Nasir Khusraw: An Eleventh Century Fatimid Isma'ili Poet: "The Sovereign of Time"

Shish fasl, by Nasir-i Khusraw. Persian manuscript, 13th/19th century. This treatise presents Fatimid Ismaili doctrines in a succinct and compact manner suitable for teaching purposes.

Below is a poem by Nasir Khusraw (Nasir-i Khusraw), an eleventh century Isma'ili poet who is also one of the most famous poets who wrote in Persian. A convert to Isma'ili Shi'ism, Khusraw traveled from his native city of Balkh in modern day Afghanistan to the capital of the Fatimid Caliphate in Cairo in 1047 C.E. He studied there for three years with the Fatimid scholar and da'i (missionary) al-Mu'ayyad fi'l Din al-Shirazi and then returned to Balkh where he worked to spread Isma'ili Shi'ism. Hostile local Sunnis burned down his house and Khusraw was forced to relocate to the mountainous region of Badakhshan for safety. He spent the rest of his life writing philosophical tracts and poetry until his death around 1072 C.E.

The translation below is taken from a translated collection of Isma'ili Shi'i poetry, Shimmering Light: An Anthology of Ismaili Poetry, published by I.B. Tauris and the Institute of Ismaili Studies. The translator is Faquir Muhammad Hunzai, a research associate at the Institute and a former university lecturer in Arabic and Persian at a Pakistani university. He earned his Ph.D. from the Institute of Islamic Studies at McGill University.
________________________________

The Sovereign of Time

The soul of the universe
is the sovereign of time,
for God has raised up
the body through the soul.

When the auspicious Jupiter
saw his face, it became
the source of munificence,
the mine of good fortune.

As long as the clouds
of Nowruz wash all quarters
of the garden with
showers of illustrous pearls

and the nightingale laments
the rose at the break of dawn,
like a grieving soul
separated from its lover:

may the authority of
the sovereign of time prevail over space and time
and the denizens of the world!

Al-Khansa' : A Jahili & Muslim Elegiac Poetess

Tumadir bint 'Amr ibn al-Harth ibn al-Sharid al-Sulamiyah, better known as "al-Khansa' ," is one of the most famous pre-Islamic poets. Her life spanned both the Jahiliyyah and early Islamic periods. Al-Khansa' is most famous for her elegies written in mourning of her two brothers, Mu'awiya and Sakhr, who were killed in inter-tribal fighting and blood feuds. She converted to Islam and is said to have been a poetess favored by the Prophet Muhammad. Her four sons (Yazid, Mu'awiya, 'Amr, and 'Amrah) were killed at the Battle of Qadisiyya in November 636 and she wrote elegies to the as well.

Her name and legacy has been hijacked by transnational jihadi-takfiris who have named two magazines after her. The first, Al-Khansa', was published briefly by Al-Qa'ida in Saudi Arabia, the original Al-Qa'ida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) before it was dismantled by Saudi security and military forces between 2003 and 2006. Currently, the shadowy transnational jihadi-takfiri media outlet Al-Somood has published two issues of a new magazine dedicated to women in their war entitled Hafidat Al-Khansa' (Granddaughters of Al-Khansa').

Her collection (Diwan) is available for purchase at FADAK BOOKS (an online Arabic book retailer that I recommend).

Below is a brief selection from one of her elegies:

"The herald of the dead announced the loss
Of the most generous man, Sakhr;
And he cried it so loud
That far and wide he was heard.

It wounded me so painfully
That in my misery I looked like a drunken person.
Every morning when I awaken,
The first rays of the sun remind me of him
And every evening when the sun sets
I mourn for him”