi (d. 1240), Jalal al-Din Rumi (d. 1273), Nizari Quhistani (d. 1320), and Shams ud-Din Muhammad Hafiz (d. 1390), among others.
The close relationship at the time between Sufism and Shi’ism, facilitated by their similar esoteric doctrines, influenced Shi’i literature. The establishment of the Shi’i state by the Fatimids in North Africa, Egypt, and Syria, as well as by Buwayhid dynasty in Iran and Iraq led to a renaissance of Shi’i literature and learning. However, Jamal notes that “it would be incorrect to state that the Ismailis appropriated these terms from the Sufis, since their spiritual significance was first articulated by the Shi’i Imam Ja’far al-Sadiq in the 2nd/8th century and they occur frequently in Ismaili literature of the Fatimid period” (Surviving the Mongols, p 91).
Over the centuries, other forms of poetry became widely used such as ruba’i or quatrains composed in a particular rhythm, the mathnawi (rhyming couplets), and the ghazal (a lyric poem with a fixed number of verses and a repeated rhyme) which was in use in the eighth century, but is said to have been revitalised and perfected by Hafiz.
The Nizari Ismaili community has had a long history in Persia. Since the establishment of the Nizari state of Alamut in 1090 until the migration of Imam Hasan Ali Shah Aga Khan I, Ismaili Imams resided in Persia for almost eight centuries. After the fall of Alamut to the Mongols in 1256, the community and the Imams lived under the guise of Sufi tariqas for many centuries in order to avoid persecution. As a result, there has been a mutual interchange of ideas and terminologies between the Sufis and the Ismailis resulting in many similarities between their poetry and literature.
Devotional literature of the Persian speaking Nizari Ismailis includes qasida tradition as well as ghazals. The spread of Ismailism into the Indian subcontinent by dai’is, or pirs, whose teachings were conducted primarily through oral instruction, led to the composition of devotional hymns, or ginans in a variety of local languages and poetic styles to teach the Ismaili interpretation of Islam to non-Arabic speaking people.
Poets have poured out their hearts in praise of God, the Prophet, and the Imams in Arabic, Farsi, Sindhi, Urdu, Hausa, Swahili, as well as Burushaski, a language spoken in the high valleys of Hunza in northern Pakistan.
Sources:
Foreword by Annemarie Schimmel of Shimmering Light: An Anthology of Ismaili Poetry. London: I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 1996
Nadia Eboo Jamal, Surviving the Mongols, I. B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, 2002
Sufism, Encyclopaedia Britannica
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