>KHUSHAL KHAN KHATTAK

*RUBA'IYAT OF DARA SHIKOH* Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Dara Shikoh (1615-1659) was the oldest son of Emperor Shah Jahan of Mughal India and was known to be a loving husband, a good son and loving father. He was a fine poet, his poems having the influence of Sufism to which he was dedicated. He used 'Qadiri' as his takhallus or pen-name. His Divan of ghazals, ruba'is and qasidas in Persian was not the only work he left us, his five prose works on Sufism and mysticism are popular in India even today. His Majma al-Bahrain or The Mingling of the Two Oceans is an explanation of the...

THE WISDOM OF IBN YAMIN SELECTED POEMS Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Amir Fakhr al-Din Mahmud, or Ibn Yamin (1286-1367), was born in Turkistan. His father was a poet who taught him the craft and left his son wealthy and the role of the court-poet in Khurasan. Ibn Yamin was taken captive when war broke out in 1342 and his complete Divan of poems was destroyed. He was a master of the form of the qi'ta. He is now as he was then, famous for his down-to-earth wisdom. Hafiz was probably influenced by his poems. During the last 25 years of his life he composed 5000 couplets on top of all he...

POETS OF THE NI'MATULLAH SUFI ORDER Translations & Introduction by Paul Smith Shah Ni'matullah (1330-1431) was the founder of an order of Sufis that is today one of the largest in Iran and around the world. As well as a Sufi Master he was a poet who inspired many Spiritual Masters and Sufi Poets over the following 500 years to follow his example. Contents: The Ni'matullah Sufi Order, Sufis & Dervishes: Their Art & Use of Poetry, Forms of Poetry used by the Ni'matullah Poets, Bibliography, Glossary. The Poets: Shah Ni'matullah, Bushaq, Kasim Anwar, Shah Da'i, Nur 'Ali Shah, Bibi Hayati, Rida...

MAKHFI: THE PRINCESS SUFI POET ZEB-UN-NISSA A Selection of Poems from her Divan Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Makhfi (1638-1702) pen-name meaning 'concealed', was Zeb-un-Nissa the beautiful and talented oldest daughter of the strict Muslim Emperor of India, Aurangzeb. She was imprisoned for 20 years for her Sufi views and conspiring with a brother against him. Her over 550 ghazals and ruba'is in Persian are deep, spiritual and at times truly heartbreaking. The correct forms and spiritual meaning are preserved in this large selection of her poetry. Selected Bibliography. 154 pages....

**ROBA'IYAT OF NESIMI** Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Nesimi (1369-1417) is one of the great spiritual poets of the late 14th and early 15th centuries and one of the masters in Turkish/Azerbaijani literary history. For Nesimi at the centre of Creation there was God, who bestowed His Light on man. Through sacrifice and self-perfection, man can become one with Him. His poems were considered heresy and he skinned alive as punishment. His tomb in Aleppo remains an important place of pilgrimage to this day. His Turkish roba'iyat consists of about 175 roba'is, 13 in Persian (most are...

RUBA'IYAT OF MAHSATI Translation, Introduction & Notes by Paul Smith We know little of Mahsati Ganjavi's life (1098-1185) except that she lived in Ganjeh when Sultan Sanjar reigned and as she was a poet at his court she would have known Anvari. She was a court, dervish and ribald poet. She knew Nizami (she is said to have been buried in his mausoleum) and Omar Khayyam... and like Omar composed only in the ruba'i form and must be considered not only a master of that form but also to have helped to revolutionize it. She was an influence on perhaps Iran's greatest female poet Jahan Khatun of...

* SHAH LATIF: SELECTED POEMS * Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Shah Abdul Latif (1689-1752) was a Sufi Master and is considered by many to be the greatest poet of the Sindhi language. His book of poetry is called the Risalo. His shrine is located in Bhit and attracts hundreds of pilgrims every day. He is the most famous Sindi poet and Sufi. He was not just adored for poetry, people from far and near respected and loved him as a Spiritual Master. He composed dohas (self-contained strict-rhyming couplets popular with poet-saints of India like Kabir, Surdas, Tukaram) and freed it from...

THE SEVEN GOLDEN ODES OF ARABIA The Mu'allaqat Translations, Introduction Paul Smith The Mu'allaqat is the title of a group of seven long Arabic odes or qasidas that have come down from the time before Islam. Each is considered the best work of these pre-Islamic poets. The name means 'The Suspended Qasidas' or 'The Hanging Poems', the traditional explanation being that these poems were hung on or in the Kaaba at Mecca. These famous ancient Arabic qasidas are formed of three parts: they start, with a nostalgic opening in which the poet reflects on what has passed, known as nasib. A common...

*RUBA'IYAT OF SHAH NI'TMATULLAH* Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Shah Ni'matullah Vali (1330-1431) was the founder of an order of Sufis that is today the largest in Iran. As well as a Sufi Master he was a poet who at times used 'Sayyid' as his takhallus or pen-name. He was influenced by Ibn 'Arabi and Hafiz. He came from Aleppo and after studies travelled in Egypt, Morocco, Mecca (where he met his Spiritual Master Abdullah Yafi'i). He built a monastery in Mahan near Kirman and lived there until his death. He composed many prose works on Sufism and his Divan contains over 13,000...