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FOUR IMPORTANT SUFI TEACHING POEMS The Walled Garden of the Truth, Treasury of Mysteries, Rose Garden of Mystery & Book of Ecstasy by Sana'i, Nizami, Shabistari & 'Arifi Translation & Introduction Paul Smith The Walled Garden of the Truth of Sana'i is a poem of mystical teachings intermingled with proverbs, fables, anecdotes and even obscene stories. The uncommon manner in which Sana'i introduced and explained the esoteric teachings of Sufism through the medium of poetry was the key to its popularity and lasting value. It is still widely considered by scholars to be the first great mystical poem in Persian. Rumi said, 'Attar is the soul and Sana'i the eyes and I came after them'. The Treasury of the Mysteries, the most beautiful mystic poem in the Persian language, has both perfection of language and grandeur of thought. Every line of his Treasury of the Mysteries is a living witness to his absolute certainty that piety, devotion, humility and self-forgetfulness are the corner stones of total annihilation, which in turn is necessary for unification with God and the foundation of the edifice of eternal life. G. H. Darab. Senior lecturer in Persian. University of London. The Rose Garden of Mystery was composed as a 1000 couplet long masnavi poem in the form of questions and answers on spiritual matters by Mahmud Shabistari of Tabriz in 1317 at the request of his Spiritual Master. Since then it has been regarded as one of the finest books on Sufism. E.G. Browne in his classic work, 'History of Persian Literature' calls this book On the whole, one of the best manuals of Sufi theosophy that exists. Written by 'Arifi (1389 - 1449) one of the last great Sufi poets of the Classical Period of Persian Poetry the Hal-nama or Book of Ecstasy often referred to as 'The Ball & Polo-stick' is an allegory in which the ball and the polo-stick are personified as types of Sufi mystical love and all the images are from the game of polo or as it was known at the time in Persia as chaugan. 'Arifi composed it, as he states in the epilogue of the 513 couplets masnavi... in two weeks. The correct form of the masnavi has been kept in all three long poems and each has an informative Introduction on the poet's life and times and poetry. Chapter on Sufis & Dervishes: Their Art and Use of Poetry, Glossary. Large format paperback 7 x 10 Pages 653. Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa

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