CONTINUITY AND CHANGE

IN THE TRADITION OF SHIRAZI LOVE MYSTICISM

-A Comparison between Daylami's 'Atf al-Alif

and Ruzbihan Baqli's 'Abhar al-'Ashigin-

MASATAKA TAKESHITA*

Introduction

Ruzbihan Baqli Shirazi was a famous Persian Sufi of the twelfth century.
He was a master of love mysticism, one of those Sufis whom Corbin called fideles
d'amour.(1) Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi called him a "lover-gnostic" (al-'arif
al-'ashiq),(2) and his anecdote as a master of love appears in 'Iraqi's 'Ushshaqname
(The Book of Lovers)(3) and Ibn 'Arabi's Futuhat al-makkiya.(4) He wrote many
books on Sufism, the most important of which are the commentary on the Qur'an,
Ara'is al-bayan,(5)the commentary on ecstatic utterances of early Sufis, Sharh-i
shathiyat,(6)which includes the translation of Hallaj's Kitab al-tawdsin and many
sayings of Hallaj, and the book of mystical love, 'Abhar al-'ashiqin. While the
old type of Sufis denied the love of men or women because of the exclusive love
of God, around the twelfth century, there appeared a new type of Sufis, espe-
cially in Iran, who affirmed the human secular love as a necessary preparatory stage
toward the divine love. Ahmad Ghazzali, 'Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadani, and
'Iraqi were the representatives of this new trend of love mysticism, which par-

ticularly developed in Iran and bore beautiful fruits in Persian poetry,

such as Hafez and Jami. Generally speaking, the 'Abhar al-'ashiqin of Ruzbihan
Baqli Shirazi is placed in this trend.(7) However, while the three representatives
mentioned above are clearly related to each other, Ruzbihan Baqli stands alone.
'Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadani was a discipleof Ahmad Ghazzali, and his book
on love, Tamhidat, was clearly influenced by the latter's Sawanih.(8) As for 'Iraqi,
he himself states in the introduction of his treatise on mystic love, Lama'at, that
he follows the manner of Ahmad Ghazzali's Sawanih.(9) Therefore, Ahmad
Ghazzali's influence on them is conspicuous.(10) On the other hand, in Ruz-

* Associate Professor in Islamic Studies, Faculty of Letters, Tokai University.

Vol. XXIII 1987 113

bihan, there is no influence of Ahmad Ghazzali. Rather, the two are quite differ-
rent in thought and style. The recent translator of Ahmad Ghazzali's Sawanih,
Nasrollah Pourjavady, remarks as follows in his introduction:

Moreover, I avoided [to utilize for a commentary on the Sawanih] even

two very important sixth century Persian Sufi writers whom I believe
were neither influenced by nor even acquainted with A. Ghazzali's
ideas, namely Shihab al-Din Suhrawardi Maqtul and Ruzbihan Baghli
of Shiraz.(11)

Thus Ruzbihan's 'Abhar does not belong to the tradition of Ahmad Ghazzali,
but strangely enough it is connected with the oldest complete and extant mystical
book on love, 'Atf al-alif al-ma'luf ila'l-lam al-ma'tuf (The Book of the Inclination
of the Tamed Alif toward the Inclined Lam; henceforth abbreviated as 'Atf)
written by a Shirazi Sufi of the mid-tenth century, Abu al-Hasan al-Daylami.(12)
Daylami was a disciple of the famous saint of Shiraz, Ibn Khafif, and his
hagiographer. However concerning his own life, little is known. Scarce
facts scattered in local chronicles and hagiographies are compiled by Jean-
Claude Vadet in the introduction to his translation of the 'Atf.(13) Not only
are his biographical data scarce in later sources, but this important work of mystical
love is seldom mentioned by later Sufis. The fact that the work is preserved
in only one manuscript also shows that it is seldom read in later times. Vadet
suggests that later silence on him is due to the suspicion of a Hallajian inclination
of Daylami.(14) It is well-known that Daylami's master, Ibn Khafif, associated
with Hallaj, and in fact, according to Massignon, after Hallaj's execution,
the 'Atf is the first work in which the admiration for Hallaj is openly expressed
and his long fragments are quoted with acknowledgement.(15)
Although strangely enough Ruzbihan never mentions either Daylami
nor the 'Atf, it is certain that he utilized Daylami's 'Atf for his composition of
the 'Abhar al-'ashiqin. Jean-Claude Vadet in the introduction to his translation
of Daylami's 'Atf compared the two works briefly, and sufficiently established
Ruzbihan's indebtedness to Daylami.(16) He also dealt with the possible line
of the transmission of Daylami's work to Ruzbihan in a masterly fashion.(17)
In this article I wish to show exactly to what extent Ruzbihan's 'Abhar al-
'ashiqin is indebted to Daylami's 'Atf, and where their main differences lie,

by comparing the corresponding parts of the two works more carefully.

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I. Places of Correspondences

As was pointed out by Vadet, Ruzbihan Baqli's borrowing from Daylami's

'Atf is mainly concentrated in the latter's third chapter;(18) however. it is not

by any means limited to it. In this section, we will examine Ruzbihan's 'Abhar
al-'ashiqin chapter by chapter, and point out the corresponding part of Daylami's
'Atf,in order to determine the exact extent of Ruzbihan's borrowings.
In contrast with the brief prologue of Daylami's 'Atf, the 'Abhar starts with
a long and elaborate prologue.(19) In this prologue, the author describes the
vision of a beautiful, young girl who appeared before him. Seeing that the
author became enamored with her, she rebukes him in the following manner:

In Sufism, to see other than God is idolatry (kufr) and danger. It is

the loss of life and the waste of sight for the intellect and knowledge...(20)
To return from that [yonder] world is a sin of negligence. Your glance
of me [as an object of contemplation] is a place of your ruin, or perhaps
you have lost your way...(21) In my view, there is no way of licenti-
ousness (ibahat) for Sufism. To look at me is not for saints (ahl-i
walayat)...(22) Oh Sufi, with that love yonder [i. e. divine love] does
this love below [i. e., human love] have anything to do?(23)

