Persian literature, especially its poetry, constitutes one of the worlds great literary traditions. Amongst the foremost, but in the West least known, medieval Persian poets was N畊ir-i Khusraw. A great thinker of the early Islamic world, whose writing inspired the intellectual development of Ismaili Islam, N畊ir-i Khusraws poetry lyrical and deeply human has so far received surprisingly little attention from translators in the West. Unique and important for our understanding of the times in which he lived, N畊ir-i Khusraws ideas, expressed with consummate artistry, will appeal strongly to readers of today. His descriptions of the world around him and his skills in the use of language and metre, all serve to fascinate the enthusiast for poetry, as well as students of the medieval Islamic world and Ismaili thought.
Here, the noted Islamic scholar Annemarie Schimmel provides a translation of some of N畊ir-i Khusraws 援温畊Ｄd温s, together with a detailed study of the poet and his work. The result will appeal to readers of poetry, literary history and philosophy, as well as those interested in the Ismaili contribution to Islamic thought and culture.
Introduction
1. N畊ir-i Khusraw as a Poet
2. The Contents of N畊ir-i Khusraws Poetry
3. Selected Poems from the 禽朝敬偵稼
4. Select Bibliography
Index
Quotations from the 河顎姻a稼Muslims believe that the Holy 河顎姻a稼 contains divine revelations to the Prophet Muhammed received in Mecca and Medina over a period of 23 years in the early 7th century CE. More
… a truly scholarly achievement which should provide the basis for more detailed studies on N畊ir-i Khusraws poetry.
Sunil Sharma, MELA Notes
Annemarie Schimmel is Professor Emeritus of Indo-Muslim Culture at Harvard University and Honorary Professor at the University of Bonn. She has published over fifty books on Islamic literature, mysticism and culture, and has also translated works from Persian, Urdu, Arabic and Turkish into English and German.