Autobiography ; MM.LXXIX

A Warning to Missionaries ; MM.LXVIII

Dissimulation ; MM XXXIII

title: Dissimulation (taqiyyah); Shi ites are allowed, in case of danger, to disguise their adherence to the minority faith in order to escape persecution. Ismailis made particular use od this.

Line 55: Ramadan; the month during which fasting from dawn to sun-down is obligatory for all Muslims.

Line 67: Shari ite; i.e. followers of the Shari ah, the Sacred Law.

In Yamgan ; MM.IX

Line 163: the hoopoe; Solomnon understood the language of the birds. The hoopoe was his messenger.

The Decline od Khorasan ; MM.XXXVII

Line 17: alif; the first letter of the Arabic alphabet; symbolic of uprightness and good stature.

Line 21: nun; this letter of the alphabet is often contrasted with alif, and compared with a hunchback or an old man.

Line 65: Kipchak; a Tartar Tribe.

Line 79: Zahhak; in the Shah-namah, the evil enemy of Feraydun.

Line 85: Aaron the Alexandrian; Hellenistic philosopher famous for his erudition.

Retirement ; MM.XCVII

Line 16: Kashghar; city in Turkestan, central Asia.

The Exile s Lament ; MM.CCVIII

Line 19: the Companion; i.e. of the Prophet. NK means he is accused of being the enemy of such of the Companions as Abu Bakr, Umar and Uthman, the first three caliphs, recognised by the Sunnis but not by the Shi ites, who believe, Ali should have been the first caliph.

Line 59: Grand Mufti; chief religious authority.

Line 60: Nayshapur and Herat; two important cities of Khorasan, the former now in Iran, the latter in Afghanistan.

Line 73: Badakhshan is still famous for its rubies.

Line 75: Viziers; Prime Minsters. Teheran; actually Rayy, which is now a suburb of Tehran but was for many centuries the metropolis.

Line 82: the Gulf; i.e. the Persian Gulf, still famous for its pearls.

Letter from an Acquaintance ; MM.XC

a Wasted Pilgrimage , MM.CXLI

Line 5: Arafat; a plain near Mecca where pilgrims must spend one day of the Hajj in prayer and invocation.

Line 7: the Hajj; the Pilgrimage to Mecca, incumbent on all Muslims at least once in their lifes for those who can afford it.

Line 15: Haji; one who has completed the Pilgrimage, a title of great respect.

Line 19: pilgrim s robe; on the Pilgrimage, everyone wears two simple pieces of white cloth, similar to the shroud.

Line 33: the obligatory sheep; pilgrims on the hajj must sacrifice a sheep in commemoration of Abraham s sacrifice.

Line 37" Sacred Grounds; the immediate precincts of the Ka bah.

Line 41: stoning the Accursed one; one of the rites of the Pilgrimage consists of throwing stones at a pillar said to represent the Devil.

Line 45: station of Abraham; the Prophet Abraham is said to have built the Ka bah. The place where he prayed is marked.

Line 49: circumambulation; the rites include circling the Ka bah.

To a Merchant ; MM.CXXX

Line 1: Zam-Zam; the sacred well of Mecca, near the Ka bah.

Line 42: Jamshid; the legendary first king of Persia.

Astrology and Poetry ; MM.LXIV

Line 33: Moses, Aaron and Samarri; Aaron is viewed in Islam as a prophet in his own right; in esoteric Islam, he is considered to have represented the esoteric side of Judaism. As Moses represents the exoteric side. Samarri is the Samaritan who persuaded the Jews to worship the golden calf.

Line 38: Mazandaran; the Caspian littoral region of Iran.

The Shark ; MM.VII

Line 33: et seq.; Feraydun, Kayqubad, etc., etc. Ancient kings and heroes of Persian, described in Firdawsi s Shah-namah.

Line 59: face the Ka bah; the dead are buried lying on their sides, facing the Ka bah.

Line 61: Testimony of Faith; There is no god but God; and Muhammad is the Messenger of God . Muslims should die with this formula on their lips. In this and in the preceding two lines NK means that the reader will pay no attention to religion until he s faced with death, whereas he ought to be occupied with it always.

