Product Description

Annemarie Schimmel's translation of Nasir-i Khusraw's qasidahs also included a detailed study of the poet and his work. A great thinker of the early Islamic world, whose writing inspired the intellectual development of the Ismaili tradition, Khusraw's poetry-lyrical and deeply human-has so far received surprisingly little attention from translators in the West. The poet's ideas, expressed with consummate artistry, his descriptions of the world around him, and his skill in the use of language and meter, are of great interest to the enthusiast for poetry as well as students of the medieval Islamic world and Ismaili culture.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1442553 in Books
• Published on: 2001-06-23
• Original language: Persian
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Review

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Persian

About the Author
Annemarie Schimmel is Professor Emeritus of Indo-Muslim Culture at Harvard University and a leading expert in Islamic mysticism.

Customer Reviews

Words Robed in Wisdom
This book opens the doors on the readers to know about a tenth century Persian poet, philosopher, mystic, thinker and traveller Nasir-i Khusraw (1004-1088). The book shows glimpses of some qualities this individual had in his extra-ordinary life and takes them through the evolution of the philosophical and poetic aspects of his thoughts where words should be robed in wisdom to be weighed for the many layers and depths of meaning it can offer.

The verses selected for this publication underline that Khusraw’s poetry is about wisdom and reason and its supremacy over the soul. What makes his poetry interesting is the connections established, parallels made and analogies drawn about the world, and the ever-changing nature of human life. Schimmel offers selected verses to depict Khusraw’s treatment of different phases of the seasons of the year, the long winter’s agonies and the joys brought by the heralding of spring, of the different stages in one’s life- youth and old age.

Schimmel’s lifelong study of oriental languages and thought allows her to divulge on issues such as Khusraw’s status as a poet and an analysis of the canvass where ideas were developed, his poetic content and contribution to discuss what qualities made Khusraw’s qaseedah [eulogy] different? Whether to any extent, the great Persian poet had any influence of his Arab contemporary Al-Maari. She observes that distinct for his expressions Khusraw, sets his own trends for the Persian poetic tradition.