VOl. LXXXII July-October 1992 NO. 3-4

THE WORLD VIEW AND PHILOSOPHICAL PERSPECTIVE OF mHM GANJAM-'

Wherever intellect brings forth a treasure, Through the name of God thou wilt make of it a ley.

")

Those who have been given the title of &hM by the people of Iran have known & h a (theosophy)2 as well as philosophy3 and it is not a coincidence that such a title has been bestowed upon them. This is the case even if such figures cannot be considered as philosophers or theosophers in the strict sense of these terms. Nowhere is this more true than in the case of Hakirn N@mi G a n j a ~ i , ~ the peerless composer of unparalleled odes who created some of the most sublime examples of Persian literature. Although he did not write philosophical treatises, he mastered discursive reasoning and the intellectual sciences of his time, and was also well versed in Sufism, particularly "Knowl- edge by Presen~e,'~ a key element of the esoteric tradition which is a major expression of the perennial philosophy.

N i w - appeared at a time when the Islamic sciences had become divided into specific schools of thought. When he began his studies, Mu(tazilite theol- ogy (fihrn) had passed its zenith and was on the decline. Ashbite theology, having matured at the hands of such figures as Juwayni and Ghazdi, had begun a new stage in its life.

' (The following footnotes are.by the translator of this essay).

All the translations of N w ' s poems are the translators' unless otherwise stated.

This article, written originally in Persian, was an introduction by the author to the Persian translation of Peter J. Chelkowski's , Miror of ~ e h n k a f e Worfd (New York Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1975), entitled, A-ha-y)kh#n+'gh.yb ('khran: Bank4 Melli Iran Press, 1978).

S.H. Nasr translates /libne as 'theosophy'. This should be understood from its etymological roots to mean 'Divine Wisdom' and not the 19th century movement in England with a similar name.

Philosophy in this context is in reference to the rationalistic philosophy of the Peripatetics. Rationalism in its pure sense is considered to be inconshtent with &hawhich advocates a synthesis of reason /Sq& and intellectual intuition /&aw@,

His full name is Abii Muhammad Ily&s, the son of Yasuf, known as Ni-. He was born in Ganjah, a city in today's Republic of Azarbayjan in A.H. 539 and died in 614. For more information on his life, see the Introduction to D!sf#n-iA%usrdlw wa Shfrfn, ed. A. Ayati (Tehran: AmIrkabir Press, 1974).

'Knowledge by Presence' /a/-hn aL&&rfl is an epistemological theory which was first formulated in a coherent philosophical manner by Suhrawardi in the 6th112th century. For more information on this see, Mehdi Ha'iri, Rpistemofogy in hfamic Philomphy-Knowl'ge by Preswce (Albany: S U N Y Press, 1992).

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192 THE MUSLIM WORLD

In the Shi(ite tradition, the major works on law and principles of jurispru- dence, that is the four books of twelve-Imam Shihm, had laid the foundation for future intellectual activities6 Ism& theology and philosophy had also reached their climax with the rise of such figures as Abii H Z t i m &i, Hamid al-Din Kirm3ni and Nbir-i Khusraw.

In philosophy, following the initial endeavors of al-Kindi, Iriinshalu3 and a few others, the Peripatetic school had gained the upper hand over other existing schools. Perfected at the hands of such giants as al-F%abi, Abd-Hasan'Amiri, Ibn Sina and their commentators, the Peripatetic school had exceeded the in- fluence of the Hermetics and the Neo-Pythagoreans.

