Aisha al-Ba'uniyya: A Life in Praise of Love 1786076101, 9781786076106

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MAKERS of the MUSLIM WO R L D

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya

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TITLES IN THE MAKERS OF THE MUSLIM WORLD SERIES Series Editors: Professor Khaled El-Rouayheb, Harvard University, and Professor Sabine Schmidtke, Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Nabulusi, Samer Akkach ‘Abd al-Malik, Chase F. Robinson Abd al-Rahman al-Kawakibi, Itzchak Weismann ‘Abd al-Rahman III, Maribel Fierro Abu Nuwas, Philip F. Kennedy Ahmad al-Mansur, Mercedes García-Arenal Ahmad ibn Hanbal, Christopher Melchert Ahmad Riza Khan Barelwi, Usha Sanyal Akbar, André Wink Al Ma’mun, Michael Cooperson Al-Mutanabbi, Margaret Larkin Amir Khusraw, Sunil Sharma Ashraf ‘Ali Thanawi, Muhammad Qasim Zaman Beshir Agha, Jane Hathaway Chinggis Khan, Michal Biran Elijah Muhammad, Herbert Berg Fazlallah Astarabadi and the Hurufis, Shahzad Bashir Ghazali, Eric Ormsby Hasan al-Banna, Gudrun Krämer Husain Ahmad Madani, Barbara D. Metcalf Ibn ‘Abd al-Wahhab, Michael Crawford Ibn ‘Arabi, William C. Chittick Ibn Tufayl, Taneli Kukkonen Ikhwan al-Safa’, Godefroid de Callataÿ Imam Shafi‘i, Kecia Ali Karim Khan Zand, John R. Perry Mehmed Ali, Khaled Fahmy Mu‘awiya ibn Abi Sufyan, R. Stephen Humphreys Muhammad Abduh, Mark Sedgwick Mulla Sadra, Sayeh Meisami Nasser, Joel Gordon Nazira Zeineddine, Miriam Cooke Sa‘di, Homa Katouzian Shah ‘Abbas, Sholeh A. Quinn Shaykh Mufid, Tamima Bayhom-Daou Usama ibn Munqidh, Paul M. Cobb For current information and details of other books in the series, please visit oneworld-publications.com/makers-of-the-muslim-world

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MAKERS of the MUSLIM WO R L D

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya A Life in Praise of Love TH. EMIL HOMERIN

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Oneworld Academic An imprint of Oneworld Publications Published by Oneworld Academic, 2019 This ebook published 2019 Copyright © Th. Emil Homerin 2019 The moral right of Th. Emil Homerin to be identified as the Author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs, and Patents Act 1988 All rights reserved Copyright under Berne Convention A CIP record for this title is available from the British Library ISBN 978-1-78607-610-6 eISBN 978-1-78607-611-3 Typeset by Geethik Technologies Oneworld Publications 10 Bloomsbury Street London WC1B 3SR England Stay up to date with the latest books, special offers, and exclusive content from Oneworld with our newsletter Sign up on our website oneworld-publications.com

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In Memory of Basima Qattan Bezirgan and Ronald C. Jennings who introduced me to the study of Middle Eastern Muslim women who speak.

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CONTENTS

Maps xi Preface xvii 1 GOD’S BLESSINGS 1 Origins 1 Slave Soldiers  3 Mamluk Sultanate  4 Secretaries and Scholars  5 Education 6 Damascus 8 Mosques and Libraries  12 Gabriel’s Questions  14 Obedient Servant  15 Dress and Decorum  17 Saints and Shrines  18 Inner Sanctum  20 Intercession or Idolatry  21 Forgiveness and Favor  23 2 AISHA AL-BA‘UNIYYA AND THE BELOVED PROPHET 25 Muhammad ibn ‘Abd Allah  25 That Sacred Place  27 Syrian Caravan  29 Damascus to Medina  31 Medina to Mecca  33 Before the Black Stone  34 Hajj 36 Dreams 38 What is a Woman to Do?  39

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viii  CONTENTS

Poems of Praise  40 Mantle Ode  42 Blessings 43 Holy Prophet  45 Most Wholesome Source  47 Virtuous Life  49 Return to Heaven  50 Precious Pearls 52 3 O MY LOVE AND HAPPINESS 57 Marriage and Family  57 Sufi Way  59 Venerable Masters  61 Recalling the Lord  64 Noble Invocations  66 Taste and See  68 Hymn/Him 69 Emanation of Grace 72 Poetry of Recollection  75 He’s My Destiny  78 Old Loves for New  80 Ibn al-Farid  82 Odes in T  84 Covenant 85 Wine of Love  87 Moses of the Heart  89 Seat of Truth  91 4 TREE OF MYSTICAL LIFE 95 Principles of Sufism 95 Repentance 96 Sincerity 99 Recollection 102 Love 106 Amazing Stories  107

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CONTENTS  ix

Wondrous Secret  109 Ocean Without a Shore  111 5 GATHERING UNION 115 New Challenges  115 To Egypt  118 Cairo 120 Victorious 122 Pomp and Princess  124 Among the Elite  126 Five-Fold Good Word 129 Clear Inspiration  131 Shadows of War  134 Time of Change  136 Legacy 137 Bibliography 141 Acknowledgments 149 Index 151

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MAPS

Map 1  Southeast Anatolia, Syria and Palestine (From Carl Petry, Twilight of Majesty (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1993), xiv.)

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xii  AISHA AL-BA‘UNIYYA

Map 2  Damascus and its Environs (From Ira Lapidus, Muslim Cities in the Later Middle Ages (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), 47.)

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Maps  xiii

Map 3  Itinerary in Arabia (After H.A.R. Gibb, The Travels of Ibn Battuta (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1958), 15.)

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xiv  AISHA AL-BA‘UNIYYA

Map 4  Egypt and Sinai (After Carl Petry, Twilight of Majesty (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1993), xiii.)

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Maps  xv

Map 5  The city of Cairo (After Carl Petry, Twilight of Majesty (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1993), xii.)

