Nāṣir-i Xusrav and his Rawšanāī-nāmeh (“The Book of Enlightenment”) (beyts 332–455). Translation from Percian into Russian, comments and introduction

Abstract

In the study of Ismailism, an important role was played by the discovery and subsequent study in the late 19th and early 20th centuries of the handwritten sources containing doctrinal Ismaili texts. Turning to these sources put the study of this area of Islam on a scientific basis for the first time. The poem (masnavi) by Nasir-i Khusrav “The Book of Enlightenment” (Rawšanā'ī - nameh) belongs to the very important texts of this kind. This article includes an annotated translation of bytes 333–455 of the poem. The chapters presented here reflect Nasir-i Khusraw’s contribution to the preaching of knowledge as a religious duty. This part includes 8 small chapters: On the properties of the human race, On the properties of simpletons, On the properties of solitude, Talk about the properties of laudable and blamed, A word about instruction and preaching, In rebuke of hypocritical friends, In rebuke of slanderers, In rebuke of following (ṭaqlīd). This part of the masnavi is devoted to the necessary prerequisites for assimilating the Ismaili doctrine of the soul and body, the sacred and profane understanding of Ismaili spirituality, the best prerequisites for comprehending Ismaili knowledge, as well as criticizing those simpletons ignorant of Ismailism who persecute the preachers of “true knowledge” and “block their way to paradise” with their wrong behavior. Despite the simplicity of the style of this passage, its understanding requires clarification regarding Nasir’s poetic terminology, as he loads traditional poetic expressions (istilahat ashshu'ara) with additional connotations based on Ismaili philosophy.