Muhammad bin Suleyman (, ; 1483–1556), better known by his
pen name
A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name.
A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...
Fuzuli (, ), was a 16th-century poet who composed works in his native
Azerbaijani, as well as
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 ...
and
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
. He is regarded as one of the greatest poets of
Turkic literature and a prominent figure in both
Azerbaijani and
Ottoman literature
Turkish literature () comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language. The Ottoman Turkish, Ottoman form of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, was highly influenced by Persian literature, Persi ...
. Fuzuli's work was widely known and admired throughout the Turkic cultural landscape from the 16th to the 19th centuries, with his fame reaching as far as
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
and
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
.
Born in 1483 in modern-day Iraq, Fuzuli studied literature, mathematics, astronomy, and languages as a child. During his lifetime, his homeland changed hands between the
Aq Qoyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...
,
Safavid
The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...
, and
Ottoman states. He composed poetry for officials in all three empires, writing his first known poem to
Shah Alvand Mirza of the Aq Qoyunlu. Fuzuli wrote most of his poetry during the Ottoman rule of Iraq, which is why he is also sometimes called an Ottoman poet. Throughout his life, he had several
patron
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
s but never found one that fully satisfied him—as he wrote—and his desire to join a royal court was never realised. Despite wishing to see places like
Tabriz
Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
in modern-day Iran,
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, and India, he never travelled outside Iraq. In 1556, Fuzuli died from the plague and was buried in
Karbala
Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...
.
Fuzuli is best known for his Azerbaijani works, especially his (a form of love poem) and his
lyric poem
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, th ...
, which is an interpretation of a Middle Eastern story of tragic love. He also wrote (collections of poems) in Azerbaijani, Persian, and possibly Arabic. His style has been described as being distinguished by his "intense expression of feelings" and his use of
mystic metaphors and symbols. His poetry shows influences from Persian poets like
Nizami,
Jami, and
Hafez
(), known by his pen name Hafez ( or 'the keeper'; 1325–1390) or Hafiz,
“Ḥāfeẓ” designates someoone who has learned the Qurʾān by heart" also known by his nickname Lisan al-Ghaib ('the tongue of the unseen'), was a Persian lyri ...
, as well as Azerbaijani poets like
Habibi and
Nasimi.
Fuzuli played a role in the development of the Azerbaijani language, with his writings being described as elevating Azerbaijani poetry and language to new heights. His work has been characterised as a reconciliation of Azerbaijani, Persian, and Arabic literary practices, as well as of
Shia
Shia Islam is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political successor (caliph) and as the spiritual leader of the Muslim community (imam). However, his right is understood ...
and
Sunni
Sunni Islam is the largest branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr () rightfully succeeded him as the caliph of the Mu ...
beliefs. He remains a popular poet in Azerbaijan, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq.
Life
Fuzuli, whose given name was ''
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
'' and whose father's name was ''Suleyman'', was born in 1483. He wrote under the name ''Fuzuli'', which can be translated either as "presumptuous, superfluous" or "exalted, superior, virtuous". In his Persian (a collection of poems), he wrote that he picked this name to stand out, knowing that no one else would choose such a pen name. Little is known about Fuzuli's youth. He was probably a
Shia Muslim
Shia Islam is the second-largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam. It holds that Muhammad in Islam, Muhammad designated Ali ibn Abi Talib () as both his political Succession to Muhammad, successor (caliph) and as the spiritual le ...
of
Azerbaijani Turkic origin, descending from the
Bayat tribe. Although some contemporary sources refer to him as (), suggesting he was born or raised in that city or its surroundings, other sources cite the nearby cities of
Najaf
Najaf is the capital city of the Najaf Governorate in central Iraq, about 160 km (99 mi) south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2024 is about 1.41 million people. It is widely considered amongst the holiest cities of Shia Islam an ...
,
Hilla, or
Karbala
Karbala is a major city in central Iraq. It is the capital of Karbala Governorate. With an estimated population of 691,100 people in 2024, Karbala is the second largest city in central Iraq, after Baghdad. The city is located about southwest ...
as his birthplace. His father was reported to have once been a
mufti
A mufti (; , ) is an Islamic jurist qualified to issue a nonbinding opinion ('' fatwa'') on a point of Islamic law (''sharia''). The act of issuing fatwas is called ''iftāʾ''. Muftis and their ''fatāwa'' have played an important role thro ...
