‘Alā’ al-Dawla al-Simnānī Between Spiritual Authority and Political Power: A Persian Lord and Intellectual in the Heart of the Ilkhanate
With a Critical Edition of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid and its Persian version Zayn al-mu‘taqad li-zayn al-mu‘taqid
Series: - Islamicate Intellectual History, Volume: 4
In ʿAlāʾ al-Dawla al-Simnānī between Spiritual Authority and Political Power: A Persian Lord and Intellectual in the Heart of the Ilkhanate, Giovanni Maria Martini investigates the personality of a major figure in the socio-political and cultural landscape of Mongol Iran. In pursuing this objective, the author follows parallel paths: Chapter 1 provides the most updated reconstruction of Simnānī’s (d. 736/1336) biography, which, thanks to its unique features, emerges as a cross-section of Iranian society and as a microhistory of the complex relationships between a Sufi master, Persian elites and Mongol rulers during the Ilkhanid period; Chapter 2 contains a study on the phenomenon of Arabic-Persian diglossia in Simnānī’s written work, arguing for its socio-religious function; in Chapters 3 to 6 the critical editions of two important, interrelated treatises by Simnānī are presented; finally, Chapter 7 offers the first full-length annotated translation of a long work by Simnānī ever to appear in a Western language.
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Giovanni Maria Martini, D.Phil. (2014), Università di Napoli L’Orientale, is post-doctoral fellow at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn and previous research officer at the University of Oxford. His research interests include History of Medieval Sufism and Hermetic and Religious Literature in the Muslim World.
Acknowledgments
A Note on Transliteration
Introduction
Simnānī and the Kubrawiyya
The Criticism of Ibn ʿArabī
The Current State of Research
Organization and Objectives of this Book
1 Simnānī’s Biography: A Window into Iranian Society under the Ilkhanids
Background
Youth
Metanoia
The Return to Simnān
The Meeting with Šaraf al-Dīn al-Ḥanawayh
The Departure to Baghdad and Imprisonment at the Court of Arġūn
Back to Simnān. The Trips to Iraq and the Ḥiǧāz
Ṣūfīābād Ḫudādād: Simnānī’s Own Dār al-Hiǧra in the Heart of the Ilkhanate
Mastery, Advanced Years and Death
2 The Relationship between al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid and the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid
Introductory Remarks
Background
Section One: Descriptive Analysis of the Differences between al-Wārid and the Zayn
Section Two: The Dynamics of Translation: Audiences, Authorship and Divine Inspiration in the Composition of al-Wārid and the Zayn
Section Three: Observations on the Structure of Some of Simnānī’s Most Relevant Works
Section Four: Observations on the Persian Translation of the ʿUrwa li-ahl al-ḫalwa wa al-ǧalwa
3 The Method Used in the Preparation of the Critical Edition of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid
Foreword
Description of the Manuscripts
Analysis of the Evidence Useful for the Reconstruction of the Stemma Codicum and Related Hypotheses
Stemma Codicum
4 Established Text of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid
5 The Method Used in the Preparation of the Critical Edition of the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid
Foreword
A Note on Transcription
Description of the Manuscripts
Analysis of the Evidence Useful for the Reconstruction of the Stemma Codicum and Related Hypotheses
Stemma Codicum
6 Established Text of the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid
7 The Inspiration Refuting the Rebel’s Sophistry (Translation of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid)
A Note on the Translation
The Inspiration Refuting The Rebel’s Sophistry
Appendix:Supplement to the Catalogue of Simnānī’s Written Works
Bibliography
Index
A Note on Transliteration
Introduction
Simnānī and the Kubrawiyya
The Criticism of Ibn ʿArabī
The Current State of Research
Organization and Objectives of this Book
1 Simnānī’s Biography: A Window into Iranian Society under the Ilkhanids
Background
Youth
Metanoia
The Return to Simnān
The Meeting with Šaraf al-Dīn al-Ḥanawayh
The Departure to Baghdad and Imprisonment at the Court of Arġūn
Back to Simnān. The Trips to Iraq and the Ḥiǧāz
Ṣūfīābād Ḫudādād: Simnānī’s Own Dār al-Hiǧra in the Heart of the Ilkhanate
Mastery, Advanced Years and Death
2 The Relationship between al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid and the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid
Introductory Remarks
Background
Section One: Descriptive Analysis of the Differences between al-Wārid and the Zayn
Section Two: The Dynamics of Translation: Audiences, Authorship and Divine Inspiration in the Composition of al-Wārid and the Zayn
Section Three: Observations on the Structure of Some of Simnānī’s Most Relevant Works
Section Four: Observations on the Persian Translation of the ʿUrwa li-ahl al-ḫalwa wa al-ǧalwa
3 The Method Used in the Preparation of the Critical Edition of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid
Foreword
Description of the Manuscripts
Analysis of the Evidence Useful for the Reconstruction of the Stemma Codicum and Related Hypotheses
Stemma Codicum
4 Established Text of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid
5 The Method Used in the Preparation of the Critical Edition of the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid
Foreword
A Note on Transcription
Description of the Manuscripts
Analysis of the Evidence Useful for the Reconstruction of the Stemma Codicum and Related Hypotheses
Stemma Codicum
6 Established Text of the Zayn al-muʿtaqad li-zayn al-muʿtaqid
7 The Inspiration Refuting the Rebel’s Sophistry (Translation of al-Wārid al-šārid al-ṭārid šubhat al-mārid)
A Note on the Translation
The Inspiration Refuting The Rebel’s Sophistry
Appendix:Supplement to the Catalogue of Simnānī’s Written Works
Bibliography
Index
All interested in Sufism and anyone concerned with the History of Iran in the Mongol period.