THREE GREAT ABBASID SUFI POETS Ibn al-Farid, Ibn 'Arabi & al-Busiri Lives & Poems Translation & Introduction Paul Smith The Abbasid Caliphate that ruled the Islamic world was the golden age of Islamic culture. It ruled from 750 to 1258 AD, making it one of the longest and most influential of the Islamic dynasties. For most of its early history it was the largest empire in the world and this meant that it had contact with distant neighbours allowing it to adopt and synthesize ideas from all these cultures. All the arts and sciences flourished during these 500 years and in the art of poetry three poets stood out among the many great Sufi poets: these were Ibn al-Farid, Ibn 'Arabi and al-Busiri. Here is their lives & times and a large selection of their poetry in the correct beautiful rhyme-structures and meaning. Introduction on The Abbasid Caliphate; Poetry of the Period; Forms of Arabic Poetry of the Period; Sufis: Their Art & Use of Poetry; The Perfect Man, Pole or Perfect Master. Selected Bibliography. Large Format 7" x 10" Pages 327. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFEZ'S DIVAN "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafez is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished.." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafez 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of English to Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafez." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author). Paul Smith is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish and other languages including Hafez, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in ud-din Chishti, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Khayyam, Hallaj, Rudaki, Yunus Emre Ghalib, Iqbal, Makhfi, Lalla Ded, Abu Nuwas, Ibn al-Farid, Rahman Baba, Nazir and many others, as well as his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, kids books and a dozen screenplays. www.newhumanitybooks.com