Fakhr al-Dīn Ibrahīm ‘Irāqī, PersianSufi master, poet and writer.
Biography
Often referred to as ‘Araqi, he was born in the village of Komeyjan near the city ofArak in Persia in 1213. During his lifetime he spent many years in Multan, as well as Konya and Tokat in present-day Turkey. He is known by many Sufis as a commenter on Sufi teachings, one of the great Persian poets, and an artist. ‘Iraqi is also considered to have reached an exalted station of spiritual realization within the Sufi tradition. Born in 1213, ‘Iraqi lived during the height of the revival of Islamic spirituality. ‘Iraqi was highly educated in both theology and literary disciplines and it is believed that he not only knew the Holy Qur'an, hadith, commentary and Islamic theology, but that he also knew Persian and Arabic literature. By the time he was seventeen ‘Iraqi had learned all the sciences there were to teach, and had even begun to teach others. Soon after he began teaching he met a group of qalandars or wandering dervishes and decided to join them. The group traveled to Multan where he would eventually be in the service of Baha-ud-din Zakariya who was the head of the Suhrawardiyya. Soon after he arrived in Multan he was betrothed to Shaykh's daughter and would have a son with her named Kabiruddin. ‘Iraqi would be in the service of Shaykh for a total of seventeen years during which time he continued to write poetry. After Shaykh's death ‘Iraqi left Multan and traveled first to Mecca and Medina and then towards present day Turkey. While in Konya where ‘Iraqi settled for a while he had the honor of meeting Sadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī and Jalaluddin Rumi, two of the best known Sufis of all time. ‘Iraqi would become good friends with Rumi however Qunawi would become a second Sufi master to ‘Iraqi who helped to shape him intellectually, as Shaykh shaped him spiritually. After Rumi's death ‘Iraqi moved to Tokat, also in present-day Turkey. As ‘Araghi entered old age there was much upheaval in Tokat. The Byzantine Empire and Prince Kangirtay did not like ‘Iraqi because of the great influence he had over many of the people in Tokat, and the respect with which people honored him. And so, when Prince Kangirtay tried to have ‘Iraqi arrested he fled to Cairo. From there ‘Iraqi settled in Damascus where he would eventually die at the age of seventy-eight in 1289. ‘Araghi was both a member of the school of Persian Sufi poetry but also has been identified with the Ibn Arabian school of Sufism. However, ‘Iraqi was also a Gnostic who often spoke in the language of love. For him, as well as many other Sufis, love was realized knowledge. ‘Iraqi's writing Lama’at fits into a genre of Sufi writings which expresses certain doctrines in the language of love. As Shaykh Baha'uddin was dying, he named Fakhruddin 'Iraqi to be his successor. When it became known that 'Iraqi had been named head of the Suhrawardi Order, some in the order became jealous and denounced him to the Sultan who sought to have 'Araghi arrested. 'Iraqi fled the area with a few close companions, and they eventually made their way to Makkah and Medina. Later they moved north to Konya in Turkey. This was Konya at the time of Rumi. 'Araghi often listened to Rumi teach and recite poetry, and later attended Rumi's funeral. Although 'Araghi was nominally the head of a large and respected Sufi order, he humbly became the disciple of another Sufi master Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi, who also lived in Konya at the time. Qunawi was the son-in-law of the recently deceased Sufi philosopher Ibn 'Arabi. Although less known in the West today, Qunawi was perhaps the pre-eminent Sufi teacher in Konya at the time, even better known than his neighbor Rumi. 'Iraqi was deeply devoted to Qunawi and to the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi. It was a series of speeches al-Qunawi delivered on the esoteric meaning of Ibn 'Arabi's great works that inspired 'Iraqi to compose his own masterpiece of commentary and poetry named the Lama'at or Divine Flashes.
Works
Lama’at or Divine Flashes is the best known of ‘Iraqi's writings and was written during his time in what is now Turkey. A part of the ‘language of love’ genre within Sufi writing, it takes an interesting view on how one view the world. Unlike others before him ‘Iraqi viewed the world as a mirror which reflected God's Names and Qualities and not as a "veil" which must be lifted. According to Baljit Singh Ph.D., an Indian Persian scholar and translator of SWANEH of Ahmad Ghazali and Iraqi's LAMMAT, "The style of Lammat is a simple, dignified, fluent & rich with Qur'anic verses and Arabic sentences. Its theme is ‘Divine Love’ and is written in the fashion of the Swaneh of Ahmad Ghazali. Iraqi explains in the Lammat, Ibn Arabi's Sufism through the love symbology." He quotes from Saed Nafisi's ‘Introduction’ to the ‘Kullyat Iraqi’-‘Generally it is accepted that Iraqi wrote Lammat following the ideas of Ibn Arabi, but Iraqi himself says differently. He writes in the beginning of the Lammat that he has written this book in the manner of ‘Swaneh’ of Ahmad Ghazali.’ Baljit Singh further refers to Dr Nasrullah Pourjavadi, a scholar on Ahmad Ghazali and writes, "It was Ahmad Ghazali who first of all saw the Divine as love and founded the Sufi Metaphysics of Love. Iraqi is said to have united Ahmad Ghazali to Ibn Arabi through his LAMMAT." The Lama’at has been translated into English, French and Swedish. ‘Ushshaq-namah was, according to legend, written during ‘Iraqi's time in service to Shaykh and is dedicated to Shamsuddin Juwayni the vizier. While it has been attributed to 'Iraqi, it is almost definitely not his.