Religious sciences such as Qdiinic exegesis bd5~v and prophetic tradi- tion &%&a), both in the Shiia and Sunni branches, had gone through prolific periods of activity. In the 6W12th century serious scholarship was prevalent in all the branches of the religious sciences, and in particular hermeneutics, which in addition to philosophical and theological interpretations, produced extensive gnostic interpretations and exegeses7

In mathematics and the natural sciences, a period of intense activity had passed and the works of such masters as Ibn S i a and Birtini had become available to the seekers of knowledge. Serious students of intellectual sciences were able to avail themselves to astronomical and mathematical achievements which had reached their climax in the 5Wllth century.8

When Ni$imi, an unusually gifted child, began his formal education, he encountered this vast ocean of Islamic sciences. He began with the religious sciences, mastering the art of QdSnic interpretation and fla&h, the founda- tional bases of the Islamic sciences. He became well versed in philosophy and theology, and was familiar with the existing diversity of intellectual ideas and philosophical schools. He spent a number of years studying mathematics, and took special interest in astronomy which is rare amongst the great poets of the Persian language. In such disciplines as grammar, genealogy, and history, he attained the competence suited for a master of his stature.

In the years when N i w lived and composed his poems, the Peripatetic philosophy in the Eastern lands of Islam was on the decline while the philo- sophical theology of Juwayni and Ghazdi was flourishing. An outstanding member of this school, ImSm Fakhr al-Din m i , was a contemporary of Nm. In the Western part of the Islamic world, however, Peripatetic philosophy

Tuts which provide a complete source of Shi'ite /lad//i3 are: al-Kulayni. ffadfth u5daf-kAZ Shaykh Qummi. Man layah&muhu~hqi3; al-Tiisi. a/-&ti&i??and nhdhi3 al-ahkdm.

This type of spiritual interpretation known as ta'w/;! means literally to take something back to its origin, and is one that N i w - uses extensively to offer an esoteric interpretation of Qur'anic

For more information see. S.H. Nasr, Skience and Gswfizahn ib Idam (Cambridge: Islamic verxs.

Text Society, 1987).

THE WORLD VIEW OF NIZAMT 193

remained very much alive, and such figures as Ibn Tufayl and Ibn Rushd added new branch to the rich tree of philosophical tradition in Islam, a branch from which the West benefitted and which became a source of inspiration for many of the intellectual figures of that land.

In Persia itself, the most important philosophical activity in N W T s life- time was the establishment of a new philosophical and theosophical school by the "Master of Illumination," Shihsb al-Din Suhrawardi. These two figures were contemporary and a work such as MBzm a/-asr& of N i w - was perhaps written at the same time as the Persian mystical narratives of Suhrawardi, while N W s later works were written simultaneously with flz2mat d-i2hr.q (The Theosophy of the Onht of Lighg and some of the later works of Suhrawardi. While Hakim NizImi was portraying the Persian-Islamic world view through his poetical genius, Suhrawardi was charting a new course toward Ultimate Reality using philosophical discourse and in- tellectual intuition. The presence of these two great thinkers is an indication of the richness of the intellectual milieu of the 6W12th century, and it responds to those who claim that intellectual activity ceased after Ghaziili's polemical onslaught against the Peripatetics.

Despite N&imi's thorough familiarity with almost all aspects of the Is- lamic sciences, we cannot consider him to have been a follower of a particular philosophical or theological school. He followed instead a & h a based on faith, the type of wisdom which is deeply ingrained in the Qur)&, while remaining fully aware of the philosophical and theological currents of Islam.

On such topics as God's Essence, Attributes and Qualities, and the origin of man, Ni@mi speaks as an accomplished master who traveled far on the spiritual path, and was able to witness the incorporeal world with his inner eye. To describe the pure and transcendental Essence of God and God's mani- festations in all aspects and levels of existence, he freely employs a language similar to that of the texts written by the great masters of gnosis. In the intro- duction to his Mfizan a/-a51& (The 'lkeasure of Se~re ts ) ,~ his most important philosophical and gnostic work, he states:

Existent before all creation, more eternal than all eternities, Ancient Lord of the eternal universe, Decorator of the neck of the Pen with a necklace. Revealer of the secrets of the mysterious heaven, Secret Goals of those who know the divine mysteries. Source of every spring of liberty, Author of all existence.I0

MaMzm ul-asr#r is a mystical and gnostic tat which also deals with moral issues. It contains over 3250 verses which have been dedicated to the king of Arzanjan, Maliik Bahrm Shah ibn DHwild. This work has influenced a number of poets.

lo This is a translation by G.H. Darab, ZBe 23msury ofMptmes (London: Arthur Probsthain 1945) 89.

