“The Ruby Shines On” – A Play About the Life of Nasir Khusraw
Video at:
simerg.com/literary-readings/the-ruby-shines-on-a-play-about-the-life-and-works-of-nasir-khusraw/
Introduced by the Writer and Director
Amina Ishani
Mrs. Amina Ishani - wrote and directed "The Ruby Shines On."
2003 was the millennium birth anniversary of the Ismaili Dai Nasir Khusraw and an International Conference on his life and works had been planned for Tajikistan. I was unaware of this important milestone in Ismaili history, and a moment of inspiration gripped me in the same year, and prompted me to look at the intellectual facet of Islam and the Shia Imami Ismaili Tariqah, and this resulted in the script of a play on Khusraw’s life, entitled “The Ruby Shines On.”
My inspiration for the script was Alice Hunsberger’s wonderful work on Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakshan.
“The Ruby Shines On” was the 3rd major production in as many years, and it was not easy to get a fully committed cast of volunteer actors. The core people who were talented and interested in the past were approached and after a full set of audition exercises we managed to settle down with the final cast. The result was a very successful musical production which included amazing backdrops of video projections, eg. of horses galloping in the desert, scenes of majestic Cairo or of Nasir Khusraw being stoned and falling wounded and brought out gasps from the audience. Live music and singing was the pulse of the show, as it had been in all the others.
Nasir Khusraw’s poetry flowed like a rippling stream and the poet in the production was breathtaking with the way she was prepared to exert her emotions into her recitations, bringing tears to some viewers’ eyes. Costumes were researched from books which showed how they were designed a 1000 years ago. For example, we researched daggers that were carried in that age, their shape, their length, etc; costumes were authentic, including how different segments of society wore their respective head gears. The result was breathtaking.
continued below…
Editor’s Note
The telecast of “The Ruby Shines On”, the story of the extraordinary journey of faith and intellect undertaken by the celebrated Ismaili poet, philosopher and missionary Nasir Khusraw, is one of the most exciting events for this Website since it was launched just over two years ago.
At about the age of forty, during a period of personal turmoil, Khusraw was inspired by a dream to embark on a pilgrimage to the holy shrines of Mecca and Medina, hoping to find there a solution to his crisis. His journey of 19,000 kilometres which lasted seven years also took him to Cairo which was the residence of the Fatimid Imam/Caliph al-Mustansir Billah, ancestor of the current 49th Shia Ismaili Imam, His Highness Prince Karim Aga Khan. Khusraw’s three years in the Fatimid capital imbued him with Ismaili doctrines. He returned to his native Khurassan to introduce these doctrines among the people there. Persecution forced him to flee, and he found refuge in the mountains of Badakhshan in Central Asia, where he gathered around him a considerable number of devoted adherents. His doctrines, traditions and poems have been passed by succeeding generations.
Amina Ishani’s work is based on information about Khusraw’s life that are well preserved by both hostile contemporary historians and subsequent historians, as well as in his surviving works such as the Diwan and Safarnama. We are confident that the telecast will bring the character of Nasir Khusraw and those around him to life, in the context of the time that he lived in. The play is rich with dialogues, passionate recitations of his poetry, costumes, and music. We hope it will captivate viewers and become an essential part of the learning experience of one of Ismaili history’s most renowned thinkers and missionaries.
We would like to express our gratitude to Amina Ishani for enabling Simerg to share this important play with our viewers. As mentioned earlier, our presentation of the play is indeed one of the most exciting projects that we have undertaken for the Website. Thank you. Malik Merchant ([email protected])
….continued
Emotion, intellect and spirituality were all stimulated for the cast, musicians, technical personnel and the audience. On the stage, the personal lives of those who were fully engaged in the roles underwent a metamorphosis, inspired by the depth of Nasir Khusraw’s message. The show changed lives. Some individuals discovered an interest in dramatic arts, and were encouraged to move into creative arts as a career. Life long friendships were created and the book by Alice Hunsberger was sold out. Ismailis and non-Ismailis alike were captivated by this visually moving production on the life of one of Ismaili history’s most famous and influential personalities.
If I could encapsulate the essence of the play in Nasir’s own poetry;
‘On the body of your blessings,
Devotion is the head;
On the book of goodness, Devotion is the seal.
But devotion without knowledge is NOT devotion,
A mere wisp of wind in the morning.
Since you are two things –
Body and soul,
Then your devotion must also be twofold….
Exercise both;
Knowledge and action,
For on Resurrection day these two shall surely save
All humankind from eternal fire’
I hope you enjoy the play which is being presented for the first time to a world-wide audience through this Website, Simerg.com. For the benefit of readers I have decided to make the complete script of “The Ruby Shines On” available through this Website. You will be able to download the PDF file as it becomes available within the next week. I encourage you to replicate the play for your own Jamat or community, wherever you are located. Kindly ensure that the Copyright notice is respected.
Please keep me informed via the feedback form below about the initiatives you take within your local community about the remarkable life and works of one of the greatest figures in Ismaili history, Dai Nasir Khusraw, and I pray that just as the title of the play says, the Light of the intellect will continue to shine in all our lives as does Nasir’s Ruby a 1000 years later.
Date article and play posted on Simerg: May 18, 2011
NASIR KHUSRAW
Nasir Khusraw – The Splendour of Wisdom
July 5, 2011 by Nooruddin Jalal
(He who seeks- shall find)- Sufi Proverb
The area of Badakhshan (Eastern Afghanistan, Southern Tajikistan and Northern Pakistan) is blessed with the highest mountain peaks: Lenin Peak, Tirichmir Peak, Pamir Peaks and so on but there is no Mountain high enough to praise Nasir khusraw’s personality, even writers find themselves dumb whilst praising him. Ocean too before his great wisdom shrinks into a single drop; his words are lamp of enlightenment for the heart. It’s hardly possible in such a brief introduction to deal with the facts of Khusraw’s thoughts as he deserves to be discussed, to be loved and to be infused in today’s knowledge society. His poetry is full of wisdom, of reason, of the right word and the right faith.
Nasir Khusraw famously known as “The Ruby Of Badakhshan,” and was born in Khurasan 1004 C.E. He ranked among the greatest mystic of Persia and was the early link in the chain of meta physical poetry, which was continued later by such figures as Rumi, Attar, Sa’di and Hafiz. Unlike others he was also a master of the science of the time and was a preacher of philosophical wisdom but unfortunately we have not given high accolade to this mystic poet in our school of thoughts.
A Sufi proverb: “One who seeks shall find”- Nasir Khusraw’s wandering ceased after his search for wisdom amongst all school of thoughts culminated in his meeting with the Imam of the time Mustansir Bil’lah (a.s) the 18th Imam of Shi’a Ismaili Muslims and 8th Fatimid Caliph who ruled from (1035-1094) in Cairo Egypt. The meeting was similar as Rumi’s to Shams. The era of Fatimid’s was the golden era of inventions, scholars, thinkers, philosophers and scientists.
More...
http://nooru.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/n ... of-wisdom/
July 5, 2011 by Nooruddin Jalal
(He who seeks- shall find)- Sufi Proverb
The area of Badakhshan (Eastern Afghanistan, Southern Tajikistan and Northern Pakistan) is blessed with the highest mountain peaks: Lenin Peak, Tirichmir Peak, Pamir Peaks and so on but there is no Mountain high enough to praise Nasir khusraw’s personality, even writers find themselves dumb whilst praising him. Ocean too before his great wisdom shrinks into a single drop; his words are lamp of enlightenment for the heart. It’s hardly possible in such a brief introduction to deal with the facts of Khusraw’s thoughts as he deserves to be discussed, to be loved and to be infused in today’s knowledge society. His poetry is full of wisdom, of reason, of the right word and the right faith.
Nasir Khusraw famously known as “The Ruby Of Badakhshan,” and was born in Khurasan 1004 C.E. He ranked among the greatest mystic of Persia and was the early link in the chain of meta physical poetry, which was continued later by such figures as Rumi, Attar, Sa’di and Hafiz. Unlike others he was also a master of the science of the time and was a preacher of philosophical wisdom but unfortunately we have not given high accolade to this mystic poet in our school of thoughts.
A Sufi proverb: “One who seeks shall find”- Nasir Khusraw’s wandering ceased after his search for wisdom amongst all school of thoughts culminated in his meeting with the Imam of the time Mustansir Bil’lah (a.s) the 18th Imam of Shi’a Ismaili Muslims and 8th Fatimid Caliph who ruled from (1035-1094) in Cairo Egypt. The meeting was similar as Rumi’s to Shams. The era of Fatimid’s was the golden era of inventions, scholars, thinkers, philosophers and scientists.