Facing the above criticism of the beautiful beloved, the author defends the
religious and mystical value of human love as a preparatory stage for divine
love with evidences taken from the Qur'an, hadith and the saying of Dhu al-
Nun Misri.(24) Hearing his eloquence, she says to him, "Certainly, you are
an eminent expert in this science, but tell me whether it is lawful to apply
the term 'love' in relation to God (hal yajuz itlaq al-'ishq 'ala Allah ta'ala)...
Is it lawful to use the expressions such as 'love toward God' ('ishq 'ala Allah),
'Love coming from God' (min Allah), 'Love through God' (bi-Allah) and
'Love in God' (fi Allah)?"(15)The answer of Ruzbihan to her question is
taken from the brief second chapter of Daylami's 'Atf, entitled "Is the Appli-
cation of the Term Love in Relation to God Lawful?" (hal yajuz itlaq al-'ishq 'ala
Allah min Allah).(26) Indeed, the title of this chapter itself is used word by word
in the above question of the beautiful girl. However, after having exhausted
all the content of the second chapter of the 'Atf, Ruzbihan continues his argu-
Vol. XXIII 1987 115
ment with new materials not found in Daylami. In other words, the materials
taken from the 'Atf form only the beginning of the long elaborate speech in
the defence of "love" ('ishq). This speech indeed impressed her, and it is she
who encourages him to write a book on love in Persian.

By God, can you explain to me in Persian [the implication of] the human
love ('ishq insani) in the divine love ('ishq rabbani) in a little book, which
will be a [spiritual] guide for us as well as all the lovers and the be-
loved, and a station [to meditate] for the travelers [of the way] of the
lovers?(27)

As the lover always obeys the order of the beloved, Ruzbihan immediately
complieswith her order, and writes a book, and this is how the 'Abhar al-'ashiqin
was written.
In the second chapter entitled "Introduction of the Book" (Fi tamhid al-
kitab), Ruzbihan classifies loveinto five classes: bestial (bahimi), natural (tabi'i),
spiritual (ruhani), intellectual ('aqli) and divine (ilahi). This classification
of love is taken from the short introductory part of the long third chapter of
Daylami's 'Atf.
The third chapter of Ruzbihan's 'Abhar al-'ashiqin entitled "Mentioning
of Rational and Traditional Evidences Concerning Human Love" (Fi dhikr
al-shawahidal-shar'iya wa al-'aqliyafi al-'ishq al-insani) is mainly taken from
the long fourth section of the third chapter of the 'Atf entitled "Excellence
of Love" (Al-fasl al-rabi'fi fadila al-mahabbawa al-hubb): Both start with the
quotation from the Qur'an, "I threw upon you a love from Me" (20/38) followed
by the comment of Mujahid on it. In this section, Ruzbihan quotes altogether
seven hadiths, all in Arabic. All the hadithsexcept one appear in the above
mentioned section of the 'Atf in the same order.(28) Because Ruzbihan some-
times quotes the hadith imperfectly, it is helpful to check the corresponding
part of Daylami's 'Atf. For instance, the prophet's saying, "God loves the old
affection" (inna llaha yuhibbu al-waddaal-qadima) is here quoted withoug any
context,(29)however, Daylami gives the proper context: 'A'isha said to him
one day, "I see you give too much friendship and honor to that old woman."
Then, the prophet replied, "She was a friend of Khadija. God loves the old
affection." (Daylami gives even another version of this hadith).(30)
From the same section of the 'Atf, Ruzbihan borrows not only the hadiths,
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but also two ideas. One is the idea that human love is the indication and
measure of divine love, that is, the more one is loved by other people, the more
one is beloved of God.(31) The other is the idea that, of all the mystical sta-
tions such as fear (khawf), hope (rija'), patience (sabr), and trust (tawakkul)
only love (mahabbat) and contentment (rida) do not disappear in the presence of
God.(32) However, in the case of contentment, there is a slight difference
between them. Daylami states that a half of contentment survives, and gives
the following reason: Contentment consists of two parts. One part is the
absence of rebellion at the time of trial, in this sense, it is a kind of patience,
and this part disappears like patience. The other is happiness of the heart at
the vision of divine inspirations (waridat). This part is a kind of love, and
does not disappear. On the other hand, Ruzbihan also states that contentment
does not disappear. However, he neither divides contentment in two parts, nor
gives any convincing reason for its subsistence, but simply states that it is because
contentment is a characteristic (khassa) of God.(33) It is interesting to note that
he gives a similar reason for the subsistence of love in the presense of God:
love does not disappear, because it is an essential attribute (sifat-i dhati) of God.
On the other hand, according to Daylami, love does not disappear because
the cause of love, which is the vision of beauty and splendor, never disappears
both in this world and the next.(34)
The title of the fourth chapter, "The Excellence of Lovers Who Get Intimacy
with Beauty and the Beautiful, and [the Excellence of] the Beautiful Beloved"
(Fi fadilat al-muhibbin alladhina ya'lafuna al-hasan wa al-mustahsan wa al-mahbubin
al-mustahsanin) of the 'Abhar al-'ashiqin is similar to the titles of the
fifth section ("the Excellence of the Lover") and the sixth section ("the Excellence
of the Beloved") of the 'Atf. However, their contents are different. This
chapter contains four hadiths and two Qur'anic quotations. Although the first
two hadiths also appear in the 'Atf,(35) there is no overall correspondence bet-
ween the fourth chapter of the 'Abhar and the sixth section of the third chapter
of the 'Atf beyond the title.
The fifth chapter entitled, "The Excellence of Beauty, the Beautiful, and the
Beautiful Being" (Fi fadilat al-husn wa al-hasan wa al-mustahsan)is one of the longest
chapters of the book. Almost all the materials of this chapter are taken from
the first, second, and third sections of the third chapter of the 'Atf. Namely,
in the 'Atf, husn, hasan and mustahsan are each given a separate section.
The first half of the sixth chapter entitled, "The Manner of the Essence of
Vol. XXIII 1987 117
Human Love and Its Quiddity" (Fi kayfiyajawhar al-'ishq al-insani wa mahiyatuhu)
roughly corresponds to the third section of the fourth chapter of the 'Atf. The
fourth chapter of the 'Atf, "The Meaning of the Noun Love (mahabba) and
Its Cognates and their Meanings", is devoted to lexicography of the synonyms of
love. In the first section, the opinions of the literati (ahl al-adab) are given, in
the second section, the opinion of Sufis, and in the third section, the author's
opinion. In the beginning of the third section, Daylami classifies nouns into
three classes: nouns derived from attributes inherent to the divine essence;
nouns of actions peculiar to God; nouns of actions of His servants, namely,
those which appear with their acquisition (iktisab).(38) Next, this peculiar
linguistic method is applied to the word love (mahabba).(37) Then Daylami
states that in order to designate love, many words are derived from different
degrees and stages proper to that notion. Altogether there are ten stages;
the term "love" ceases to apply to the eleventh, which is the highest of all, and
another name, that is, "eros" ('ishq) is necessary to designate this culmination
of love. The ten stages of love are as follows: ulfa, uns, wudd, mahabba, khulla,
sha'af, shaghaf, istihtar, walah, hayaman.(38) Daylami gives each word lexicogra-
phical explanations. He first explains the original meaning of each word, then
quotes verses from Arab poets as examples. On the other hand, in the begin-
ning of the sixth chapter of the 'Abhar al-'ashiqin, Ruzbihan Baqli mentions the
four pillars (arkan-i arba'a) of love, saying that the basis of love is four things
(chahar chiz) and from these four things human love takes its place in spiritual
things (ruhaniyat).(39) Then he describes the process of the formation of love and
its transformation through the various stages (maqam), which culminate at the
highest stage of eros ('ishq); these stages are: ulfat, uns, wudd, mahabbat, khullat,
sha'af, shaghaf, istihtar, walah, hayaman, hayajan, 'atsh, shawq.(40) Every word, ex-
cept the last four, which are hastily enumerated with little explanation, is ex-
plained in the same manner with Daylami, using the same ancient Arabic verses.
Although hayajan and shawq are not found in Daylami, 'atsh is mentioned in the
explanation of hayaman. Daylami says that hayaman is derived from the word
hayam which means a kind of disease of the camel which cannot quench the
thirst ('atsh) and dies. Then Daylami quotes the poem of Majnun, "Like a
camel which suffers from hayam, no water can quench my thirst, and my thirst
(sada) slowly causes me to die," and glosses the difficult word sada as thirst
('atsh).(41) While Ruzbihan does not give any explanation of the word hayaman,
he explains the word 'atsh, saying that it is called sada.(42) Did Ruzbihan
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read the 'Atf too hastily and misunderstand the text?

