Newly Found Poems by Qasem Kahi in the Sharaf Collection
Subject Areas : Research in Iranian classical literature
vahid bargegar ghahfarrokhi
1
,
asghar rezapurian
2
*
,
mohammad hakimazar
3
1 - Ph.D Student in Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
2 - Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
3 - Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
Keywords: 16th-century poetry, Sharaf collection, Qasem Kahi, Kahi of Kabul.,
Abstract :
Newly Found Poems by Qasem Kahi
in the Sharaf Collection
Vahid Barzegar Ghahfarkhi*
Asghar Rezapourian**
Mohammad Hakimazar***
The Sharaf collection is one of the manuscripts preserved in the Library, Museum, and Documentation Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, compiled by Abd al-Rahman ibn Sharaf. The majority of this collection consists of the poetry of Jami and other poets of the 15th and 16th centuries CE (9th–10th centuries AH), though works from earlier poets are also included. This anthology contains poetry by many Persian poets from Eastern Iran, most of whom either resided in or traveled to the Indian subcontinent. Among the poets represented in this collection is Qasem Kahi. The Sharaf collection contains thirty-one ghazals by Kahi, eighteen of which are absent from his printed divan. This study shows how the Sharaf collection, compiled during the era of Kahi of Kabul, contributes to expanding his known poetic corpus. In this article, after a brief introduction and a review of previous research, we discuss Kahi’s life and works. Finally, we present the eighteen newly discovered ghazals, provide a short analysis of them, and mention reasons supporting their attribution to Qasem Kahi.
Keywords: 16th-century poetry, Sharaf collection, Qasem Kahi, Kahi of Kabul.
Introduction
One of the ways to understand the thoughts, views, and works of the intellectuals of a land is through editing the manuscripts that remain from them. Manuscripts were compiled on various subjects, a significant portion of which belongs to literature. Literary manuscripts are themselves divided into various forms, among them being safinas and jongs (collections).
Numerous examples of such manuscripts exist in archival collections, and each year, some of them are edited by scholars. One such example is a manuscript preserved in the Library, Museum, and Documentation Center of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, catalogued as No. 86730, titled 'Anthology of Poetry – Selected Poems – Part of Jami’s Divan – Yusuf and Zulaikha by Jami.' This manuscript was compiled by Abd al-Rahman ibn Sharaf and will hereafter be referred to as the Sharaf collection. Although its catalogued description suggests it was copied around 910 AH (1504–1505 CE), examination of the poets included shows that its date of transcription is closer to the second half of the 10th century AH (16th century CE).
Among the poets given attention in this anthology is Qasem Kahi, from whom thirty-one ghazals are recorded. Kahi was a talented poet who held a special place at the court of Akbar Shah of the Mughal dynasty. When collating his ghazals with his printed divan, it became clear that some ghazals had not been included there. This prompted the question of whether these poems appear elsewhere or whether they should be considered newly discovered works. The more the research proceeded, the clearer the necessity of this study became, for presenting these newly found ghazals provides a foundation for further research into Kahi’s style and poetry, while also shedding light on the literary puzzle surrounding this relatively lesser-known poet of the 16th century.
Research history
In recent years, notable research has been carried out on Qasem Kahi. Among these is an article by Hadi Hasan titled 'Qasem Kahi,' published in Ariana Journal, No. 12, in 1955. Another relevant article is 'Introduction to the Manuscript of the Masnavi Gulafshan by Kahi of Kabul,' authored by Mohammad Reza Abdi and others, published in Issue 36 of the Journal of Subcontinent Studies. This article was based on a doctoral dissertation on the same topic. Furthermore, Adib Boroumand published an article titled 'Poets of the Safavid Era: Abu’l-Qasem Kahi' in Vahid Journal, No. 18, which also forms part of the background of this research.
Life and Works of Kahi
Professor Hadi Hasan of Aligarh University, India, wrote about Kahi in the March 8, 1955 issue of the Journal of Indo-Iranian Cultural Relations, and also provided an introduction to Kahi’s divan. Similarly, a writer named Sarwar Guya authored an article on this poet under a separate title, presenting valuable details about Kahi’s name, lineage, literary fame, death, burial place, works, and poetry.
Kahi’s full name was Sayyid Najm al-Din Abu’l-Qasem Mohammad Miyankali, known by the pen name Kahi. In various Tazkeras and sources, he is mentioned as Kahi of Kabul, Kahi of Miyankal, Kahi of Samarkand, and Kahi of Soghd. His birth date is not precisely known and is not explicitly mentioned in the sources. His death is recorded by Reza Qoli Khan Hedayat in Fehres al-Tawarikh and by Etemad al-Saltaneh in Tarikh-e Naseri as occurring in 987 AH (1579 CE). However, based on chronograms and references in some works, his death is more accurately placed in 988 AH (1580 CE).
Books of Kahi
Despite Kahi’s relatively long life and prolific talent, few of his works survive. The following are the known works:
*Rafi‘ al-Darajat*: This is Kahi’s divan, comprising 1,728 verses of ghazals, qasidas, and rubaiyat. It was published in 1955 (1375 AH lunar/1334 SH) by Professor Hadi Hasan of Aligarh University based on a unique manuscript in India.
*Masnavi Gulafshan*: According to Reyhaneh al-Adab, in addition to his divan, Kahi also wrote a masnavi entitled Gulafshan as a verse-by-verse response to Sa‘di’s Bustan. This work was edited by Mohammad Reza Abdi, Mohammad Amir Mashhadi, and Abdullah Wathiq Abbasi.
A Poem on Enigmas (Mu‘amma): Zabihollah Safa mentions in his *History of Persian Literature* that Kahi wrote a masnavi on riddles in the meter of Sanai’s Hadiqa, with an example for each type of riddle. This poem was published in *Qand-e Parsi*, edited by Nazir Ahmad.
