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 ...

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

* * * * * {{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