(Islamic jurist) in Hilla, which suggests that Fuzuli likely came from an educated family. As a child, he studied literature, mathematics, astronomy, and languages, learning
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 ...
and
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
in addition to his native
Azerbaijani. He had an interest in poetry since his childhood, with his poems suggesting that his initial inspiration was drawn from the works of the late-15th-century Azerbaijani poet
Habibi.
Fuzuli lived in Iraq under the
Aq Qoyunlu
The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''Military Transition in Early Modern Asia, 1400–1750'', (Bloomsbury, 2014), 38; "Post-Mongol Persia and Iraq were ruled by two trib ...
confederation, which ruled the region between 1470 and the conquest of the region by
Shah Ismail I of the
Iranian
Iranian () may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Iran
** Iranian diaspora, Iranians living outside Iran
** Iranian architecture, architecture of Iran and parts of the rest of West Asia
** Iranian cuisine, cooking traditions and practic ...
Safavid dynasty
The Safavid dynasty (; , ) was one of Iran's most significant ruling dynasties reigning from Safavid Iran, 1501 to 1736. Their rule is often considered the beginning of History of Iran, modern Iranian history, as well as one of the gunpowder em ...
in 1508. By the time of the Safavid takeover, Fuzuli was already a popular young poet and had dedicated his first known poem, a Persian (eulogy), to
Shah Alvand Mirza of the Aq Qoyunlu. After 1514, the poet received
patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...
from Ibrahim Khan Mawsillu, the Safavid administrator of Baghdad, whom he met during Mawsillu's visit to Najaf and Karbala. He dedicated his first known Azerbaijani poem, a (a poem written in rhyming
couplet
In poetry, a couplet ( ) or distich ( ) is a pair of successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (closed) couplet, each of the two lines is end-stopped, implying that there ...
s) entitled (), to Ismail I and two and one (a poem with repeating verses) to Mawsillu. After Mawsillu was murdered by his own nephew in 1527, Fuzuli lost his patron and moved to either Hilla or Najaf, likely because he could not find another reliable patron among the Safavid nobles. During this time, he worked as a custodian of the
Imam Ali Shrine
The Sanctuary of Imām 'Alī (), also known as the Mosque of 'Alī (), located in Najaf, Iraq, is a mausoleum which Shia and Sunni Muslims believe contains the tomb of 'Alī ibn Abī Tālib, a cousin, son-in-law and companion of the Islamic Pro ...
in Najaf. Despite his employment, he did not have much money and relied on different patrons for support. His life between 1527 and 1534 is largely unknown.

When
Sultan Suleiman I of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
captured Baghdad in 1534, Fuzuli was already in his fifties. He presented the
sultan
Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...
with a long and also wrote to Ottoman officials in his entourage in order to earn their favour. One of these officials, , was appointed (head of the Ottoman Empire's imperial
chancery
Chancery may refer to:
Offices and administration
* Court of Chancery, the chief court of equity in England and Wales until 1873
** Equity (law), also called chancery, the body of jurisprudence originating in the Court of Chancery
** Courts of e ...
) while in Baghdad and arranged for the poet to receive a daily grant of nine from the excess of donations made to Shia shrines. When Fuzuli was unable to obtain the money from the officers of the
Ministry of Evkaf, who were responsible for distributing it, he expressed his disappointment in a poetic letter called (), written in Azerbaijani and addressed to Çelebi. In the letter, he declared that he had abandoned all hope, explaining that he had been greatly affected by the political and theological instability of his age. His stipend was restored following the letter. At the time, he was working as a candle-lighter at the
Bektashi
Bektashism (, ) is a tariqa, Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the wali, ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The ...
convent
A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community.
The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
in the
Imam Husayn Shrine in Karbala. He wrote in his poems that he had never found a patron who satisfied his needs and his desire to join a royal court had never been realised. Despite expressing a strong desire to see places like
Tabriz
Tabriz (; ) is a city in the Central District (Tabriz County), Central District of Tabriz County, in the East Azerbaijan province, East Azerbaijan province of northwestern Iran. It serves as capital of the province, the county, and the distric ...
in modern-day Iran,
Anatolia
Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...
, and
India
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...
, he never travelled outside modern-day Iraq. In 1556, he died from the plague, either in Baghdad or Karbala, and was buried in Karbala near the Imam Husayn Shrine, in a (a small tomb-
mausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type o ...
). According to Bektashi oral tradition, the was built by Abdü'l-mü'min Dede, the Bektashi (a spiritual guide) of Fuzuli, and the poet was buried next to him.
