Nasir-i Khusraw (d. 481) the Persian poet, philosopher, traveller and
propagandist was known first by his diwan and travel accounts. It was after the
appearance of Zad al-mussafirin and Jami‘ al-Hikmatain that he became known as a
philosopher. His other works Wajh-i Din, Khan al-Ikhwan, Gushayish wa Rahayish
and Shish fasl represent him as a prominent Ismaili theologian. Before the
emergence of these works, Nasir-i Khusraw was known only through a fabricated
biography, falsely attributed to him as his autobiography, which has been quoted
by several biographers such as Amin Ahmad-i Razi in Haft Iqlim, Taqi Kashi in
Khulasat al-Ash'ar and finally by Adhar in Atishkadah. This "autobiography"
contains a great deal of legendary material about Nasir's life, gathered about
him through the years, may be by his disciples. In this work he has been called
‘Alawi meaning a descendant of ‘Ali. A view that has been accepted by some
scholars.
However, it seems evident through Nasir-i Khusraw's writings especially his
Diwan that a reconsideration of this Nisbah is warranted. To substantiate this
view I set forth the following statements from his diwan:
I. In the diwan he gives his name as Nasir, his father's name as Khusraw, his
kunyah as Abu Mu'in, his birth place Qubadiyan, his residence Yumgan and his pen
name Hujjah. This last name has appeared in the following forms: Hujjat-i
Khurasan, Hujjat-i Mustansir, Hujjat of the son of the Prophet, Hujjat of the
deputy of the Prophet. Also he calls himself by the following titles:
"emissary", "envoy", "trusted", "chosen by the Imam of his time", "chosen of
‘Ali", but in no place does he mention being an ‘Alawi or descendant of Muhammad
or ‘Ali. Rather he calls himself "the follower of the son of the Prophet", of
"the servant of His son".
If he really had such a relationship, Nasir-i Khusraw would have boasted of
it, because it was a Nisbah of dignity and honour. The verse of Abu Nuwas about
Imam Rida which states that he who is not an ‘Alawi does not possess honour, was
frequently used among the Muslims, especially the Shi'a community.
Another title which Nasir-i Khusraw might have used to indicate his descent
from ‘Ali is Sharif. This title, according to Suyuti is al-Hawi, in early
Islamic times implied descent from ‘Ali, Ja'far, Abbas and ‘Aqil. However during
Nasir's time it had come to mean specifically a descent of ‘Ali. There are
indications that before and after Nasir-i Khusraw the words ‘Alawi and
Sharifwere used in the same sense. According to Tha'alibi, Khwarzmi wrote the
following about an ‘Alawi who was a Nasibi: he is a Sharif but his conduct is
dishonourable. Sa'di mentions a crook who claimed to be an ‘Alawi who was denied
the title of Sharif when it became known that his father was a Christian.
Although Nasir-i Khusraw has used both these words in the diwan and his other
works, yet he has never called himself by these names. Even in addressing a
Sunni as an "Umari", meaning a follower of ‘Umar, he calls himself "Haydari" as
a follower of ‘Ali even though he could have used "‘Alawi" without corrupting
the meter of the verse.
II.
In the first verse Nasir, referring to the soul, says: "What woudst thou say
about this lofty and pure-natured thing? Why has it fallen into this prison and
this bondage? Ivanow has read ‘Alawi instaed of ‘uluwi' (meaning lofty) and has
given the following translation: "What woudst thou say, why has this ‘Alawi of
noble birth fallen into this prison and those fetters?
The fact, however, that Nasir is referring to the soul is clear by a
following verse in which he says: "Your prison is the world and the body is your
fetter". Furthermore it should be mentioned that the reading ‘Alawi corrupts the
meter of the verse.
In the second proof cited by Ivanow, Nasir says: "We are on the trace [bar
athar] of our Prophet", and from it Ivanow has inferred that it meant a
descendent of the Prophet. But the word ‘bar-athar' means "following" and it is
borrowed from the Arabic ‘Ala athar. The sentence Ja' fulan ala Athari means such
and such followed me. This usage is frequent in Persian. The Arabic proverb man
tabi'a al-sabr tabi'ahu al-nasr, which means whoever follows patience, victory
follows him, is used by Hafiz in the following verse, "Bar athar-i sabr nawbat-i
Zafar ayad".
Since we have shown that Nasir-i Khusraw was not an ‘Alawi in terms of
physical relationship, one might ascertain that this relationship was only
spiritual. It would seem that Nasir's adherents and followers have called him by
this nisbah after his death, and that gradually this notion that he was the
descendent of ‘Ali became, wrongly, an accepted fact.
It must be added that the term ‘Alawi was used long time before Nasir-i
Khusraw as denoting the followers of ‘Ali and Shi'is. Jahis has used it with
"Umari" and "Uthmani", meaning the followers of these, namely sunnis. But its
usage as a spiritual relationship to the family of ‘Ali is frequent in Shi'i
especially in Ismaili literature. Ikhwan-al-Safa stress this relationship and
maintain that physical relationship disappears with the decay of the body while
the spiritual relationship remains.
To justify this spiritual Nisbah Ismailis quote from the Qur'an and Hadith.
In the Qur'an Ibrahim is called the father of his community", while the son of
Nuh (Noah) is disassociated from the family of his father. Likewise in one
hadith the Prophet considers himself and ‘Ali the parents of his community, and
in another he declares Salman-i Farsi a member of his family.
Not only Nasir-i Khusraw, but other Ismaili da'is also possessed spiritual
nisbahs as recorded in Ismaili literature.
To conclude, it is apparent from the diwan of Nasir-i Khusraw that the nisbah
‘Alawi is only a spiritual attribute. Also, what has been said in the so-called
autobiography, which has been accepted by some scholars, has no reliable
foundation.
by Mehdi Mohaghegh
Tehran 1969
Reprinted from Yad-Name-ye Irani-ye Minorsky
III.
W. Ivanow, long-time scholar in Isma‘ilism, in his two
works on Nasir-i Khusraw, namely Nasir-i Khusraw and Isma'ilism and Problems in
Nasir-i Khusraw's Biography in order to prove that Nasir-i Khusraw was an ‘Alawi
has quoted two instances from the diwan, both of which are misrepresentations.
Sayyidna Nasir Khusraw by the Prince Aly Khan Religious Night School, Karachi, March 1973
Nasir-i Khusraw and his Spiritual Nisbah by Mehdi Mohaghegh
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