Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Title | Sheikh al-Islam[1] |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1049 |
| Died | 1141 (aged 91–92) Torbat-e Jam, Seljuk Empire |
| Resting place | Turbat-i Sheikh Jam |
| Era | Islamic Golden Age |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Islam |
| Denomination | Sunni |
| Muslim leader | |
| Teacher | Abu Taher Kurd |
Sehab al-Din Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Abu'l Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad Namaqi Jami[2] (Persian:شهابالدّین ابونصر احمد ابن ابوالحسن ابن احمد ابن محمد جامی نامقی; 1049 – 1141), better known asSheikh Ahmad-e Jami (Persian:شیخ احمد جامی) or by his sobriquetZinda-fil (Persian:ژندهپیل), was aPersian Sufi, writer,mystic and poet. A conservative Sufi, Ahmad preached and wrote extensively, with his work being notable for their focus on ordinary topics and use of conversational language. These formed an important contribution toPersian literature.
He grew increasingly revered after his death, withhis tomb becoming a prominent religious shrine. His descendants, who were its custodians, became influential political figures over subsequent centuries.
Ahmad was born inNamaq, in the outskirts ofJam, in 1049. His family claimed descent fromJarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali, acompanion ofMuhammad, though Ahmad's appearance was distinctly non-Arab, and hisPersian had a native sounding quality. His sobriquetZinda-fil ("the colossal elephant" or "the terrible elephant") referred both to his appearance and his religio-social conduct.[2][3]
Ahmad had some formal schooling in his youth. At age twenty-two, while "immersed in the pleasures of a loose life", he experienced a miracle, which led him to denounce worldy interests. He secluded himself in the mountains around Namaq, where he spent the next eighteen years devoted to study, meditation, and self-imposed hardships. At the age of forty, he left the solitary life and began a long career of preaching, teaching Sufi followers, and writing books. He travelled to many nearby villages and towns, includingHerat andNishapur, and at one point madeHajj.[2]
Jam was his permanent residence, where he built a mosque andkhanaqa. His contact was limited mostly to the local population and minor dignitaries, with the one notable exception of theSeljuk sultanAhmad Sanjar, who had a particular liking to Ahmad and with whom he exchanged correspondence. Two such letters survive, one in which Ahmad defended Jam's population, and another where he answered a spiritual question from Sanjar.[2]
Ahmad stands apart from any known Sufi order of his day. Hispir was an otherwise unknown figure named Abu Taher Kurd.[2] Subsequenthagiographers attempted to propogate a spiritual link between Ahmad and the celebrated Sufi,Abu Sa'id Abu'l-Khayr, though this has no basis in fact.[4]
A stern conservative, Ahmad heavily citedhadith in his workMeftāh al Najāt to demonstrate the strictest orthodoxy. He is portrayed by his pupil and biographer Sadid al-Din Gaznavi, as getting involved in people's affairs, destroying musical instruments and vats of wine, and punishing sinners and forcing them to repent.[2][5] Historian Shivan Mahendrarajah describes Ahmad as "haughty, belligerent, vindictive, and miserly". Conversely,Heshmat Moayyad suggests that Gaznavi's descriptions are not borne out in the impression left by Ahmad's books, "where he appears gentle and ready to forgive a whole life of sin and corruption if only the last breath is taken in repentance".[2]
Ahmad's writings rarely touched on sophisticated questions of philosophy or theology, instead focusing on ordinary subjects of Sufi practice and morality. He constantly warned against hypocrites and often repeated himself. He wrote in the style of sermons, and his language was clear and conversational, making liberal uses of parables and situational examples. Subsequent followers attributed him with wild miracles, though this is practically unsupported by Ahmad's own writings. He had also engaged in writing poetry, and adiwan (mostlyghazals) has been attributed to him under thepen name "Ahmad" or "Ahmadi". However, the authenticity of these is at least partially questionable.[2]
Unlike other prominent mystics, Ahmad had minimal appeal with religious scholars and poets.[2]Beatrice Forbes Manz notes that his works apparently had little impact.[6] Moayyad considers that his writings were "more precious for their contribution to Persian literary history than for their teachings".[2] However, in the years following Ahmad's death in 1141, he became an increasingly revered figure.[note 1] His tomb, theTurbat-i Sheikh Jam, became a flourishing shrine, and a focus of royal and elite patronage in subsequent centuries.[6]
Ahmad married eight wives and had fourteen sons that survived him, some of whom became notable religious figures in their own right.[2] He married his offspring into notable families of the westernKhorasan andQuhistan regions, settling them in the respective towns; this was a policy continued by his family throughout the subsequentMongol period.[7]
His descendants proliferated greatly over the following generations; by 1436, around one thousand were residing in Jam,Nishapur,Herat, and nearby areas.[2] The family wielded enormous influence over bothTajiks and Mongols, stemming from their management of Ahmad's prestigious shrine, as well as through the possession of an ample agricultural base. Sheikh Qutb al-Din of Jam played a part in the election of theIlkhan claimantTogha Temür in 1337. Mu'in al-Din Muhammad Jami served asvizier to theKartid ruler Mu'izz al-Din, in addition to being the latter's nephew and son-in-law. Mu'in al-Din's uncle, theMutawālī of the Jami shrine Radi al-Din, incited the Mongol nobleAmir Qazaghan to invade Kartid territory. A generation later, the Jami sheikhs encouraged the campaigns ofTimur in the same region.[8]
Their influence in Iran waned with the advent of theSafavids, but found new opportunities in South Asia.Maham Begum andHamida Banu Begum, the mothers of theMughal emperorsHumayun andAkbar respectively, were both of the Jami family.[2][9] Many Jami sheikhs populated Akbar's court, though appear to have played a more literary role than wielding actual power.[10]
In Iran, though the shrine of Ahmad received support under the Safavids, thePersian–Uzbek wars and sectarian strife caused leading Jamis to depart, joining kinsmen in Mughal India. Over the subsequentAfsharid,Qajar,Zand, andPahlawi eras, the shrine fell into disrepair and its cult withered. However, following the establishment of theIslamic Republic of Iran in 1979, in the interest of strengthening nationalist bonds withSunni communities and institutions, the shrine and cult received significant financial and technical backing from the central government. As a result, they experienced a rejuvenation.[11] In Jam, a number of mayors have since been appointed from among the Jamis, and both there and in Herat, the family remain influential and respected into the present-day.[2][12]
Although the titles of his books were inArabic, all of them are written inPersian. They were regardingshariah and theology, with some of his most important books being:
