Islamic Mystical Poetry 5

The poetic tradition of Islam expresses an aspect very different from theological/legal understandings, and is centred on love, yearning and ecstatic union with the divine. This course will focus on four poets from the later classical period (14th C).
Resources for this course
Type | Resource | Description | People | Full details |
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Introduction |
An overview of the course, the period of the 14th century which it covers, and an introduction to the life and and work of Shabistarī (d.1390) |
Jane Clark | view |
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Week 1: Shabistarī's 'Gulshan-i-rāz |
Excerpts from Inquiry 2, on Reflection (tafakkur). |
Jane Clark | view |
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Week 2: Hajji Bayram and the early Ottoman tradition |
The early Ottoman tradition of Sufism constituted a remarkable flowering. In order to understand the poetic tradition of the Ottomans, especially... |
Stephen Hirtenstein | view |
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Week 2: five poems by Hajji Bayram |
These five poems by Hajji Bayram are well known and loved in Sufi circles in Turkey. They are the only ones considered to be authentically by... |
Stephen Hirtenstein | view |
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An Introduction to Amir Khusrau |
An introduction to the life and work of Amir Khusrau (1253-1325), who lived and worked under the Delhi Sultanate in Northern India. |
Jane Clark | view |
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Week 3: Selected Poems of Amir Khusrau |
A selection of seven poems taken from Paul Lozensky and Sunil Sharma, In the Bazaar of Love, Penguin, London, 2013.
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Jane Clark | view |
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Hafiz: life and times, an introduction |
This is a brief introduction to the life and times of Hafiz, considered by many to be the best lyric mystical poet of all time. We look at the... |
Stephen Hirtenstein | view |
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Hafiz poems 1 |
This selection of two poems by Hafiz contrasts the different translation styles that have been used by recent translators to render his poems into... |
Stephen Hirtenstein | view |