The Dervish/Sufi Ruba'iyat of Abu Said

by Paul Smith

Description THE DERVISH/SUFI RUBA'IYAT OF ABU SAID (Pocket Edition) Translation by Paul Smith, Introduction by Paul Smith & R. A. Nicholson. Abu Said ibn Abi 'l-Khair (968-1049) was a Perfect Master and a poet who lived in Nishapur and composed only ruba'is, over 400 of them. He was a founder of Sufi poetry and a major influence on the ruba'i and most poets that followed, especially Sana'i, Nizami, 'Attar, Rumi and Hafiz. Here are 400 of his 800 ruba'is translated into the correct form. Included in the long Introduction are the life of Abu Sa'id and a history of the ruba'i and examples by its greatest exponents. Selected Bibliography. The correct rhyme-structure is kept as well as the beauty and meaning of these immortal four-line poems. Pocket edition 5.25" x 8" 605 pages. Comments on Paul Smith's Translation of Hafiz's 'Divan'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many mystical works in English into Persian and knower of Hafiz's Divan off by heart. "I was very impressed with the beauty of these books." Dr. R.K. Barz. Faculty of Asian Studies, Australian National University. "Smith has probably put together the greatest collection of literary facts and history concerning Hafiz." Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Books author of poems inspired by Hafiz). Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Nesimi, Baba Farid, Lalla Ded, Khayyam, Rudaki, Yunus Emre, Bulleh Shah, Mahsati and many others, as well as poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays. New Humanity Books amazon.com/author/smithpa