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God is not only the creator of the world, but also the originator of exist- ence and source of all theophanies as the gnostics have asserted. In this world, as well as in all other realms of existence, all that truly exists does so in emana- tion from God's existence and is none other than the theophany of God's Names and Qualities.

If it is the head of the spinning wheel, it is filled with His ring, If it is the heart of matter, it is filled with ecstasy for Him.

What can be found amongst the exalted and imaginative poetical meta- phors of N m - concerning metaphysical or theological discussions are none other than the perennial truths of which Muslim gnostics and haLi%m have spoke. In fact, prior to N m - some of those who possessed mahljca (gnosis) such as m a d and Muhammad Ghazdi and (Ayn al-Qu&iit Hamadiini had elabo- rated extensively on the same themes.

Having praised Almighty God and commenting on the Origin and Its manifestations, N i w , in M&za a/-ax&4 offers an extensive discussion of the inward and outward states of the Prophet of Islam. N i m - identifies the inner reality of the Prophet as the most sublime example of creation which Ibn (Arabi later identifies as the 'perfect man'. Ni@mi demonstrates his vast knowledge of Q u r ' ~ c exegesis and Had74 in dealing with the characteristics of Prophet.

There are few Persian poets who have commented on the spiritual charac- ter of the Prophet of Islam from a gnostic [%fin@ point of view as much as Nm-. In the Ahhzm d-argr alone, he gives a description of the Prophet's nocturnal ascent [mi$q] in four sections, each of which depicts a profound portrayal of the Prophet's status and is amongst the masterpieces of Persian literature. In some of his other works such as S.araLn&xh [neahse on fik- tu@,ll IqW-Nmah ('eahke on FoHund, 12 A3uSraw wa Sh~hn,~~ and L&X- wa Mqk~Zn,~~ N@mi composes majestic poems of great beauty in which he describes the ascent of the Prophet to heaven. Perhaps it is not a coincidence

Sharah&nah, also known as Muqbl-n#mah is the first part of hkandar-n.#inah and contains 6800 verses. N W - completed this work in A.H. 597.

The /q&Y-nmah which has also been called Xhhd-n#md is the second part of his major and last work /skanda/-mah. The /q&/-nJmah which contains over 3800 verses was completed in A.H. 603 when N W was 74 years old.

l 3 musraw w8 Shk~h is one of the most sublime examples of Persian poetry containing over 6500 verses. Written in A.H. 580, he dedicated this work to SultHn 'hghrul ibn Arsalw, hoping to receive his patronage.

I' hiFandM8nji.n was composed after ,#usraw w8 Shhn in A.H. 584, and contains 4700 verses. It took Ni- only four months to complete the work. It was Shi rwu Shah who asked Nm to write this work on the basis of its original Arabic version and he reluctantly accepted. The reason for this reluctance was that since the original story had taken place in Arabia, Nizaml found the physical surrounding in which the story had taken place not to be too poetic for him. However, N i m - created the necessary ambience by Ftrsianizing the story.

THE WORLD VIEW OF NIZ&fI 195

that the most exquisite miniature depicting the Prophet’s ascent belongs to the Bmsa of Ni@mi now preserved in the British Museum.

The nocturnal ascent was not only the profoundest experience in the life of the Prophet, but it is also the supreme archetype of the spiritual journey of those in Islam who walk upon the path towards Ultimate Reality. The spiritual anthropology of Islam also depends on this event since the depth and breadth of human existence comes to light through the state which the Prophet expe- rienced through his Nocturnal Ascent.