More...
http://nooru.wordpress.com/2011/07/05/n ... of-wisdom/
One Thousand Roads to Mecca: Naser-e Khosraw’s Writing About the Muslim Pilgrimage
EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY
Michael Wolfe
/simerg.com/literary-readings/one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-naser-e-khosraws-writing-about-the-muslim-pilgrimage/
EDITED AND INTRODUCED BY
Michael Wolfe
/simerg.com/literary-readings/one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-naser-e-khosraws-writing-about-the-muslim-pilgrimage/
Last edited by kmaherali on Sun Nov 11, 2012 6:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Naser-e Khosraw in Fatimid Cairo: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” Edited by Michael Wolfe
simerg.com/literary-readings/naser-e-khosraw-in-fatimid-cairo-from-one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-edited-by-michael-wolfe/
Naser-e Khosraw’s Pilgrimages to Mecca: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” Edited by Michael Wolfe
simerg.com/literary-readings/naser-e-khosraws-pilgrimages-to-mecca-from-one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-edited-by-michael-wolfe/
Naser-e Khosraw’s Dangerous Homeward Journey: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” by Michael Wolfe
simerg.com/literary-readings/naser-e-khosraws-dangerous-homeward-journey-from-one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-by-michael-wolfe/
simerg.com/literary-readings/naser-e-khosraw-in-fatimid-cairo-from-one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-edited-by-michael-wolfe/
Naser-e Khosraw’s Pilgrimages to Mecca: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” Edited by Michael Wolfe
simerg.com/literary-readings/naser-e-khosraws-pilgrimages-to-mecca-from-one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-edited-by-michael-wolfe/
Naser-e Khosraw’s Dangerous Homeward Journey: From “One Thousand Roads to Mecca” by Michael Wolfe
simerg.com/literary-readings/naser-e-khosraws-dangerous-homeward-journey-from-one-thousand-roads-to-mecca-by-michael-wolfe/
An Interview on Nasir Khusraw: Australian Broadcaster in Conversation with Alice Hunsberger
http://simerg.com/2014/08/14/an-intervi ... unsberger/
http://simerg.com/2014/08/14/an-intervi ... unsberger/
HIEROCOSMIC INTELLECT AND UNIVERSAL SOUL IN A QAṢỊDA BY NĀṢIR-I KHUSRAW
http://www.academia.edu/14847175/HIEROC ... -I_KHUSRAW
http://www.academia.edu/14847175/HIEROC ... -I_KHUSRAW
Today in history: Nasir Khusraw began his seven-year journey
Born in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir Khusraw followed the family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent. Around the age of forty, he describes in his Safar-nama (Travelogue), he had a dream that subsequently transformed his life into one of conviction and preaching.
Photo: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
He left his job and set out for a pilgrimage to Mecca on March 5, 1046, beginning his famous journey that was to last seven years. Travelling through Persia, Asia Minor, and Syria, he made the first of several pilgrimages to Mecca before arriving in Cairo in 1047, where he stayed for three years. Nasir met the Fatimid Caliph-Imam Mustansir bi’llah and established a close relationship with the da’i al-Mu’ayyad al Shirazi.
Nasir studied and trained at the court with other Fatimid intellectuals including poets, theologians, grammarians, jurisprudents, and astronomers. Cairo was the place where in the tenth and eleventh centuries “some of the liveliest theological and intellectual debates of the Muslim world”1 took place. Following his final pilgrimage, Nasir returned home to Balkh as head of the Ismaili administration of his home province. However, due to persecution in his native land, Nasir fled to Yumgan in the mountainous region of Badakshan where he stayed for the remainder of his life, composing most of his works.
Nasir Khusraw has written in the Persian language in three genres — travelogue, poetry, and philosophy. His Safar-nama has been studied for its detailed descriptions of cities, societies, customs, and archaeology of the time. His mastery of poetical form and expression has led centuries of Persian speakers to rank him among the best of Persian poets.
Although the work of Nasir Khusraw has been known in the West for more than a century, the first major attempt to understand him was made in the late nineteenth century. The Safar-nama was translated into French first by Charles Schefer of Paris in 1881; during the same decade the German scholar H. Ethe as well as the French orientalist E. Fagnan edited and analyzed some of his other works.
The Persian edition and French translation of the Safar-nama provided an important introduction to medieval prose literature for many European students of the Persian language.
Nasir Khusraw’s shrine in Badakshan, Afghanistan, restored by AKTC in 2013. Photo: Archnet
In addition to the Safar-nama, six volumes of philosophical and religious texts explaining Ismaili doctrines, and poetry contained in the Divan have survived.
Annemarie Schimmel states that Nasir Khusraw, “one of the most fascinating figures not only of Ismaili and Islamic history, but also of the entire Middle Ages, has left a rich legacy behind, both in his own considerable writings and in the imaginations of those who believed in him and those who sought his downfall.”2
Sources:
1Alice C. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed March 2016)
2Annemarie Schimmel, Make a Shield from Wisdom: Selected Verses from Nasir-i Khusraw’s Divan, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed March 2016)
The Safar-nama of Nasir Khusraw, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed March 2016)
Compiled by Nimira Dewji
ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/03/05/today-in-history-nasir-khusraw-began-his-seven-year-journey/
Born in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir Khusraw followed the family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent. Around the age of forty, he describes in his Safar-nama (Travelogue), he had a dream that subsequently transformed his life into one of conviction and preaching.
Photo: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
He left his job and set out for a pilgrimage to Mecca on March 5, 1046, beginning his famous journey that was to last seven years. Travelling through Persia, Asia Minor, and Syria, he made the first of several pilgrimages to Mecca before arriving in Cairo in 1047, where he stayed for three years. Nasir met the Fatimid Caliph-Imam Mustansir bi’llah and established a close relationship with the da’i al-Mu’ayyad al Shirazi.
Nasir studied and trained at the court with other Fatimid intellectuals including poets, theologians, grammarians, jurisprudents, and astronomers. Cairo was the place where in the tenth and eleventh centuries “some of the liveliest theological and intellectual debates of the Muslim world”1 took place. Following his final pilgrimage, Nasir returned home to Balkh as head of the Ismaili administration of his home province. However, due to persecution in his native land, Nasir fled to Yumgan in the mountainous region of Badakshan where he stayed for the remainder of his life, composing most of his works.
Nasir Khusraw has written in the Persian language in three genres — travelogue, poetry, and philosophy. His Safar-nama has been studied for its detailed descriptions of cities, societies, customs, and archaeology of the time. His mastery of poetical form and expression has led centuries of Persian speakers to rank him among the best of Persian poets.
Although the work of Nasir Khusraw has been known in the West for more than a century, the first major attempt to understand him was made in the late nineteenth century. The Safar-nama was translated into French first by Charles Schefer of Paris in 1881; during the same decade the German scholar H. Ethe as well as the French orientalist E. Fagnan edited and analyzed some of his other works.
The Persian edition and French translation of the Safar-nama provided an important introduction to medieval prose literature for many European students of the Persian language.
Nasir Khusraw’s shrine in Badakshan, Afghanistan, restored by AKTC in 2013. Photo: Archnet
In addition to the Safar-nama, six volumes of philosophical and religious texts explaining Ismaili doctrines, and poetry contained in the Divan have survived.
Annemarie Schimmel states that Nasir Khusraw, “one of the most fascinating figures not only of Ismaili and Islamic history, but also of the entire Middle Ages, has left a rich legacy behind, both in his own considerable writings and in the imaginations of those who believed in him and those who sought his downfall.”2
Sources:
1Alice C. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed March 2016)
2Annemarie Schimmel, Make a Shield from Wisdom: Selected Verses from Nasir-i Khusraw’s Divan, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed March 2016)
The Safar-nama of Nasir Khusraw, The Institute of Ismaili Studies (accessed March 2016)
Compiled by Nimira Dewji
ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/03/05/today-in-history-nasir-khusraw-began-his-seven-year-journey/
Today in history: Nasir Khusraw began his seven-year journey
Posted by Nimira Dewji
“The passage of a millennium has not diminished Nasir Khusraw’s relevance nor dulled the lustre of his poetry. It continues to uplift and inspire…”
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Born into a noble Twelver Shi’i family in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir Khusraw studied mathematics, medicine, Greek philosophy, astronomy, and the Qur’an. He followed family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent – “some answer to the question of why all this exists. This restless searching and inner discontent lasted until it all came together in the conviction that the answers to these ultimate questions could be found in the doctrines of the Ismaili Shi’i faith” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan, p 5).
