Hakeem Abul Qasim Ferdowsi (940-1020),
sometimes considered to be the father of modern Persian
language, was born near Tus (Iran), where he is also buried.
He is most famous for Shahnameh, an epic of 60,000 couplets.
The book was a landmark achievement in the revival of
the Iranian culture after the Arab conquest of four centuries
earlier.
By narrating the Iranian history
of thousands of years, he provided a permanent platform
for those nations to come together again that had once
been united under the Great Persian Empire of Cyrus the
Great, but had very little chance of being unified otherwise
in the near future.
Iqbal seems to be conceding more
than this usual honor when, in Gabriel’s Wing, he
mentions Ferdowsi as “the visionary, whose collyrium
gives light to the eyes of the Persian East [Ajam]”.
Ferdowsi did not merely cater to Persian patriotism. He
also attempted an ambitious synthesis of civilizations.
Apparently working with a deep insight
into the purpose of Islam, he sifted such elements from
the legacy of Zarathustra that could be used for creating
a narrative to be cherished by Muslims and Zoroastrians
together.
An equally keen perception seemed
to be guiding him when he reclaimed Alexander of Macedon
(356 BC – 323 BC) from the Hellenistic milieu and
restored him as an adapted hero of Iran, as Alexander
himself had desired due to his heartfelt admiration for
Cyrus and the Persian statecraft.
Hence, Shahnameh of Ferdowsi
is not just a glorification of the achievements of the
past. It also paves the way for the future by magnanimously
patching up with nations who may have “wronged”
Iran in the past.
In doing so, Ferdowsi did not only
serve the cause of Iran but also of Islam, since he spearheaded
that process of synthesis about which Iqbal was going
to observe centuries later:
Special
thanks to Iqbal Academy Pakistan