Line 89: the Simurgh; the legendary king of the birds. In Attar s famous Conference of the Birds, the Simurgh symbolises God. Only thirty reach him; si-murgh means literally thirty birds ; in other words, the seekers are inwardly identified with the Sought.

Excuses ; MM.CLXIV

Line 29: Magi; in popular belief the Zoroastrians or Magi were thought to worship fire.

Storm Warnings ; MM.XLVII

The Aging Rake ; MM.XLVI

Line 100: Sermon bythe Ditch; see introduction.

Words of Wisdom ; MM.XLIX

A Parable of Jesus ; MM.CCL

On the Qur an ; MM.V

Line 108: drylipped before the Euphrates; a reference to the fate of the Third Imam, Husayn, who was killed along with may of his followers in Karbala - now a city in Iraq - by the army of the Umayad Caliph Yazid after having suffered extreme thirst, kept by his enemies from obtaining water from the nearby river Euphrates. The foes of the Household are punished by being refused the esoteric knowledge of the Imams.

Line 117: Sultan of khan; worldly rulers.

Ode to Night ; MM.CCXXX

Line 30: Zulaykha; in the Islamic version of the story of the prophet Joseph, Potiphar s wife is replaced by the Pharaoh s wife, Zulaykha. She is dumbfounded by Joseph s beauty, hence pale and perplexed . See Qur. XII.

Line 37: Jabulsa and Jabulqa; two legendary cities of the Far East and Far West, inhabited by Gog and Magog; localities in Imaginal World .

Line 41: purdah; the custom of keeping women in veil.

The Way of the World ; MM.CXVII

The World Defends Itself ; MM.CXVIII

Homo Ludens ; MM.LVII

The Eater of Dust ; MM.XCIII

Line 2: turquoise wheel; i.e. the sky or the heavens . NK uses many metaphors for the heavens based on the image of the sky as it appears to the earthly observer; whirling sphere, upturned bowl, etc.

Ode to Spring ; MM.CLXI

Line 12: the Messiah s revivifying incantations; see note on speech , line 57.

Line 15: Joseph s miracle; i.e. his beauty. See note on Ode to Night . Line 30.

Line 22: robes of Christians; apparently Christians in the Persia of NK s period wore violet-coloured robes; or it may refer to the liturgical vestments of the priests. A cliche in Persian poetry.

Line 35: the Abbasids; the Caliphs in Baghdad. The Ismailis considered them enemies and usurpers of the rightful title of calip, which belonged to the Fatimid caliph, the Ismaili Imam. The colour of the Abbasids was black.

Line 38: Zulfikar; (Dhu l-fiqar) the famous doubled-tipped sword of Ali.

Line 51: Chosroes; The Just, 21st Sassanid king of Persian (d.A.D. 579). The Prophet was born in the eighth year of his reign.

Line 64: Balkh and Bukhara; the two major cities in Khorasan, the former now in Afghanistan, the latter in USSR.

Anti-Ode to Spring ; MM.LXXIV

Encore ; MM.CLXXX

Line 64: city of knowledge ; the Prophet is reported to have said, I am the city of knowledge and Ali is its gate .

Line 101: Balance; the souls of the dead are judged in a scale.

A La Mode ; MM.CXXIV

Line 34: the inner Holy War; The Prophet once told his warriors as they retuned from battle, You are coming back from the lesser to the greater Holy War (al-jihad al-akbar) . Islamic esoterists have taken this to refer to the spiritual battle upon the Path of God.

The First Poem ; MM.I

Line 74: Harut; and Marut, two evil demons who taught sorcery to the Babylonians.

Line 122: the elements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water can be considered as [airs of opposites, yet all exists together in harmony on the material plane.

Speech ; MM.II

Line 18: Darius; the name of several Persian kings, especially Darius the Great, the Achaemenian (d. 486 B.C.)

Line 45: Sanaa (San a ); the capital of Yemen, used as a figure of a far-away place.

