''Gulshan-i Raz'' (also spelled ''Gulshan-e Raz'' and ''Golshan-e Raz''; (, "Rose Garden of Secrets") is a collection of poems written in the 14th century by
Sheikh Mahmoud Shabestari. It is considered to be one of the greatest classical
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 ...
works of the Islamic mystical tradition known in the west as Sufism. The poems are mostly based on
Irfan
In Islam, irfan (Arabic/ Persian/Urdu: ; ), literally 'knowledge, awareness, wisdom', is a concept in Islamic mysticism akin to gnosis, or spiritual knowledge.
Sunni mysticism
According to the founder of the Qadiriyya Sufi order, Abdul ...
,
Islam
Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
,
Sufism
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 ...
and sciences dependent on them.
The book was written about 1311 in rhyming couplets. It was written in response to seventeen queries concerning Sufi
metaphysics
Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that examines the basic structure of reality. It is traditionally seen as the study of mind-independent features of the world, but some theorists view it as an inquiry into the conceptual framework of ...
posed to "the Sufi literati of Tabriz" by Rukh Al Din Amir Husayn Harawi (d. 1318). It was also the main reference used by
François Bernier
François Bernier (25 September 162022 September 1688) was a French physician and traveller. He was born in Joué-Etiau in Anjou. He stayed (14 October 165820 February 1670) for around 12 years in India.
His 1684 publication "Nouv ...
when explaining Sufism to his European friends (in: ''Lettre sur le Quietisme des Indes''; 1688). In English the book's title is variously given as "Garden of Secrets," "The Garden of Mystery," "The Mystic Rose Garden," or "The Secret Rose Garden."
Sufi poet Sheikh Alvān of Shiraz translated Gulshan-i Raz into Azeri Turkish verse.
This is the opening verse of Gulshan-i Raz:
به نام آنکه جان را فکرت آموخت / چراغ دل به نور جان برافروخت
In the name of Him who taught the soul to think,
and kindled the heart's lamp with the light of soul
English editions
* The Secret Rose Garden; Translated by Edward Henry Whinfield; 1920, England.
See also
* ''
Gulshan-i 'Ishq
The ''Gulshan-i 'Ishq'' ("The Rose Garden of Love") is a romantic poem written in 1657 by the Indian Sufi poet Nusrati. Written in the Deccani language, it combines literary and cultural traditions from India and Iran. It describes the journey o ...
''
References
External links
{{commonscat inline, Gulshan-i Raz
Golshan-i Raz in EnglishAt Amazon
Poetry collections
Sufi poetry
Ancient Persian mystical literature
Mystical books