Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad (meaning: the journey of the servants in return to origin) is a poetry book of

Sanai Hakim Abul-Majd Majdūd ibn Ādam Sanā'ī Ghaznavi ( fa, ), more commonly known as Sanai, was a Persian poet from Ghazni who lived his life in the Ghaznavid Empire which is now located in Afghanistan. He was born in 1080 and died between 1 ...

in form of

Masnavi The ''Masnavi'', or ''Masnavi-ye-Ma'navi'' ( fa, مثنوی معنوی), also written ''Mathnawi'', or ''Mathnavi'', is an extensive poem written in Persian by Jalal al-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi. The ''Masnavi'' is one of the mos ...

which moral issues are discussed. Its release date back to year 1131 AD (525 AH). In this book, Sanai discusses the creation of man and psyches and wisdoms through allegory. The

of ''Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad'' was composed in same rhythm of Hadiqat ul-Haqiqah and is about 800 verses long. Sanai composed ''Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad'' in

Sarakhs Sarakhs ( fa, سرخس, Saraxs, also Romanized as Serakhs) is a city in Sarakhs County, Razavi Khorasan Province, Iran. Sarakhs was once a stopping point along the Silk Road, and in its 11th century heyday had many libraries. Much of the original ...

, Razavi Khorasan Province,

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkm ...

and finished it with the praise of someone called ''Abu al-Mafakher Saif al-Din Muhammad ibn Mansour'', the judge of Sarakhs. ''Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad'' is in fact an allusion to the journey of the mystic in the authorities of annihilation. During it, the poet narrates the story of the passage of the soul, guiding by intellect through the levels and curtains of a

Neoplatonism Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonism, Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and Hellenistic religion, religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of ...

world. Similar to this work in European literature is

Dante's Dante's is a nightclub and live music venue in Portland, Oregon. The venue, located along Burnside Street, West Burnside Street and owned by Frank Faillace, hosts a variety of acts ranging from burlesque to rock music. Dante's is housed in an unr ...

Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature a ...

. In pre-Islamic literature, the text of

Book of Arda Viraf The ''Book of Arda Viraf'' (Middle Persian: ''Ardā Wirāz nāmag'', lit. 'Book of the Righteous Wirāz') is a Zoroastrian text written in Middle Persian. It contains about 8,800 words. It describes the dream-journey of a devout Zoroastrian (the W ...

depicts a enduring theme of spiritual journey to the other world. In the three transformations of Sanai's life, ''Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad'' is at the stage where Hakim Sanai is transferred from the pure poetic period of his youth to the

Sufism 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, ...

period. This work was amendmented and re-published by Mohammad Taghi Modarres Razavi under the name "Masnavis of Sanai" in 1969 with association of

University of Tehran Press University of Tehran Press (UTP) ( Persian: ) is a publishing house and a department of the University of Tehran in Iran founded in 1957. It is the largest university press in the Middle East. The press has published more than 5,000 titles i ...

Synopsis

''Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad'' is a

form poet book that can be studied without interruption, without divisions and chapters. This work basically has an introduction and three major sections: Introduction in the description of wind; The first section is about life or organ world or appearance of light in life in darkness of the material world; The second section is the journey in world of elements or soul and the third section is the stage of consciousness or

Reason Reason is the capacity of Consciousness, consciously applying logic by Logical consequence, drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activ ...

. In general, this orderly poet book is only a story in terms of storyline and other sub-stories have not interrupted it. ''Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad'', in the beginning has no acknowledgment and gratitude and such introductions. The narration begins with the descent of the human soul from the upper world to the lower world and explains the stages of the soul and the animal soul and their results. The seeker finds himself trapped in the clutches of impure tempers. On the one hand, the rational soul calls him up, and on the other hand, tempers pulls him to the ground. Unaware and confused, he seeks guidance until he is finally confronted with a "gentle and spiritual old man". The old man introduces himself as a messenger of the whole intellect who has descended to save him. They start the journey together and the old man sits on the seeker's shoulder. Then the travel steps are followed.

Sample poem

Some verses from this book translated to english as follows: ... ...

References

External links

SANĀʾI on iranicaonline

Sanai's books on Goodreads

Hakim Sanai Poems
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seir al-Ebad elal-Ma'ad Sanai works Ethics books

Synopsis

Sample poem

See also

References

External links