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PREFACE

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya. When I first read this name, I had no idea who she was, but I was ecstatic that I had found her. Several years earlier, I had begun a research project focused on Arab poets from the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, especially those who composed religious verse. Daily, I would go to libraries in Cairo to search for manuscripts on the subject, and to my delight I found a number of promising collections. Yet these were always written by men, and a nagging questioned remained: “Where were the women?” During my research, I had come across tantalizing hints of women who composed poetry in this period. In a work dedicated to Arab women poets, the celebrated Egyptian scholar Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti (d. 1505) offered short notices on forty women who lived during the eighth to fourteenth centuries. However, he rarely cited more than a few verses by any poet, if he quoted anything at all. Most of these women lived in the ninth to eleventh centuries in Cordova, Granada, or Baghdad, and those he mentioned from later times, or from Damascus or Cairo, were very few. A good example of my dilemma was his entry for Nudar, daughter of the famous scholar Abu Hayyan of Granada (d. 1344). Abu Hayyan had moved from Granada to Cairo where his daughter received an excellent education, but she died tragically at the age of twenty-eight from a plague in 1329. Perhaps for that reason, none of her verse apparently survived so, instead, al-Suyuti quoted several verses mourning Nudar’s death composed by a male friend of her father. Still, knowing the names of even a few Arab women poets from Egypt and Syria gave me hope, but I had yet to encounter a collection of their verse. Then one day, as I took a break from reading manuscripts in the Egyptian National Library, I noticed an elderly man sitting at a table across the room from me. He was a regular at the library, for he was a scribe. Though modern technologies of print, microfilm, and digital imaging offer an easier means of duplication, they are not always

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xviii  AISHA AL-BA‘UNIYYA

available or permitted to researchers at Egypt’s National Library due, in part, to inadequate supplies, broken equipment, security issues, or some other reason known only to God. As a result, some researchers, with more ample resources than I had, follow an ancient practice and hire a scribe to make handwritten copies of the manuscripts that they need for their projects. That day, as I watched the scribe, I realized that he had just finished his copy of a microfilmed manuscript. He got up from his table, returned his microfilm to a librarian, and walked to an area near the back of the large reading hall. There, he consulted an old-fashioned card catalog, which I had not noticed before. As he thumbed through the cards, I approached and greeted him: “Peace be upon you, sir. What is this catalog?” “And upon you be peace,” he replied, with a look of surprise, perhaps because I was obviously a blond foreigner speaking Arabic. “Are you a Bosnian Muslim?” he asked. When I said that I was not, he asked if I was from France or Germany. When I told him that I was an American, he was puzzled, so I mentioned that I had studied classical Arabic poetry at the University of Chicago, and that I was now in Cairo to carry out research on medieval Arabic poetry. He smiled and introduced himself, and Mr. Mustafa then pointed to the catalog with handwritten cards and said that he thought the catalog was from the 1920s. Though he used the more recent printed title index, he often found the older card catalog more useful because it had been arranged by author. Moreover, he said, when the librarians had made the conversion from the old to the new system, they had overlooked many manuscripts. He also offered me a word of warning: sometimes the names in the old catalog were cited haphazardly, often only by first name. Imagine finding a book written by John, but John who? Yet this was exactly what I needed. I thanked Mr. Mustafa and returned to my desk, where I made a list of Arabic first names for women. I began to look them up one by one. This took some time, and sadly I found nothing written by Nudar, though I did find a reference to her father’s moving elegies for her. Undaunted, I continued to search, but I came up empty with other names too, even for such popular names as Fatima, Khadija and Maryam. Then I searched under the name Aisha, and there she was:

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PREFACE  xix

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya. I was excited to find a collection of her poems, but I found much, much more: half a dozen separate works written by her, some in multiple copies, and one manuscript written in her own hand. I had hit the mother lode. I spent the rest of the year, and part of another, reading and making copies of these manuscripts, and gathering material about Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s life and work. I discovered that she was one of the very few women in premodern history to have written a substantial amount of Arabic poetry and prose. By her own account, she authored at least twenty separate works. After her death in 1517, later admirers read and copied many of her manuscripts, and wrote brief accounts of her life, thereby preserving her literary and mystical legacies. Over subsequent centuries, however, Aisha received less scholarly attention, and she was largely forgotten. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, a few short references to Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya appeared in Arabic encyclopedias and anthologies, and in bibliographies of Arabic manuscripts. Several scholars working in Damascus published articles calling for renewed attention to manuscripts of her works. Then, in the 1990s, two new studies on her were published in Arabic. Shortly thereafter, I began to publish a series of articles in English, in which I have tried to reconstruct Aisha’s life and work, with a particular emphasis on her prose and poetry on Islamic mysticism. In addition, more recently, scholars have edited and published some of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s works based on manuscripts, and these print editions and related studies have provided wider access to her writings. Likewise, I hope that this book, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya: A Life in Praise of Love, in the series Makers of the Muslim World, will help to introduce a broader audience to an astonishing voice in Arabic poetry and Islamic mysticism: Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya.

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1 G OD’S B LES S I N GS

Divine grace raised me in a place of goodness and security, and nurtured me with the milk of good fortune. So I followed the path of propriety, and when I reached the age of discernment, the true Lord enabled me to read His awesome book [the Qur’an], and He blessed me with memorizing it completely when I was eight years of age. Then, I continued in the protection of the kind One’s caresses, until I attained knowledge of right and wrong when He pulled away from me the veil of selfishness and removed the screens of confusion. He bestowed upon me His divine inspirations and supported me with His hidden attractions.  Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya (Ibn al-Hanbali al-Halabi, Durr, 1:2:1063)

ORIGINS When Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya speaks of her early blessed life, she may well be alluding to growing up within an extended family of scholars and writers in Damascus. Her ancestors originated in the village of Ba‘un in the area of ‘Ajlun, located today in Jordon’s northwestern corner. Nasir, Aisha’s great-grandfather, was a weaver and textile merchant there. Perhaps in search of educational and occupational opportunities for his sons, Nasir moved his family from Ba‘un to Nazareth around 1359. In time, his oldest son, Isma’il (d. 1407), became a deputy judge in Nazareth, and later devoted his life to spiritual practices. Nasir’s younger son, and Aisha’s grandfather, Ahmad (1350– 1413) was a gifted child. He memorized the Qur’an by the age of ten, and as a young man held several minor administrative positions in and around Nazareth. He later traveled to Cairo where he caught