Following his gnostic interpretation of the reality of the mkj* N@ni speaks of human nature from a gnostic point of view, using QUr>%nic concepts. In a beautiful set of poems he calls man the vicegerent of God, but his superiority over other creatures especially animals who are closer to him in the existential hierarchy than others is not because of his intelligence but as a result of his ability to master his own ego. In the Mak3zaan dag24 he alludes to this point:

Once thy ego is obedient to thee, The coin of purity shall be cast in thy name. To disobey the ego, is a sign of mastery, To abandon the ego, is a power of prophecy.

N i w - ’ s emphasis on the necessity of attaining virtue and beautifying the inner self has given him the image of an ethical thinker and social reformer. Those who have not paid attention to his gnostic views have always noted the significance of his ethical teachings and have considered his moral character to have been the reason for calling him &kh.

Nm had not only mastered the intellectual aspects of gnosis, but also followed the spiritual practices of the gnostic path. It is for this reason that he remains within the mainstream of the Islamic tradition of & h q a tradition that regards the highest form of philosophy to be the fruit of the purification of one’s ego, which is indeed the necessary condition for the true learning of philosophy and gnosis [mah&).

The gnostic view of the world, which sees the corporeal world as temporal and yet as the theophany of the incorporeal world, is apparent throughout the works of Nw. He sees the signs of divine power and wisdom everywhere and criticizes those who deny the Divine Presence. In some of his poems, he even prays to God to dismantle the order of the universe and reveal His power throughout existence. He states:

Cast aside the design and bring forth the outward, The rotation of the wheel, in motion and motionlessness. Obliterate this sign from the body of the crescent, Open this veil from a bundle of imaginings. To confess to Thy divinity is, To confess to one’s own non-existence.

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Nm does more than merely propagate a gnostic view of the universe. He praises Sufism and the truth that lies at its heart. In a poem which inspired H S q he states:

This order is based upon farsightedness, Mastership is slavehood to the dervishes.

In his poems, N i w - makes frequent references to ascetic practices and contemplation by those on the path. In a chapter entitled ’The Virtues of Spiritual Retreat” in the Makzm a/- a5ra he portrays a profound picture of his inner visions and expresses them in a beautiful poem.

I have no knowledge of that fruit of which I partook on that night, How could I have known that the new moon, whose girdle is light, would

She was in love with her own lover; her desire was a hundred times

The heart in its desire says: ‘What harm could have come to our day,

‘And had it made the night safe, that it might have endured to the day of

I search everywhere for the light of that night which was like the sun,

keep away from her lovers?

greater than mine,

had it not burnt the veil of our night.’

resurrection?

and do not find it even in my dreams.15

It is this introspection and inner journey that finally allows the truth to shine forth within the heart of the seeker. N i W insists that those who have journeyed on the path will witness the divine reality. By contrast, he criticizes those who reject the vision of God.

Witnessing Him is without accident and substance, For He is beyond accident and substance. Since it is suitable for the absolute, God has been seen and is ’visible’. Seeing Him should not be hidden from the eye, Blind is he who claims that He cannot be seen.

It is this inner vision of the incorporeal world which reveals the unstable and temporal nature of the corporeal world and brings to light its essence which, contrary to common belief, is not an independent reality but a mirror reflecting the realities of the archetypal world.

Stand up and rend asunder the heavens, There is no loyalty in this game of backgammon. Do not seek the image of the Beloved by the gate of union with it, Do not seek the virtue of fairness from its Attribute.

l5 Darabs translation in The Tre.mhyofMpt?&, p. 145

THE WORLD VIEW OF NIZAMf 197

N i m ’ s poem are commentaries upon various facets of Islamic Sufi and gnostic doctrines. He should be regarded in a sense as a Sufi poet whose inner detachment from the world enabled him to portray the corporeal manifestations of the archetypes. From a philosophical point of view, a noteworthy feature of his works is his command and masterly use of philosophical terminology. In his poems he repeatedly discussed the logical structure of the Peripatetics. His acute knowledge of Peripatetic philosophy is noticeable through his exposition of such concepts as substance and accidents, and necessity and contingency in their precise Peripatetic definitions.

