Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami

{{Short description|Iranian sufi and Persian poet}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}} {{Infobox religious biography | name = Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami | title = [[Shaykh al-Islam|Sheikh al-Islam]]{{sfn|Solati|2015|p=511}} | era = [[Islamic Golden Age]] | image = Sheikh Ahmad Jami Tomb and Mosque.jpg | imagesize = | caption = [[Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami Mausoleum|Tomb of Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami]] in [[Torbat-e Jam]], [[Iran]] | birth_name = | birth_date = 1049 | birth_place = [[Namaq]], [[Seljuk Empire]] | death_date = {{death year and age|1141|1049}} | death_place = [[Torbat-e Jam]], Seljuk Empire | resting_place = [[Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami Mausoleum|Turbat-i Sheikh Jam]] | religion = [[Islam]] | denomination = [[Sunni]] | teacher = Abu Taher Kurd }} {{sufism}}

'''Sehab al-Din Abu Nasr Ahmad ibn Abu'l Hasan ibn Ahmad ibn Muhammad Namaqi Jami'''{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}} ({{langx|fa|شهاب‌الدّین ابونصر احمد ابن ابوالحسن ابن احمد ابن محمد جامی نامقی}}; 1049 – 1141), better known as '''Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami''' ({{langx|fa|links=no|شیخ احمد جامی}}) or by his sobriquet '''Zinda-fil''' ({{langx|fa|links=no|ژنده‌پیل}}), was a [[Persians|Persian]] Sufi, writer, [[Irfan|mystic]] and poet. A conservative Sufi, Ahmad preached and wrote extensively, with his work being notable for their focus on ordinary topics and use of conversational language. These formed an important contribution to [[Persian literature]].

He grew increasingly revered after his death, with [[Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami mausoleum complex|his tomb]] becoming a prominent religious shrine. His descendants, who were its custodians, became influential political figures over subsequent centuries.

==Life== Ahmad was born in [[Namaq]], in the outskirts of [[Torbat-e Jam|Jam]], in 1049. His family claimed descent from [[Jarir ibn Abd Allah al-Bajali]], a [[Sahaba|companion]] of [[Muhammad]], though Ahmad's appearance was distinctly non-[[Arab]], and his [[Persian language|Persian]] had a native sounding quality. His sobriquet ''Zinda-fil'' ("the colossal elephant" or "the terrible elephant") referred both to his appearance and his religio-social conduct.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}{{sfn|Mahendrarajah|2021|p=40}}

Ahmad had some formal schooling in his youth. At age twenty-two, while "immersed in the pleasures of a loose life", he experienced a miracle, which led him to denounce worldy interests. He secluded himself in the mountains around Namaq, where he spent the next eighteen years devoted to study, meditation, and self-imposed hardships. At the age of forty, he left the solitary life and began a long career of preaching, teaching Sufi followers, and writing books. He travelled to many nearby villages and towns, including [[Herat]] and [[Nishapur]], and at one point made [[Hajj]].{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}

Jam was his permanent residence, where he built a mosque and ''[[Sufi lodge|khanaqa]]''. His contact was limited mostly to the local population and minor dignitaries, with the one notable exception of the [[Seljuk Empire|Seljuk]] sultan [[Ahmad Sanjar]], who had a particular liking to Ahmad and with whom he exchanged correspondence. Two such letters survive, one in which Ahmad defended Jam's population, and another where he answered a spiritual question from Sanjar.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}

Ahmad stands apart from any known Sufi order of his day. His ''[[Pir (Sufism)|pir]]'' was an otherwise unknown figure named Abu Taher Kurd.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}} Subsequent [[Hagiography|hagiographers]] attempted to propagate a spiritual link between Ahmad and the celebrated Sufi, [[Abu Sa'id Abu'l-Khayr]], though this has no basis in fact.{{sfn|Mahendrarajah|2021|pp=12–13}}