Poetry
Fuzuli composed poetry and
prose
Prose is language that follows the natural flow or rhythm of speech, ordinary grammatical structures, or, in writing, typical conventions and formatting. Thus, prose ranges from informal speaking to formal academic writing. Prose differs most n ...
in Azerbaijani, Persian and Arabic. Fifteen of his works are extant. The ''
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 ''Encyc ...
'' distinguishes his work by "the way in which he integrates the mystic and the erotic, in the combination of the conventionality of his topics with the sincerity of his style, and in his intense expression of feelings of passionate love, of pity for the unfortunate, and of patience in the face of adversity". His frequent use of love themes in his poetry has earned him the nickname ''poet of love'' by scholars. Abdülkadir Karahan, a scholar of medieval Turkic literature, notes that what distinguished Fuzuli was his "sincerity, enthusiasm, simplicity, sensitivity, and power of expression". Alireza Asgharzadeh, an academic studying Iranian and Azerbaijani culture, describes Fuzuli's poetry as having "manifested the spirit of a profound humanism, reflecting the discontent of both the masses and the poet himself towards
totalitarianism
Totalitarianism is a political system and a form of government that prohibits opposition from political parties, disregards and outlaws the political claims of individual and group opposition to the state, and completely controls the public s ...
,
feudal lords
Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring societ ...
, and
establishment religion". His poems have also been described by the literary researcher Muhsin Macit as having a "multi-layered structure" because of his "skillful use of metaphors and mystic symbols". Macit has also stated that Fuzuli's poems in Azerbaijani "have a multi-faceted structure, which, combined with perfection of expression, gives them permanence". His works show influence from Persian poets like
Nizami,
Jami, and
Hafez
(), known by his pen name Hafez ( or 'the keeper'; 1325–1390) or Hafiz,
“Ḥāfeẓ” designates someoone who has learned the Qurʾān by heart" also known by his nickname Lisan al-Ghaib ('the tongue of the unseen'), was a Persian lyri ...
, as well as Azerbaijani poets like Habibi and
Nasimi.
Fuzuli is best known for his works in Azerbaijani, especially his (a form of love poem) and his (). Written in 1535 or 1536, the latter is a
lyric poem
Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person.
The term for both modern lyric poetry and modern song lyrics derives from a form of Ancient Greek literature, th ...
that interprets the
Middle East
The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.
The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...
ern story of the tragic romance between
Leylī and Macnūn. Fuzuli reveals in the work that he was prompted to write it upon the request of some Ottoman poets who had accompanied Sultan Suleiman during his invasion of Baghdad. Accepting the request as a challenge, he completed the work within a year. Before beginning the work, he studied Persian versions of the story, particularly drawing inspiration from the 12th-century poet Nizami's rendition. Despite this, Fuzuli made significant changes to the narrative. For instance, while Nizami's work concludes with Majnun's death, Fuzuli's version sees the two lovers reunited in heaven and their graves transformed into .
His interpretation of the story generated more interest than previous Arabic and Persian versions, which the
Turkish literature scholar İskender Pala attributes to the sincerity and lyricism of the poet's expression. The work has been described by the ''Encyclopædia Iranica'' as "the culmination of the Turk
c tradition in that it raised the personal and human love-tragedy to the plane of mystical longing and ethereal aspiration". Through his interpretation, the story of Leylī and Macnūn became widely known and Fuzuli's poem is considered one of the greatest works of
Turkic literature.
Other Azerbaijani works
Another well-known work by Fuzuli is the (a poem about a historic death) (), which is about the death of
Husayn ibn Ali
Husayn ibn Ali (; 11 January 626 – 10 October 680 Common Era, CE) was a social, political and religious leader in early medieval Arabia. The grandson of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and an Alids, Alid (the son of Ali ibn Abu Talib ibn Abd a ...
, the grandson of the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
, in the
Battle of Karbala
The Battle of Karbala () was fought on 10 October 680 (10 Muharram in the year 61 Hijri year, AH of the Islamic calendar) between the army of the second Umayyad Caliphate, Umayyad caliph Yazid I () and a small army led by Husayn ibn Ali, th ...
, which he fought in 680 CE against the second
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate or Umayyad Empire (, ; ) was the second caliphate established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad and was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. Uthman ibn Affan, the third of the Rashidun caliphs, was also a membe ...
Caliph
Yazid I
Yazid ibn Mu'awiya ibn Abi Sufyan (; 11 November 683), commonly known as Yazid I, was the second caliph of the Umayyad Caliphate, ruling from April 680 until his death in November 683. His appointment by his father Mu'awiya I () was the first ...
. In the introduction, the poet explains that while there were existing works about the battle in Arabic and Persian, there were none in a Turkic language, leaving the Turkic people deprived of this knowledge. Adapted from the 15th-century Persian poet
Husayn Kashifi
Kamāl al-Dīn Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī Kāshifī, best simply known as Husayn Kashifi, was a prolific Persian prose-stylist, a poet, a Quran exegete, a Sufi scholar, and an astronomer of the Timurid era. ''Kashifi'' was his pen name, whereas his s ...
's (), it is considered a masterpiece of the Turkic genre and is the most popular among contemporary works covering the Battle of Karbala. It was written before 1546, as library records show that the oldest available copy, the
Cairo
Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...
manuscript, dates back to that year.
Fuzuli was also the author of a
in Azerbaijani, which is his most extensive work in this language. It comprises around 300 , 40 , 42 (a form of
monorhyme Monorhyme is a passage, stanza, or entire poem in which all lines have the same end rhyme. The term "monorhyme" describes the use of one (mono) type of repetitious sound (rhyme). This is common in Arabic, Persian, Latin and Welsh work, such as '' Th ...
poetry), several dozen (four-line poems), and more. In the preface of his , he emphasises the importance of science to poetry, writing that without it, poetry is fleeting and compares it to a wall without a base. Karahan regards several of the in the as masterpieces, including the
radif
In Persian poetry, Persian, Turkic, and Urdu poetry, Urdu ghazals, the ''radīf'' (from Arabic ; ; ; ; ; ) is the word which must end each line of the first couplet and the second line of all the following couplets. It is preceded by a ''qafiya'' ...
(couplet poems with same end-word) eulogies to Muhammad titled (), (), (), and (), as well as the composed by Fuzuli to commemorate Sultan Suleiman's capture of Baghdad. Nonetheless, the in the were more popular. Karahan states that Fuzuli "reached the peak of lyricism, mystical love and excitement in his ".
Other works by him in Azerbaijani include the allegorical-satirical poem , which is over 400 couplets long and imagines a dispute between wine and
hashish
Hashish (; ), usually abbreviated as hash, is a Compression (physics), compressed form of resin (trichomes) derived from the cannabis flowers. European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Lisbon, As a Psychoactive drug, psychoactive ...
over their respective merits; a translation of the Persian poet Jami's ''
Forty Hadith'' titled (); and an allegorical titled (), which depicts vineyard fruits engaging in self-praise and arguments. Additionally, he wrote a poetic letter to Sultan
Bayezid II
Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...
and four others to his Ottoman officials.
Persian works
Fuzuli also wrote several works in Persian, including a that comprises 410 , 46 , several dozen , over a hundred , and more. Karahan states that this collection of poems demonstrates that the poet's proficiency in Persian was equal to that of any classical Iranian poet. The collection opens with a prose preface, where the poet praises the merits of poetry, his enduring fascination with it, and its ability to turn pain into pleasure. In the , he shows influences from Persian poets like Hafez and Jami.
He also wrote (, also called , ), a seven-part consisting of 327 couplets, with each part focusing on a specific musical instrument. The work is notable for its
mystical
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight ...
elements. Another Persian by the poet is (, also called , ). It was inspired by the 15th-century Persian poet
Fattahi Nishapuri's () and is an important work in demonstrating Fuzuli's knowledge of both medicine and well-being of the body and the soul. It tells the story of a
dervish
Dervish, Darvesh, or Darwīsh (from ) in Islam can refer broadly to members of a Sufi fraternity (''tariqah''), or more narrowly to a religious mendicant, who chose or accepted material poverty. The latter usage is found particularly in Persi ...
losing and regaining his body's health physically because of its struggle with a disease and later psychologically because of its struggle with love. Fuzuli also has a prose work in Persian titled (), which describes a relationship between a father named Zāhid and his son Rind. Zāhid is trying to guide Rind to live according to ''
Sharia
Sharia, Sharī'ah, Shari'a, or Shariah () is a body of religious law that forms a part of the Islamic tradition based on Islamic holy books, scriptures of Islam, particularly the Quran, Qur'an and hadith. In Islamic terminology ''sharīʿah'' ...