Line 57: Jesus; his most famous miracle from the Islamic point of view is his rising the dead to life which he was able to accomplish with a word or a breath because he was the Spirit or Word of God.

Line 85: The Night of Power; the night on which the Qur an was revealed; believed to fall in the latter part of the month of Ramadan.

Line 106: the martyrs of God; could refer both to the Muslims of the time of the Prophet who fell in the cause of Islam, and the Ismailis who had suffered for their religion.

Line 107: the daughter of Muhammad; Fatimah, wife of Ali, mother of the Imams and particularly revered by the Ismailis of the period who called themselves (and by extension their rule in Egypt) Fatimid .

The Angelic Presence ; MM.CXIII

Line 15: Gabriel; as in Christianity an Archangel; in Islam he is the angel of Revelation, who dictated the Qur an to Muhammad

Line 22: treasure of Qarun; the Korah of OT, son of Moses paternal uncle, proverbial for his wealth and avarice. According to Islamic tradition, Divine Wrath overtook him and the earth swallowed him and his treasures.

Line 33: the Active Intellect; The Tenth Intellect, guardian of the sublunary world; Demiurge; interpreted by some as the angel Gabriel of Holy Spirit.

Line 50: When God had created Adam, He called on all angels to bow before him and worship him. Only Satan (Iblis) refused, saying that he refused to bow before anyone but God Himself; for his rebellion he was banished from heaven and became the Adversary.

Line 59: For the Qur anic version of the story of Khizr, see Chapter 18, the Cave. In some version of this story, Khizr is integrated into the Alexander legend and is said to be Alexander s cook, or general. Alexander sets out with Khizr on a search for a Fountain of Life. Khizr finds it, and becomes immortal, but Alexander fails Khizr, the Hidden of Green Prophet , representing the ever-living presence of esoterism, is a figure of much importance in esoteric Islam.

Freewill and Predestination ; MM.X

Line 112: The Proof; hujjat, the title given to NK as a leader of missionaries, and used by him as his pen-name. It is considered good form (though not obligatory) for a Persian poet to work his pen-name somewhere into the last few lines of a poem, often with a pun.

Being and Becoming , Etc. ; MM.XXII

Line 124: Ali, the first Imam, son-in-law of the Prophet, recognised by the Sunnis (the majority of Muslims) as the fourth Caliph, the transmitter of esoteric sciences and knowledge of the spiritual Path.

Line 125: Khaybar; a fortress near Madinah, stronghold of Jews hostile to the Prophet. Ali conquered it, opening its gates with his bare hands during the famous battle of Khaybar.

Line 126: Qayrawan; an important city now in Tunisia; used a figure for the far western reaches of the Islamic world, which stretched in the East to China

Line 133: Kawthar; a river of Paradise said to be in the control of Ali, hence his nickname.

Line 135: Imam al-Mutansir; the Ismaili Imam of NK s period; lived in Cairo (see introduction).

Line 137: Kaaba (Ka bah); the cube -shaped structure in Mecca towards which all Muslims mast face when saying their daily prayers.

Line 147: Khorasan; the vast eastern province of Iran, including what are now parts of Afghanistan and the USSR. NK had been appointed Proof, or leader of missionaries, for this whole region, one of the most important in the world of Islam at that time.

God and the World ; MM.XLV

Line 105: Divine Law; the Shari ah, or revealed Laws as contained in the Qur an and interpreted by the Prophet and - in the case of Ismailism - the Imams. Esoteric Muslims divide the tradition into three diemsions; the Shari ah, the Tariqah (the Path proper, the Spiritual Way), and the Haqiqah or Truth, the Goal of the Path.

Hermeneautics (The Garden) ; MM.CCXXXII

Line 8: Solomon s Throne; carried by demons wherever he commanded them.

Line 101: Iraq and Badakhshan; in other words; at opposite ends of the world ; Badakhshan is the region of present-day Afghanistan where NK himself (the remedy ) lived

The Two Jewels ; MM.CXII

Line 14: the Two Worlds; i.e. heaven and earth.