Around the age of forty he had a dream that subsequently transformed his life into one of conviction and preaching. He left his job, setting out for a pilgrimage to Mecca on March 5, 1046,1 beginning a journey that would take seven years, which he recorded in his Safarnama, (Travelogue). Some sources suggest he converted to the Ismaili interpretation before he set off on his journey.
Nasir travelled to Nishapur and then to Jerusalem, where he arrived one year later and stayed for three months subsequently undertaking the first of four pilgrimages to Mecca in May 1047. Nasir then travelled to the Fatimid capital, Cairo, arriving in August 1047, during the reign of Imam al-Mustansir bi’llah (r.1036-1094), the eighth Fatimid Caliph and eighteenth Imam.
Nasir stayed in Cairo for three years, studying and training with Fatimid intellectuals, returning home as head of the Ismaili da’wa of his province. However, the success of his teaching activities put his life in danger, forcing him to flee to Yumgan, in Badakshan, then under the rule of the Ismaili prince Ali b. al-Asad, where he spent the remainder of his life composing most of his works.
The Ismailis of Badakshan (now divided between Tajikistan and Afghanistan) along with communities in Hunza and other northern areas of Pakistan, as well as in the Sinkiang (Xinjiang) region of China, regard Nasir Khusraw as the founder of their communities. A literary tradition based on his writings sustained the Ismaili community of Central Asia in their faith in the areas under the Soviet system, when they were not permitted to practise their faith, and did not have direct contact with the Imam of the time or with other Ismaili communities.
In addition to the Travelogue, Nasir Khusraw has written several works on philosophy, Ismaili doctrines, and poetry. His doctrinal works include:
Gushayish wa rahayish (Unfettering and Setting Free) – a series of 30 question and answers dealing with theological issues.
Jami’al-hikmatayn (Uniting the Two Wisdoms) – covering a wide range of topics including proofs for the existence of the Creator, divine unity (tawhid), properties of the moon, the relation between body and soul, among others.
Khwan al-ikhwan (The Feast of the Brethren) – comprising 100 chapters on resurrection, how the soul will be punished or rewarded, among others.
Shish fasl (Six Chapters) – discussing Fatimid Ismaili doctrine of Creation and salvation.
Wajh-i Din (The Face of Religion) – 51 sections addressing esoteric interpretation (ta’wil) of religious regulations and rituals such as call to prayer, ablutions for prayer, among others. “For Nasir Khusraw the rectitude of religious law is revealed in its balanced concern for a believer’s body as well as soul” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan, p 15).
Zad al-musafirin (The Pilgrims’ Provisions) – discussing topics such as simple matter, bodies, motion, time, creation, cause and effect, among others. He devotes most of his discussion to the human soul i.e. “the pilgrim travelling through this physical world to salvation on the spiritual world […] Throughout the text, Nasir asserts that the most important provisions which the pilgrim needs for this journey are knowledge and wisdom” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan p 16).
Wajhi-Din Nasir Khusraw Badakshan
Wajhi-Din, 19th century. Source: Jasmin Mamani , Ruby of Badakshan Reading Guide, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
The main corpus of his poetry is collected in the Diwan, comprising 15,000 lines largely of odes in the qasida form relating to a wide range of ethical, theological, and philosophical themes; the Diwan also contains shorter poems and quatrains. Hunsberger notes that the main purpose of Nasir Khusraw’s poetry is “to open the reader or listener’s inner eye to universal truths and thereby save their souls from the Hell of ignorance” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan, p xvii).
A rare copy of the Diwan was gifted to Mawlana Hazar Imam during his Diamond Jubilee visit to western Canada in May 2018.
Diwan Nasir Khusraw
Diwan-i Nasir Khusraw, Dated 1843, copyist unknown. Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
“The passage of a millennium has not diminished Nasir Khusraw’s relevance nor dulled the lustre of his poetry. It continues to uplift and inspire, reminding us that we are the authors of our own destiny. As he has said, we can be like a poplar tree which chooses to remain barren, or we can let our path be lit by the candle of wisdom, for only “with intellect, we can seek out all the hows and whys. Without it, we are but trees without fruit. Another lesson that we learn from this great philosopher is that, in the ebb and flow of history, “knowledge is a shield against the blows of time.” It dispels “the torment of ignorance” and nourishes “peace to blossom forth in the soul.””
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Foundation Stone Ceremony of the Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe, August 30, 2003
Speech
Sources:
1Alice C. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakshan, I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 2000, p 54)
Annemarie Schimmel, Make a Shield from Wisdom: Selected Verses from Nasir-i Khusraw’s Divan, Kegan Paul International in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 1993
Jasmin Mamani, Reading Guide, Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher by Alice C. Hunsberger, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Shafique N. Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages, Oxford University Press, 2007
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2019/ ... r-journey/
Posted by Nimira Dewji
“The passage of a millennium has not diminished Nasir Khusraw’s relevance nor dulled the lustre of his poetry. It continues to uplift and inspire…”
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Born into a noble Twelver Shi’i family in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir Khusraw studied mathematics, medicine, Greek philosophy, astronomy, and the Qur’an. He followed family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent – “some answer to the question of why all this exists. This restless searching and inner discontent lasted until it all came together in the conviction that the answers to these ultimate questions could be found in the doctrines of the Ismaili Shi’i faith” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan, p 5).
Around the age of forty he had a dream that subsequently transformed his life into one of conviction and preaching. He left his job, setting out for a pilgrimage to Mecca on March 5, 1046,1 beginning a journey that would take seven years, which he recorded in his Safarnama, (Travelogue). Some sources suggest he converted to the Ismaili interpretation before he set off on his journey.
Nasir travelled to Nishapur and then to Jerusalem, where he arrived one year later and stayed for three months subsequently undertaking the first of four pilgrimages to Mecca in May 1047. Nasir then travelled to the Fatimid capital, Cairo, arriving in August 1047, during the reign of Imam al-Mustansir bi’llah (r.1036-1094), the eighth Fatimid Caliph and eighteenth Imam.
Nasir stayed in Cairo for three years, studying and training with Fatimid intellectuals, returning home as head of the Ismaili da’wa of his province. However, the success of his teaching activities put his life in danger, forcing him to flee to Yumgan, in Badakshan, then under the rule of the Ismaili prince Ali b. al-Asad, where he spent the remainder of his life composing most of his works.
The Ismailis of Badakshan (now divided between Tajikistan and Afghanistan) along with communities in Hunza and other northern areas of Pakistan, as well as in the Sinkiang (Xinjiang) region of China, regard Nasir Khusraw as the founder of their communities. A literary tradition based on his writings sustained the Ismaili community of Central Asia in their faith in the areas under the Soviet system, when they were not permitted to practise their faith, and did not have direct contact with the Imam of the time or with other Ismaili communities.
In addition to the Travelogue, Nasir Khusraw has written several works on philosophy, Ismaili doctrines, and poetry. His doctrinal works include:
Gushayish wa rahayish (Unfettering and Setting Free) – a series of 30 question and answers dealing with theological issues.
Jami’al-hikmatayn (Uniting the Two Wisdoms) – covering a wide range of topics including proofs for the existence of the Creator, divine unity (tawhid), properties of the moon, the relation between body and soul, among others.
Khwan al-ikhwan (The Feast of the Brethren) – comprising 100 chapters on resurrection, how the soul will be punished or rewarded, among others.
Shish fasl (Six Chapters) – discussing Fatimid Ismaili doctrine of Creation and salvation.
Wajh-i Din (The Face of Religion) – 51 sections addressing esoteric interpretation (ta’wil) of religious regulations and rituals such as call to prayer, ablutions for prayer, among others. “For Nasir Khusraw the rectitude of religious law is revealed in its balanced concern for a believer’s body as well as soul” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan, p 15).
Zad al-musafirin (The Pilgrims’ Provisions) – discussing topics such as simple matter, bodies, motion, time, creation, cause and effect, among others. He devotes most of his discussion to the human soul i.e. “the pilgrim travelling through this physical world to salvation on the spiritual world […] Throughout the text, Nasir asserts that the most important provisions which the pilgrim needs for this journey are knowledge and wisdom” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan p 16).