'' (Islamic religious law) by encouraging him to attend the mosque, read the
Quran
The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...
, and avoid writing poetry. Rind initially resists his father's views, but ultimately chooses to accept them of his own accord.
Additionally, Fuzuli wrote (), a work consisting of 190 riddle poems, and (), a 134-couplet-long . The latter piece is in the form of a , a type of guidance letter for Ottoman sultans, that Fuzuli wrote for Sultan Suleiman. In the , Fuzuli offers guidance to the Sultan on how to govern and serve the people. According to the professor of Turkic literature Hamide Demirel, Fuzuli presents the people's viewpoint towards a tyrannical ruler, presenting his opinions "in what were for the age very advanced terms" on the appropriate relationships between the populace, the Sultan, and the state. Demirel states that the language used in the work is stronger than a typical and even possesses characteristics of a revolutionary manifesto. She concludes from Fuzuli's works that "he must have been no less high-minded as a man than he was great as a poet".
Arabic works
Arabic works by Fuzuli include eleven and a prose work titled (). The prose work analyses the origins and destiny of humanity according to the Islamic theological discipline . Fuzuli presents the perspectives of Greek and Muslim philosophers on these topics in the work. The only known manuscript copy is housed in the library of the
Asiatic Museum
The Asiatic Museum (Азиатский музей) in Saint Petersburg was one of the first museums of Asian art in Europe. Its existence spanned 112 years from 1818 to 1930 when it was incorporated into the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts of th ...
in
Saint Petersburg, Russia
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
. His Arabic are believed to be fragments from a larger . All of them discuss Muhammad and his cousin and son-in-law
Ali, who is also the first Shia
Imam
Imam (; , '; : , ') is an Islamic leadership position. For Sunni Islam, Sunni Muslims, Imam is most commonly used as the title of a prayer leader of a mosque. In this context, imams may lead Salah, Islamic prayers, serve as community leaders, ...
. Mazıoğlu states that Fuzuli's to Ali are indicative of his Shia devotion. The content and metaphors used in his Arabic are similar to those in his Azerbaijani and Persian ones. Mazıoğlu adds that these are "perfect in terms of expression and form", demonstrating his proficiency in the Arabic language.
Legacy and assessment
Described by Kathleen Burrill, a professor of Turkish studies, as the "foremost of all the Azeri
zerbaijanipoets", Fuzuli is also regarded as one of the greatest Turkic poets. He had a major influence on
Azerbaijani and
Ottoman literature
Turkish literature () comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Turkish language. The Ottoman Turkish, Ottoman form of Turkish, which forms the basis of much of the written corpus, was highly influenced by Persian literature, Persi ...
, and is sometimes considered an Ottoman poet because he composed most of his poetry after the Ottoman conquest of Iraq. His work also had an impact on literature written in
Chagatai, a Turkic literary language that was once widely spoken across
Central Asia
Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...
; later writers in Ottoman and Chagatai literature drew on the poet's work because of his ability to reinterpret traditional themes and ideas through his poetry, which brought the two literary traditions closer together. Bektashis consider Fuzuli to be one of the "
Seven Great Poets" who lived between 14th and 16th centuries and represent Bektashi literature. His work has been characterised as a successful reconciliation of Azerbaijani, Persian, and Arabic literary practices, as well as of Shia and Sunni beliefs. He had a son who was also a poet and adopted the name ''
Fazli'' in tribute to his father. Fazli is believed to have received his poetic education from Fuzuli, and wrote both religious and secular poems in Azerbaijani, Persian, and Arabic.
Widely recognised and admired throughout the Turkic cultural landscape from the 16th to the 19th centuries, Fuzuli's work was famous not only in the Ottoman Empire, Iran, and Central Asia, but also in the
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...
, as indicated by Indian library catalogues. The poems were transcribed by
scribe
A scribe is a person who serves as a professional copyist, especially one who made copies of manuscripts before the invention of Printing press, automatic printing.
The work of scribes can involve copying manuscripts and other texts as well as ...
s from various linguistic backgrounds using different writing systems over a vast area. Fuzuli's was particularly popular in India's Muslim-inhabited regions. As many
Muslim Indians migrated to places like
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, the work's popularity spread there as well. This has elevated Fuzuli's prominence among
South African Muslims
South Africa is a Christian majority nation with Islam being a minority religion, practised by roughly 2% of the total population. Islam in South Africa has grown in three different phases. The first phase brought the earliest Muslims as pa ...