From the seventh chapter, Ruzbihan's borrowing from Daylami stops.
Only the beginning of the last chapter entitled "The Perfection of Love" (Fi
kamal al-'ishq) shows an important correspondence with the sixth section of the
fifth chapter of the 'Atf. Since Ruzbihan's borrowing here is not concerned
with materials, but Daylami's very thought on the origin of love, it will be
treated later. Furthermore, a poem by Samnun al-Muhibb quoted in the last
chapter appears in the twenty-first chapter of the 'Atf entitled "The Definition
of the Perfection of Love".(43) However, in spite of the similarity of the title,
these two chapters are quite different in content.
Quantitatively speaking, of the twenty-four chapters of Daylami's 'Atf,
four chapters, more precisely, the second and the third chapters in their
entirety, and one section from the fourth and the fifth chapters respectively,
are incorporated extensively by Ruzbihan Baqli. Out of 139 pages of the
Vadet edition, these parts amount to approximatly twenty pages. That is
14% of the entire book. On the other hand, in six chapters out of the thirty-
two chapters of the 'Abhar al-'ashiqin, namely, chapters one, two, three, five, six,
and thirty-two, borrowings from Daylami's 'Atf are found. These parts amount to
approximately twenty-eight pages out of the entire 126 pages of the Nurbakhsh
edition. That is 22.2% of the entire book.(44)

II. The Analysis of the Third Chapter of the 'Atf

Now let us examine more carefully the third chapter of Daylami's 'Atf
which is most heavily untilized by Ruzbihan. The long and rather confused
third chapter of the 'Atf entitled "Some Characteristics of Love" (Dhikr ba'd
al-khisal li'l-mahabba wa al-'ishq) is intended by the author as an introduction
(muqaddima)to the whole book. It consists of a brief introductory part follow-
ed by six sections (fasl), but actually there is an unnumbered supplimentary
section which is not announced by the author in his plan, entitled "The Opin-
ions of Theologians and Scholars on the Subject of Love". This section is not
utilized by Ruzbihan, and because it is totally out of context, it must be a
textual error. First, in the brief introduction, the five classes of love (divine,
intellectual, spiritual, natural, and bestial) are enumerated, and then he men-
tions three things as the causes of love, that is, husn (beauty), hasan (beautiful
one), and mustahsin (appreciator of beauty). From the appreciation of beauty
Vol. XXIII 1987 119
(istihsan) appears love (hubb), and the appreciator of beauty becomes a lover
(muhibb), and the object of appreciation (mustahsan) becomes the beloved
(mahbub).