Wajhi-Din Nasir Khusraw Badakshan
Wajhi-Din, 19th century. Source: Jasmin Mamani , Ruby of Badakshan Reading Guide, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
The main corpus of his poetry is collected in the Diwan, comprising 15,000 lines largely of odes in the qasida form relating to a wide range of ethical, theological, and philosophical themes; the Diwan also contains shorter poems and quatrains. Hunsberger notes that the main purpose of Nasir Khusraw’s poetry is “to open the reader or listener’s inner eye to universal truths and thereby save their souls from the Hell of ignorance” (Hunsberger, Ruby of Badakshan, p xvii).
A rare copy of the Diwan was gifted to Mawlana Hazar Imam during his Diamond Jubilee visit to western Canada in May 2018.
Diwan Nasir Khusraw
Diwan-i Nasir Khusraw, Dated 1843, copyist unknown. Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
“The passage of a millennium has not diminished Nasir Khusraw’s relevance nor dulled the lustre of his poetry. It continues to uplift and inspire, reminding us that we are the authors of our own destiny. As he has said, we can be like a poplar tree which chooses to remain barren, or we can let our path be lit by the candle of wisdom, for only “with intellect, we can seek out all the hows and whys. Without it, we are but trees without fruit. Another lesson that we learn from this great philosopher is that, in the ebb and flow of history, “knowledge is a shield against the blows of time.” It dispels “the torment of ignorance” and nourishes “peace to blossom forth in the soul.””
Mawlana Hazar Imam
Foundation Stone Ceremony of the Ismaili Centre, Dushanbe, August 30, 2003
Speech
Sources:
1Alice C. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakshan, I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 2000, p 54)
Annemarie Schimmel, Make a Shield from Wisdom: Selected Verses from Nasir-i Khusraw’s Divan, Kegan Paul International in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 1993
Jasmin Mamani, Reading Guide, Nasir Khusraw, the Ruby of Badakhshan: A Portrait of the Persian Poet, Traveller and Philosopher by Alice C. Hunsberger, The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Shafique N. Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages, Oxford University Press, 2007
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2019/ ... r-journey/
Persecutions against Ismaili Missionaries in Central Asia: The Case of Naser Khosrow
Journal of Persianate Studies, 2017
Hatim Mahamid
Local governors in Central Asia persecuted Ismaili missionaries (dais) since the early years of Ismaili activity there. The rise of the Fatimid State, from the tenth century onwards, encouraged the activity of those missionaries who were receiving support from the Fatimids, leading to increased persecutions of Ismailis in Iraq and the eastern provinces of the Abbasid Caliphate.
This study will deal with the activity of those missionaries and the difficulties and persecutions that they faced, with a focus on the case of the dai Naser Khosrow (1004–1088/394–481) in Central Asia. At the time, Naser was considered as a model dai representing the activity of Ismaili missionaries. Throughout his life, he suffered bitterly in his role as the main dai of the Fatimids. Despite the hostile atmosphere and insecurity, Naser Khosrow succeeded in becoming a highly significant philosopher and poet, but died in a sorrowful situation, isolated in the valley of Yomgan.
The article can be accessed at:
https://www.academia.edu/36212683/Perse ... view-paper
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2020/ ... knowledge/
Journal of Persianate Studies, 2017
Hatim Mahamid
Local governors in Central Asia persecuted Ismaili missionaries (dais) since the early years of Ismaili activity there. The rise of the Fatimid State, from the tenth century onwards, encouraged the activity of those missionaries who were receiving support from the Fatimids, leading to increased persecutions of Ismailis in Iraq and the eastern provinces of the Abbasid Caliphate.
This study will deal with the activity of those missionaries and the difficulties and persecutions that they faced, with a focus on the case of the dai Naser Khosrow (1004–1088/394–481) in Central Asia. At the time, Naser was considered as a model dai representing the activity of Ismaili missionaries. Throughout his life, he suffered bitterly in his role as the main dai of the Fatimids. Despite the hostile atmosphere and insecurity, Naser Khosrow succeeded in becoming a highly significant philosopher and poet, but died in a sorrowful situation, isolated in the valley of Yomgan.
The article can be accessed at:
https://www.academia.edu/36212683/Perse ... view-paper
https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2020/ ... knowledge/
Last edited by kmaherali on Wed Mar 11, 2020 6:31 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Nasir Khusraw: Peace of mind from the torment of ignorance comes from knowledge
Posted by Nimira Dewji
Nasir Khusraw, a Persian poet, philosopher, traveller, and a da’i, was born on 1004 in Qubadiyan, a small town in eastern Iran into a Twelver Shi’i family. After completing his schooling, where he studied Arabic, Persian, mathematics, philosophy, and religious sciences, Nasir entered government service in the revenue department. He enjoyed travelling, admiring the architectural and cultural creations of the regions to which he travelled, engaging in conversations with the shopkeepers, poets, and scholars. But he wondered about “the delights of the world” and desired to have an answer to the question of why all this exists (The Ruby of Badakhshan p 5).
In his Safarnama (‘Travelogue‘), Nasir states that he probed into various theologies “that left him unsatisfied until he found out more about the Ismaili interpretation of Islam. Ismaili doctrine appealed to him on many levels, most particularly in what he interpreted as its promotion of intellectual knowledge. In contrast, he says, to those schools which admonish believers to accept doctrine without asking questions, without probing into the ‘how and why,’ Ismaili precepts championed human intellect as God’s finest creation” (The Ruby of Badakhshan p78-79).
Nasir Khusraw Safarnama
Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
“…Nasir Khusraw, along with the other Ismaili preachers, offers a religion which holds intellectual investigation of the faith to be one of the supreme virtues of the believer… The Ismaili intelligentsia under the Fatimids actively engaged each other as well as non-Ismaili thinkers in debates in theological and philosophical issues” (Ruby of Badakshan p 231-232). Nasir preaches both the necessity of performing acts of devotion and the inner changes that must follow on from the soul-searching performance of these acts.
In his teachings, Nasir emphasises that “the world is the duality of zahir and batin, that there is an apparent world which we see and feel, and a hidden world which we can only apprehend with our minds and hearts….we can physically see and feel our own bodies and at the same time have an inner awareness of ourselves and our thinking, but we cannot employ our physical senses to touch our thoughts or see our feelings….the duality applies to the macrocosmos; there exists a spiritual world beyond this physical universe. Just as our physical bodies abide in this material world of zahir, Nasir teaches that the non-physical part of our beings – whether called soul or mind or heart – resides in the spiritual universe of the batin, to which in fact it yearns to return, to regain its proper home” (The Ruby of Badakhshan p 242-243).
Even though he “warns against being seduced by the attractions of the world… he also calls for active engagement with the world, since it holds clues to the next world as well as tools to make the journey possible. Thus, the physical is to be used in the service of the spiritual” (Ruby of Badakshan p 243). For Nasir, human heights of happiness are to be found in intellectual and spiritual pursuits and by the constant increasing of one’s knowledge:
Peace of mind from the torment of ignorance
comes from knowledge;
Only with knowledge can the basil of peace blossom forth on one’s soul.
Divan 25:26
(Cited in The Ruby of Badakhshan p 247)
Diwan Nasir Khusraw Divan
Divan-i Nasir Khusraw, Dated 1843, copyist unknown. Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
In all his poetry and prose writings, Nasir hammers home the necessity and virtue of the pursuit of knowledge and the attainment of wisdom. While remaining awake one night, Nasir “revels in the sight of the star-filled sky, a thousand pearls strewn throughout black curls with streaks of red and gold so bright… The immensity of the evening and the beauty of the dawning light lead him to think of God in many languages He uses to communicate. But, the poet notes, one needs to have the ‘ear of the heart’ completely open to hear the internal speech which communicates without physical voice.” (Ruby of Badakshan p 251).
