Afdal al-Din Kashani

Afzal ad-Din Kashani (Persian: افضل‌الدین کاشانی‎‎) also known as Baba Afzal al-Din (Persian: بابا افضل‌الدین‎‎) was a Persianpoet and philosopher. Several dates have been suggested for his death, with the best estimate being around 1213/1214.

The information on his life is scanty and few. His writing portray a disdain for officials of his time and he is said to have once been imprisoned by the local governor on trumped-up charges of practicing sorcery. His tomb located in the village Maraq, forty-two km northwest of Kashan, is still a place of pilgrimage. The best summary of Persian of what is known about Baba Afda'lf life and work, is written in the World Encyclopedia of Islam (Danishnama-i Jahan-i Islam) by the late Professor Abbas Zaryab.

His most universally recognized contribution to Iranian culture lies in the field of literature. In poetry he has been considered one of the two or three greatest masters of the robāʿī(quatrains), while in philosophical prose only Suhrawardi stands on the same level. Similar to Avicenna (in his work Daneshnameyeh 'Alai), Baba Afzal employs a great deal of Persian vocabulary where others would have used Arabic, but unlike Avicenna he chooses only attractive and mellifluous terms. His works from the viewpoint of literary tradition is a delight to read nor does he neglect to employ the corresponding Arabic terms where clarity demands them. His influence on later thinkers has not been investigated however his works which are clearly and beautifully written were probably a source of inspirtation for philosophical writings in both Arabic and Persian. For his part, he follows the philosophical and logical terminology of Avicenna while most his works evoke a visionary aura in spite of their philosophical and logical exactitude. Besides his poetry, 54 works of prose in varying length have survived.

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