Writing to his brother from prison in 1949, a young African American man opens his letter citing these lines from a medieval Persian poet:

Indeed the Idols I have loved so long,

Have done my credit in this World much Wrong:

Have dropped my Glory in a shallow Cup,

And sold my Reputation for a song

The writer would later achieve acclaim as the civil rights activist Malcolm X, and the lines he was citing were by Omar Khayyam, the subject of today’s episode.

Q1. Omar Khayyam was born in 1048CE in Nishapur, Iran. The Abbasid caliph in Baghdad was al-Qāʾim which was witnessing a so-called Sunni Revival with the ousting of the Caspian Zaydi Shia Buyid de facto control of the caliphate by the Turkic Sunni Seljuks in 1055CE. The Cold War with the rival Ismaili ShiaFatimid caliphate of Cairo was still at its height. Tell us more about the world of Omar Khayyam.

Q2. He had an exemplary education becoming an authority in mathematics. He was employed as a head astronomer by the Seljuk regime and after the death of Sultan Malik-Shah, Omar Khayyam made hajj seemingly to allay suspicions about his own religious alignment. What else do we know about his life?

Q3. Omar Khayyam is known in English through the popular Victorian translation by Edward Fitzgerald. But is it misleading to limit our knowledge of him to these series of translated quatrains.

Q4. Omar Khayyam dies in 1131 aged 83 in his hometown. What has been his legacy, influence and genealogy?

Q5. And finally before we end, please share with us a sample of Omar Khayyam’s work in the original Persian with the translation.

Further reading:
The Wine of Wisdom: The Life, Poetry and Philosophy of Omar Khayyam — Mehdi Aminrazavi (original translations with an appendix dedicated to the Fitzgerald translations)

Ali Hammoud:
https://x.com/AliHammoud7777
https://alihammoud7.substack.com/

We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details.

Born 1004CE in present-day Tajikistan then under control of the Ghaznavid dynasty, Abū Muʿīn al-Dīn Nasir Khusraw was an Ismaili convert and missionary who became better known for his poetry.

To discuss with us today the life, works and legacy of Nasir Khusraw is Ali Hammoud. Ali Hammoud is a PhD candidate at Western Sydney University. He is broadly interested in Shīʿīsm and Islamicate intellectual history. Welcome Ustad Ali!

Q1. I think it’s important we set the scene for the socio-political dynamics in which Nasir Khusraw lived. There were two major competing polities claiming to be the ultimate representatives of the Prophet’s legacy: the Ismaili Shia Fatimid caliphate in Cairo and the Sunni Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad. We can imagine it as a kind of Cold War era that existed between the Soviet and the US after WWII with smaller entities in between them having to choose a loyalty or hedge their bets.

Q2. Nasir Khusraw lived in Merv in present day Turmenistan and he worked for the Sunni Turkic Seljuk administration before his conversion to Ismailism and joining the Fatimid court. Tell us more about his life and career.

Q3. He has a number of works philosophical and literary. Describe them for us before giving us details characterising his divan.

Q4. What further readings and resources do you recommend for us on Nasir Khusrau?

Q5 Finally before we end, give us a sample of the work of Nasir Khusrau in the original Persian and translation.

Ali Hammoud:
https://x.com/AliHammoud7777
https://alihammoud7.substack.com/

We are sponsored by IHRC bookshop. Listeners get a 15% discount on all purchases. Visit IHRC bookshop at shop.ihrc.org and use discount code AHP15 at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Contact IHRC bookshop for details.

Born under the Samanid dyansty and living through the rule of the Ghaznavid dynasty in Tus located north Iran, Ferdowsi is author of the epic Shahnameh (“The Book of Kings”) of 50,000 lines taking 30 years to compose. The work is of central importance in Persian heritage.

Q1. Ferdowsi was born in 940CE and died around 1019CE at around 80 years old. He lived under the Ghaznavid dynasty who at their height ruled territory spanning modern day Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan. Tell us about the cultural context in which he was born.

Q2. Ferdowsi was born into a family of dehqan landowners. He has an elegy to an adult son inserted into the Shahnameh. He is characterised as both a Shia Muslim but also a deist. What else do we know about his life?

Q3. Ferdowsi began work on the Shahnameh around 977 and received patronage from sultan Mahmud of the Ghaznavid dynasty. Give us an overview of the Shahnameh and how readers in translation should approach it. There are also many beautifully illustrated editions too. Tell us about those too.

Q4. If people want to learn more about Ferdowsi and his Shahnameh, what resources and translations would you recommend.

Q5 Finally before we end, give us a sample of the Shahnameh in the original Persian and translation.

Ali Hammoud:
https://x.com/AliHammoud7777
https://alihammoud7.substack.com/