Poems & Poets

This poem is authored by Hakim Abul-Majd Majdūd ibn Ādam Sanā'ī Ghaznavi (Persian: حکیم ابوالمجد مجدود ‌بن آدم سنایی غزنوی‎‎; born ca. 1087-1130), also known as Sanā'i Ghaznavi, or simply Sanā'i. Sanā'i was a 12th-century Persian poet celebrated for his homiletic poetry and influence on the development of mystical literature. He is recognised as the first poet to utilise Arabic verse-forms such as the qasīdeh (ode), the ghazal (lyric) and the masnavi (rhyming couplet) to express philosophical, mystical and ethical ideas in the tradition of Tassavof (Sufism). He hailed from Ghazna (modern-day Afghanistan) and was one of the major influences on Mawlana Rumi who emerged a century after.

This qasīdeh (ode) is in praise of God, Glorfied and Exalted is He. The poem begins and ends with two couplets spoken by Sana'i, however the remaining lines are told through God's speech as imagined by Sana'i.

Reference: Sana'i – Divan-e-Ash'ar – Qasa'ed – Sh. 116