“The believer must come to understand the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world, the message of God brought by Prophet Muhammad, and the inner meaning of this message conveyed by the Imam of the Time. (Ruby of Badakshan p 223-224).
nasir khusraw knowledge divan diwan
Point Peele National Park. Source: Parks Canada
“In Islamic belief, knowledge is two-fold. There is that revealed through the Holy Prophet [Salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa- sallam] and that which man discovers by virtue of his own intellect. Nor do these two involve any contradiction, provided man remembers that his own mind is itself the creation of God. Without this humility, no balance is possible. With it, there are no barriers.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam, Karachi, Pakistan, March 16, 1983
Speech
Adapted from Nasir Khusraw The Ruby of Badakhshan by Alice C. Hunsberger, I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 2000
Posted by Nimira Dewji
Nasir Khusraw, a Persian poet, philosopher, traveller, and a da’i, was born on 1004 in Qubadiyan, a small town in eastern Iran into a Twelver Shi’i family. After completing his schooling, where he studied Arabic, Persian, mathematics, philosophy, and religious sciences, Nasir entered government service in the revenue department. He enjoyed travelling, admiring the architectural and cultural creations of the regions to which he travelled, engaging in conversations with the shopkeepers, poets, and scholars. But he wondered about “the delights of the world” and desired to have an answer to the question of why all this exists (The Ruby of Badakhshan p 5).
In his Safarnama (‘Travelogue‘), Nasir states that he probed into various theologies “that left him unsatisfied until he found out more about the Ismaili interpretation of Islam. Ismaili doctrine appealed to him on many levels, most particularly in what he interpreted as its promotion of intellectual knowledge. In contrast, he says, to those schools which admonish believers to accept doctrine without asking questions, without probing into the ‘how and why,’ Ismaili precepts championed human intellect as God’s finest creation” (The Ruby of Badakhshan p78-79).
Nasir Khusraw Safarnama
Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
“…Nasir Khusraw, along with the other Ismaili preachers, offers a religion which holds intellectual investigation of the faith to be one of the supreme virtues of the believer… The Ismaili intelligentsia under the Fatimids actively engaged each other as well as non-Ismaili thinkers in debates in theological and philosophical issues” (Ruby of Badakshan p 231-232). Nasir preaches both the necessity of performing acts of devotion and the inner changes that must follow on from the soul-searching performance of these acts.
In his teachings, Nasir emphasises that “the world is the duality of zahir and batin, that there is an apparent world which we see and feel, and a hidden world which we can only apprehend with our minds and hearts….we can physically see and feel our own bodies and at the same time have an inner awareness of ourselves and our thinking, but we cannot employ our physical senses to touch our thoughts or see our feelings….the duality applies to the macrocosmos; there exists a spiritual world beyond this physical universe. Just as our physical bodies abide in this material world of zahir, Nasir teaches that the non-physical part of our beings – whether called soul or mind or heart – resides in the spiritual universe of the batin, to which in fact it yearns to return, to regain its proper home” (The Ruby of Badakhshan p 242-243).
Even though he “warns against being seduced by the attractions of the world… he also calls for active engagement with the world, since it holds clues to the next world as well as tools to make the journey possible. Thus, the physical is to be used in the service of the spiritual” (Ruby of Badakshan p 243). For Nasir, human heights of happiness are to be found in intellectual and spiritual pursuits and by the constant increasing of one’s knowledge:
Peace of mind from the torment of ignorance
comes from knowledge;
Only with knowledge can the basil of peace blossom forth on one’s soul.
Divan 25:26
(Cited in The Ruby of Badakhshan p 247)
Diwan Nasir Khusraw Divan
Divan-i Nasir Khusraw, Dated 1843, copyist unknown. Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
In all his poetry and prose writings, Nasir hammers home the necessity and virtue of the pursuit of knowledge and the attainment of wisdom. While remaining awake one night, Nasir “revels in the sight of the star-filled sky, a thousand pearls strewn throughout black curls with streaks of red and gold so bright… The immensity of the evening and the beauty of the dawning light lead him to think of God in many languages He uses to communicate. But, the poet notes, one needs to have the ‘ear of the heart’ completely open to hear the internal speech which communicates without physical voice.” (Ruby of Badakshan p 251).
“The believer must come to understand the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world, the message of God brought by Prophet Muhammad, and the inner meaning of this message conveyed by the Imam of the Time. (Ruby of Badakshan p 223-224).
nasir khusraw knowledge divan diwan
Point Peele National Park. Source: Parks Canada
“In Islamic belief, knowledge is two-fold. There is that revealed through the Holy Prophet [Salla-llahu ‘alayhi wa- sallam] and that which man discovers by virtue of his own intellect. Nor do these two involve any contradiction, provided man remembers that his own mind is itself the creation of God. Without this humility, no balance is possible. With it, there are no barriers.”
Mawlana Hazar Imam, Karachi, Pakistan, March 16, 1983
Speech
Adapted from Nasir Khusraw The Ruby of Badakhshan by Alice C. Hunsberger, I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 2000
HIEROCOSMIC INTELLECT AND UNIVERSAL SOUL IN A QASIDA BY NASIR-I KHUSRAW
Abstract
This essay attempts to decipher some of obscure religious, cosmological, theological, and psychological allusions found in Nasir-i Khusraw's metaphysical poetry. A single qasida is translated, each line given exhaustive
commentary and its key concepts - particularly Soul (nafs, jdn), Intellect (caql), Substance (jawhar), and Form (surat)-placed in their proper philosophical and literary context. Some resemblances between this poet and other Isma'li thinkers such as Abu Yacqub al-Sijistani and Sufis such as Jalal al-Din Rumi are adduced, as well as the intellectual fraternity between his thought and that of Western Neoplatonic thinkers and poets such as Plotinus, Ficino, Milton and Pope noted.
Keywords
Nasir-i Khusraw; Sufi poetry; Ismailism; Rumi; Plotinus.
The article can be accessed at:
https://www.academia.edu/14847175/HIERO ... load-paper
Abstract
This essay attempts to decipher some of obscure religious, cosmological, theological, and psychological allusions found in Nasir-i Khusraw's metaphysical poetry. A single qasida is translated, each line given exhaustive
commentary and its key concepts - particularly Soul (nafs, jdn), Intellect (caql), Substance (jawhar), and Form (surat)-placed in their proper philosophical and literary context. Some resemblances between this poet and other Isma'li thinkers such as Abu Yacqub al-Sijistani and Sufis such as Jalal al-Din Rumi are adduced, as well as the intellectual fraternity between his thought and that of Western Neoplatonic thinkers and poets such as Plotinus, Ficino, Milton and Pope noted.
Keywords
Nasir-i Khusraw; Sufi poetry; Ismailism; Rumi; Plotinus.
The article can be accessed at:
https://www.academia.edu/14847175/HIERO ... load-paper
Nasir Khusraw: Pilgrimage to a physical place must bear correspondence to the greater journey of the soul
Posted by Nimira Dewji
Born into a noble family in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir Khusraw followed the family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent – “some answer to the question of why all this exists.
In his Safarnama (‘Travelogue‘), a record of his seven-year journey, Nasir states that he probed into various theologies “that left him unsatisfied until he found out more about the Ismaili interpretation of Islam. Ismaili doctrine appealed to him on many levels, most particularly in what he interpreted as its promotion of intellectual knowledge. In contrast, he says, to those schools which admonish believers to accept doctrine without asking questions, without probing into the ‘how and why,’ Ismaili precepts championed human intellect as God’s finest creation” (p 78-79).
Nasir Khusraw Safarnama
Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
He left his job and set out for a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1045, beginning his famous journey that was to last seven years. Travelling through Persia, Asia Minor, and Syria, he made the first of several pilgrimages to Mecca before arriving in Cairo, the Fatimid capital, in August 1047. He stayed in Cairo for three years, studying Ismaili doctrines under the guidance of the chief da’i al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi (d. 1078), and eventually meeting the Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Mustansir bi’llah (r.1036-1094). Nasir attributes his spiritual transformation to the Imam.
Among Naṣir Khusraw’s many works, Wajh-i din is “the most explicit in terms of religious instruction, offering a full explanation of Islamic commandments and duties and their esoteric meaning or taʾwīl.”1 In this text, Nasir devotes an entire chapter to the esoteric meaning of the physical hajj.
Wajh-i Din Nasir khusraw
Wajh-i Din, 19th century. Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies Reading Guide
Nasir describes the physical hajj: “the months of hard travel, the tedious waiting in oases to assemble the caravans, the dangers from robbers, drought and famine.”
During times of hardships such as drought and famine, the Fatimid Caliph-Imam who generally provided official caravans with soldiers, horses, and supplies to protect the pilgrims issued an official statement asking pilgrims not to undertake the hajj:
“The Prince of the Faithful proclaims that in this year, owing to drought and the resulting scarcity of goods, which has caused the deaths of many, it is unwise to undertake the journey to the Hijaz. …(S, 59).”