Line 15: the seven climes; traditional geography divided the world into seven regions or climes .

Line 16: The Holy Spirit; Gabriel, angel of revelation.

Line 20: Hot, Cold, Wet, Dry. Each of the four elements is characterised by a pair of these natures: Earth is cold and dry; Air is hot and wet; Fire is hot and dry; Water is cold and wet. These terms were considered not in their material sense alone, but as principles or archetypal qualities. Their importance in traditional medicine (the theory of the four humours) is but one of their applications.

Line 32: four natures; the four humours or temperaments; see note to line 20 above.

Line 33: nine spheres and seven planets; each of the seven traditional planets had its own sphere; besides these, there were the sphere of the Fixed Stars, and the Empyrean itself.

The Diwan ; MM. CLXXVII

Line 5: Diwan (The Diwan); a collection of poetry. Elsewhere NK refers to his two divans ; they have been combined into one.

Line 62: Solomon is famous for his magical control over the jinn, psychic being or fire elements, some of who are good, or at least neutral, while others are demonic.

Line 66: Luqman; a wise man, said to have been a son of Job s sister or aunt, a disciple of David, or a judge of Israel, or a freed Ethiopian slave.

Line 68: The Threshold of the Compassionate; i.e., the Divine Presence

Line 69: The Guide of Truth; the Prophet Muhammad. Salman-i Farsi, the first Persian Muslim, a Companion of the Prophet, revered as one of the first partisans of Ali, and also considered by Islamic esoterists - both Sufi and Shi ite - as an important figure.

Line 70: Household of the Messenger; in other words, the blood descendants of the Prophet through his daughter Fatimah and his son-in-law Ali ibn Abi Talib; especially the Panj-tan or Five Holy Ones : the Prophet, Fatimah, Ali and their children Hassan and Husayn; more generally for Ismailis this term includes Imams (see introduction) and by extension their relatives as well.

Line 72: Imam; the ruler of the Ismailis (see introduction).

Line 79: Emir; NK probably does not have any particular Emir (ruler) in mind; he means wordly rulers in genral, as opposed to the Imams.

Line 99: The Prophet s Family; see note on line 70 above.

Line 100: Rudaki the Persian, Hasan the Arab; NK mentions two famous poets, one Persian, the other Arab; Rudaki was known for his court poetry, Hasan for his eulogies on the Prophet.

Line 106: The Pilgrim s Provision; the Zad al-musafarin, one of NK s prose treatises on Ismaili philosophical thought; see introduction.

Line 109: Yamgan the remote region, now part of Afghanistan, where NK sought refuge after the failure of his mission in Khorasan (see introduction).

Line 110: Day of Reckoning; the Last Judgement.

Line 112: Holy Household; se note to line 70 above.

Nasir-i Khusraw did not give his poems titles, but we have decided to title them in order to clarifyy their main themes and make it easier to refer to them individually. In the notes, the title will be followed by MM and a number; this refers to the number of the poem in the edition of the Diwan edited by M. Mnovi and M. Mohaghegh, Tehran, 1353 A.H.S.

There are 6 notes, each one for a one poem section

I choose

the Quran

and the Faith of Muhammad

for those

where the choices

of Muhammad himself;

I know

if I practise the two

my Certainty

will become

as the Certitude

of the Prophet.

My key

to Paradise - my guide

to Felicity

the fortified Citadel:

what are they but

the Religion of Muhammad:

For us

he is the Messenger

of God - such

was the carving

on the seal-ring

of the Prophet.

Rooted in my heart:

the Faith

and the Book

as firmly

as in the heart

of Muhammad.

By God s Grace

my hope, my prayer

is to be

the least

of servants in the Community

of Muhammad.

My brother,

in the sea-depths

of religion

the Quran

is the pearl beyond price

of the Prophet;

every king

owns a treasure

of Mohammad.

Now look

to these riches,

this pearl:

who now

is custodian

of Muhammad s legacy?

You yourself

would bequeath your wealth

to your children;

just so are his children

the guardians

the heirs of the Prophet.

