ФОРУМ МОЛОДЫХ УЧЕНЫХ 3(19)

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1 UDC Drozdov Vladimir A. Ph.D., Associate Professor Associate Professor at the Department of Iranian Philology, Faculty of Asian and African Studies St. Petersburg State University St. Petersburg, Russia AL-QUSHAYRI S EPISTLE ON SUFISM AND MEDIEVAL PERSIAN SUFI LITERATURE Annotation. For many centuries the epistle on Sufism by al-qushayri ( ) has been the most popular reference book on Sufi ideology. Al-Qushayri s epistle had a substantial impact not only on the formation of ideology of various Sufi schools but also on the development of Persian Sufi literature. Some of al- Qushayri s ideas and morality tales are found in the poems of the outstanding Persian Sufi poet Farid al-din Attar (died between 1220 and 1234). Despite the restrained scientific description of mystical theories, al-qushayri's stories have been represented in the imagery of Persian Sufi poetry and literature. Key words Sufism, Sufi literature, Persian literature, Islam, Muslim culture Abd al-karim ibn Hawazin Abu `l-qasim al-qushayri, an outstanding religious scholar and Sufi (c / ) who wrote numerous works, gained prominence mostly due to his reference book on Islamic mysticism Ar-Risala al- Qushayriyya fi Ilm at-tasawwuf ( Al-Qushayri s Epistle on Sufism ), compiled in 438/1046. It is known that the Islamic world has produced a number of major manuals on Sufism, such as at-ta arruf li Mazhab ahl al-tasawwuf ( Aspiration to Knowledge of Sufi Teaching ; known as The Doctrine of the Sufis in the English translation by A. J. Arberry) of the Hanafi scholar Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-kalabazi (died c. 380/990), al-luma fi t-tasawwuf ( The Book of Light Flashes on Sufism ) of the Sufi author Abu Nasr Abdallah ibn Ali al- Sarraj (died c. 378/988), Qut al-qulub ( Food of Hearts ) of the Sunni lawyer

2 and Sufi author Abu Talib Muhammad al-makki (died c. 386/996), Awarif-ul- Maarif ( Knowledge of the Wisdom ) of the Sufi sheikh, theologian of the Shafi i school and founder of the Sufi Order of Suhrawardiyya Shihab al-din Abu Hafs Umar Suhrawardi (c / ), and Kashf-ul-Mahjub ( The Revelation of the Veiled ), the first treatise on Sufism written in Persian language by the Persian Sufi Hanafi scholar Abu Hasan Ali ibn Usman al-hajveri al- Jullabi (died c / ). However, it was Al-Qushayri s epistle that has been recognized the most prominent and famous work on Sufism in Arabic language. Ever since Sufism became perceived as a branch of Islamic studies, this medium-length scholarly writing has been considered the most sacred and popular book on this topic in Arabic language and the main subject of study for all later scholars. Al-Qushayri was not only a Sufi but first of all a follower of the traditional Sufi order and a firm supporter of the Shafi i school of Islamic Law, who sought to eliminate indecent traits from Sufism and make it acceptable for Sunni Islam. Al-Qushayri s epistle consists of two introductory sections and 54 chapters. The introductory part considers the views of the Sufis on monotheism (Tawhid); the first chapter contains the biographies and sayings of 83 distinguished persons in Sufism, the second chapter gives the analysis of key Sufi concepts and categories (48 terms are explained in 27 paragraphs), and the following 52 chapters consistently describe the mystic stations (maqamat) and conditions (ahwal). This epistle was written by an austere traditionalist in a rather dry language, and its composition barely reveals any powerful emotional states peculiar for all Persian Sufi poetry which is inseparable from exhilarating mysticism of love. Not surprisingly, such an epistle, however popular among the Sufis, did not have much impact on Persian Sufi literature, especially mimetic poetry. This makes it all the more interesting to trace the influence of this classic Sufi manual on Persian Sufi poets in terms of borrowing stories and their creative reinvention.

