and contemporary poets studied at his feet. He
appears to have avoided close links to rulers and
the perks derived therefrom.
Ibn al-Farid’s greatest poetry took themes
present in Arabic poetry and used them in innova-
tive ways that expressed the longing of the mystic
for the divine beloved. Thus, the theme of a lover
drinking in memory of the beloved is trans-
formed, in the justly famous opening line of Ibn
al-Farid’s “Wine Ode” (Khamriyya), to an allusion
to the Islamic belief in a primordial covenant
between God and humanity in which humans,
before time began, recognized God’s supremacy
and oneness. Thus, he says, “We drank in memory
of the beloved a wine; We were drunk with it
before creation of the vine” (Homerin, Arab Poet
11). Here the beloved is God, while drunken-
ness refers to the spiritual state of intoxication,
a state known and recognized by Sufis. The fact
that this drunkenness occurs before the vine was
even created reinforces the metaphorical nature of
this allusion and draws the listener’s mind to the
primordial covenant. Much of his poetry is of this
sort; in Arabic it is often piercingly beautiful and
deeply resonant.
Within a century of his death, Ibn al-Farid’s
renown evolved from that of a great poet of mysti-
cal inclination to a great Sufi whose poetry would
guide those on the mystical path of Sufism. Stories
began to circulate about his supernaturally given
knowledge and of his ability to induce mystical
states in those around him. Early on, commenta-
tors began to read Ibn al-Farid’s verse in light of
the monistic doctrine of ibn al-arabi (d. 1240), in
which the only reality that beings have lies in their
relationship to the Absolute Being (God). This
doctrine was very controversial, for it appeared
to break, or at least blur, the line of distinction
between God and humanity. Thus, Ibn al-Farid’s
poetry, which is not so clear on this point, came
to be lumped with Ibn al-Arabi’s more explicit
monism. For those who followed Ibn al-Arabi,
of course, this was positive. But Ibn al-Arabi was
always controversial, and thus Ibn al-Farid came
to be associated with and seen through the hotly
contested issue of monism.
In the centuries after his death, Ibn al-Farid
was periodically charged with infidelity for alleg-
edly having espoused this doctrine of monism. But
he was also treated with increasing veneration by
members of the populace and by the elite of the
mamlUk dynasty (1250–1517). Sober scholars, too,
were among his public supporters in later times,
asserting his orthodoxy and refuting his opponents.
Ibn al-Farid’s grandson was in part responsible for
transforming him into a saint, especially by pub-
lishing a biography in which miracles were promi-
nently recounted, for miracles were the sine qua
non of a Muslim saint. His burial site in the hills
just outside cairo was already a recognized place
of pilgrimage by Mamluk times. It continued as a
popular shrine through Ottoman times, declining
as new modern habits began to develop in the 19th
century and as Sufism became increasingly suspect
among reformist and modernizing Muslim intel-
lectuals. While Sufism is still regarded somewhat
warily by many Muslims, it experienced a modest
revival in Egypt in the late 20th century that con-
tinues today. Ibn al-Farid’s tomb is now the scene
of one of the major saint festivals (sing. mawlid)
on the religious calendar of Cairo. Egypt’s most
famous singer of religious songs, Shaykh Yasin al-
Tihami comes to the festival most years, drawing
large and devoted crowds. His songs include those
based on the poetry of Ibn al-Farid, whom locals
refer to as “our master Umar.”
See also arabic langUage and literatUre;
aUthority; bidaa; salaFism.John IskanderFurther reading: Th. Emil Homerin, From Arab Poet
to Muslim Saint: Ibn al-Farid, His Verse and His Shrine
(Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2001);
———, Umar ibn al-Farid: Sufi Verse, Saintly Life (New
York: Paulist Press, 2001); R. A. Nicholson, Studies in
Islamic Mysticism (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1921).Ibn al-Farid, Abu Hafs Umar 329 J