A stern conservative, Ahmad heavily cited ''[[hadith]]'' in his work ''Meftāh al Najāt'' to demonstrate the strictest orthodoxy. He is portrayed by his pupil and biographer, Sadid al-Din Gaznavi, as getting involved in people's affairs, destroying musical instruments and vats of wine, and punishing sinners and forcing them to repent.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}{{sfn|Baldick|2016|p=92}} Historian Shivan Mahendrarajah describes Ahmad as "haughty, belligerent, vindictive, and miserly". Conversely, [[Heshmat Moayyad]] suggests that Gaznavi's descriptions are not borne out in the impression left by Ahmad's books, "where he appears gentle and ready to forgive a whole life of sin and corruption if only the last breath is taken in repentance".{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}

Ahmad's writings rarely touched on sophisticated questions of philosophy or theology, instead focusing on ordinary subjects of Sufi practice and morality. He constantly warned against hypocrites and often repeated himself. He wrote in the style of sermons, and his language was clear and conversational, making liberal uses of parables and situational examples. Subsequent followers attributed him with wild miracles, though this is practically unsupported by Ahmad's own writings. He had also engaged in writing poetry, and a ''[[Diwan (poetry)|diwan]]'' (mostly ''[[Ghazal|ghazals]]'') has been attributed to him under the [[pen name]] "Ahmad" or "Ahmadi". However, the authenticity of these is at least partially questionable.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}

Unlike other prominent mystics, Ahmad had minimal appeal with religious scholars and poets.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}} [[Beatrice Forbes Manz]] notes that his works apparently had little impact.{{sfn|Manz|2007|pp=224–28}} Moayyad considers that his writings were "more precious for their contribution to Persian literary history than for their teachings".{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}} However, in the years following Ahmad's death in 1141, he became an increasingly revered figure.{{NoteTag|A notable devotee was the 15th-century poet [[Jami]], whose pen name was partially inspired by Ahmad.{{sfn|Solati|2015|p=511}}}} His tomb, the [[Sheikh Ahmad-e Jami Mausoleum|Turbat-i Sheikh Jam]], became a flourishing shrine, and a focus of royal and elite patronage in subsequent centuries.{{sfn|Manz|2007|pp=224–28}}

==Descendants== Ahmad married eight wives and had fourteen sons that survived him, some of whom became notable religious figures in their own right.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}} He married his offspring into notable families of the western [[Khorasan]] and [[Quhistan]] regions, settling them in the respective towns; this was a policy continued by his family throughout the subsequent [[Mongol Empire|Mongol period]].{{sfn|Manz|2007|p=224}}

His descendants proliferated greatly over the following generations; by 1436, around one thousand were residing in Jam, [[Nishapur]], [[Herat]], and nearby areas.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}} The family wielded enormous influence over both [[Tajiks]] and Mongols, stemming from their management of Ahmad's prestigious shrine, as well as through the possession of an ample agricultural base. Sheikh Qutb al-Din of Jam played a part in the election of the [[Ilkhanate|Ilkhan]] claimant [[Togha Temür]] in 1337. Mu'in al-Din Muhammad Jami served as [[vizier]] to the [[Kart dynasty|Kartid]] ruler Mu'izz al-Din, in addition to being the latter's nephew and son-in-law. Mu'in al-Din's uncle, the [[Waqf#Administration|Mutawālī]] of the Jami shrine Radi al-Din, incited [[Qazaghan]] to invade Kartid territory. A generation later, the Jami sheikhs encouraged the campaigns of [[Timur]] in the same region.{{sfn|Jackson|2023|p=182}}

Their influence in Iran waned with the advent of the [[Safavid Empire|Safavid]]s, but found new opportunities in South Asia. [[Maham Begum]] and [[Hamida Banu Begum]], the mothers of [[Humayun]] and [[Akbar]] respectively, were both [[Mughal Empire|Mughal emperor]]s of the Jami family.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}{{sfn|Mahendrarajah|2021|pp=47–48}} Many Jami sheikhs populated Akbar's court, though appear to have played a more literary role than wielding actual power.{{sfn|Mahendrarajah|2021|p=81}}