3 For example, the 48th chapter of Al-Qushayri s epistle, entitled Mahabba ( Love ), contains a story about the ancient king Sulaiman, a character mentioned in the Quran, and two swallows. In the Islamic tradition, Sulaiman is well known for his marvelous power over winds, animals, birds, Shaitans, Jinns and men which he received from God (Quran, Sura 38, Ayats 34 (35)-38 (39), Sura 27, Ayats 15 (15)-17 (17)). According to the Quran (Sura 27, Ayat 16 (16)), Sulaiman was taught the language of birds. Below is a summary of the story in Al- Qushayri s epistle. A male swallow (huttaf) was trying to seduce a female swallow (huttafa) in the dome of the palace of Sulaiman. She refused his courtship, and he said to her, Why do you push me down? I will knock the dome above Sulaiman s palace over if you wish! After that, Sulaiman summoned the male swallow and asked him, What made you say that? He answered, O Prophet of Allah, lovers should not be punished for what they say! [Sulaiman] replied, It is true. A similar story is found in the poem Musibat-Name ( The Book of Suffering ) by the famous Persian Sufi poet Farid al-din Attar (died c. 617/1220 or 632/1234), except that the characters in Attar s story are finches (sa we) instead of swallows. While moving with the army, Sulaiman saw a couple of finches engaged in a romantic conversation; they were flirting and starting a small talk by turns. The infatuated finch said [to his beloved], Your beauty is equal to mine, you are my [other] half; I will carefully do everything you need, I will follow your orders with all my heart. If you tell me to knock the dome above the palace of the king Sulaiman down, I will. When Sulaiman entered his palace, he ordered to bring this finch to him. The finch came and began shaking like a leaf. Then Sulaiman said, Do not brag this much, you boast more than ever Mount Qaf did. You have no strength to break a seed, how can you kick this dome down? When hearing the words of Sulaiman, he answered: O the one who elevates our world and religion! The book of the glory of lovers always carries the seal of yutwa wa-la yuhka (to

4 be folded up [in a tube] and not related [further]), and that is it. Lovers who show the greatest zeal immerse their souls in the [sea] of amazement (Hairat). Because of [their] pure souls they soared and began to ask for whatever they needed. ( Musibat-Name, 37th speech, 5th story). The 49th chapter Shouk ( An Eager Desire ) of Al-Qushayri s epistle provides a story about Shu ayb (the biblical Jethro), a character in the Quran and the Prophet, whose name is found in the Quran in Suras 7, Ayats 83(85)-91(93), 11, Ayats 85 (84)-98 (95), 26, Ayats 176 (176)-191 (191), 29, Ayats 35(36)-36 (37), and others. This character is scarcely present in Muslim literature, so it is worth comparing the story with this hero written by Al-Qushayri and its later evolution in the poem Ilahi-Name ( The Divine Book ) by Farid al-din Attar. Al-Qushayri, ar-risala, bab al-shawq (a chapter on the eager desire): Shu ayb cried until he was blind with tears. Then Allah the Great and Almighty restored his sight. Then he started crying again until he was blind. Then Allah the Great and Almighty restored his sight. After that he started crying again until he was blind. Then Allah the Almighty told him, If this weeping is due to paradise, I will let you into it, and if it comes from fear of hellfire, I will spare you from it. He replied, No, this comes from an eager desire to see You. Then Allah the Great and Almighty told him, For that, you will serve my prophet (i.e. Muhammad note by V.D.) and my interlocutor (i.e. Musa; Kalim Allah, Allah s interlocutor, is the epithet of Musa note by V. D.) for ten years. Attar, Ilahi-Name, 20th speech, 9th story: Shu ayb had been crying for ten years because of the eager desire to see God, and then became blind. God restored his sight, but Shu ayb spent the next ten years crying and became blind again. Once again, God restored his sight, but he had been crying the next ten years as well and lost his eyesight. When he was crying, God asked to tell him, If you are weeping out of fear of hell, I will save you from hell, and if you are weeping out of desire for paradise, I will give you paradise with Gurias and Ridwan (the Chief angel guarding over paradise note

5 by V. D.). And Shu ayb answered, Your decision is a divine wisdom. I am weeping out of the eager desire to see You; I need neither light nor the infernal fire, I recall no paradise and wail not because of hell. I need to remain close to you forever. The Divine voice said to him, If you are weeping out of the eager desire to see Us, you shall cry and weep joyfully, for this task is very hard. And Shu ayb replied, Therefore, do not restore my sight, for as long as I cannot see You, I do not need to look at myself (i.e. eyesight has no significance to me note by V. D.). If your vision is not clear enough for [seeing] the Almighty, then you shall cry a lot, for you have a lifelong pursuit. As can be seen, in Al-Qushayri s story God only says that, since Shu ayb passionately desires to see him, he will allow him to serve Muhammad and Musa for ten years. In contrast, Attar depicts suffering and weeping of Shu ayb as an incurable disease, which implies that an eager desire to see God is connected with suffering. Another difference is that in Attar s version Shu ayb does not want to have his eyesight restored until he is able to see God. The examples given could be multiplied, and they demonstrate that the scholarly works discussing the theoretical issues of Islamic mysticism influenced Persian Sufi poets and resonated with their hearts. References 1. Al-Qushayri Abd al-karim ibn Hawazin Abu al-qasim. Al-risala alqushayriyya fi ilm al-tasawwuf (al-qushayri s epistle on Sufism). Cairo, c. 1318/ Farid al-din Attar. Ilahi-Name. Herausgegeben von Hellmut Ritter. Istanbul, Attar Farid al-din Musibat-Name. The Book of Suffering. Edited by Noorani Vesal. Tehran, 1338/1959.