of his life in Muslim Spain, introduced the colloquial
zajal to the fi eld of S.u ̄ fi (Islamic mystical) poetry. The
zajal is the well-known strophic poem that uses the
colloquial as its medium—in this case, the Andalu-
sian medieval dialect—and particularly originated in
Muslim Spain during the Middle Ages. As a “popular”
art form that had not been used before or thought ap-
propriate for sublime S.u ̄ fi expression, the Hispano-
Arabic zajal that existed at the time was especially
perfected by another Andalusian poet, Ibn Quzm a ̄ n,
who mainly wrote satirical and courtly love zajals.
There is today enough evidence that this type of zajal
was performed, sometimes by means of choral singing.
In the East, S.u ̄ fi poets like Ibn al-Far ı ̄ d of Egypt (d.
577) had been using the classical form of the Arabic
qas. ̄ d a ı , with its traditional framework of monorhyme
and monorhythm and with classical Arabic language
to express thoughts. In Spain, however, strophic po-
etry—namely the muwashshah. a and the zajal—evolved
in Andalusian Arabic verse, demonstrating the infl uence of
Romance popular literature. In other words, the muwash-
shah. a and the zajal in their inception in Arabic litera-
ture became uniquely associated with al-Andalus. But
it was Al-Shushtarı ̄ who fi rst chose the zajal for S.u ̄ fi
purposes.
Therefore, most important about Al-Shushtarı ̄ in
this context is that his strophic poetry forms a link be-
tween two areas of interest in the literature of Muslim
Spain: the formal and esoteric, on the one hand (repre-
sented by the mystical philosophy of Ibn ‘Arabı ̄ and Ibn
Sab‘ ı ̄ n, two S.u ̄ fi whom Al-Shushtarı ̄ followed), and the
“popular” aspect of the Hispano-Arabic literary world
(represented by the informal zajal and its master, Ibn
Quzm a ̄ n) on the other. Through the unity of these two
strands, Al-Shushtarı ̄ sought to interpret and make ac-
cessible mystical ideas and to propound an understand-
ing of S.u ̄ fism virtually synonymous with a vibrant,
aesthetic perceptiveness. He therefore represents an
important melding of the esoteric spirituality of S.u ̄ fism
and a kind of emerging lay spirituality.
This yoking of a theological and an aesthetic per-
spective signifi cantly illuminates the act and art of
interpretation, which is the main area of concern in
Al-Shushtarı ̄’s poetry. S.u ̄ fi scriptural (i.e., Qur’ a ̄ nic)
exegesis plays a fundamental role in this literary
self-awareness that permeates the poetry. Consistent
textual references such as “understanding” and “grasp-
ing allusions,” “words,” “terms,” “symbols,” or “signs”
underline the concept of critical interpretation. Like all
S.u ̄ fis, Al-Shushtarı ̄ did not deal with texts—scripture
or otherwise—superfi cially. He constantly asked his
audience to “untie symbols” and to “grasp ultimate
meanings,” urging them to think, to analyze, and to put
parts of a poem together in the service of the whole, as
if inviting them to join his S.u ̄ fi path by interpreting his
songs. Hence, this literary self-consciousness ultimately
refl ects a mystical self-consciousness as well, while the
S.u ̄ fi principle of Qur’ a ̄ nic exegesis shaped the way S.u ̄ fi
poets, such as Al-Shushtarı ̄ , composed poetry and the
way they expected it to be interpreted.
Al-Shushtarı ̄ utilized the means provided by this
mystical tradition for symbolic expression, but his in-
novation in the use of the zajal for such marks his con-
tribution in the fi eld. He could not merely depend on the
techniques provided by traditional rhetoric to achieve a
combination of artistry and mysticism. In al-Shushtarı ̄ ,
the concept of “interpretation” in itself becomes the
main concern, and the poetry comes to express the in-
terrelation between critical perceptiveness of text and
mystical views. It is this integration that Al-Shushtarı ̄ ’s
strophic poetry fully realizes.
This relationship between the lyrical and the mysti-
cal manifests itself in three main features that act as
systems of reference and regulation that afford the audi-
ence effective ways of responding spiritually as well as
aesthetically to the lyrics. These reference systems are
regarded from the standpoint of their mystico-aesthetic
correspondence to convey Al-Shushtarı ̄ ’s mystical and
aesthetical philosophy simultaneously.
The fi rst aspect is the idea of the multiple levels of
meaning existing within the poems—that is, the sym-
bolism. This feature directly translates into two areas
of interest: the network of S.u ̄ fi doctrines and symbolic
terminology as well as the literary self-conscious mode
characterized by direct textual references. The major
reference is that of ramz (symbol), hence underlying the
symbolic composition of the poems and suggesting the
application of symbolic interpretation in order to discern
the text’s binary dimension. In other words, Al-Shushtarı ̄
does not merely use symbols but calls attention to this
use and to symbolic critical reading.
The second major area that also displays literary
self-consciousness is structure—specifi cally ring com-
position and its relation to the theme of the “refl exive.”
The ring structure embodies a circular principle of
interpretation, which is most appropriate to the S.u ̄ fi
mode of perception and to the tradition of composing
strophic poetry. S.u ̄ fi exegesis, called ta’w ı ̄ , is the inter-
nal interpretation of the Qur’ a ̄ n and seeks the inner level
or primary meaning through returning the outward,
literal plane of scripture to its original, hidden spiritual
essence—hence a circular, refl exive movement. And in
strophic poetry, the nature thereof allows the poet to
utilize his strophes as movable structural units, which is
more feasible than dealing with single lines in the more
restrictive form of a classical qasida. Al-Shushtarı ̄ could
also use the interplay between the different parts of the
zajal or muwashshah. a (such as the matla, the qufl,
and the kharja) to solidify the ring composition. More-
over, the phenomena of borrowing and of composing aSHUSHTARI ̄ , AL-, ABU ̄ AL-H.ASAN