However, while discouraging pilgrims from embarking on the journey, the Caliph-Imam “wished to fulfill his twice-yearly commitment to send the drapery for the Ka’ba.” Nasir went along on this trip when he had advanced in the Fatimid court. The colour of the veil changed over time: when the Sunni Abbasids controlled Tinnis (a renowned centre for textile production), the veil was black (as it is today); under the Fatimids it became their official colour, white.
The pilgrimage begins with a declaration of intent to complete the pilgrimage followed by a change of clothes. “Regular clothes are set aside and the pilgrim’s clothing, the ihram, consisting of two seamless, white pieces of cloth, is put on…. The pilgrim thus consciously and visibly enters a state of internal and external purity (p 176).
“But mere public piety is almost sacrilegious, near anathema, for Nasir Khusraw, since for him no religious obligation is really fulfilled unless the believer also understands the meaning of the act performed…. Along with other Ismaili theologians, he taught the necessity of both the zahir and the batin, that true faith entails observing both its exoteric and esoteric aspects. The required acts…are not valid without a concomitant understanding of the inner meaning of each gesture… The zahir and the batin constantly inform each other in a creative dialectic, each deepening the experience of the other…” (p 188).
The changing of clothes “relates to the twin acts of faithfully performing the exoteric acts of faith and aspiring to understand their esoteric significance” (p 191).
“For Nasir, even the verb ‘to make the pilgrimage’ carries a deeper connotation than merely going to a particular physical place such as Mecca; it is to go toward something thoughtfully, not rashly. It is to act with meditative deliberation and conscious thought, eschewing all haste and hurry in one’s deeds; to pursued goals with reason and not, like beasts of habit, with reckless passion” (p 189).
“The physical act of travelling to the Ka’ba requires provisions and beasts of burden. The spiritual analogy for provisions is knowledge and the modes of transportation are found in the personages of the hujjat and da’i. The stations along the road to Mecca signify the stations of knowledge which the believer achieves through taking action and acquiring knowledge. Each time a pilgrim leaves one of the stations (signifying his house, his current situation) it corresponds to his … [arrival] at the way of truth. For Nasir, this destination is the Imam of the Time, who is the house of knowledge of God… the Imam and his knowledge are in fact the spiritual goal of the Ismaili Muslim” (p 190).
The Muslim’s prayer, ultimately directed spiritually to God, “the believer faces the Ka’ba physically. For the Ismaili worshipper, who also faces the Ka’ba, however this orientation is made spiritually through the Imam.” (p 189).
“…just as the material property of men lies hidden inside their houses, within the house of the Imam lies hidden spiritual property of the Imam, which is knowledge of truth…” (p 190).
For Nasir Khusraw, “a pilgrimage to a physical place in this world must bear a symbolic correspondence to the greater journey of the soul of faith… (p 196).
Nasir teaches that whether in private acts, personal prayer or public displays of faith such as the pilgrimage, the believer must look deep within his or her soul to understand the esoteric meaning of such acts.
“The believer must come to understand the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world, the message of God brought by the Prophet Muhammad, and the inner meaning of this message conveyed by the Imam of the Time” (p 223).
Adapted from Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan, by Alice C. Hunsberger, I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 2000
1 Wajh-i dīn, (The Face of Religion) Translated by Faquir M. Hunzai, Published in An Anthology of Ismaili Literature edited by Hermann Landolt, Samira Sheikh & Kutub Kassam, p 199
Further reading:
Esoteric Hajj: From the Physical Ka’bah to the Living Imam at Ismaili Gnosis
nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2020/07/29/nasir-khusraw-pilgrimage-to-a-physical-place-must-bear-correspondence-to-the-greater-journey-of-the-soul/
Posted by Nimira Dewji
Born into a noble family in 1004 in Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan, Nasir Khusraw followed the family tradition and worked for the government in a financial capacity. During his adulthood, he began to search for answers to his inner discontent – “some answer to the question of why all this exists.
In his Safarnama (‘Travelogue‘), a record of his seven-year journey, Nasir states that he probed into various theologies “that left him unsatisfied until he found out more about the Ismaili interpretation of Islam. Ismaili doctrine appealed to him on many levels, most particularly in what he interpreted as its promotion of intellectual knowledge. In contrast, he says, to those schools which admonish believers to accept doctrine without asking questions, without probing into the ‘how and why,’ Ismaili precepts championed human intellect as God’s finest creation” (p 78-79).
Nasir Khusraw Safarnama
Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
He left his job and set out for a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1045, beginning his famous journey that was to last seven years. Travelling through Persia, Asia Minor, and Syria, he made the first of several pilgrimages to Mecca before arriving in Cairo, the Fatimid capital, in August 1047. He stayed in Cairo for three years, studying Ismaili doctrines under the guidance of the chief da’i al-Mu’ayyad fi’l-Din al-Shirazi (d. 1078), and eventually meeting the Fatimid Caliph-Imam al-Mustansir bi’llah (r.1036-1094). Nasir attributes his spiritual transformation to the Imam.
Among Naṣir Khusraw’s many works, Wajh-i din is “the most explicit in terms of religious instruction, offering a full explanation of Islamic commandments and duties and their esoteric meaning or taʾwīl.”1 In this text, Nasir devotes an entire chapter to the esoteric meaning of the physical hajj.
Wajh-i Din Nasir khusraw
Wajh-i Din, 19th century. Source: The Institute of Ismaili Studies Reading Guide
Nasir describes the physical hajj: “the months of hard travel, the tedious waiting in oases to assemble the caravans, the dangers from robbers, drought and famine.”
During times of hardships such as drought and famine, the Fatimid Caliph-Imam who generally provided official caravans with soldiers, horses, and supplies to protect the pilgrims issued an official statement asking pilgrims not to undertake the hajj:
“The Prince of the Faithful proclaims that in this year, owing to drought and the resulting scarcity of goods, which has caused the deaths of many, it is unwise to undertake the journey to the Hijaz. …(S, 59).”
However, while discouraging pilgrims from embarking on the journey, the Caliph-Imam “wished to fulfill his twice-yearly commitment to send the drapery for the Ka’ba.” Nasir went along on this trip when he had advanced in the Fatimid court. The colour of the veil changed over time: when the Sunni Abbasids controlled Tinnis (a renowned centre for textile production), the veil was black (as it is today); under the Fatimids it became their official colour, white.
The pilgrimage begins with a declaration of intent to complete the pilgrimage followed by a change of clothes. “Regular clothes are set aside and the pilgrim’s clothing, the ihram, consisting of two seamless, white pieces of cloth, is put on…. The pilgrim thus consciously and visibly enters a state of internal and external purity (p 176).
“But mere public piety is almost sacrilegious, near anathema, for Nasir Khusraw, since for him no religious obligation is really fulfilled unless the believer also understands the meaning of the act performed…. Along with other Ismaili theologians, he taught the necessity of both the zahir and the batin, that true faith entails observing both its exoteric and esoteric aspects. The required acts…are not valid without a concomitant understanding of the inner meaning of each gesture… The zahir and the batin constantly inform each other in a creative dialectic, each deepening the experience of the other…” (p 188).
The changing of clothes “relates to the twin acts of faithfully performing the exoteric acts of faith and aspiring to understand their esoteric significance” (p 191).
“For Nasir, even the verb ‘to make the pilgrimage’ carries a deeper connotation than merely going to a particular physical place such as Mecca; it is to go toward something thoughtfully, not rashly. It is to act with meditative deliberation and conscious thought, eschewing all haste and hurry in one’s deeds; to pursued goals with reason and not, like beasts of habit, with reckless passion” (p 189).
“The physical act of travelling to the Ka’ba requires provisions and beasts of burden. The spiritual analogy for provisions is knowledge and the modes of transportation are found in the personages of the hujjat and da’i. The stations along the road to Mecca signify the stations of knowledge which the believer achieves through taking action and acquiring knowledge. Each time a pilgrim leaves one of the stations (signifying his house, his current situation) it corresponds to his … [arrival] at the way of truth. For Nasir, this destination is the Imam of the Time, who is the house of knowledge of God… the Imam and his knowledge are in fact the spiritual goal of the Ismaili Muslim” (p 190).
The Muslim’s prayer, ultimately directed spiritually to God, “the believer faces the Ka’ba physically. For the Ismaili worshipper, who also faces the Ka’ba, however this orientation is made spiritually through the Imam.” (p 189).
