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The Mirror of Meanings By Jamali-yi Dihlavi
This book is the first English translation of The Mirror of Meanings, presented with a parallel critical text edition in Persian. Seyed-Gohrab’s thorough introduction and comprehensive glossary of technical Sufi terms and N. Pourjavadi's critical edition of the orginial Persian text together give ample background to and explanation of the figurative language of Sufism to make this work accessible to the non-specialist. Students of Persian literature, Sufism, and spirituality have now access to the symbolic universe of the Persian and Islamic mysticism. Specifications: |
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Hamid
b. Fazl Allah Jamali of Delhi (A.D. 1483-1542) is one of the outstanding Indian
poets, who followed the rich tradition of Persian mystical poetry. Jamali was
the poet-laureate of Sultan Sikandar Ludi (reigned 1489-1517) and wrote several
works, among which a memoir of fourteen Indian mystics of the Chishti order,
entitled The Spiritual Journey of the Mystics (Sayr al-‘arifin); an
allegorical romance The Sun and the Moon (Mihr u Mah); and many lyrics and odes.
The Mirror of Meanings is his finest expression of Sufi thought and made him
immensely popular in India, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia. Jamali
composed the poem at the request of people who wanted to know the symbolic
significance of the terminology used by Sufis. It is written in the figurative
and erotic language of Sufis, exposing in 38 chapters their ecstatic
experiences, their exertion on the path of love and their union with the divine
beloved, concentrating on the spiritual symbolism of the beloved’s body, the
meaning of wine, wine-seller, and cupbearer. In this poem, Jamali shows how the
mystic can be united with the Beloved through Gnostic knowledge of the formal
body. It is a journey from the phenomenal world into one’s real self, which is
the Truth. Each part of the body is a road, leading the mystic lover to the
eternal Living. The road of the tresses, symbolizing the realm of darkness,
brings the lover to the Fountain of Life, i.e. the Beloved’s sweet lips.