, who view Leylī and Macnūn as the "Islamic equivalents of what
Romeo and Juliet
''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...
have stood for culturally, and literarily, in the West", as described by the literary scholar Salvador Faura. Some of Fuzuli's works have been translated into English. was translated by the
Turkologist Gunnar Jarring
Gunnar Valfrid Jarring (12 October 1907 – 29 May 2002) was a Swedish diplomat and Turkologist.
Early life
Jarring was born on 12 October 1907 in Brunnby, Malmöhus County, Sweden, the son of Gottfrid Jönsson, a farmer, and his wife Betty ( ...
in 1936 in
Lund
Lund (, ;["Lund"](_blank)
(US) and ) is a city in the provinces of Sweden, province of Scania, southern Swed ...
under the title ''The Contest of the Fruits'', and was translated by the writer-translator Sofi Huri in 1970 in London under the title ''Leyla and Mejnun''.
Fuzuli's poetry played an important role in the development of the Azerbaijani language, with the modern scholar Sakina Berengian referring to him as the "
Ferdowsi
Abu'l-Qâsem Ferdowsi Tusi (also Firdawsi, ; 940 – 1019/1025) was a Persians, Persian poet and the author of ''Shahnameh'' ("Book of Kings"), which is one of the world's longest epic poetry, epic poems created by a single poet, and the gre ...
and Hafez of Azeri literature", comparing him to two poets regarded as among the greatest in
Persian literature
Persian literature comprises oral compositions and written texts in the Persian language and is one of the world's oldest literatures. It spans over two-and-a-half millennia. Its sources have been within Greater Iran including present-day ...
, and stating that Azerbaijani poetry and language reached new heights in his writings. Karahan regarded Fuzuli as a "brilliant linguist" because of his ability to compose poetry in non-native languages without any errors in language or technique. While he drew inspiration from earlier Persian works for most of his Azerbaijani pieces, he was able to add a "particular stamp of his personality" on his interpretations of subjects, which made them popular.
The harmonious and expressive nature of Fuzuli's poems, informed by his musical knowledge, makes them suitable for setting to music. His continue to be enjoyed in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
, including by members of
high society
High society, sometimes simply Society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth, power, fame and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open ...
and performers in rural areas, where classical Turkish music merges with folk music. The first opera in the
Islamic world
The terms Islamic world and Muslim world commonly refer to the Islamic community, which is also known as the Ummah. This consists of all those who adhere to the religious beliefs, politics, and laws of Islam or to societies in which Islam is ...
, ''
Leyli and Majnun'', was composed by the Azerbaijani composer
Uzeyir Hajibeyov
Uzeyir bey Abdulhuseyn bey oghlu Hajibeyov (18 September 188523 November 1948) was an Azerbaijanis, Azerbaijani composer, musicologist and teacher. He is recognized as the father of Azerbaijani classical music. He composed the music of the Az� ...
in 1908 and based on Fuzuli's work of the same name. The poet's were also the subject of ''
Fuzuli Cantata'', a
cantata
A cantata (; ; literally "sung", past participle feminine singular of the Italian language, Italian verb ''cantare'', "to sing") is a vocal music, vocal Musical composition, composition with an musical instrument, instrumental accompaniment, ty ...
composed by another Azerbaijani composer,
Jahangir Jahangirov, in 1959.
Fuzuli remains a popular poet in countries such as
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...
, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. An
administrative region
Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...
and its
capital city
A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
in Azerbaijan are named after him. Additionally, a street in Tabriz is named after the poet. In October 1994, the
Turkish Authors' Association and
Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality (, İBB) is the government agency in charge of the municipal affairs of the Istanbul Province. It is one of the 30 metropolitan municipalities in Turkey.
History
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality ...
jointly organised an
academic conference
An academic conference or scientific conference (also congress, symposium, workshop, or meeting) is an Convention (meeting), event for researchers (not necessarily academics) to present and discuss their scholarly work. Together with academic jou ...
in
Istanbul
Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
about Fuzuli to honour the 500th anniversary of his birth. Another conference took place in
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. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...
in December of the same year.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fuzuli
1483 births
1556 deaths
16th-century Persian-language poets
16th-century poets from the Ottoman Empire
Arabic-language poets
Divan poets from the Ottoman Empire
Iraqi Shia Muslims
Male poets from the Ottoman Empire
People from the Bayat tribe