“…just as the material property of men lies hidden inside their houses, within the house of the Imam lies hidden spiritual property of the Imam, which is knowledge of truth…” (p 190).
For Nasir Khusraw, “a pilgrimage to a physical place in this world must bear a symbolic correspondence to the greater journey of the soul of faith… (p 196).
Nasir teaches that whether in private acts, personal prayer or public displays of faith such as the pilgrimage, the believer must look deep within his or her soul to understand the esoteric meaning of such acts.
“The believer must come to understand the relationship between the physical world and the spiritual world, the message of God brought by the Prophet Muhammad, and the inner meaning of this message conveyed by the Imam of the Time” (p 223).
Adapted from Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan, by Alice C. Hunsberger, I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies, London, 2000
1 Wajh-i dīn, (The Face of Religion) Translated by Faquir M. Hunzai, Published in An Anthology of Ismaili Literature edited by Hermann Landolt, Samira Sheikh & Kutub Kassam, p 199
Further reading:
Esoteric Hajj: From the Physical Ka’bah to the Living Imam at Ismaili Gnosis
nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2020/07/29/nasir-khusraw-pilgrimage-to-a-physical-place-must-bear-correspondence-to-the-greater-journey-of-the-soul/
Qalu Balaa | The Diwan of Nasir Khusraw | Episode 6
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbVADSd1Ynw
Nasir Khusraw was a major Muslim intellectual, philosopher and traveller of the 11th century and one of the greatest authors in Persian literature. Unlike the poetry of the traditional Persian court poets, for which Khusraw shows distaste in the Diwan, Khusraw's poetry explores topics encompassing (but not limited to) philosophy, particularly ethics and metaphysics, religion, the pursuit of knowledge, faith and reasoning, and the natural world.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbVADSd1Ynw
Nasir Khusraw was a major Muslim intellectual, philosopher and traveller of the 11th century and one of the greatest authors in Persian literature. Unlike the poetry of the traditional Persian court poets, for which Khusraw shows distaste in the Diwan, Khusraw's poetry explores topics encompassing (but not limited to) philosophy, particularly ethics and metaphysics, religion, the pursuit of knowledge, faith and reasoning, and the natural world.
Re: NASIR KHUSRAW
A moment in time: Nasir-i Khusraw began his seven-year journey
Posted by Nimira Dewji
Nasir Khusraw (1004- ca.1077) was born in Qobadiyan in the district of Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan. He did well at school, learning Persian and Arabic as well as sciences, literature, mathematics, philosophy, religious sciences, and history. Following his family’s tradition, Nasir joined the government bureaucracy in a financial capacity, perhaps as tax collector. He enjoyed to travel and “relished the opportunity to see new places and admire the accomplishments of the human hand and mind. In his travels, he turned his keen eye towards both the physical and administrative structures put in place by each society, such as city walls, irrigation canals and road surfaces in one, and taxation conditions, employment practices and shop rental policies in another” (Hunsberger, The Ruby of Badakhshan p 5).
“But, for Nasir Khusraw a more urgent current ran under such delights of the world, namely his aching desire to have some purpose, some answer to the question of why all this exists” (Ibid). At the age of about forty, Nasir experienced a restlessness, a spiritual upheaval, that he describes in his Safarnama (‘Travelogue’) as “a powerful dream that shocked him out of his ‘forty years’ sleep’. This restless searching and inner discontent lasted until it all came together in the conviction that the answers to these ultimate questions could be found in the doctrines of the Ismaili Shi’i faith” (Ibid).
“The poet reports that he began his consciously organised search for wisdom … a search which involved reading books and listening to those who were learned in an array of fields, including both physics and metaphysics…. His spiritual quest is to find the most perfect human being in the entire world. Since every genus and species in the created world – from the starry heavens down to minerals deep within the earth – has its own exemplar, among humans there must also be someone ‘most noble.’ But all his questioning of the learned men in the major schools of Islamic thought proves fruitless” (Ibid. p 56).
“Particularly troubling for Nasir Khusraw is the ‘verse of oath’ in the Qur’an (48:10), because it seems to give special status to those who lived at the time of Prophet Muhammad, those who were able to personally give their allegiance to God and His Prophet. This refers to a specific historical event in the early years of the Prophet’s ministry. Six years after the migration from Mecca to Medina (the hijra), the Prophet and a number of his followers gathered under a tree in a place called Hudaybiyya. When the Prophet asked for the allegiance of his followers, they all placed their hands on the Prophet’s hand … thus demonstrating their fealty. That God accepted their oath is evident in the words, ‘God’s hand is over their hands.’
‘Once I happened to read in the Qur’an the ‘verse of oath,’
The verse in which God said that His hand was stretched above,
Those people who swore allegiance ‘under the tree’
Were the people like Ja’far, Miqdad, Salman and Abu Dharr. I asked a question from myself, what happened to that tree, that hand;
Where can I now find that hand, that oath, that place? …
Whose hand should we touch when swearing allegiance to God?
Or should not (divine) justice treat equally those who came first and those who came later?
Was it our fault that we were not born at that time?
Why should we be deprived of personal contact with the Prophet,
thus being (unjustly) punished?
(Ibid p 56-58)
“According to Nasir, there must always be someone at whose hand the covenant of God could be pledged. This, he decided, was the Imam descended from the Prophet’s family, al-Mustansir of Cairo, the sovereign of a mighty empire” (Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages p 135).
He resigned from his job and went on a journey in search of knowledge and the essence of life, setting off on March 5, 1046,1 keeping a detailed record of his travels in his Safarnama.
Nasir Khusraw Safarnama
Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Beginning his seven-year journey westward through northern Iran, across Armenia and Azerbaijan, down through Syria to Jerusalem, and other cities of the region, Nasir Khusraw arrived in Cairo in August 1047.2 He spent three years in Cairo, the capital of the Fatimids and the heart of Ismaili power and intellectual life, where he studied Ismaili doctrines with leading scholars, including al-Mu’ayyad a-Shirazi (d. 1078), whom he credits for his conversion to Ismailism. Hunsberger states “Al-Mu’ayyad is the person who helps this seeker of wisdom find the knowledge he has been searching for.
He [Al-Mu’ayyad] said:
Cease worrying, the jewel has been found in thy mine.
Beneath the ideas of this world there lies an ocean of Truth,
In which are found precious pearls, as well as Pure Water.
This is the highest Heaven of the exalted stars.
Nay, it is Paradise itself, full of the most captivating beauties.”
(The Ruby of Badakhshan, p 62-63).
Nasir-i Khusraw’s travels. Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Nasir returned home as head of the Ismaili administration of his province. However, his successes put his life in danger causing him to flee from his native land to Yumgan in the mountainous region of Badakshan, to the court of an Ismaili prince, where he stayed for the remainder of his life, composing his numerous works.
The Ismailis of Badakshan (now divided between Tajikistan and Afghanistan) along with communities in Hunza and other northern areas of Pakistan, as well as in the Sinkiang (Xinjiang) region of China, regard Nasir Khusraw as the founder of their communities. A literary tradition based on his writings sustained the Ismaili community of Central Asia in their faith in the areas under the Soviet system, when they were not permitted to practise their faith, and did not have direct contact with the Imam of the time or with other Ismaili communities.
As head of the Ismaili da’wa, Nasir produced a number of works on Ismaili doctrines including Wajh-i din (The Face of Religion), which is considered “the most explicit in terms of religious instruction, offering a full explanation of Islamic commandments and duties and their esoteric meaning or ta’wīl.” (Hunzai, Pearls of Persia p12).
The main corpus of his poetry is collected in the Diwan, comprising poetry in the qasida form relating to a wide range of ethical, theological, and philosophical themes. Hunsberger notes that the main purpose of Nasir Khusraw’s poetry is “to open the reader or listener’s inner eye to universal truths and thereby save their souls from the Hell of ignorance” (The Ruby of Badakshan, p xvii). Forty poems were translated by P. L. Wilson and G. R. Aavani in 1977 and in 1993, Annemarie Schimmel translated and discussed key themes in selected verses.
Diwan Nasir Khusraw Divan
Diwan of Nasir-i Khusraw, dated 1843, copyist unknown. Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
A rare copy of the Diwan was gifted to Mawlana Hazar Imam during his Diamond Jubilee visit to western Canada in May 2018.