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the attention of the sultan, Barquq (r. 1382–99), who appointed him preacher and administrator of the prestigious Umayyad Mosque in Damascus. Barquq later promoted him to chief Shafi’i judge of Damascus, but Ahmad fell from royal favor for refusing to loan the sultan money from an orphans pension fund under his control. Some years later, during the reign of Barquq’s son, Faraj (r. 1399– 1405, 1406–12), Ahmad again briefly served as the chief judge of Damascus. Then, in 1412, for a tumultuous two months, he served as the chief Shafi’i judge of all the Mamluk domains and authorized the removal of Faraj from the sultanate. Ahmad then retired to his home in Damascus, where he wrote a commentary on the Qur’an and a poem on proper religious belief. Ahmad was praised by his colleagues as a righteous and honorable man, a fine preacher, and an able administrator. Though he was ambitious and may have held a high opinion of himself, Ahmad refused to be bribed or swayed by the rich and powerful in legal matters. Following their father’s example, Ahmad’s three sons also became religious scholars. His eldest son, Ibrahim (1375–1464), was an accomplished poet and orator, serving for a time as a preacher at the Umayyad Mosque. He then moved to Jerusalem where he preached at the al-Aqsa Mosque and oversaw the administration of all Muslim holy places in that city. Due to his literary eloquence, Ibrahim was known as the “Master of Literature in the Land of Syria.” Ahmad’s second son, Muhammad (1378–1466), was also a preacher for a time at the Umayyad Mosque, as well as a minor poet and historian. Ahmad’s third son, Yusuf (1402–75), was Aisha’s father. He received a religious and legal education comparable to that of his brothers, and was appointed as a judge in the cities of Safad, Tripoli, Aleppo and, finally, as the chief Shafi’i judge in Damascus. Yusuf was regarded as an honest and pious man, and among the best judges to have served in Damascus. In addition, Yusuf composed works in both poetry and prose, and after retirement he undertook the pilgrimage to Mecca with his children and other family members. By the time of Aisha’s birth, the Ba‘unis had established themselves as an important family in Damascus, and one in service to the Mamluk sultans.

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GOD’S BLESSINGS  3

SLAVE SOLDIERS Mamluk is an Arabic term usually designating a military slave. Between the twelfth and fifteenth centuries, slave traders, especially in the Caucasus, purchased Kipchak and Circassian boys generally between the ages of eight and twelve years old, and sold them to the regimes in Damascus, Cairo, and elsewhere. The boys were often housed and educated in barracks with a military school where they learned to read and write Turkish and, sometimes, Arabic. They were also instructed in the laws and rituals of their new religion, Islam, but, most of all, they learned the arts of horsemanship and warfare. As these slave boys grew into young men, they were manumitted by their owners, though the Mamluks usually remained loyal to their former masters, whom they served as soldiers. Mamluks were an essential part of the armies of the great Muslim warrior and counter-crusader, Saladin (d. 1193) who founded the Ayyubid sultanate of Egypt and Syria, and subsequent Ayyubid rulers likewise depended on Mamluks for their elite fighting forces against the crusaders. However, the Ayyubids were challenged by a greater threat coming from the east. Beginning around 1220, Mongol armies began to conquer and control the northeastern territories of the Abbasid caliphate, in present-day Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Nearly unstoppable, the Mongol hordes methodically pressed on, pillaging a succession of cities until they reached Baghdad. There, in 1258, the Mongols sacked and burned the Muslim capital, slaughtering thousands of people, including the reigning Abbasid caliph, his family, and many descendants of the prophet Muhammad. The Muslim community was stunned, as they were now held hostage and ruled by pagans. Many Muslims feared that the end of time was near. Having secured their rule over the Muslim heartlands, the Mongol hordes again moved west, this time into Syria, where they occupied Damascus, and began their march toward Egypt. Then, in 1260, at Ayn Jalut near the city of Nablus, the Mongol forces encountered a formidable army of Mamluk solders, who annihilated them. The Mamluks had proven their worth, and though they would fight the Mongols in years to come, this resounding victory presaged an end to

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Mongol rule in Muslim lands. Soon thereafter, the Muslim Abbasid caliphate was re-established in Cairo. Together with Damascus, the two cities blossomed into major centers of Islamic learning and Arab culture. As a result, many hailed the Mamluks as the saviors of Islam, as noted by the famous scholar and historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1405): When the [Abbasid] state was drowned in decadence and luxury and donned the garments of calamity and impotence and was overthrown by the heathen [Mongols]…then, it was with God’s benevolence that He rescued the faith by reviving its dying breath and restoring the unity of the Muslims in the Egyptian realms, preserving the order and defending the walls of Islam. He did this by sending to the Muslims, from His Turkish nation and from among its great and numerous tribes, rulers to defend them and utterly loyal helpers, who were brought from the House of War to the House of Islam under the rule of slavery, which hides in itself a divine blessing. By means of slavery they learn glory and blessing and are exposed to divine providence; cured by slavery, they enter the Muslim religion with the firm resolve of true believers and yet with the nomadic virtues unsullied by debased nature, unadulterated with the filth of pleasure, undefiled by the ways of civilized living and with their ardor unbroken by the profusion of luxury… (Lewis, Islam, 1:97–8)

MAMLUK SULTANATE After defeating the Mongols, the victorious Mamluk commander Baybars (r. 1260–77) soon replaced an Ayyubid child prince as sultan, and so began the Mamluk sultanate of Egypt and Syria. Following Baybars’ death, another Mamluk, Qalawun (r. 1279–90), assumed the sultanate, to be followed by two of his sons, the most notable being al-Nasir Muhammad. Al-Nasir Muhammad and his older brother were not technically Mamluks, but rather members of the awlad al-nas, or “the sons of the (elite) people” – that is, freeborn children of a Mamluk father. They were usually taught the arts of war and served as an auxiliary to the Mamluk cavalry. They also learned Arabic and often became government secretaries, scholars, and littérateurs. Al-Nasir Muhammad’s early years as sultan (r. 1293–4, 1298–1308) were