Ponder well:

you Muslims

will not fine

the jewels

but in keeping

of Muhammad s progeny.

Surely he handed

all down to him

who was

worthiest

of all Companions

of the Prophet.

Who was he,

the Companion?

his Wife

was the delight

of the eye

of Muhammad

and from this delight

and this Companion

were born

Hasan

and Husayn, the darlings

of Muhammad.

I have seen

in both worlds

the reality

of Husayn

and Hasan: the rose

and jasmine of the Prophet;

where

in heavcn and earth

could such blossoms spring

but in the garden

from the soil

of Muhammad?

I dare not

I tremble

lest I prefer

any creature

above these beloved ones

of God s Prophet.

The Book,

and the Sword

of the Lion of God:

these are bulwarks

beneath the firm Faith

of Muhammad.

Who stood

sword drawn

in every battle

who stood

at the right hand

of the Prophet?

The Sword of Ali

lent its aid

to the Quran

and Ali no doubt

was the Help

of Muhammad.

Ali:

in Islam

as Aaron to Mosses:

partner

companion

of the Prophet;

on the Last Day

Aaron and Moses

shall kiss

the Mantle of Ali,

the sleeve

of Muhammad.

Seek knowledge

he bid us

even in China :

Ah! What praise are mine

in the China

of Muhammad.

I heard

from the heir

of the Prophet

the honeysweet

words, the Sayings

of Muhammad;

my heart beheld

a mystery revealed

from the Origin

to Ali s heart

through the Prophecy

of Muhammad

and learned

from the babes of Fatimah

and her husband

the true

nature

of the Prophet.

Surely

I could have gained

no more than I gained

from that

illustrious child

of the Rank of Muhammad

surely

I could have gained

no more

had I lived

myself in the time

of Muhammad.

The Creator

of the Universe Himself

praise me

for my love

of Ali, my blessings

on the Prophet

and with the Blessing

of the Lord

of the Worlds

I dwell

in the Stronghold

of Muhammad.

my back - by the grace of God and in devotion of Him -

is strong enough perhaps that I might attain

tot he Messenger and his intercession; I ask for no other

to plead for me with God but His Prophet, and to plead

for me with the Prophet none but his blessed Family,

with whom I shall go to him; no fear of taint

or contagion from hypocrites. The Religion of Allah

is the Prophet s kingdom and today all creatures

are his subjects, his Community. Your slave

does not owe you even half the obedience

that the Prophet s Community owes him.

He has ordered you not to kill your slave for disobedience

nor will he slay you for your rebellion;

do not sever yourself from his all-encompassing protection,

for he is the Guide of all creation, his message

has reached from one end of the world to the other.

After him, his Family are the Guides - reverence him

and turn not from his Family. If you know him not

then you must know his children - how else

in your bewilderment can you hope for his mercy?

Have you not heard to whom the Prophet entrusted

his dominion on the day of his Sermon by the ditch?

the one to whom allusion is made in the Book?

the one before whose courage the boldness of the unbelievers

faded like a lantern his up to the sun?

Who gave his ring to a beggar? to whom

all the descendants of the Prophet trace their family tree?

who slept in the Prophet s bed, while the Messenger

fled from his enemies in the Migration? to whom

the Prophet gave the banner in the battle of Badr

when all others quailed? the lion, the warrior

whom God has made all heroes to love?

On the field of battle our Prophet had no miracle

more potent than that man s might. It is he

who will distribute paradise and hell to the faithful

and unfaithful. He is the Gate of the City of Knowledge

which is the Prophet; no one but him

is worthy of that trust. If you seek the City

go to its gate, that felicity s light may brighten your heart.

Yes, he was the Prophet s miracle in battle

and Zulfiqar, his two-tongued sword, was his own miracle.

The Prophet was God s treasure, but he -

his mind and heart - were the Prophet s treasure.

The enemies of God s lion are beset with the disease of ill omen

and cannot be accused of anything but stupidity,

or the horror of an ass when it sees a lion.

Turn away, flee those infected with such prestige,

but if they show you honour, do not (for the sake

of dignity of Islam) refuse their reverence.

