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A Polemic on Knowledge: An Analysis of Two Persian Quatrains

A Polemic on Knowledge: An Analysis of Two Persian Quatrains. A. Ghajarjazi
In: Sufi non-conformism : antinomian trends in the Persianate cultural traditions. A.A. Seyed-Gohrab (ed.) Amsterdam : Leiden University Press, 2024. (Iranian Studies Series; 32) ISBN: 9789087284541. Pp. 179–201

Summary
Arash Ghajarjazi’s chapter is an excellent example of how Persian religious intellectuals discussed their ideas through quatrains. His chapter deals with a dispute elaborated in two Persian quatrains in a manuscript from 644/1256 that is preserved in the Shahīd ʿAlī Pashā Library in Istanbul. These quatrains deal with the use of reason, as opposed to tradition, to understand doctrinal religious issues. This is an allusion to the animosity between philosophers, who preferred discursive reasoning to explain religious doctrines, and those whose approach to religious principles was theological and based on prophetic tradition. The two approaches are indicated in each poem by a different term: rāy or “opinion,” and “reason,” and khabar or “tradition,” in both its general sense and as a term for the prophetic traditions, i.e., ḥadīth.

 

Remembering ‘Umar Khayyám

Remembering ‘Umar Khayyám. Episodes of Unbelief in the Reception Histories of Persian Quatrains. Arash Ghajarjazi. Berlin, De Gruyter, 2025. 340 p., 18 illus. ISBN: 9783111617077. (Sufism studies; 3)

This book explores the Persian sage ʿUmar Khayyām and the globally renowned quatrains (rubāʿiyyāt) attributed to him from a new angle. These quatrains have unleashed responses from Sufis and Islamic theologians, fostering secular thought in the Persianate world. From the early 12th century to the present, ʿUmar Khayyām’s persona has been a source of inspiration for various literate communities. This monograph addresses an undesirable gap in Khayyām scholarship by re-examining the reception of his quatrains within a changing collective memory. It investigates a wide range of texts and objects, including Sufi texts, chronicles, mystical poetry anthologies, memorial monuments, Victorian illustrations, and modern periodicals. The focus is on how the remembrance of Khayyām has contributed to the formation of a secular intellectual tradition in modern Iran. The book argues for a re-conceptualisation of Khayyām as a nexus of Sufi literature, memory, and secularity. Additionally, it critically examines traditional scholarship on Khayyām’s biography and the debates regarding the authenticity of his quatrains. This work aims to connect scholars of Sufism Studies, memory studies, and Persian and Islamic Studies.