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inthiscentury,withmasterssuchasSayyidḤaydarĀmulī(782/1380).Thistoowas
thecenturyoftheSarbedars,oftheoccultspeculationsofḤurūfism,oftherevivalof
theḤanbaliteschooloftheology,anditwasalsotheeraduringwhichthefounder
oftheSufiorder,towhichthelaterSafavidsadhered,alsoflourished.Additionally,
itshouldbeunderlinedthatthespiritualandliterarytraditionsofthePersianworld
hadcontinuedtopersistinfullforcelongafteritsSufifounders–inparticular
AḥmadGhazālī(d.520/1126)and‘Aynal-QuḍātHamadhānī(d.525/1131)–had
passedaway.
Spacedoesnotpermitmeheretodwellwithanydetailonthedozenmostbril-
liantpoetsoftheeighth/fourteenthcentury.ButIdoneedtomentionafew.
KhwājūKirmānīwasborninKermanin689/1290atthesametimethatSa‛dīwas
dyinginShīrāz.Khwājūdiedin753/1352,longbeforethedeathofthemenwhobest
illustratePersianbelleslettresinthatcentury.TheseincludethelikesofIbnYamīn
Fariyūmadī, who died in 769/1368, and ‘Ubayd-i Zākānī, who passed away in
772/1371, which was just before the death of ‘Imād al-Dīn Faqīh Kirmānī in
773/1372.SalmānSāvajīdiedafewyearslaterin778/1376,followedbyKamāl
Khujandīin803/1400.Betweenthelattertwo,Ḥāfiẓdiedaround792/1390.Maghribī
passedawayin810/1408andShāhNi‘matu’llāhValīdiedin834/1431.
Here,itwillbedirectlyrelevanttotheconcernofthisstudyifwefocusononeof
these poets, ‘Imād Faqīh Kirmānī. Despite the geographical distance between
Kirmān and Yazd, and between Shīrāz and Tabrīz or Baghdād, it is hard to
imaginethat‘Imādwasunknowntohiscontemporaries,orthathewouldhave
been ignorant of them. ‘Imād Faqīh possessed the most stable social position
amongstallthesepoets.InhisnativeKirmān,hewasprotectedbytheprincesofhis
timeandoccupiedthehighestpositioninthelocalreligioushierarchy.Grand
MasterofaSufiKhānaqāhinKirmān,apositionhehadinheritedfromhisfather,he
wasalsoaDoctorofLaw(faqīh),well-versedinjurisprudence.Besidesholding
theseranks,hewasalsothechiefQāḍī(judge)ofhiscity,whichconferredto
himspecialinfluence,andinhisyouthShāhShujā‘Muẓaffarī(reg.759/1358–786/
1384)hadhimasatutor.ShāhShujā‘venerated‘Imādthereafter,andvisitedhim
almost every year. Shujā‘’s father, Mubāriz al-Dīn Muḥammad Muẓaffarī (reg.
754/1353–759/1357),thefounderoftheMuẓaffarīddynasty,alsohadgreatesteem
forhimandtriedtofosterhisreligiousandcharitableundertakingsinevery
way.Inreturn,‘ImādFaqīhreciprocatedhisgratitudeandvoicedhishighesteemof
him–andthiswasduringtheveryyearswhenḤāfiẓwassatirizingandparodying
Mubārizal-DīnasastrictCensormorumandOfficeroftheVice-squad(muḥtasib)in
Shīrāz.
UnlikeḤāfiẓ,‘ImādFaqīhKirmānīspokeclearlyabouttheeventsthathadan
impactonhispersonallife.Healsodatedhiswritingsandhasleftaccountsof
peoplewithwhomhedealt.Hence,byexaminingthedateshehasgiven,onecan
follow the progression of his work and trace the gradual development of his
thoughtasapoet,religiousjudge(Qāḍī)andSufishaykh.Hisentireoeuvreconsists
ofpoetrycomposedinthepurePersiantradition,featuringalltheliterarygenres
ḤāfiẓandtheReligionofLoveinClassicalPersianPoetry