4. Other Works: Several other works are attributed to Kahi, though they are not extant. These include treatises on music, rhetoric and eloquence, prosody, and a work titled *Naqd al-Sha‘r wa Miftah al-Abwab*.
Chronograms Composed by Kahi
Among Safavid-era poets, composing chronograms (madeh-tarikh) was a form of literary prowess. Kahi was particularly skilled in this art, and several chronograms are attributed to him in various works.
Newly Discovered Ghazals in Jong-e-Sharaf
The compiler of the Sharaf collection included thirty-one ghazals by Kahi. Of these, thirteen were found in his printed divan, while eighteen were not present in any known source. These eighteen ghazals, therefore, represent newly discovered works by Kahi. The ghazals are presented here in the order they appear in the manuscript, beginning with:
- My stature bent from the weight of love’s burden.
- Why do I speak of my state to every unfaithful one?
- You are the sun, and I, like the dust upon the road, am beneath you.
- I am the one who longs for your gaze.
- With a glass of wine in hand, you, drunken cupbearer, have brought it.
- Do not say, O minstrel, that drinking is a sin.
- When the eye weeps, a sigh of pain rises from the heart.
- O cupbearer, I have been freed from fasting.
- Your sorrow was my companion in the nights of separation.
- Without your ruby lips, my heart turned to blood, and tears fell from my eyes.
- O, you who have adorned your shoulders with the musky hyacinth, the ring of it.
- O dust of the sanctuary of your holiness, my place of prostration.
- The aim of arrow of calamity struck our helpless hearts.
- Though the union with you is beyond our reach.
- No one suffers harm from the dog of your alley.
- From my weeping, my house has become like a bubble.
- O heart, do not be bound by the hypocritical ascetics.
- If a sigh escapes to explain the sorrow of the hearer.
It seems that there are many omissions in the divan of the poets of the Safavid era, and other poems by this poet may be found in other collections. Considering the poems found, the weakness of the editor of his divan in accessing various sources is evident, although the editor of the divan mentioned in the introduction that he had made many efforts to find other poems. It is also suggested that those who study the poetry of the Safavid era should not limit themselves to the poet's divan alone, and should also study such collections; perhaps a poem that was omitted from the poet's divan may be found in these collections.
Conclusion
Paying attention to collections can clarify many facts in the field of literature for us, including the introduction of some of the quatrain collections that identify the original author of the poems attributed to Khayyam or Abu Saeed, or many collections that present new poems by past poets. The Sharaf collection is also one of these collections, the correction of which contain good findings, and the present writing is one of its outputs, from which the following conclusions can be drawn:
- In Jang-e-Sharaf, eighteen ghazals are attributed to Qasem Kahi that are not present in his printed divan. No verse of these ghazals has appeared in other known works.
- The existence of a ghazal explicitly mentioning Humayun Shah strengthens the likelihood that these poems are by Kahi, since Humayun was one of his patrons.
- Based on the style, language, themes, and the presence of his takhallos (pen name), these ghazals can be confidently attributed to Qasem Kahi.
- Some of the newly discovered ghazals are incomplete, with missing lines or phrases, which may be supplemented in the future as more manuscripts are edited.
5. Since in the Sharaf collection ghazals appear in shorter form compared to Kahi’s divan, it is possible that the compiler deliberately omitted some verses to include more poems. Thus, these ghazals may originally have had one or two additional couplets.
References
Ahmad, Nazir (2020) *Qand-e Parsi (Eighteen Literary and Historical Essays)*. Tehran: Dr. Mahmoud Afshar Foundation with Sokhan.
Alem-Arayi Abbasi, Eskandar Monshi (1935) Tehran: Dar al-Taba‘eh Aqa Seyyed Morteza.
Etemad al-Saltaneh, Mohammad Hasan ibn Ali. (1984). *Tarikh-e Muntazam-e Naseri*. Tehran: Donyaye Ketab.
Badauni, Abdul Qader ibn Mulukshah (2000) *Muntakhab al-Tawarikh*, Vol. 3. Tehran: Society of Cultural Works and Dignitaries.
Boroumand, Adib (1965) 'Poets of the Safavid Period: Mir Abu’l-Qasem Kahi.' *Vahid Journal*, No. 18.
Farrokh, Mahmoud (1947) 'Bad-e Sharta.' *Yadgar*, Year 4, No. 3.
Gooya, Sarwar (1931) 'Kahi of Kabul.' *Kabul Journal*, Vol. 1, Nos. 2–3.
Hedayat, Reza Qoli ibn Hadi (1994) *Fehres al-Tawarikh*. Tehran: Institute for Humanities.
Hasan, Hadi (1955) 'Qasem Kahi.' *Ariana Journal*, No. 12.
Mashhadi, Mohammad Amir, Abdi, Mohammad Reza, and Abbasi, Abdullah Wathiq (2019) 'Introduction to the Manuscript of Gulafshan.' *Subcontinent Studies Journal*, Issue 36.
Modarres, Mirza Mohammad Ali (1990) *Reyhaneh al-Adab*. Tehran: Heidari Press.
Safa, Zabihollah (2007) *History of Persian Literature*, Vol. 5. Tehran: Ferdows.
Schimmel, Annemarie (2007) *The Realm of the Mughal Khans*. Tehran: Amir Kabir.
Yazdi, Sharaf al-Din Ali (2007) *Collected Poems*, edited by Iraj Afshar. Tehran: Sorayya.
* Ph.D Student in Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
vav.tanha@gmail.com
** Corresponding Author: Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
rezapurian09@gmail.com
*** Associate Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature, Shahrekord Branch, Islamic Azad University, Shahrekord, Iran.
hakimazar@gmail.com
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