Jāmī, Mawlānā Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān d. 898/1492

Poet/Mystic/Scholar

The great Persian poet, mystic and scholar Mawlānā Nūr al-Dīn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī was born in the Jām district of Ḫurāsān in 817/1414 and educated in the literary, religious and Sufi tradition at Herat and Samarkand. Masterful in language and style and flexible with his depth of knowledge, Jāmī had a deep passion for mysticism and “scarcely wrote a line of poetry that does not reverberate with mystical overtones”. His works are diverse and numerous, among them an exegesis of the Qurān and a compendium of notices of over 500 Saints. However, it is for his poetical works that he is mostly known, namely, the three-part dīvān written from the time of his youth and the seven masnavīs collectively called Haft awrang (The Seven Thrones). The seven masnavīs are: Silsilat al-zahab (Chain of Gold), Salāmān u Absāl, Tuḥfat al-aḥrār (Gift of the Free), in imitation of Nizāmī’s Maḫzan al-asrār; Subḥat al-abrār (Rosary of the Pious) after Amīr Ḫusraw’s Nuh Sipihr, Yūsuf u Zulaykha; Laylī u Majnūn, and Ḫiradnāmah-i Iskandarī, both in imitation of Nizāmī.

Jāmī spent nearly all of his life living quietly in Herat amidst his studies, poetry, and spiritual exercises. Though honored by his sovereigns, he never felt compelled to lavish them with flattery or the dedication of his poems. Nonetheless he remained well respected throughout his lifetime and his aversion to dabble in the vicissitudes of politics allowed his life to pass in quietude. His ability in prose reached well beyond the praise of his fellow countrymen as he was invited to the Ottoman court at the request of the Sultan and regarded by Mughal ruler Bābur as “too exalted for there to be any need for praising him”. Jāmī died at Herat 898/1492 and was buried close by his spiritual director.