Selected Verses from Nasir Khusraw’s Diwan. The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Nasir Khusraw Badakshan
Nasir-i Khusraw’s shrine at Hazrat‐e Sayyed, Afghanistan restored by Aga Khan Trust for Culture Image: Archnet
God calls you to the heavens;
Why have you thrown yourself into the pit?
To ascend to the highest heavens, craft for yourself
Feet out of knowledge and wings out of devotion.
Divan, 22:39-49
published in Ruby of Badakshan p 90
Further reading: The Concept of Knowledge in Nasir-i Khusraw’s Philosophy at Ismaili Gnosis
Sources:
1Alice C. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan, I.B. Tauris, London, 2000 p 92
2The Institute of Ismaili Studies Secondary Curriculum Muslim Societies and Civilisations Volume 2 p 245
Faquir Muhammad Hunzai, “The Position of ‘Aql in the Prose and Poetry of Nasir-i Khusraw,” Pearls of Persia, Edited by Alice C. Hunsberger I.B. Tauris, London, 2012
Shafique N. Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages, Oxford University Press, 2007
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Posted by Nimira Dewji
Nasir Khusraw (1004- ca.1077) was born in Qobadiyan in the district of Marv in the eastern Iranian province of Khurasan. He did well at school, learning Persian and Arabic as well as sciences, literature, mathematics, philosophy, religious sciences, and history. Following his family’s tradition, Nasir joined the government bureaucracy in a financial capacity, perhaps as tax collector. He enjoyed to travel and “relished the opportunity to see new places and admire the accomplishments of the human hand and mind. In his travels, he turned his keen eye towards both the physical and administrative structures put in place by each society, such as city walls, irrigation canals and road surfaces in one, and taxation conditions, employment practices and shop rental policies in another” (Hunsberger, The Ruby of Badakhshan p 5).
“But, for Nasir Khusraw a more urgent current ran under such delights of the world, namely his aching desire to have some purpose, some answer to the question of why all this exists” (Ibid). At the age of about forty, Nasir experienced a restlessness, a spiritual upheaval, that he describes in his Safarnama (‘Travelogue’) as “a powerful dream that shocked him out of his ‘forty years’ sleep’. This restless searching and inner discontent lasted until it all came together in the conviction that the answers to these ultimate questions could be found in the doctrines of the Ismaili Shi’i faith” (Ibid).
“The poet reports that he began his consciously organised search for wisdom … a search which involved reading books and listening to those who were learned in an array of fields, including both physics and metaphysics…. His spiritual quest is to find the most perfect human being in the entire world. Since every genus and species in the created world – from the starry heavens down to minerals deep within the earth – has its own exemplar, among humans there must also be someone ‘most noble.’ But all his questioning of the learned men in the major schools of Islamic thought proves fruitless” (Ibid. p 56).
“Particularly troubling for Nasir Khusraw is the ‘verse of oath’ in the Qur’an (48:10), because it seems to give special status to those who lived at the time of Prophet Muhammad, those who were able to personally give their allegiance to God and His Prophet. This refers to a specific historical event in the early years of the Prophet’s ministry. Six years after the migration from Mecca to Medina (the hijra), the Prophet and a number of his followers gathered under a tree in a place called Hudaybiyya. When the Prophet asked for the allegiance of his followers, they all placed their hands on the Prophet’s hand … thus demonstrating their fealty. That God accepted their oath is evident in the words, ‘God’s hand is over their hands.’
‘Once I happened to read in the Qur’an the ‘verse of oath,’
The verse in which God said that His hand was stretched above,
Those people who swore allegiance ‘under the tree’
Were the people like Ja’far, Miqdad, Salman and Abu Dharr. I asked a question from myself, what happened to that tree, that hand;
Where can I now find that hand, that oath, that place? …
Whose hand should we touch when swearing allegiance to God?
Or should not (divine) justice treat equally those who came first and those who came later?
Was it our fault that we were not born at that time?
Why should we be deprived of personal contact with the Prophet,
thus being (unjustly) punished?
(Ibid p 56-58)
“According to Nasir, there must always be someone at whose hand the covenant of God could be pledged. This, he decided, was the Imam descended from the Prophet’s family, al-Mustansir of Cairo, the sovereign of a mighty empire” (Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages p 135).
He resigned from his job and went on a journey in search of knowledge and the essence of life, setting off on March 5, 1046,1 keeping a detailed record of his travels in his Safarnama.
Nasir Khusraw Safarnama
Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Beginning his seven-year journey westward through northern Iran, across Armenia and Azerbaijan, down through Syria to Jerusalem, and other cities of the region, Nasir Khusraw arrived in Cairo in August 1047.2 He spent three years in Cairo, the capital of the Fatimids and the heart of Ismaili power and intellectual life, where he studied Ismaili doctrines with leading scholars, including al-Mu’ayyad a-Shirazi (d. 1078), whom he credits for his conversion to Ismailism. Hunsberger states “Al-Mu’ayyad is the person who helps this seeker of wisdom find the knowledge he has been searching for.
He [Al-Mu’ayyad] said:
Cease worrying, the jewel has been found in thy mine.
Beneath the ideas of this world there lies an ocean of Truth,
In which are found precious pearls, as well as Pure Water.
This is the highest Heaven of the exalted stars.
Nay, it is Paradise itself, full of the most captivating beauties.”
(The Ruby of Badakhshan, p 62-63).
Nasir-i Khusraw’s travels. Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Nasir returned home as head of the Ismaili administration of his province. However, his successes put his life in danger causing him to flee from his native land to Yumgan in the mountainous region of Badakshan, to the court of an Ismaili prince, where he stayed for the remainder of his life, composing his numerous works.
The Ismailis of Badakshan (now divided between Tajikistan and Afghanistan) along with communities in Hunza and other northern areas of Pakistan, as well as in the Sinkiang (Xinjiang) region of China, regard Nasir Khusraw as the founder of their communities. A literary tradition based on his writings sustained the Ismaili community of Central Asia in their faith in the areas under the Soviet system, when they were not permitted to practise their faith, and did not have direct contact with the Imam of the time or with other Ismaili communities.
As head of the Ismaili da’wa, Nasir produced a number of works on Ismaili doctrines including Wajh-i din (The Face of Religion), which is considered “the most explicit in terms of religious instruction, offering a full explanation of Islamic commandments and duties and their esoteric meaning or ta’wīl.” (Hunzai, Pearls of Persia p12).
The main corpus of his poetry is collected in the Diwan, comprising poetry in the qasida form relating to a wide range of ethical, theological, and philosophical themes. Hunsberger notes that the main purpose of Nasir Khusraw’s poetry is “to open the reader or listener’s inner eye to universal truths and thereby save their souls from the Hell of ignorance” (The Ruby of Badakshan, p xvii). Forty poems were translated by P. L. Wilson and G. R. Aavani in 1977 and in 1993, Annemarie Schimmel translated and discussed key themes in selected verses.
Diwan Nasir Khusraw Divan
Diwan of Nasir-i Khusraw, dated 1843, copyist unknown. Image: The Institute of Ismaili Studies
A rare copy of the Diwan was gifted to Mawlana Hazar Imam during his Diamond Jubilee visit to western Canada in May 2018.
Selected Verses from Nasir Khusraw’s Diwan. The Institute of Ismaili Studies
Nasir Khusraw Badakshan
Nasir-i Khusraw’s shrine at Hazrat‐e Sayyed, Afghanistan restored by Aga Khan Trust for Culture Image: Archnet
God calls you to the heavens;
Why have you thrown yourself into the pit?
To ascend to the highest heavens, craft for yourself
Feet out of knowledge and wings out of devotion.
Divan, 22:39-49
published in Ruby of Badakshan p 90
Further reading: The Concept of Knowledge in Nasir-i Khusraw’s Philosophy at Ismaili Gnosis
Sources:
1Alice C. Hunsberger, Nasir Khusraw, The Ruby of Badakhshan, I.B. Tauris, London, 2000 p 92
2The Institute of Ismaili Studies Secondary Curriculum Muslim Societies and Civilisations Volume 2 p 245
Faquir Muhammad Hunzai, “The Position of ‘Aql in the Prose and Poetry of Nasir-i Khusraw,” Pearls of Persia, Edited by Alice C. Hunsberger I.B. Tauris, London, 2012
Shafique N. Virani, The Ismailis in the Middle Ages, Oxford University Press, 2007
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https://nimirasblog.wordpress.com/2022/ ... r-journey/