All the reasons (asbab) and the causes (dawa'i) of love are in our opinion
three in number. The first is an idea (ma'na) which God brought out
(abda) from Himself to the world and named Husn. Then He brought
out a person (shakhs), and dressed him with that idea, and named him
Hasan. Then He desired to manifest (yuzhir) other notions (ma'ani)
which would correspond (yuqabil) with these two ideas, so that He could
manifest His secret through them [i. e., Husn and Hasan] in them [i. e.,
other notions]. Thus, He manifested Mustahsin and matched him
with the former (i, e., Husn).
Then from his appreciation of beauty (istihsan), He manifested Hubb
(love), and then dressed Mustahsin with it. Thus, Mustahsin became
Muhibb (lover). At the same time, Hubb became the counterpart
(qabala) of Husn; Mustahsin the counterpart of Mustahsan (the one whose
beauty is appreciated), that is, Mahbub (the beloved).(45)

According to Daylami, all the causes of love are praiseworthy (mamduh) in view
of the Law (shari'a) and the intellect ('aql).(46) Then he expounds the ex-
cellences of all these elements of love one by one, devoting one section for each
element, namely, husn, hasan, mustahsan, hubb, muhibb (that is, mustahsin), and
mahbub. It is strange that mustahsin is put together with muhibb, while both
mustahsan and mahbub are given an independent section. This treatment does
not agree with the above quoted description of the causes of love. Also it must
be noted that the length of each section is very uneven. While the first, second,
and fourth sections are long and filled with quotations of the Qur'an and
hadiths, the other three are very sketchy with few hadith quotations.
Although Daylami, in the introduction quoted above, tries to connect six
concepts which are the subjects of the following six sections, its logic is not
very clear, and his attempt unsatisfactory. Therefore, it is no wonder that
Ruzbihan ignored these introductory remarks of Daylami. Consequently,
he does not follow Daylami's order of presentation. The materials compiled
by Daylami in the third chapter of the 'Atf are dismantled and rearranged
by Ruzbihan in the following manner: The brief classification of five kinds
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of love is introduced with much amplification in the second chapter. The long
fourth section entitled "The Excellence of Love" is transferred to the third chapter
with a different title. The titles of the fifth and sixth sections correspond to
the fourth chapter of the 'Abhar. However, since these sections of the 'Atf are
too brief, they are certainly of little use to Ruzbihan. There is only one hadith
in these two sections, however, Ruzbihan does not overlook it, and uses it in
the beginning of the fifteenth chapter.(47) The first, second, and third sections
are put together into the fifth chapter, but keeping the titles of these sections
for the title of the chapter, that is, "On the Excellence of Husn, Hasan, and
Mustahsan". However, since Ruzbihan does not distinguish between husn,
hasan, and mustahsan,this title does not make much sense. The correspondences
of the third chapter of the 'Atf and the chapters of 'Abhar are summarized
as follows:

III. The Differences between Daylami's 'Atf and Ruzbihan's 'Abhar

As was already mentioned, the parts borrowed directly from Daylami do not
exceed one-fourth of the entire 'Abhar. Therefore, one cannot accuse Ruzbihan
of plagiarism, nor deny Ruzbihan's originality in this work. In this section
I would like to examine the basic differences between the two works.
Although both works deal with the mystical theory of love, their overall
structures are quite different. Generally speaking, Daylami's work shares many
characteristics with works on the theory of secular love written by philosophers,
theologians and belletrists.(48) First, he devotes more space to the theory of love
in general. We have already examined as far as the fourth chapter of his book,
after which he deals with such topics as the origin of love, the quiddity (mahiya)
Vol. XXIII 1987 121
of love, the attribute (sifa) and the manner (kayfiya) of love, praiseworthy and
blamable love. Only five chapters (chap. 14-18) are concerned exclusively with
love between man and God. Secondly, Daylami usually presents opinions of dif-
ferent groups of people in each subject, and then gives his own opinion at the
end. He quotes not only many anecdotes and sayings of the Prophet and
his companions, and early Sufi masters, but also opinions of theologians, Greek
philosophers and physicians, Arab poets and philologists. For instance, the
Chapter five, entitled "The Origin and the Beginning of Love", is divided into the
following six sections; sayings of ancient sages (i. e., Greek philosophers),
opinions of astrologers, opinions of physicians, opinions of theologians, opinions
of Sufis, and opinions of the author. His quotations of many Greek philosophers
and physicians are especially remarkable.(49)
On the other hand, Ruzbihan does not divert his attention from the field
of Sufism. Even when he talks of love in general, he never forgets that God
alone is the ultimate object of love. Indeed, almost one-third of the entire
book (chap. 20-31) is devoted exclusively to divine love. The parts he chose
from the 'Atf to use in his book also show where his interests lie. The opinions
of various groups on the subject of love, which occupy the greater part of the
'Atf, are totally ignored by Ruzbihan, while the parts which are exploited by

Ruzbihan mainly consist of Qur'anic quotations and prophetic hadiths.

The works also differ stylistically. As is mentioned above, the greater

part of Daylami's work consists of anecdotes and sayings of various people.

Daylami simply cites them one by one without any comment of his own. His
own view usually comes at the end of the chapter in an independent section
entitled "author's views". On the other hand, Ruzbihan's work is written
in the highly artistic poetical prose, for which he is duly famous. Annemarie
Schimmel describes his distinctive style as follows:

What so profoundly impresses the reader in Ruzbihan's writings, both

in his commentary on the Shathiyat and his 'Abhar al-'ashiqin... is his
style, which is at times as hard to translate as that of Ahmad Ghazzali
and possesses a stronger and deeper instrumentation. It is no longer
the scholastic language of the early exponents of Sufism, who tried to
classify stages and stations, though Baqli surely knew these theories
and the technical terms. It is the language refined by the poets of
Iran during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, filled with roses and

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nightingales, pliable and colorful.(50)

In order to develop his thought, Ruzbihan does not need much support
from anecdotes and the sayings of others. Except in those chapters, where he
borrows materials from Daylami, he uses hadith quotations rather sparingly.(51)
And even when he quotes hadith and the Qur'an, they are skillfully interwoven
into his stylistic prose, just as verses of Sana'i and of his own are perfectly
mingled with it. The difference in style becomes most clear in those parts
where Ruzbihan borrows materials from the 'Atf. Even when Ruzbihan
follows Daylami very closely, he never blindly copy the text, rather he tries
to incorporate the material into his stylistic, overdecorative prose, and gives
it the distinctive touch of his. The following are two good examples of
Ruzbihan's reworking on the materials taken from the 'Atf. In the first example,
Daylami's original text runs as follows;

The Prophet said to 'Ali b. Abi Talib, "Say, 'Oh Lord, please cast your
love (mawadda) on the heart of the believers for me; please appoint for
me intimacy (walija) and love (hubb) with you; appoint for me a pact
('ahd) with you'." Then God said, "Lo! those who believe and do
good works, the Beneficent will appoint for them Love (wadd). (Qur'an,
19/96), i. e., [He will appoint] love (mahabba) on the heart of the be-
lievers.(52)

The following is Ruzbihan's verbose version of the same hadith.