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GOD’S BLESSINGS  5

interrupted by several powerful Mamluk commanders who briefly usurped his power, but his third and longest reign (1309–40) was largely one of peace and prosperity. After the death of al-Nasir Muhammad in 1340, some of his senior Mamluk emirs, together with seven of his descendants, ruled the Mamluk sultanate for the next forty years. Yet there was increasing instability in the wake of the Black Death of 1348–9, which spread destruction and havoc throughout Egypt and Syria. Politically, a number of Mamluk factions fought for supremacy as the domination of Kipchak Turks slowly eroded and, eventually, a Ciracassian Mamluk emir named Barquq was declared sultan in 1382. Though he often faced revolts in Syria and Upper Egypt, Barquq helped to restabilize the Mamluk sultanate and reigned for over fifteen years. During this time, Aisha’s grandfather, Ahmad, served as chief judge of Damascus. Tumultuous times soon followed Barquq’s death in 1399 and, sensing weakness, Ottoman forces began to raid the Mamluk sultanate’s northern frontier. Also worrisome was the westward march of the vast army of the Turco-Mongol conqueror Timur (d. 1405). His forces put the Mamluks to flight, and then plundered much of Syria, including Damascus. This was followed by another devastating plague in 1403–5. The Mamluk sultanate slowly recovered during the fifteenth century, and subsequent sultans gradually restored order and consolidated their authority. A new period of peace and stability spread throughout Egypt and Syria during the long reign of the sultan Qaytbay (r. 1468–96), and that of his eventual successor Qansuh al-Ghawri (r. 1501–16), both of whom reigned during the lifetime of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya.

SECRETARIES AND SCHOLARS While the Mamluks were the ruling military elite, they relied upon hundreds of clerks and secretaries to help administer the sultanate. These positions were roughly divided between the Bureau of Finance and the Chancellery or Diplomatic Bureau. Both were located in Cairo, with smaller branches in Damascus and other cities. Another literate class was composed of the ulama, “those who

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know” – that is to say, the scholars of religion. By the Mamluk period, these scholars specialized in a wide range of subjects including the Qur’an, hadith (the traditions of the prophet Muhammad), theology and mysticism, though their core curriculum remained law and jurisprudence. Professionally, they served in a number of capacities as prayer leaders, Qur’an readers, teachers, professors, preachers and spiritual guides, as well as legal advocates, notaries, lawyers, and judges in the court system. Like the secretaries, religious scholars were supported largely by the Mamluk sultanate, which relied on them to staff the judiciary and meet the religious needs of the populace. In many of these capacities, Aisha’s grandfather, father, uncles, brothers, and other members of the Ba‘uni family served the Mamluk sultans. The Mamluks also established religious endowments of lands and revenues for mosques, schools, libraries, chantries, hospitals, and other institutions for pious deeds and learning, which supported many of the religious scholars and their students. Among the grandest endowments were the vast complexes built at this time by a number of sultans and chief emirs. In many cases, a large congregational mosque would be flanked by rooms for a madrasa, or law school, often with one separate wing for each of the four recognized schools of Sunni law. Frequently adjoining the mosque and schools was a mausoleum with the donor’s grave and those of his family members, and a khanqah, or chantry, where Muslim mystics would chant the Qur’an and pray daily on behalf of the deceased. Such complexes employed scores of religious scholars and functionaries, providing them with substantial salaries, while also serving as institutions of higher education. With such financial support, many religious scholars had the time and resources to write works on a number of subjects and to raise and educate their own children, as was the case with members of the extended Ba‘uni family, including Aisha’s father Yusuf.

EDUCATION Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya may have been the youngest of Yusuf’s children, who also included at least four sons: ‘Abd al-Latif (d. 1475), ‘Abd al-­ Rahman (d. 1481), ‘Abd Allah (d. 1484) and Muhammad (1453–1504).

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GOD’S BLESSINGS  7

Muhammad appears to have been the most prominent of the four brothers, serving as a legal scholar and, for a time, as a judge in Aleppo. However, he was more highly regarded as an historian and poet, who composed a long poem in praise of the Mamluk sultan Qaytbay. In talent, erudition, and fame, Aisha would eclipse them all. Several contemporaries left accounts of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, including the Damascene historian Muhammad Ibn Tulun (1473–1546), who knew her family well. Unfortunately, none of them mention the year of Aisha’s birth, though Ibn Tulun quoted two verses that he claimed Aisha had recited to her uncle Ibrahim. They said: “Heady wine is a beverage bringing joy and intimacy!” So I replied to them: “What a foul drink leading but to misery!” (Ibn Mulla al-Haskafi, Mut’at, 2:878)

Aisha’s uncle Ibrahim died in 1464 and, if this story is true, perhaps Aisha was eight or nine years old at that time, and so born around 1456. That she might have recited these verses at such a young age is not surprising given that she was a precocious child, having memorized the entire Qur’an by the age of eight, two years younger than her illustrious grandfather had done as a child. Like her brothers, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya studied Arabic grammar and poetry, and religious subjects, including the Qur’an and hadith. Further, as can be seen from her writings, she read commentaries on the Qur’an, mysticism and, most likely, jurisprudence and law. Similar to other women of the period, Aisha probably studied with her father and uncles, as well as with her older brothers, perhaps including ‘Abd al-Latif, who had memorized the Qur’an. She might have studied with other teachers too, by attending public readings, classes, and study circles accompanied by her father, brothers, or other male relatives, which was quite normal at this time for girls and young women prior to marriage. Aisha may have also studied with a number of older women teachers who had been authorized to transmit specific religious works, especially hadith collections, which was regularly the case in Syria and Egypt during the Mamluk period. Most women anywhere in the medieval world received little formal education, but educated young women were highly sought as wives among the religious classes and elite families of the Mamluk sultanate.

