Sa'id al-Din Farghani ( fa, سعیدالدین فرقانی; 1231 – 1300) was a
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
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 and scholar, who is known to have composed three works.
Farghani was born in 1231 in
Kashan
Kashan ( fa, ; Qashan; Cassan; also romanized as Kāshān) is a city in the northern part of Isfahan province, Iran. At the 2017 census, its population was 396,987 in 90,828 families.
Some etymologists argue that the city name comes from ...
, a town located in the
Farghana Valley
The Fergana Valley (; ; ) in Central Asia lies mainly in eastern Uzbekistan, but also extends into southern Kyrgyzstan and northern Tajikistan.
Divided into three republics of the former Soviet Union, the valley is ethnically diverse and in the ...
. Although the valley was nominally part of the
Mongol
The Mongols ( mn, Монголчууд, , , ; ; russian: Монголы) are an East Asian ethnic group native to Mongolia, Inner Mongolia in China and the Buryatia Republic of the Russian Federation. The Mongols are the principal member of ...
Chagatai Khanate
The Chagatai Khanate, or Chagatai Ulus ( xng, , translit=Čaɣatay-yin Ulus; mn, Цагаадайн улс, translit=Tsagaadain Uls; chg, , translit=Čağatāy Ulusi; fa, , translit=Xânât-e Joghatây) was a Mongol and later Turkicized kh ...
, it was governed by a representative of the
Mongol Empire
The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
from 1227 to 1238.
Farghani became acquainted with Sufism through Najib al-Din Buzghush (died 1279), a member of the ''
Suhrawardiyya
The Suhrawardiyya ( ar, سهروردية, fa, سهروردیه) is a Sufi order founded by Abu al-Najib Suhrawardi (died 1168). Lacking a centralised structure, it eventually divided into various branches. The order was especially prominent in I ...
'' and a student of
Shibab al-Din Suhrawardi (died 1191). Farghani later moved to the city of
Konya
Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it ...
in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
, where he studied under
Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi
Ṣadr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Yūnus Qūnawī lternatively, Qūnavī, Qūnyawī ( fa, صدر الدین قونوی; 1207–1274), was a PersianF. E. Peters, "The Monotheists", Published by Princeton University Press ...
(died 1274), the most prominent disciple of the
Andalusian scholar and mystic
Ibn Arabi
Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , 'Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influenti ...
(died 1240). During this period, Konya reportedly served as a gathering place for students who wanted to increase their knowledge in Sufism. Through Qunawi, Farghani became acquainted with Ibn Arabi's ''ʿulum al-haqiqa'' ("Mystical theosophy").
In 1247, Qunawi took his students (including Farghani) to
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, where he taught them the poem ''Nazm al-suluk'' ("Poem of the Sufi way"), also known as ''al-Taʾiyya al-kubra'' ("The greater ode with rhyming verse based upon the letter taʾ"), by the Egyptian Sufi poet
Ibn al-Farid
Ibn al-Farid or Ibn Farid; (, ''`Umar ibn `Alī ibn al-Fārid'') (22 March 11811234) was an Arab poet. His name is Arabic for "son of the obligator" (the one who divides the inheritance between the inheritors), as his father was well regarded fo ...
(died 1234).
Farghani died in August 1300 in the city of
Damascus
)), is an adjective which means "spacious".
, motto =
, image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg
, image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg
, seal_type = Seal
, map_caption =
, ...
.
References
Sources
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* {{Encyclopaedia Islamica, last=Sheikhsofla, first=Ensiyeh, year=2018, title=al-Farghānī, url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/encyclopaedia-islamica/al-farghani-COM_036108
1231 births
1300 deaths
13th-century Iranian people
14th-century Iranian people
Ilkhanate-period poets
People from the Sultanate of Rum