Therefore, the leader of the witnesses of the Unseen and the combatant
of the horses of the battlefields of the hearts said to 'Ali b. Abi Talib,
"Say, 'Oh, Lord, please cast your love on the heart of the believers for
me; please appoint for me intimacy and love with you; appoint for me
a pact and love (wadd) with you.'"
When the human love (mahabbat-i insan) [which originates] from
the divine attributes (sifat-i rubbani) called the hearts of the Friends
of God and drew the spirits of the believers from the mines of human
natures to the eternal world, so that they could find the perfect gnosis
in the source of witnessing ('ayn-i mushahada) through the beauty of
attribute, the magnificent love (mahabbat-i jalali) of God sent this
Vol. XXIII 1987 123
 Qur'anic verse in agreement with the prayer of His Holiness the Leader
(hadrat-i sayid, i, e., Muhammad): "Lo! those who believe and do good
works, the Beneficent will appoint for them Love. (Qur'an, 19/96), i.
e., [He will appoint] love (mahabba) on the heart of the belivers. (the
underlined parts are written in Arabic and almost indentical with
Daylami).(53)

In the second example, the text of Daylami runs as follows.

'Abdullah b. Barida relates from his father as follows: the Prophet said,
"three things cause to increase the power of sight: view of greenery;
view of beautiful faces, and view of running water." 'A'isha relates:
greenery and a beautiful face pleased the Prophet. Also she relates,
the Prophet used to command the armies, saying, "when you send a
messenger, choose the one whose face is beautiful and whose name is
beautiful, and he [also] said, "trust your affairs to those whose face is
handsome, because the beautiful shape is the first grace [of God] which
meets you from [an unknown] man.(54)

The following is how Ruzbihan presents these hadiths.

'A'isha relates: Greenery and a beautiful face pleased the Prophet.

The soul of that hero (javanmard, i, e., Muhammad) [who is] free from
troubles of human passions, at that moment when you see from soul
to soul, is guiltless and his beauty refreshes the beauty of the worldly
things. He said: three things cause to increase the power of sight:
view of greenery, view of beautiful faces, and view of running water.
He explained the means to quiet the spirits in this problem, because
seeing with the eye of Love is for spiritual beings the means to God, and
the excess of the light of seeing and intuition surpasses the rules of the
Law. Also she relates: the Prophet used to command the armies, saying,
"when you send a messenger, choose the one whose face is beautiful and
whose name is beautiful, and he [also] said, "trust your affairs to those
whose faces are handsome, because the beautiful shape is the first grace
[of God] which meets you from [an unknown] man. (the underlined
parts are written in Arabic and almost indentical with Daylami).(55)
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 CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE TRADITION OF SHIRAZI LOVE MYSTICISM

IV. Similarities between the 'Abhar and the 'Atf

In the parts which we have examined so far, Ruzbihan mainly borrowed

from the 'Atf the topics (such as the lawfulness of love, the excellences of beauty
and love, stages of love,) and the hadiths and Arabic verses which Daylami
compiled under these topics as evidences. Daylami's own thought is not
directly borrowed by him. However, there is an exception. It is the last
chapter entitled "The Perfection of Love". Here his very thought depends
directly on that of Daylami.
In the beginning of this chapter, Ruzbihan writes as follows concerning
the divine origin of love:

The eternal essence of God is attributed (mawsuf) eternally to His

attributes. Love ('ishq) is one of the attributes of God. He was in
love with Himself, thus, love, the lover, and the beloved are all He. From
that love comes a homochrome (yak rang), which is His attribute.
And He is transcendent from changes and generations. Love is the
perfection of affection (mahabbat). And affection is an attribute of God.
Do not be misguided by names, because love and affection are one
and the same thing; both are His attributes, and subsist in His essence.
In that [essence] there is no change, not because He is affectionate
(muhibb) to Himself, but because He is a lover ('ashiq) of Himself.
Changes and generations do not have any access to Him. Know that
the affection of God is just like the knowledge of God. He continues to
love (muhibb) Himself for Himself as He continues to know ('alim) [Him-
self] through Himself, and see Himself through Himself. There is no
division (inqisam) in His Oneness (ahadiyat).(56)

Love is the essential attribute of God; love, the object of love, and the lover
are in God one and the same thing, just as in God the knower, knowledge, and
the known are one and the same thing, and from this divine attribute of love
comes the loves existing among creatures. These ideas expressed in the be-
ginning of this chapter by Ruzbihan ultimately go back to Hallaj.(57) Indeed
Daylami affirms that Hallaj is unique among Sufi masters in that he alone
considered Love an essential attribute of God.(58) Also it is Hallaj who prefered
Vol. XXIII 1987 125
the term 'ishq to hubb or mahabba to designate "love". Daylami's own view
on the origin of love follows much the same line as Hallaj's, but without the
latter's mythopoetical language.