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Muslim women’s education at this time was often focused on the Qur’an, hadith, virtue literature, stories of saints’ lives, and similar religious subjects that aimed to shape personal conduct and the quest for eternal life. Much of what we know of women’s learning from this period is based on the historian and biographer Muhammad al-Sakhawi (1427–97), who compiled a massive biographical dictionary of people who lived during his lifetime. His multivolume work contains approximately 11,000 entries on men and, significantly, an additional 1,075 biographies of women. These women were usually from the families of Mamluk sultans and emirs, and the families of religious scholars. Of these women, over one-third had been authorized to transmit religious works, attesting to the importance of education and learning for women. However, this transmission of knowledge appears to have generally been an oral transmission based on the recitation and memorization of texts. Al-Sakhawi specifically mentions forty women who could read and write, and if this number is at all accurate, then around three percent of these women were literate. By contrast, literacy among men was much higher, perhaps in the double digits, due in large part to the proliferation of primary schools, where young boys learned to read and write using the Qur’an as well as other texts, including some on grammar and mathematics. Given that the women profiled by al-Sakhawi were mostly from privileged families, literate women among the overall population would have been rare. Clearly, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s literacy was exceptional for her time. Arabic manuscripts still exist today written in her hand and, in many of her works, Aisha accurately quoted verbatim from Arabic texts she had read. This, in turn, points to another essential source of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s education, namely books, which were readily available from a number of libraries in and around Damascus.

DAMASCUS Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya grew up in al-Salihiyya, a well-to-do northern suburb of Damascus, described by the historian Shihab al-Din al-‘Umari (d. 1349):

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At the foot of Mount Qasiyun is al-Salihiyya, a city extending along the base of the mountain, facing Damascus all along its length, with houses, gardens, schools, hospices, magnificent mausolea, imposing buildings, a hospital and magnificent markets abundant in cloth among other things. In the upper parts of the city along the skirt of the mountain are the public cemeteries. The whole of al-Salihiyya overlooks Damascus. (Richards, Egypt and Syria, 67)

Other accounts also praise al-Salihiyya as home to numerous educational institutions, including Qur’an schools, colleges, Sufi centers, and libraries. Women were actively involved there as students, teachers and benefactors. Damascus was the “second city” of the Mamluk sultanate, but it had an earlier storied history as an important Muslim capital. Damascus is located about fifty miles east of the Mediterranean in the southern region of present-day Syria. To the west, Damascus abuts Mt. Qasiyun, while to the east, the steppe stretches away toward the Euphrates and south into the desert toward Arabia. While there is some rain in the spring and fall, Damascus is usually well watered year-round by the Barada River, which descends from the nearby mountains and has served as an essential source of irrigation. Given its water and fertility, the area around Damascus has been cultivated since ancient times for fruits, vegetables, and cereal grains. Alexander the Great conquered Damascus in the fourth century bce, and in the first century bce, the Romans incorporated Damascus into their province of Syria. By the third century ce, Damascus had grown into a substantial and prosperous Roman city and an important trade center on several caravan routes. During this time, Jews and Christians lived in and around Damascus where the Apostle Paul had once taught. By the sixth century ce, the Christian population of Damascus had grown substantially under Byzantine rule. However, Damascus was on the volatile frontier, caught in a tug of war between the Greek Byzantine Empire to the north and Persian Sassanid Empire to the southeast. Then, in 634 ce, two years after the death of the prophet Muhammad, Muslim armies pushed north into Byzantine territories and took control of Damascus. In 639, Mu’awiyya ibn Abi Sufyan

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(c.602–80) was named commander of the Muslim army garrisoned in Damascus, and effectively became governor. Mu‘awiyya ascended the throne as caliph in 661, and made Damascus the capital of the young and expanding Muslim empire. For the next seventy-five years of the Umayyad caliphate, Damascus was the premier city of the Middle East as it grew in commercial, political and religious importance. Emblematic of its stature and the glory of Islam was the great Umayyad Mosque, completed in 715. Located in the heart of the old city where a Christian basilica once stood, this rectangular, walled congregational mosque measures approximately 300 x 500 feet, with a large open-air courtyard. A covered colonnade sanctuary and prayer niche are located at the southern end of the mosque, and aligned toward Mecca, the direction for the five daily Muslim prayers. On Fridays at noon, the Muslim male population of the city would gather at the Umayyad Mosque for prayers, a sermon, and the important public pronouncement of the ruler’s name. In 750, the Umayyads were overthrown and replaced by the Abbasid caliphs, who moved the Muslim capital east to their new imperial city of Baghdad. Damascus was quickly reduced to a provincial town. Over the next several centuries, various dynasties occupied Damascus until the Shi‘i Fatimid caliphs, originating in North Africa, took control of Syria and Damascus in 970. Like most Shi‘i dynasties, the Fatimids claimed to rule based on their sacred lineage to Muhammad through his daughter Fatima and her husband ‘Ali, and they believed that their imam-caliphs were infallible and worthy of religious devotion. The Fatimids ruled Damascus for a hundred years, though they founded their own capital city in Egypt: Cairo. During this century of Fatimid rule, living conditions in Damascus were difficult for much of the population, leading them at times to riot and revolt against their Fatimid masters, but to no avail. Damascus was now a pale reflection of its former glory. Meanwhile in Baghdad, a Turkic dynasty known as the Seljuqs had risen to power, and in 1055 their leader declared himself sultan or “sovereign.” The Seljuqs were Sunni Muslims, and so they recognized the Abbasid caliph’s significance as the spiritual head of the Muslim community. Nevertheless, the Seljuq sultans retained control

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of political and military affairs as they sought to reunify and expand the Muslim empire. Seljuq forces soon moved westward and ended Fatimid rule in Damascus; they repaired the city’s walls and erected a Citadel to defend Damascus. In 1154, the Seljuq Nur al-Din al-Zangi (d. 1174) made Damascus the capital of his expanding territories in Syria, and once again the city prospered. Nur al-Din supported religious scholars and mystics in order to promote Sunni Islam, and in Damascus he repaired mosques and built new ones. He likewise founded schools for higher religious education, as well as a hospital, for which he was long remembered. Nur al-Din also provided lodging for Muslim mystics and ascetics, so that they might pray on behalf of all Muslims, as noted by the famous traveler Ibn Jubayr (d. 1217) when he passed through Damascus in 1184: As for the ribats, which are called khanqahs [here in Damascus], they are many and intended for the Sufis. They are lavish palaces with water flowing through them all, a most lovely sight to behold. The Sufis associated with these institutions are the kings of this country, for God has provided for their worldly needs and more, thus freeing their minds from the worries of making a living so that they can worship Him; He has lodged them in palaces that remind them of the palaces of Paradise! So by God’s favor these fortunate and favored Sufis receive the grace of both this world and the next.  (Ibn Jubayr, Rihlat Ibn Jubayr, 256)