In disputation with them do not expect more

than dullness, for they have no other tool to use

but the gelid intellects, nothing to talk

but nonesense. When the chain of stupidity rusts shut

there s no escape. All their proof is simply abuse -

but who will listen to it on Resurrection Day?

Satan is powerful, yes, but his power lies

only in falsehood and cunning. God values

one above another for his faith - if you expect

succour from Him, give succour to His True Religion.

Put no stock in the moment s good luck

for fortune always hides destruction within it.

I find the world a faithless bawd -

do not mourn her loss. The only positive thing

one can say about her is that she s living proof

of the ephemerality of material good.

Her boon is bane - for no one shall escape death

who has drunk fro her cup - and therefore

do not cover her flawed and sickly benediction.

I ought not strive to gain her company

while she strives for nothing but y discomfort.

She gave me robe after rich robe of honour

then stole them all back, one by one.

Now that I lean for support on God and Islam

I grow weary o the world and of men

and by God s Grace I am freed of need

of anyone who does not need me. The blessed Quran

reposes in my heart, which is filled with peace.

Praise the Lord, that nothing burdens my back

but His favour and Grace, that thanks to the generosity

of the true Imam I have come to know his truth,

his certainty and the justice of his cause -

that matchless king whose domain, of all the earth,

is free of deviltry; who has robed Jupiter

in its constellation of Fortune of all auspiciousness

and joy. Lord, help me to spend my days and nights

in devotion to him, to string together from time to time

a few pious verses based on his knowledge and wisdom.

The heartspring of Ali s lover reflects and is full

with the image of him - so is my heart his spring

and his knowledge my shield. O lovers, pluck his blossoms

but save the thorns for his enemies.

No one of the Community is worthy of greatness

but his lover, for the Shiite rests immune

from the wiles of Satan in his citadel.

He is the Prophet s kinsman, but no one

belongs to Ali s tribe but the lover of Truth.

A thousand years of praise will not exhaust

a thousandth of his qualities; I take pride

in his Four Virtues, his manliness, knowledge

piety and munificence, and my back is bent

with gratitude, the burden of Ali.

I imitate his way of dress, robed in faith and gnosis.

Nasibi, be silent - you have not learned

of his warp and weft, or you would

think more of him. Act not the snake with me

lest you think you can bear the sting

of the serpent of Ali. Why do you rank

every lowly weed with him?

He was a lion, the battlefield his veldt,

the unbelievers his prey, his sword,

his Zulfiqar like a dragon

in is claws, slayer of three armies,

his right hand, armour-piercer that

cast to the ground the severed heads

of great commanders. Gabriel called his spear

at the battle of Hunayn, and his heart

was steady as a mountain in the sin

of war. Lions shrink away like foxes

at the sight of his blade.

If you fear the devil will plunder you

hide yourself in his cavern

where no one enters but by the command

of his deputy, and which is made not of stone

but of knowledge (for how could the pride

of Ali descend to stone?), and where are stored

his house, his estate, his chattels.

On the trees and meadows of Ali the rain

falls as hermeneautic exegesis, for he

chose no silver and gold, but knowledge and faith.

How but by his sword-wielding hand

could the Divine Law find protection?

How should the unbelievers of Mecca

not feel him as an inward affliction?

Free from taint, his tongue, hands and loins -

where was the best woman of the world

but by his side? Hasan and Husayn, those

mirrors of the Prophet, were his mirrors.

Satan s hands and feet were amputated

in the uproar he caused, and no one

will be safe from fire but in his refuge.

His sword ruined the good name

of countless warriors in the battles

of Badr, Uhud and Khaybar, which were his work.

Send him my challenge, the boastful knight,

for I am the chevalier of Ali.

Even his enemies I shall convert

if they lend me their ears, and in spite

of all they do, I shall bind them fast

with the bridle of Ali; but if they

turn their heads away from this knowledge

sweet and boundless, they will come

on Resurrection Day, disgraced,

heads dragged in the dust before

ALI.

The philosophy section contains 3 poems.