THE LOVE TO HUMAN AND ALLAH IN THE LITERARY AND PHILOSOPHICAL HERITAGE OF BABA TAHIR URYAN
Rafael HUSEYNOV

Notwithstanding the word “Uryan” means naked and poet’s choosing this pseudonym is usually linked with his extreme straightforwardness, clearness and simplicity, Baba Tahir, one of the most exceptional persons in the entire history of the sophist literature can by no means assessed as a word-master who is immediately comprehended from the first reading. The literary heritage (known to science) of Baba Tahir Uryan Hamadani who died in the 2nd half of the 11th century comprises over 300 dubeyties and several gazals. Genre of dubeyti which consists of 4 hemistiches and is widelyspread in Persian poetry is considered to be a kind of folk verse and Baba Tahir has not only performed his dubeyties merely in the very simple and comprehensible mode by essence but also has written them in unliterary language, in dialect in order to be native to the people. These orally spread verses were read by the representatives of a number of peoples and tribes being adapted to their dialects within centuries and consequently these verses to some extent turned to be the dialectological map of Iranian peoples. That Baba Tahir has mostly contributed to the history of Persian literature and tasavvuf through simplifying sufism and upgrading the theoretical concepts of this philosophical trend to the level to be understood, memorized and followed by simple people.

The abundant library of Persian literature of tasavvuf had already come to being prior to the emergence of Baba Tahir in poetry. It is difficult to distinguish the hemistiches with rhythmic rhymes of the most sufi successors of Baba Tahir from the theoretical works dedicated to sufism. For those without particular religious-philosophical knowledge is hard to realize the essence of these verses which can be said regarding those booklets. No obstacle exists between the verse of Baba Tahir and the most various layers of readers and that the ideas and thoughts in those verses are among the thoughts reflected in incomprehensible sufi verses and booklets. That Baba Tahir could have acquired the way of expressing the hardest through the easiest thus enabling his followers to spread more widely their ideas and to attract more disciples proves poetic and scientific capabilities of poet. Due to his being musician Baba Tahir has composed his verses under the accompaniment of music in order to enable them to spread widely among the people. That certain verses by Baba Tahir were performed through music still in 13th century is indicated in “Al-mujam fi-meayir-i ashar ul-ajam” (“The collection about the measures of verse of ajam”) by Shamsaddin Geys ar-Razi, the prominent theoretic of poetry of the Near and Middle East. It generates hardship to find other poet than Baba Tahir who managed to state in Persian verse very simply and variously the idea of vahdat-i vujud, the fundamental principle of tasavvuf. Those finding the verse of Baba Tahir to be very plain and suitable to the folk style assumed him as a person from the simple people who hadn’t been perfectly educated. Nevertheless, in line with the sources Baba Tahir have been above all a professional philosopher and scholar who intentionally wrote his verses in simple mode. Najmaddin Abubakr Ravandi in his historical issue entitled “Rahat as-sudur va ayat as-surur” (“The calm of souls and the feature of joys”) which had been completed in 1202 describes the meeting which took place between Sultan Togrul and such sacred persons as Baba Tahir, Baba Jafar and Sheikh Hamsha in 1055 in Hamadan. The content of the information of Ravandi whose information is distinguished with reliability proves that Baba Tahir was among the famous and respected Sufis of that period whose opinion was taken into consideration by the king. Baba Tahir have also written in Arabic his philosophical booklet entitled “Kalamat-i Gisar” (“Brief wisdoms”) which comprises 23 chapters covering such issues as science, courtesy, inspiration and sagacity, sense and passion, world and uqba as well as 368 aphorisms. A lot of comments have been written in Arabic and Persian to this tractate from 11th to 19th century and an author of the initial one was Eynulguzzat Miyanaji (1099-1131), prominent Azerbaijani philosopher. That Eynulguzzat wrote the comment to the booklet of Baba Tahir obviously proves that Baba Tahir and his works were highly assessed in the philosophical atmosphere of that period. Unlike the simple and easily understandable dubeyties by Baba Tahir, “Kalamat-i Gisar” is an complicated work which analyses the theoretical provisions of tasavvuf and due to his being fairly intricate many comments have been written to this tractate in various centuries. The comparisons made between the separate provisions of booklet and the dubeyties demonstrates both here and there the reflection of the similar world outlook and approach. Nonetheless, this point confirms the assumption that sophist poet Baba Tahir has purposely chosen such simple mode of performance in dubeyties to deliver his ideas more comprehensibly to the masses. Baba Tahir was also one of the leaders of the sect “Ahl-i Haqq” (“The people of truth”). The copies of the manuscript entitled “Saranjam” which can be perceived as a statute of that sect are preserved in the archives of Paris National Library and the Institute of Orientalism in St-Petersburg. The dubeyties by Baba Tahir are included into “Saranjam” from the beginning to the end and the sufi – tasavvuf essence of those verses is obvious. The verses by Baba Tahir included into his “Divan” comprises the ones with purely tasavvuf and secular content as well as the ones seeming to stand on the edge of the divine and human love and the ones which can be interpreted on this and that way. That Baba Tahir has managed to raise the human love to the level of divine one thus presenting the divine love and the love of tasavvuf in secular form is one of the major credits rendered by the poet to the history of philosophy and literature.

Keywords: Dubeyti, dialectological map, persian literature, tasavvuf, Kalamat-i Gisar, Ahl-i Haqq, human love, love of tasavvuf