One of Nur al-Din al-Zangi’s greatest generals was Salah al-Din ibn Ayyub, or Saladin. In 1171, with the blessings of the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, Saladin extended Zangid Sunni rule into Egypt, where he ended the Shi‘i Fatimid caliphate. Then, following the death of Nur al-Din al-Zangi, Saladin took control of Damascus for himself. In 1187, he defeated the Christian forces of the Second Crusade, reclaimed Jerusalem for Islam, and officially founded the Ayyubid sultanate. After his death in 1193, Saladin was laid to rest in Damascus, as his successors vied for power. Various Ayyubid princes often ruled over largely independent territories, though Damascus and Cairo remained the most important cities of the Ayyubid sultanate. Under the Ayyubids, Damascus flourished, as princes and emirs patronized

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scholars and writers, and they founded additional mosques, schools, Sufi lodges, and libraries. Nevertheless, the Ayyubid princes could not prevent the Mongols from occupying Damascus in 1260, though their former Mamluk soldiers would soon force out the Mongols and make Damascus their own.

MOSQUES AND LIBRARIES For the next two and a half centuries, Damascus was second only to Cairo in importance to the Mamluk sultanate, and the viceroy of Damascus was one of the most powerful emirs of the empire. As before, the Umayyad Mosque was the city center, as noted by the historian al-‘Umari. This mosque is full of people day and night, as people pass through it to go to schools, markets, and their homes. More than any other mosque, one finds here prayer leaders, Qur’an readers, knowledgeable scholars and teachers of jurisprudence, and hadith experts, as well as the righteous men who reside there. The mosque is always full of goodness and devotions, and it is rare to see it empty for even a moment night or day, of people praying, or those gathered for devotions or chanting the Qur’an or giving the call to prayer… Some people come to chat and others to meet friends or to stroll in the open courtyard to enjoy the beauty of the moon and stars in the sky. For this mosque has ample room, fresh air, and cool colonnades during the midday heat. (al-‘Umari, Masalik, 202–3)

During the Mamluk period, the population of Damascus generally prospered. Nevertheless, they experienced periods of drought, famine, and epidemics, most notably the Black Death in 1348–9, which may have claimed the lives of nearly half of those residing in the city. Further, given its strategic position in Syria, Damascus was often threatened with invasions. First the Mongols came, and later, in 1400, Timur’s army sacked and burned the town. Timur’s troopers killed hundreds of people, and enslaved many others, who were herded off to Timur’s capital of Samarqand. Aisha’s grandfather Ahmad and his

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family survived this disaster, probably by joining others who fled to Cairo. Thereafter, the Mamluks set about repairing the damage to the city, including to the Umayyad Mosque. Several decades later, two of Aisha’s uncles, first Ibrahim al-Ba‘uni, then his brother Muhammad, had the privilege of reciting the sultan’s name in their Friday sermons at the Umayyad Mosque. Damascus began to flourish once again, and by the late fifteenth century the population in and around the city was probably between 50,000 and 60,000 people. European travelers and merchants visited Damascus and its surroundings, leaving accounts of the Mamluk city. Some of them remarked on the many covered streets there with hanging lamps that provided ample light at night. Houses were generally several stories tall and made of wood, often with light blue interiors and mosaic floors. People in Damascus rarely cooked at home; instead, they would buy their daily bread from bakeries and other foods from the markets and public kitchens, where various meats and other cooked foods were sold. However, the combination of open fires and wood structures led to a number of devastating fires in the city. The French pilgrim Bertrandon de la Broquière (d. 1459) had this to say when he passed through Damascus in 1432: Damascus may contain, as I have heard, one hundred thousand souls. The town is rich, commercial, and after, Cairo, the most considerable of all in the possessions of the sultan. To the north, south, and east is an extensive plain; to the west rises a mountain, at the foot of which the suburbs are built. A river runs through it, which is divided into several canals. The town is enclosed in a handsome wall, for the suburbs are larger than the town. I have nowhere seen such extensive gardens, better fruits, nor greater plenty of water. This is said to be so abundant, that there is scarcely a house without a fountain. The governor is only inferior to the sultan in all Syria and Egypt, but, as at different times some governors have revolted, the sultans have taken precautions to restrain them within proper bounds. Damascus has a strong castle on the side towards the mountain, with wide and deep ditches, over which the sultan appoints a captain of his own friends, who never suffers the governor to enter it.  (Bertrandon de la Broquière, Travels, 294)

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Mamluk sultans and emirs built new palaces and mausoleums in Damascus, and they established additional mosques and schools. Likewise, they paid for the repair and upkeep of earlier institutions, including the hospital founded by Nur al-Din al-Zangi, which was successfully renovated and expanded under the supervision of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s father, Yusuf. Among the hundreds of institutions sponsored or maintained by the Mamluks was the al-Ashrafiyya library. This library was attached to the mausoleum of al-Malik al-Ashraf (d. 1237), the nephew of Saladin, and the Ayyubid prince of Damascus for nearly thirty years. The al-Ashrafiyya was a lending library containing over 2,000 volumes. While this library appears to have been of average size, the al-Ashrafiyya is notable because the catalog to its collection has survived. Significantly, a number of its titles were books that Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya had read and from which she quoted in her own works. These books included the canonical hadith collections by al-Bukhari and Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, books on theology and mysticism by al-Sarraj, al-Qushayri and ‘Umar al-Suhrawardi, as well as collections of poetry by Hassan ibn Thabit, Abu Nuwas, Ibn al-Farid, and many others. Books by these authors were quite popular and were part of many public and private book collections. Aisha may have used the al-Ashrafiyya or similar libraries for her studies, and such collections are indicative of the cultural and religious currents in Damascus of the thirteenth to sixteenth centuries.

