Khvaju Kirmani Visited by the Angel of Inspiration in a Dream

Khwaju Kermani (; December 1290 – 1349) was a famous Persian poet and

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

mystic from

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

Life

He was born in

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

on 24 December 1290. His nickname Khwaju is a diminutive of the Persian word ''

Khwaja Khawaja () is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and Mizrahi Jews—particularly Kurdish Jews. The name or title ...

'' which he uses as his poetic penname. This title points to descent from a family of high social status. The nisba (name title) Morshedi display his association with the Persian Sufi master Shaykh Abu Eshaq Kazeruni, the founder of the Morshediyya order. Khwaju died around 1349 in Shiraz, Iran, and his tomb in

Shiraz Shiraz (; ) is the List of largest cities of Iran, fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars province, which has been historically known as Pars (Sasanian province), Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the popu ...

is a popular tourist attraction today. In his youth he visited

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. He also performed the

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

. One purpose of his travels is said to have been education and meeting with scholars of other lands. He composed one of his best known works, ''Homāy o Homāyun'', in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. Returning to Iranian lands in 1335, he strove to find a position as a court poet by dedicating poems to the rulers of his time, such as the

Ilkhanate The Ilkhanate or Il-khanate was a Mongol khanate founded in the southwestern territories of the Mongol Empire. It was ruled by the Il-Khans or Ilkhanids (), and known to the Mongols as ''Hülegü Ulus'' (). The Ilkhanid realm was officially known ...

rulers

Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan (June 2, 1305 – December 1, 1335; ), also spelled Abusaid Bahador Khan, Abu Sa'id Behauder (Modern , ''Abu sayid Baghatur Khan'', in modern Mongolian Cyrillic alphabet, Mongolian), was the ninth ruler (c. 1316 – 1335) ...

and Arpa Ke'un, the Mozaffarid Mubariz al-Din Muhammad, and Abu Ishaq Inju of the Inju dynasty.

Works

List of Poems

*''Divan'' () - a collection of his poems in the form of Ghazals, qasidas, strophic poems, qeṭʾas (occasional verse), and quatrains *''Homāy o Homāyun'' () The poem relates the adventures of the Persian prince Homāy, who falls in love with the Chinese princess, Homāyun. *''Gol o Nowruz'' () The poem tells another love story, this time vaguely situated in the time shortly before the advent of Islam. *''Rowżat-al-anwār'' () In twenty poetic discources, the poet deals with requirements for the mystical path and the ethics of kingship. *''Kamāl-nām'' () *''Gowhar-nāma'' () *''Sām-nāma'' () A heroic epic about the grandfather of Rustam

Translations

*''Homāy e Homāyun. Un romanzo d'amore e avventura dalla Persia medievale''. ed. and trans. by Nahid Norozi, preface by J.C. Buergel, Milano: Mimesis 2011

Notes

Sources

* Browne, E. G. (1920 928
''A Literary History of Persia'', vol. 3: The Tartar Dominion (1265–1502)
Cambridge. * * * Jan Rypka, ''History of Iranian Literature''. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K

External links

* http://www.shirazcity.org/shiraz/Shiraz%20Information/Sightseeing/Khajou%20e.htm {{DEFAULTSORT:Kermani, Khwaju 1290 births 1352 deaths Sufi poets 14th-century Persian-language poets People from Kerman province People from Kerman Injuid-period poets Poets from the Ilkhanate 14th-century Iranian writers