N i V also paid close attention to Pythagorean philosophy and its symbolic significance. In his poems he refers often to the symbolic significance of numbers. For example concerning the annihilation of the world he says:

Five hundred and fifty is sufficient to be asleep, The day is long, hurry to the gathering.

He attached great importance to the numbers seven and twelve which are of special symbolic significance. Through these numbers, which are keys to the understanding of the inner harmony of various levels of existence, he sought to discover the inner relations between different creatures. He compares the seven parts of the body to seven caliphs and the seven tales of Isfandiyiir and his seven ordeals which have a cosmological significance.

Seven Caliphs are at one house, Seven tales are contained in one story.

Such attention to the symbolism of the number seven reaches its climax in the tale L&fip+k% (“Seven Bodies”).16 It is in this symbolic story that Nismi alludes to the number seven as the key to understanding the cosmos and reveals the relationship between the seven heavens, seven colors and seven climes in a lyrical and dramatic manner. This is similar to the IkhwEin al-SafEi, who, while paying attention to the Peripatetic view of natural philosophy, were faithful commentators of Pythagorean philosophy. While N i e i penetrated into the world of philosophy and theology in the tradition of Ibn S i a , he was particularly interested in the Pythagorean philosophy.

In addition to various philosophical traditions, N i w i mastered different branches of the sciences: in particular astronomy, astrology, natural history, and anatomy. It can be said that without familiarity with the fundamentals of these sciences, understanding poetry in its entirety would not be possible.

l6 This work has also been called &hram-n#niah and Hatigun6Bdwhich contains over 5000 verses of poetry and was dedicated to‘Ala’ al-Din Kirap Arsalan. the governor of Maraqha. Nigmi, using the traditional symbolism of the beloved, the number seven and astronomical symbolism. offers a symbolic allegorical presentation of the legendary love affairs of Bahram Gtir, one of the Sassanid kings.

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Niguds use of traditional astronomy in describing the temperaments in the M&m d-asrrii or his references to the principles of astronomy throughout his Bms are distinctive among the poets of the Persian language.

Although Ni@rni mastered the intellectual sciences, every fiber of his be- ing was yearning towards the abode of love. He had a profound understanding of love from its human and external stages to Divine Love. While his works reveal facets of human love and the heroines in his poems possess in particu- lar an astonishing this worldly reality, he does not see love only in its limited sense. Love for him is love in humility and eventually annihilation in Divine Love. In Nigimi's view, Majniin seeks eternal beauty and Laili is that beauty which symbolizes the Divine Mysteries. She is the light which illuminates the night, the light whose corporeal manifestation is LA-. In his love stones such as K%lusraw wa Shihh and h i 7 waMahUn, one sees some of the profoundest masterpieces of Persian literature regarding the philosophy of love. Ni@rni has created a bridge between the world of the spirit and beautiful forms of the world below, the world which is itself a ladder to the other world.

In addition to his mastery of gnosis, philosophy and the other sciences, N@mi was well acquainted with the history of philosophy. He benefitted from the rich heritage of such Muslim scholars as Aba Sulaym3.n Sijistm, Abdl-Hasan (Amari, Ibn Hindii and Ibn Fatak who had compiled the history and sayings of the ancient philosophers. His familiarity with the history of philosophy is apparent in a number of his works such as the hkanndar-namah (l%ea&ie Dedcated to A/euandee//. l7 His description of the sages of ancient Greece and India is an indication of the extent of his mastery of the history of ideas. For example, in his hkandar-ngmah, in describing creation he says in the name of Hermes:

I wonder of this dome, the glory of the sea, It is in suspense like smoke on top of a mountain. Above this fearsome smoke, There is a luminous light, pure and clear. Before light, this dark cloud is a veil, Openings have become far from openings. Wherever the smoky cloud was pierced, A beam of light burst through. The heavens from the moon to the sun, Are but rays of light that shine through the veil. The coming to be of creation, I know truly, How the world was created in the beginning, I know not.