GABRIEL’S QUESTIONS Growing up in an extended family of religious and legal scholars, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya was well versed regarding Muslim beliefs and rituals, since she had memorized the Qur’an as a young girl and studied the traditions of the prophet Muhammad. Probably, Aisha had memorized many of these traditions too, including the famous “Hadith of the Archangel Gabriel” as related by one of Muhammad’s companions: One day we were with the Apostle of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, when a man with intense white garments and deep black

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hair came up to us. No sign of travel was visible on him, and none of us recognized him. Then he sat down before the Prophet with their knees touching, placed his hands on his thighs, and said: “Muhammad, tell me about submission [islam].” God’s Messenger replied: “Submission means that you bear witness that there is no deity but God and that Muhammad is the Apostle of God, that you perform the canonical prayers, pay the required alms, fast during Ramadan, and make the pilgrimage to the House [i.e. the Ka‘ba in Mecca] if you are able to make the trip.” The man said: “You have spoken the truth!” We were surprised that he questioned him and then confirmed that he had spoken the truth. Then he said, “Now tell me about faith [iman].” The Apostle replied, “That you have faith in God, His angels, His books, His apostles, and the Last Day, and that you have faith in the divine decree of good and evil.” The man said: “You have spoken the truth!” Then he said: “Tell me about virtue [ihsan].” The Apostle replied: “That you should worship God as if you see Him, and if you do not see Him, He still sees you.” Then the man said, “Tell me about the Hour of the Last Day.” The Apostle of God replied: “About that he who is questioned knows no more than the questioner…” Then the man got up and left, and after I had waited there for a long time, the Prophet said to me, “‘Umar, do you know who the questioner was?” I replied: “God and His Apostle know best!” So he said: “That was Gabriel who came to teach you your religion!”  (Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Sahih, iman #1)

OBEDIENT SERVANT This tradition presents the core beliefs and rituals of Islam, which Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya often mentions in her writings. In line with this tradition is a couplet that she composed during her youth regarding her obedience to the will of God. I am content with what God wants for me; I commit my whole life to Him. I turn to Him, seek refuge in Him, cling to Him, for I can rely on no one save Him! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 72)

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Aisha’s faith in God and His prophet Muhammad was reinforced on a regular basis during the five daily prayers, which all Muslims are required to perform, whenever possible. At a time with few clocks, the muezzins’ call to prayer divided Aisha’s day. This began with the dawn prayer, then a prayer at noon, late afternoon, at sunset, and finally the night prayer. Preceding each prayer, Aisha purified herself with ritual ablutions, washing her hands, face, head, feet, and ankles. Then she turned toward Mecca and attended to her prayers. These consisted of a series of simple bodily positions and prostrations, accompanied by the recitation of particular religious statements based on the Qur’an. Aisha, like all Muslims, was allowed to perform these prayers alone and in private, or with others, especially family members. Particularly important to the community has been the congregational prayer at noon on Friday, though it is not clear if Aisha and other women regularly prayed this prayer at mosques. For the devout, prayers present an opportunity to affirm and strengthen a personal relationship with God, as Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya confesses in the following verses, which she called an “intimate prayer”: O my strength, my king, my greatest goal, my fickle heart prays toward You. Lord, I beseech You with all a worshipper can do when he calls You: Kindly keep me from harm, make my dream come true, and let my heart have its wildest wish and desire! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 72)

Raised in a religious family of means, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya was expected to give alms to the poor, and to keep the fast during Ramadan, the ninth month of the Muslim lunar calendar. During this fast, all Muslims are to refrain during daylight hours from eating, drinking, and sexual relations. They are encouraged to recall the plight of those who are less fortunate and to reflect on their own dependence on God, as Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya advises in the following verses composed in her youth: Drop all your plans and give it all to God. Entrust the matter to Him whose hands hold all power! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 73)

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When possible, many Muslims devote the month of Ramadan to reading the Qur’an and Muslim devotional literature. A popular choice in Aisha’s day was Muhyi al-Din al-Nawawi’s (d. 676/1277) Book of Remembrance (Kitab al-Adhkar), a copy of which written in Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s hand still exists today. Ramadan is also a time for prayer and religious introspection. Aisha stated that the following couplet came to her as an inspiration from God “in the early days”: Whenever the fates make Your servant recall someone besides You, by God, it does no good. For memory of You is hidden deep in the heart, and You know what I reveal and conceal. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 72)

After sunset during the days of Ramadan, Aisha probably broke the fast with family members, followed by visits to other relatives and family friends. No doubt, Aisha also celebrated ‘Id al-Fitr, or the “Feast to Break the Fast,” at the end of Ramadan, when Damascus was gaily decorated. A special congregational prayer was performed, usually followed by festive family gatherings and donations to the poor. Three months later, during the last Muslim month, was ‘Id al-Adha, the “Feast of the Sacrifice,” a second Muslim holiday, which marks the end of the Hajj pilgrimage. Traditionally, this joyous celebration is observed for three days throughout the Muslim world. In Aisha’s time, prosperous families, such as the Ba‘unis, sacrificed several animals to be shared with others during the feast in thanksgiving for God’s blessings: Praise to You, my Lord, for this amazing grace You bestowed on me, You, the generous one! Now every member of my body has a tongue reciting thanks to You, my Lord and greatest patron! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 74)

DRESS AND DECORUM In keeping with her Muslim faith, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya was to observe specific dietary rules, including the avoidance of alcohol and pork.

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She was also expected to conform to Muslim manners and customs regarding social etiquette and decorum. This meant that Aisha was to act and dress modestly. Similar to other women of the middle and upper classes, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya probably wore clothes made of wool, linen, cotton, and occasionally silk, some of them dyed and stitched with embroidery. She likely wore an elegant, long-sleeved chemise with a vest, along with a pair of wide baggy pants, and an embroidered shawl or coat. Normally, her hair would have been covered with a head scarf or even a small round turban. Aisha may have worn make-up, especially kohl as an eyeliner. On special occasions, Aisha probably had henna applied to her hands and feet in various artistic patterns, and she may have used perfume, though this was frowned upon when women attended the mosque. As a woman, Aisha was expected to be veiled in public. When she went out, accompanied by an older woman or male relative, Aisha undoubtedly wore a large, loose gown over her clothes to conceal the contours of her body. Women like Aisha, along with their female servants and relatives, were generally free to go to markets and to the public baths on specific days reserved for them. They also attended prayers at mosques, participated in festivals and, especially on holidays, visited the shrines of holy persons, which were a prominent feature of medieval Islam.

