Authors

Sevinj Bakhysh¹;  ¹ Independent Scholar, UK

Discussion

Love, as a universal force, permeates the poetic traditions of all cultures, yet its expressions often vacillate between the mundane and the sublime, the profane and the sacred. In Nizami’s works, this duality transcends conventional understandings of love, revealing its transformative and redemptive potential. Nizami’s poetry charts a spectrum of love: from lust, obsession, and infatuation—earthbound and profane—to the sacred, idealised love that aspires to transcend the human condition. This sacred love, deeply rooted in Sufi tradition, reflects the soul’s yearning for union with the divine.


Nizami’s life and work are inseparable from his birthplace, Ganja, Azerbaijan, a thriving cultural and intellectual center during the medieval period. Despite never leaving his hometown, Nizami’s poetry resonates with the vibrant interplay of Persian, Arab, and Turkic influences that defined the region. Ganja’s role as a nexus of cultural exchange, home to luminaries such as Mahsati Ganjavi, profoundly shaped Nizami’s poetic imagination. This environment enabled him to weave universal themes of love, transformation, and spiritual transcendence into the rich historical and mystical traditions of his time. His exploration of love reflects both the cosmopolitan ethos of Ganja and its significance as a cradle of intellectual and artistic flourishing.


This paper examines how Nizami juxtaposes profane and sacred love to challenge traditional narratives of human desire. It explores how sacred love, often catalyzed by suffering and imperfection, serves as a transformative force, elevating the human spirit to a primordial, archetypal state. This idea finds resonance in various traditions, such as Adam Qadmon in Kabbalah and Gayomart in Zoroastrianism. Central to this analysis is a key character of Majnun from Leyla and Majnun, whose journey epitomise the key stages of medieval Arabic philosophy of love.


Through the frameworks of archetypal psychology, alchemy, and Sufi mysticism, this study delves into the dynamic interplay between the earthly and the divine in Nizami’s poetry. By interpreting these disruptions and transformations, we seek to uncover the deeper philosophical and spiritual underpinnings of his work, offering fresh insights into the timeless legacy of Nizami’s poetic vision.