In Iran, though the shrine of Ahmad received support under the Safavids, sectarian strife and the [[Persian–Uzbek wars]] caused leading Jamis to depart, joining kinsmen in Mughal India. Over the subsequent [[Afsharid Iran|Afsharid]], [[Qajar Iran|Qajar]], [[Zand dynasty|Zand]], and [[Pahlavi Iran|Pahlawi]] eras, the shrine fell into disrepair and its cult withered. However, upon the establishment of the [[Islamic Republic of Iran]] in 1979, in the interest of strengthening nationalist bonds with [[Sunni]] communities and institutions, the shrine and cult received significant financial and technical backing from the central government. As a result, these experienced a rejuvenation.{{sfn|Mahendrarajah|2021|pp=73, 88}} In Jam, a number of mayors have since been appointed from among the Jamis, and both there and in Herat, the family remain influential and respected into the present-day.{{sfn|Moayyad|1984}}{{sfn|Mahendrarajah|2021|p=89}}

==Works== Although the titles of his books were in [[Arabic]], all of them are written in [[Persian language|Persian]]. They were regarding ''[[shariah]]'' and theology, with some of his most important books being: *''Meftāh al Najāt'' ({{langx|ar|مفتاح النجاة}}) – "The key of Redemption" *''Konuz al Hekma'' ({{langx|ar|کنوز الحکمة}}) – "The Treasure of Wisdom" *''Seraj al Sāerin'' ({{langx|ar|سراج السائرین}}) – "The Lamp of Pilgrims"

== See also == * [[Torbat-e Jam]] * [[Sufism]]

== Notes == {{notefoot}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Sources == *{{cite journal | first=Julian |last=Baldick | editor=George Morrison | title=Medieval Sufi Literature in Persian Prose | journal=Iranian Studies: Volume 2: History of Persian Literature from the Beginning of the Islamic Period to the Present Day | publisher=BRILL | date=2016 | isbn=978-90-04-30500-7 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fnyiDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA92}} *{{cite book | last=Jackson | first=Peter | author-link=Peter Jackson (historian) | title=From Genghis Khan to Tamerlane: The Reawakening of Mongol Asia | publisher=Yale University Press | year=2023 | isbn=978-0-300-27504-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ThroEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA182}} *{{cite book | last=Mahendrarajah | first=Shivan | title=The Saint of Jam: History, Religion, and Politics of a Sunni Shrine in Shi'i Iran | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2021 | isbn=978-1-108-83969-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VPQgEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA12}} *{{cite book | last=Manz | first=Beatrice Forbes |author-link=Beatrice Forbes Manz | title=Power, Politics and Religion in Timurid Iran | publisher=Cambridge University Press | year=2007 | isbn=978-1-139-46284-6 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BfkpHz9q_RMC&pg=PA224}} *{{cite web |url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ahmad-e-jam |title=AḤMAD-E JĀM | first=Heshmat |last=Moayyad |author-link=Heshmat Moayyad |publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation |date=1984 |website=Encyclopaedia Iranica}} *{{cite book | last=Solati | first=Bahman | title=Persian Words of Wisdom: Sayings and Proverbs by Masters of Persian Poetry | publisher=Universal-Publishers | date=2015 | isbn=978-1-62734-054-0 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jya1DAAAQBAJ&pg=PA511}}

== Further reading == * {{cite book | last1=Moayyad | first1=Heshmat | author-link1=Heshmat Moayyad | last2=Lewis | first2=Franklin |author-link2=Franklin Lewis | title=The Colossal Elephant and His Spiritual Feats: Shaykh Ahmad-e Jām : the Life and Legend of a Popular Sufi Saint of 12th Century Iran | publisher=Mazda Publishers | date=2004 | isbn=978-1-56859-119-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=itnXAAAAMAAJ}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmad-E Jami, Sheikh}} [[Category:Sufi writers]] [[Category:People from Torbat-e Jam]] [[Category:Sunni Sufis]] [[Category:Hanafis]] [[Category:Maturidis]] [[Category:1141 deaths]] [[Category:11th-century Iranian people]] [[Category:12th-century Iranian people]] [[Category:People from Kashmar]] [[Category:1049 births]]