The origin of Love (mahabba) is that it is an eternal quality (mawsuf) of

God. It is an attribute which exists in Him. He Himself was in this
attribute (sifa) without ceasing to seeing Himself, for Himself, and
though Himself, in the same manner He is the perceiver of Himself, for
Himself, and through Himself. In the same manner, He loves (ahabba)
Himself, for Himself, and through Himself. And here the lover (muhibb),
the beloved (mahbub) and love (mahabba) are one and the same thing;
there is no divison (inqisam) in it, because He is Oneness Itself ('ayn al-
ahadiya), and in Oneness there are no two things.(59)

It is obvious that the above quoted passage of Daylami is the source of

Ruzbihan. Both Daylami and Ruzbihan compare the self-love of God to
the self-seeing (nazir ila nafsihi) of God. Although Daymali uses here the word
mahabba and Ruzbihan primarily 'ishq, this difference is not important, because
it does not mean that Daylami avoids the term 'ishq.(60) As we have seen already,
both Daylami and Ruzbihan give 'ishq the highest place in the stages of love.(61)
In this respect, both follow the tradition of Hallaj, who expressed the love
of God with 'ishq.
Then, Ruzbihan continues to describe the manifestation of the divine
attribute of Love to the creature in a following manner:

When He (God) wished to open the treasure of His essence with the
key of His attributes, He manifested Himself (tajalli kard) to the spirits
of the gnostics through the beauty of love, and He appeared to them
through the special attributes. They found a dress (libasi) from each
attribute: from knowledge, knowledge; from speech, speech; from will,
will; ... from affection (mahabbat), affection; and from love ('ishq),
love. All these were He. And He is manifest (zahir) in them; the
effect (ta'thir) of attributes came in them; their attribute became sub-
sisting (qa'im) in that effect. There is no incarnation (hulul) in that
world. The servant is servant, and the Lord is Lord.(62)

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 CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE TRADITION OF SHIRAZI LOVE MYSTICISM

The above quotation corresponds to the following passage of Daylami:

From eternity God manifested (abraza) for the sake of all His names
which are common [to the creature] their effects (ta'thirat); they [i.
e., their effects] were the contingent (al-hadath) which is next to eternity.
Then He manifested love (mahabba) from His [attribute of] Love; mercy
from His Mercy; power from His Power; and other attributes from the
rest of His Attributes.(63)

But there is an important difference in terminology, i. e., Ruzbihan's use

of the technical term tajalli to signify the manifestation of God.(64) The idea
that the beauty of God manifested itself in beautiful objects on earth also exists
in Daylami, but Ruzbihan is very zealous to warn the reader not to confuse it
with the concept of incarnation (hulul), which is always associated with Hallajian
heresy. The concept of tajalli is frequently contrasted with that of hulul, as can
be seen in the above quotation.(65) And he tries to reconcile his idea of tajalli
with the transcendence of God. There comes the idea of iltibas (perplexity).(66)
However, the term iltibas has another meaning, that is, "to clothe",(67) And
Ruzbihan often uses the metaphor of God's clothing of Himself in a shape of
Adam, or a beautiful man. This clothing is indicated in the famous hadith,
"God created Adam in His image". The importance of this hadith for Ruzbihan
is clear, when one compares the occurence of this hadith in the two works. In
the 'Atf it appears only once.(68) But in the 'Abhar, this hadith is quoted fregent-
ly even in the early chapters where Ruzbihan relies heavily on Daylami for
his materials. (69)

Conclusion

As a conclusion, the following can be said from the comparisons between

Daylami's 'Atf and Ruzbihan's 'Abhar al-'ashiqin. Ruzbihan certainly read
Daylami's book, and utilized it as a source without acknowledgement. But it
cannot be said that Ruzbihan plagiarized it, because the parts directly borrowed
from Daylami's book do not exceed one-fourth of the entire book. Further-
more, the borrowings are mainly concentrated in the first part of the book, and
they are mostly hadiths used for the proofs of lawfulness of love and excellences
of beauty, the beautiful one, and love. Also the overall style of the two books are
Vol. XXIII 1987 127
different. Daylami's book abounds not only in anecdotes and sayings of early
Sufi masters, but also in quotations of Greek scientists, philosophers, ancient
Arab poets and Islamic theologians. It has much similarities with the secular
theory of love. On the other hand, Ruzbihan's book is written in highly orna-
mental prose filled with poetical metaphors. It seldom diverts from the field of
Sufism. Nevertheless, there are interesting similarities between them with
respect to the divine origin of Love. In this respect, both Daylami and Ruz-
bihan are influenced by the Hallajian theory of love. Probably, Ruzbihan took
it through Daylami. However he tries to emphasize the difference between
the concept of hulul and that of tajalli. Also his concept of iltibas and the met-
aphor of clothing are not found in Daylami. While Daylami tries to blend
Hallaj into philosophy and support his views with many quotations of hadith and
other authorities, Ruzbihan hides Hallajian thought with highly poetical and
sometimes enigmatic prose and sophisticated terminology. According to Massig-
non, Daylami probably received the Hallajian theory of love, not from Ibn Khafif,
but from Abu Hayyan Tawhidi, who, in turn, received it from Abu Sulayman Man-
tiqi Sijistani.(70) Therefore it can be said that Daylami represents the philoso-
phical Hallajism, which tries to interprete Hallaji's thought in terms of Hellenis-
tic philosophy. On the other hand, in Ruzbihan, we see a representative of
experiential Sufism. He is not interested in philosophy nor metaphysics; he is
a 'practicing' Sufi full of mystical visions. However, in spite of these
differences, we can still notice in them a continuation of the Hallajian tradition
of love mysticism in Shiraz, the tradition which is distinct from that of Ahmad
Ghazzali and that of Ibn 'Arabi.