" hkandar-n&inah is the last work of N i m which has a distinct order in which every poem has a prefu.

THE WORLD VIEW OF NIZAMT 199

At the same time as Ni@mi, Suhrawardi also regarded the stars not as luminous bodies in the sky, but as the glowing of the luminous world through the openings which exist in the sky. Suhrawardi also attributed this view to the illuminationists of ancient Persia and Hermes and the Greek Hermeticist.’* Ni@mi’s poetic description of Hennes’ view is a repetition of Suhrawardi’s view and indicates a common source. In the /Skannda2ma4 in a section en- titled ”The End of Aristotle’ coming at the time of his death he writes:

He cleansed the oil from the oil lantern, And ordered an apple to be brought from the garden. The player put the apple in his hand, With one smell he gave up his ghost, the patient one.

According to this story, Aristotle in the last hours of his life answered the questions of his students as he held an apple in his hand. His conversations are gathered in a treatise entitled The 7heahse of the Apples /fit% a/tuh?a/. The Persian translator of this NeePlatonic treatise, BabB Afdal m s h h i , also referred to the same story. These two cases are clear indications of Ni-i’s familiarity with the history of philosophy not only as a historian but also as a &~h-rn who was well aware of the phil.osophies of his predecessors and used their ideas for his own philosophical ends.

In this regard, the Lkandar-nXmah, if interpreted at its profoundest level, concerns the inner journey of man through different worlds and his becoming embellished by gaining perennial wisdom which is represented by various bahb~s from different civilizations. Iskandar (Alexander), according to this interpretation, is the same as the heart-intellect of man and the center of knowledge which, once exposed to the teaching of the sages, attains perennial wisdom. Finally, he drinks from the fountain of life and becomes a prophet since whenever the intellect is able to free itself from the bondage of the world, it becomes illuminated and the means for union of man with the world of the Spirit. It then becomes like an inner prophet which c o n f i i s within the being of man the revelations brought by the prophets.

Ni-i’s interest in the perennial wisdom, a single truth manifested in various forms in different historical periods and within various historical tra- ditions, makes him study and respect other religions. He makes frequent ref- erences to other religions beside Islam which is an indication of his knowledge of the history of other religions and his respect for them. In some instances he addresses a Muslim, a Zoroastrian, and a Christian the same way and warns them of their deeds.

I* See S.H. Nasr, Three Itluhm &ges (Delmar. [N.Y.]: Caravan Book. 1975) 69.

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Once his vision benefitted from Divine Grace, He came to know himself and thus to know God. Oh thou who art neither a Muslim nor a Zoroastrian, Thou art a water spring without a drop of cloud.

N@mi was not a philosopher like Fiiriibi, Ibn S i a , and Suhrawardi, or an expositor of theoretical Sufism like Ibn (Arabi, and (Abd al-RazzBq K i i s h ~ . However, he should be regarded as a philosopher and a gnostic who mastered various fields of Islamic thought which he synthesized in a way that brings to mind the tradition of the &5i%z~5 who were to come after him such as Qutb al-Din Shiriizi and B b a Afdd Kashh , who, while being masters of various schools of knowledge, attempted to synthesize different traditions of philoso- phy, gnosis, and theology.

Nigmi , besides being one of the greatest poets of the Persian language, is an interpreter of the spiritual world. This great thinker was a unique artist who, to a large extent, provided the formal structure for the Mat3nawi- of Riimi. Furthermore, N- himself succeeded at the same time in reflecting in the minor of Persian poetry the highest gnostic and philosophical truths and to make manifest the mysteries of the hidden world in the dress of the world of manifestation in the form of poems of great beauty.

George Washin@on Universifi Washin@on, D C

M q Washinflon Colege Fredoicksburg l5kginia

SEWED HOSEIN NASR

TRANSLATED BY MEHDI AMINRAZAWI