Mu'in al-Din Ali Husayni Sarabi Tabrizi, commonly known by his ''
laqab
Arabic language names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from the Arabic-speaking and also Muslim countries have not had given/ middle/family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout ...
'' (honorific title) of Qasim-i Anvar ( fa, قاسم انوار; 1356 – 1433) was a
Sufi
Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...
mystic, poet, and a leading ''
da'i
A da'i ( ar, داعي, dāʿī, inviter, caller, ) is generally someone who engages in Dawah, the act of inviting people to Islam.
See also
* Dawah
* Da'i al-Mutlaq, "the absolute (unrestricted) missionary" (Arabic: الداعي المطلق)
* ...
'' (preacher) of the
Safavid order
The Safavid order, also called the Safaviyya ( fa, صفویه), was a tariqa ( Sufi order) founded by the KurdishSarab in the
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
region, According to the historians H. Javadi and K. Burrill / ''
Encyclopædia Iranica
''Encyclopædia Iranica'' is a project whose goal is to create a comprehensive and authoritative English language encyclopedia about the history, culture, and civilization of Iranian peoples from prehistory to modern times.
Scope
The ''Encycl ...
'', Mu'in al-Din Ali was a native speaker of
Azeri Turkish
Azerbaijani () or Azeri (), also referred to as Azeri Turkic or Azeri Turkish, is a Turkic language from the Oghuz sub-branch spoken primarily by the Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan where the North Azerbaijan ...
, while the historians Siavash Lornejad and Ali Doostzadeh state that he was most likely a native speaker of Fahlavi. Mu'in al-Din Ali preferred to use Persian, which he was fluent in. He grew up in the neighbouring city of
Tabriz
Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...
, where he received his education. In his mid-teens, he became a disciple of
Sadr al-Din Musa
Sadr al-Din Musa(1305-1391)(صدر الدين) was the son and successor of Safi-ad-din Ardabili. His mother was Bibi Fatima, daughter of Zahed Gilani. Sadr al-Din directed the Safaviyya for 59 years. During this time, the activities of the Safaviy ...
(died 1391), who was the head of the
Safavid order
The Safavid order, also called the Safaviyya ( fa, صفویه), was a tariqa ( Sufi order) founded by the Kurdishlaqab
Arabic language names have historically been based on a long naming system. Many people from the Arabic-speaking and also Muslim countries have not had given/ middle/family names but rather a chain of names. This system remains in use throughout ...
'' (honorific title) Qasim-i Anvar ("Distributor of Lights") by Sadr al-Din Musa. Following his completion of his training at the city of
Ardabil
Ardabil (, fa, اردبیل, Ardabīl or ''Ardebīl'') is a city in northwestern Iran, and the capital of Ardabil Province. As of the 2022 census, Ardabil's population was 588,000. The dominant majority in the city are ethnic Iranian Azerbaija ...
, Qasim-i Anvar given the ''
khirqa
The khirqa is the initiatory cloak of the Sufi chain of spirituality, with which esoteric knowledge and barakah is passed from the Murshid or the Shaikh to the aspirant murid. The khirqa initiates an aspirant into the silsilah, the chain or lineage ...
'' by Sadr al-Din Musa. This cloak granted Qasim-i Anvar the right to convert others to his faith and offer spiritual teaching. Qasim-i Anvar later stayed in Gilan for some time as a
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
, and then went to
Khurasan
Greater Khorāsān,Dabeersiaghi, Commentary on Safarnâma-e Nâsir Khusraw, 6th Ed. Tehran, Zavvâr: 1375 (Solar Hijri Calendar) 235–236 or Khorāsān ( pal, Xwarāsān; fa, خراسان ), is a historical eastern region in the Iranian Plate ...
. He initially stayed at
Nishapur
Nishapur or officially Romanized as Neyshabur ( fa, ;Or also "نیشاپور" which is closer to its original and historic meaning though it is less commonly used by modern native Persian speakers. In Persian poetry, the name of this city is wr ...
, but was forced to move to
Herat
Herāt (; Persian: ) is an oasis city and the third-largest city of Afghanistan. In 2020, it had an estimated population of 574,276, and serves as the capital of Herat Province, situated south of the Paropamisus Mountains (''Selseleh-ye Safēd ...
due to facing hostility from the ''
ulama
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
'' (clergy). According to his own writings, Qasim-i Anvar had established himself at Herat by 1377/78, and would stay there until his banishment in 1426/27.
Following his banishment from Herat, Qasim-i Anvar went to the city of
Samarkand
fa, سمرقند
, native_name_lang =
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from the top:Registan square, Shah-i-Zinda necropolis, Bibi-Khanym Mosque, view inside Shah-i-Zinda, ...
, where he stayed at the court of Shahrukh's son,
Ulugh Beg
Mīrzā Muhammad Tāraghay bin Shāhrukh ( chg, میرزا محمد طارق بن شاہ رخ, fa, میرزا محمد تراغای بن شاہ رخ), better known as Ulugh Beg () (22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as ...
(died 1449). A few years later, Qasim-i Anvar went back to Khurasan, where he died at Kharjird in October/November 1433.
Works
Qasim-i Anvar composed several mystical treatises, ''
ghazals
The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...
mathnawi
Mathnawi ( ar, مثنوي ''mathnawī'') or masnavi ( fa, مثنوی) is a kind of poem written in rhyming couplets, or more specifically "a poem based on independent, internally rhyming lines". Most mathnawī poems follow a meter of eleven, or oc ...
s''. The vast majority of his poems were in Persian. Some of them were in Azeri Turkish and Gilaki. His poems in Azeri Turkish may have only been written during his stay in Khurasan, in order to promote the Safavid order, and due to both Turkic and Persian experiencing a "literary renaissance." However, it may also indicate the rise of bilingualism in Qasim-i Anvar's birth region, where Fahlavi and Turkic speakers started to get in touch with each other.