Notes

(1) Henry Corbin, "Ruzbehan Baqli Shirazi et le soufisme des Fideles d'amour", in his
En Islam iranien, 4 vols. (Paris, 1971-72), 3: 51-194; idem., "Quietude et inquietude de l'ame dans
le soufisme de Ruzbehan Baqli de Shiraz", Eranos-Jahrbuch 27 (1958): 51-194. Before Corbin,
there is a pioneering study on Ruzbihan by Louis Massignon ("La Vie et les oeuvres de Ruz-
behan Baqli" in Louis Massignon, Opera Minora, ed. by Y. Moubarac, 3 vols. (Beirut, 1963), 2:
451-465.
Besides the above mentioned works in Western languages, there are two monographs in Persian
on Ruzbihan's life and works: Muhammad Taqi Mir, Sharh-i hal wa athar wa ash'ar-i Shaykh
Ruzbihan Baqli Fasa'i Shirazi (Shiraz, 1354 A. H. Solar); Ghulam 'Ali Ariya, Sharh-i ahwal wa
majmu'a-yi ash'ar-i be-dast amade-yi Shaykh Shattah Ruzbihan Fasa'i (Teheran, 1368 A. H. Solar).
Also the introductions of Corbin and Mo'in in their edition of Ruzbihan's 'Abhar al-'ashiqin are
both very informative (Ruzbihan Baqli Shirazi, Kitab 'abhar al-'ashiqin, ed. by H. Corbin & M.
Mo'in (Paris-Teheran, 1958, pp. 1-113 of Persian section for Mo'in's introduction and pp. 1-128

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 CONTINUITY AND CHANGE IN THE TRADITION OF SHIRAZI LOVE MYSTICISM

of French section for Corbin's introduction).

(2) Javad Nurbakhsh in the preface to his edition of 'Abhar al-'ashiqin (Teheran, 1349 A. H.
Solar), p. ba. I am very much obliged to Dr. Berndt Ratke for kindly sending me a copy of this
book.
(3) Kulliyat-i 'Iraqi. ed. by S. Nafisi (Teheran, n. d.), p. 316.
(4) Ibn 'Arabi, Futuhat al-makkiya, 4 vols. (Cairo, 1329 A. H.), 2: 315. Massignon ("La
Vie et les oeuvres", p. 455) thinks that the hero of this episode is not our Ruzbihan Shirazi, but
Ruzbihan Misri. However, Mo'in ("Persian Introduction", p. 10), Ariya (p. 43, n. 1), and
Corbin (En Islam iranien, 3: 68-70) support the identification with our Ruzbihan.
(5) Ruzbihan Baqli Shirazi, 'Ara'is al-bayan fi haqa'iq al-Qur'an, 2 vols (Lucknow, 1883).
(6) Idem. Sharh-i shathiyat, ed. by Henry Corbin, (Paris-Teheran, 1966).
(7) "The third name [after Ahmad Ghazzali and 'Ayn al-Qudat] in the chain of the great
love mystics of Iran is that of Ruzbihan Baqli..." (Annemarie Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions
of Islam [Chapel Hill, 1975], p. 296.).
(8) Annemarie Schimmel, Garten der Erkenntnis (Dusseldorf-Koln, 1982), p. 90. However,
according to Nasrullah Purjavadi, the author of the Lawa'ih, which is clearly modelled on the
Sawanih, is wrongly attributed to 'Ayn al-Qudat Hamadani: its real author is Qadi Hamid al-Din
Naguri, a disciple of Mu'in al-Din Chishti. (Nasrullah Purjavadi, Sultan-i Tariqat: Sawanih-i
Zendegi wa Sharh-i Athar-i Khaja Ahmad Ghazzali [Teheran, 1358 A. H. Solar], p. 78; idem.,
"Introduction" in his edition of Ahmad Ghazzali's Sawanih [Teheran, n. d.], pp. 27-28.).
(9) Kulliyat-i 'Iraqi, p. 376.
(10) Concerning the influences of Ahmad Ghazzali's Sawanih on later love mysticism in
Iran, see Purjavadi, Sultan-i Tariqat, pp. 75-81.
(11) Ahmad Ghazzali, Sawanih: Inspirationsfrom the World of Pure Spirits, trans. by Nasrollah
Pourjavady (London, 1986), p. 8.
(12) Abu al-Hasan Daylami, Kitab 'al-atf al-ma'luf 'ala al-lam al-ma'tuf ed. J-C Vadet
(Cairo, 1962). Concerning Daylami's place in the history of the theory of love in Islam, see
Ritter, "Philologika VII: Arabische und persische Schriften uber die profane und die mystische
Liebe," Der Islam, 21 (1933): 84-109.
(13) Jean-Claude Vadet, Le traite d'amour mystique d'al-Daylami (Geneve, 1980), pp. 4-11.
(14) Ibid., p. 4.
(15) Louis Massignon, "Interferences philosophiques et percees metaphysiques dans la
mystique hallagienne: notion de 'l'Essentiel Desir"' in Opera Minora, 2: 229.
In this article, Massignon translated the fragments of Hallaj preserved in the 'Atf and dealt
with the problem of transmission of these fragments from Hallaj to Daylami.
(16) Vadet, pp. 12-17.
(17) Ibid., pp. 18-23.
(18) Ibid., p. 15
(19) This prologue is translated by Corbin into French in his French introduction to the
'Abhar, pp. 112-126.

(20) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 5. There are two editions for the 'Abhar. One is Corbin & Mo
'in' s edition mentioned in n. 1. The other is Nurbakhsh's edition mentioned in n. 2. Since

the Nurbakhsh's edition is based on better manuscripts, in the present paper, I use his edition
as a text of my translation.
(21) Ibid., p. 6.
(22) Ibid., p. 7.
(23) Ibid., p. 8.
(24) Ibid. Here the Qur'anic verse, "We will tell you the best of the stories" (12/3), the hadith,
"Whoever loved and remained chaste and hid his love and died, died a martyr's death" and
Dhu al-Nun's words, "Whoever becomes intimate with God becomes intimate with all beautiful
things and handsome faces" are quoted. This hadith is quoted several times in the 'Abhar, while

