AL-SHUSHTARI The Great Sufi Poet of Andalusia

Book excerpt: AL-SHUSHTARI The Great Sufi Poet of Andalusia SELECTED POEMS Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith Abu al-Hasan al-Shushtari (1312-1369) was a Sufi poet who was born in Guadix, northwest of Granada, Spain. As a young man he travelled to Tunisia, Algeria, Damascus and several times made the pilgrimage to Mecca. He finally settled in Egypt. He became a devotee of the Sufi Master Ibn Sab'in who was four years younger than him and was widely respected at that time. They first met in Algeria when in their thirties and later went together to Mecca and Egypt. Al-Shushtari composed two treatises on Sufism and dedicated three poems to his spiritual Master. Often when walking or riding the poet would sing his poems and play an instrument as he did so. In his latter days he had many disciples. He was influenced by the great Sufi Perfect Master Ibn 'Arabi although he expressed at times criticism of the complicated nature of his teachings, preferring a simpler explanation. Al-Shushtari's true legacy lives on in the heart of men who still sing his poems and celebrate his memory. In the Delta of Egypt, followers of the Shadhiliyya Order still recite his zajal, while in Tunisia his words are sung to the tones of a musical instrument bearing his name, 'al-Sustariyya.' In Morocco his songs are a common denominator to several Sufi celebrations, and in Spain he is regarded as a trendsetter in Andalusian literature and is better known as 'The Juggler of Love.' Most of his poems are in the forms of qasidas, ghazals, qit'as, muwashasha, zajal: all here in the correct form & meaning. Introduction: Life, Times & Poetry, on Sufi Poetry & forms of poetry in which he wrote. Selected Bibliography. Large Print (16pt & Large Format (8x10) Edition 190 pages. Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Lalla Ded, Seemab, Jigar, Seemab and many others, as well as his poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books, screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa