Sa'di and the Persian Poetic Tradition
The Persian and Arabic poetic traditions meet at various, fruitful intersections. Though separate languages with distinct linguistic trajectories, among their most prominent commonalities may be the classical qasideh form. Sa'di, otherwise known as Abū Muhammad Musleh-od-Dīn Ibn Abdallāh Shīrāzī ( ابومحمد مصلحالدین بن عبدالله شیرازی), occupies a particularly curious position in the qasideh’s development in Persian. He is, apparently, known for his vacillation between lettered genres: at once, he was a poet and an author of prose; one known to celebrate the Prophet Muhammad, and simultaneously, speak to the merits of wine consumption; and a writer uniquely capable of shifting between laudatory, humorous, and satirical tones. This weekend, I read Sa’di’s thirteenth century poem, Bedahad būse bar na’āl-e Mohammad, in hopes of understanding his contributions to the Persian language’s development and his relationship with Islam. Further, I hoped to understand the extent to which his qasideh appeared familiar, as I currently study the Arabic rendition thereof.
In Arabic poetics, the coming of the Prophet Muhammad seemed to all but cease previously celebrated written production. It was said that, if Arabia’s famous writers now had access to the Qu’ran, there was no need to write poetry, for it could not compare in its beauty to scripture. The story goes that the venerated Kaaba once sat adorned with the Mu’allaqat (in Arabic, the hanging odes); after the arrival of Islam, it became a monotheistic religious structure. I was thus interested in understanding how Persian poets wrote after the pre-Islamic age: I figured such an exploration might extend my understanding of our shared literary histories and linguistic customs. Somewhat to my surprise, Sa’di’s poetry appeared meaningfully different. His poem in translation seemed to shift the qasideh’s quintessentially celebratory tone toward praise for the Prophet.
Sa’di opens his poem, “The vastness and perfection of the skies are incomparable / next to the perfected vastness of Mohammad.” This line struck me, as it quite openly disavows previous qasideh aesthetics. Sa’di appears to agree with the Arabic language’s development in this regard: we no longer must (exclusively) praise the natural landscapes around us, he says — rather, the arrival of Islam via its messenger discounts that which we once thought uniquely beautiful. He recognizes, still, that the skies are “vast” and “perfect”. Nonetheless, they do not stand in comparison to the Prophet. Curiously, Sa’di also invokes the names of previous prophets: “Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus / Appear together within the shade of Mohammad”.
Although Arabic poetry tended away from praising the Prophet at all, and instead focused more strongly on the veneration of God, it would have been particularly uncommon to reference other prophets after Mohammad’s revelations. Sa’di seems intentional in his connection between Islam and the figures that predated its consolidation. The poet, then, figures his own, Persian customs in brief departure from the qasideh's manifestations in Arabic. Sa’di goes further, referencing my namesake, Bilal: “Out of the abundance of beauties found within the Garden of Paradise / Chosen from the all is Bilal of Muhammad”. Bilal, to Sa’di, belongs to Muhammad, and thus is worth mentioning. Such a subordination of other figures and forms to Muhammad's guise — whether previous poetic praise, earlier prophets, or the Prophet’s companion — appears natural and welcomed from Sa’di’s perspective. He closes the poem, “Sa’di, if you are seeking love and youth / Love of Muhammad and his family shall suffice you”, likewise placing himself within the shadow of the Prophet’s inevitable blessings. Particularly notable is his direct invocation of his name in the poem, a feature unfamiliar to early Arabic poetry.
Sa’di’s poetry greatly interested me for its intersections and contradictions with the Arabic usage of the qasideh form. His words echo the development of Arabic poetry, in that he shifts his focus of praise to the Prophet and Islam rather than nature per se. Simultaneously, he grows somewhat distant from the Arabic tradition. This exploration contributed to my Arabic literary studies, while also enhancing my grasp on Islam's role in its various cultural and written manifestations. Although only an initial delve, I feel increasingly familiarized with one of Persian poetry's approaches to the qasideh and religion. In the future, I hope to better understand how poetry can reveal the commonalities and differences between the Arabic and Persian languages. One departure point might be a close, comparative reading of pre- and “post-” Islamic Arabic and Persian poems. Nonetheless, I am delighted by the opportunity to engage Persian poetry in its own rite, allowing it to rightfully exist on its own accord, too. I have attached a manifestation of this poem in Iranian music, as I found it helpful to hear the words read and adapted as well.
Sacred Persian Verse - Sa’di - The Sandals of Muhammad, n.d. https://www.sacredpersianverse.com/poems-poets/sadi-the-sandals-of-muhammad.
~Bilal
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Persian text:
ماه فروماند از جمال محمد
سرو نباشد به اعتدال محمد
قدر فلک را کمال و منزلتی نیست
در نظر قدر با کمال محمد
وعدهٔ دیدار هر کسی به قیامت
لیلهٔ اسری شب وصال محمد
آدم و نوح و خلیل و موسی و عیسی
آمده مجموع در ظلال محمد
عرصهٔ گیتی مجال همت او نیست
روز قیامت نگر مجال محمد
وآنهمه پیرایه بسته جنت فردوس
بو که قبولش کند بلال محمد
همچو زمین خواهد آسمان که بیفتد
تا بدهد بوسه بر نعال محمد
شمس و قمر در زمین حشر نتابد
نور نتابد مگر جمال محمد
شاید اگر آفتاب و ماه نتابند
پیش دو ابروی چون هلال محمد
چشم مرا تا به خواب دید جمالش
خواب نمیگیرد از خیال محمد
سعدی اگر عاشقی کنی و جوانی
عشق محمد بس است و آل محمد
English translation:
The moon remained hidden from the beauty of Mohammad / No cypress exists with the modesty of Mohammad The vastness and perfection of the skies are incomparable / Next to the perfected vastness of Mohammad A promised meeting for all on the Last Day / Laylat-ul-'israa, the Night of Union for Mohammad Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses and Jesus / Appear together within the shade of Mohammad It is not the courtyard of this world in which he intends to parade / On the Last Day, watch and see his procession Out of the abundance of beauties found within the Garden of Paradise / Chosen from the all is Bilal of Muhammad Like the ground, the sky desires to fall / In order for it to kiss the sandals of Muhammad The Sun and the Moon do not shine disparately on earth / No light shines except the beauty of Muhammad Perhaps if the sun and the moon seize their light / With the two brows of Muhammad you'll find a shining crescent My eyes have seen his beauty in a dream / No sleep shall overtake these eyes now upon a vision of Muhammad Sa'di, if you are seeking love and youth / Love of Muhammad and his family shall suffice you.