Vol. XXIII 1987 129

only once in the 'Atf (p. 56). These words of Dhu al-Nun are commented by Ruzbihan in
the Sharh-i shathiyat, pp. 150-154. This passage of the Sharh is translated by Massignon into
French. ("La vie et les oeuvres", pp. 464-65.)
(25) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 8.
(26) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 5.
(27) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 11.
(28) Only the hadith, "God created Adam in His shape" does not appear in the 'Atf. For the
importance of this hadith for Ruzbihan, see infra, p. 127 and n. 69.
(29) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 19.
(30) Daylami, 'Atf, pp. 12-13.
(31) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 18; Daylami, 'Atf, pp. 11-12.
(32) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 2; Daylami, 'Atf, p. 13. Even the examples of the mystical
stations are same between them.
(33) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 20. Corbin & Mo'in edition (p. 22) reads sifat (attribute) in
lieu of khassa.
(34) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 13. Ruzbihan gives this reason, too.
(35) The first hadith, "there is no good for those who do not have intimacy with anyone
and with whom no one has intimacy" appears twice in the 'Atf (p. 14; p. 56). The second
hadith, "Whoever loved, remained chaste, concealed his love and died, died as a martyr," are
quoted very often in the 'Abhar without mentioning the famous Ibn Da'ud anecdote. On the
other hand, in the 'Atf it was quoted only once (p. 56), however with the story of Ibn Da'ud.
Concerning Ibn Da'ud's anecdote associated with this hadith, see the full account in Lois Anita
Giffen, Theory of Profane Love among the Arabs (New York, 1972), pp. 10-11.
(36) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 20. The meaning is not very clear. Judging from the examples given
by him, the first class is the divine Names which can be shared by the creature, like "knower";
the second class is normal primary nouns, like "camel", "mountain". (Probably, their naming
is considered the actions special to God.) The third class is the names derived from human
actions, like "tailor".
(37) Ibid.
(38) Ibid. See also Joseph Norment Bell, Love Theory in Later Hanbalite Islam, (Albany,
1979), p. 160.
(39) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, pp. 36-37. However, since he does not enumerate these four things,
it is not clear what they are. See Corbin's interpretation in the En Islam iranien, 3: 97.
(40) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, pp. 37-39.
(41) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 24.
(42) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 39.
(43) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 121; Daylami, 'Atf, p. 111.
(44) These parts are: chap. 1, pp. 8-10; chap. 2-3, pp. 14-21; chap. 5, pp. 26-35; chap.
6, pp. 36-39; and chap. 32, pp. 119-121. However, even in these parts, Ruzbihan intermingles
his own thought freely with the materials taken from the 'Atf.
(45) Daylami, 'Atf, pp. 6-7.
(46) Ibid., p. 7.
(47) Daylami, 'Atf, pp. 14-15; Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 22.
(48) For the secular love theory, see Giffen's Theory of Profane Love Among the Arabs
mentioned in n. 33, and especially for Hanbalite theory of love, see Bell's Love Theory in Later
Hanbalite Islam mentioned in n. 37.
(49) Some of the passages from the Greek scientists are studied by Richard Waltzer, "Aris-
totle, Galen, and Palladius on Love," in his Greek into Arabic (Oxford, 1962), pp. 48-59. cf.
Giffen, Theory of Profane Love, p. 66.
(50) Schimmel, Mystical Dimensions, p. 298.
(51) For instance, let us compare the fifteenth chapter, "Love of the Servant toward God",

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of the 'Atf to the twentieth chapter, "On the Beginning of the [divine] Love, Which Is the Stage
of Humble Submission ('ubudiya)", of the 'Abhar. The former mainly consists of sayings and
anecdotes of prophets and Sufi masters. Even a poem by Majnun is quoted. On the other
hand, in the latter, only one hadith and two short Qur'anic verses are quoted.
(52) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 11.
(53) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, pp. 17-18.
(54) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 7.
(55) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, p. 28.
(56) Ibid., p. 119.
(57) Massignon dealt with Hallaj's thought on love in his article, "Interferences philosophi-
ques" (mentioned in n. 15), and emphasized its importance in the history of Islamic thought.
The long fragment of Hallaj on love, on which Massignon's study is based, is preserved in three
versions: the first, in Daylami's 'Atf, pp. 26-28 in Arabic; the second, in Ruzbihan's Mantiq al-
Asrar (still in manuscript) in Arabic; the third, in Ruzbihan's Sharh-i Shathiyat, pp. 441-44 in
Persian.
(58) Daylami, 'Atf, pp. 27-28.
(59) Ibid., pp. 36-37.
(60) In fact, in the quotation of the long fragment of Hallaj mentioned above in n. 57, it is
Daylami who uses the word 'ishq throughout; Ruzbihan in most cases replaces it with the word
mahabba. See Massignon, "Interferences philosophiques", p. 232.
(61) See supra, p. 118.
(62) Ruzbihan, 'Abhar, pp. 119-120.
(63) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 37.
(64) The concept of tajalli, one of the key-terms to understand Ruzbihan's thought, is
analyzed by Corbin, who rendered it as theophanie (En Islam iranien, 3: 19, 80-97 passim).
(65) Other examples in which confusion of tajalli with hulul is warned are: 'Abhar, pp. 6;
27-28. Love mystics, who worshipped Divine Beauty in human beauties, are often accused
of the heresy of hulul. Cf. Hellmut Ritter, Das Meer der Seele (Leiden, 1955), pp. 449-458.
(66) The concept of iltibas is closely connected with that of tajalli. Corbin renderes it as
amphibolie. See Corbin, En Islam iranien, 3: 19, 80-97 passim.
(67) See the Farhang-i Nafisi, s, v. "iltibas". It is interesting to note that in the lexicographi-
cal section of Sufi technical terms in the Sharh-i shathiyat, talabbus (although the section is erro-
neously entitled "On talbis") is included (pp. 626-27), but not iltibas.
(68) Daylami, 'Atf, p. 8.
(69) Ruzbihan's uses of the imago Dei hadith in the 'Abhar al-'ashiqin and the Sharh-i shathiyat
are analysed in my article, "Adam created in His Image: Ruzbihan's concept on Man" (Kami no
sugata ni tsukurareta Adam) in K. Riesenhuber (ed.), The Image of Man in the Middle Ages (Chusei
no Ningenzou, Tokyo, 1986), pp. 293-313. (in Japanese).
(70) Massignon, "Interferences philosophiques", pp. 229-230; pp. 240-242.

Vol. XXIII 1987 131