SAINTS AND SHRINES A devotional atmosphere pervaded Islam during medieval times. Many Muslims prayed to the prophet Muhammad for his help in their personal affairs and for his intercession on the Day of Judgment. Muslims also sought the intercession of earlier prophets, as well as the Muslim saints, Muhammad’s spiritual heirs. The Qur’an tells the stories of a number of prophets preceding Muhammad, including Moses and Jesus, and, while the Qur’an does not articulate a clear doctrine of sainthood, it does mention God’s special friends: “The walis of God! They have no fear nor do they grieve!” (10:62) The Qur’an declares all pious Muslims to be God’s walis or “protected friends,” but by the ninth century wali generally designated a

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saint, one of those exceptional Muslims believed to possess baraka, a God-given spiritual power enabling them to perform miracles. Muhammad, earlier prophets, and members of their families have often been venerated, as have many of Muhammad’s close companions, Muslim mystics, and some martyrs. Moreover, medieval Damascus and its environs were full of shrines and holy places venerated by Jews, Christians, and Muslims alike, who visited these sacred sites to pray and seek blessings. Many believed that Noah’s son Shem had founded the city of Damascus near Mt. Qasiyun where earlier, in the Grotto of Blood, Cain had murdered Abel. The nearby village of Barza was said to be the birthplace of the prophet Abraham, and just to the south of the city was a tomb many believed belonged to the prophet Moses. In the center of Damascus, in an oratory in the great Umayyad Mosque, was the head of John the Baptist. Additional shrines contained the graves of other holy men and women. Some were associated with the Prophet’s cousin and son-inlaw ‘Ali (d. 661) and his descendants, who were especially venerated by Shi‘i Muslims. The Shi‘i are Muslim followers of ‘Ali, whom they believe had been designated by the prophet Muhammad to succeed him as Commander of the Believers. They hold that ‘Ali and certain of his male descendants were divinely ordained to govern the Muslim community as its imams, or leaders. However, after the Prophet’s death, ‘Ali was passed over by some of Muhammad’s older companions. They elected others as caliph, claiming to rule in accordance with the sunna, or custom, of Muhammad, hence, they are known as Sunni Muslims. ‘Ali was eventually named the fourth caliph, but he was opposed by others, including the governor of Damascus, Mu‘awiyya ibn Abi Sufyan. In 661, ‘Ali was assassinated, as one of his sons, al-Husayn, would be nearly twenty years later in 680. As a result, most Shi‘i have regarded the first three caliphs, as well as the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphs, as usurpers. Over time, the Shi‘i have supported others, including the Fatimid caliphs, who ruled Syria and Egypt in the tenth to twelfth centuries. This political dimension has sometimes caused tensions between Shi‘is and Sunnis. Religiously, however, Sunnis have also venerated ‘Ali and his descendants, especially through his wife Fatima, Muhammad’s

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daughter. Sunnis, likewise, have visited the shrines of members of Muhammad’s holy family. In fact, a public fund was established in medieval Damascus to pay an annual stipend to males who could verify their lineage to the prophet Muhammad. In many of her poems, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya prays that God will bless the Prophet, his holy family, and the saints: My Lord, bless all of the prophets who drew near Your presence, And bless the Prophet’s family and companions, who were among Your greatest gifts. Bless my guide and crown, and all of Your saints, And bless every seeker standing before Your door. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 184–5)

Similarly, Aisha frequently extols holy people whose exemplary lives may lead others to success in this world and the next: Cheers to those busy with their Lord, engaged with God alone. This leads to success and happiness as they walk the path in God’s shining light. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 115)

INNER SANCTUM As was customary, pilgrims usually visited saints and their shrines on foot. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya may have used one of several popular pilgrimage itineraries when visiting these holy places in and around Damascus. Some pilgrimage guides also provide instructions for proper behavior at these holy sites: God, the exalted, is pleased by visitation to His saints, the Prophet’s beloved companions, and others, so this is an acceptable practice. The Prophet, God bless and give him peace, used to visit to the graves of his blessed companions in the cemetery in Medina, where he would greet

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them and pray for their forgiveness. Sound tradition confirms this. Therefore, one wishing to visit the grave of one of God’s beloveds or special worshippers must pray for the tomb’s resident. The pilgrim should seek the resident’s blessing and God’s divine mercy. According to established custom, the pilgrim faces the resident of the tomb when approaching and greeting him. He stands next to the tomb humbly and in a courteous manner, bowing his head toward the ground out of respect. This is to be done in awe and reverence, and free from conceit and pride. The pilgrim should visualize himself looking at the tomb’s resident, with the resident looking back at him. Then the pilgrim should look with introspection at the lofty rank and divine secrets that God has granted to the one visited, and how God has made him a locus for sainthood, secrets, nearness, obedience, and divine mystical truths. The pilgrim should then look with introspection upon himself and how he has come up short in his efforts to attain sanctity, and how he has avoided the moral struggles and pious devotions, which are the means to ascend to God. The pilgrim will see how he has been inclined toward a fleeting, temporal life and the lusts of the ephemeral world. This has prevented him from drawing near to God, and attaining innumerable divine blessings… Then the pilgrim envisions the Day of Judgment and Resurrection, when the saints will rise from their graves, overjoyed that God is pleased with them, delighted to be riding upon noble deeds. The angels of their virtuous labors surround them, and upon their heads are crowns of pious devotions, interceding on behalf of sinners. Realizing his shortcomings, the pilgrim will sob and burst into tears. He will devote himself anew to his religion and the afterlife, praying that God will improve his condition and bless him as He has blessed His devout worshippers. Then the pilgrim should recite something from the noble Qur’an, say more prayers, and seek forgiveness and refuge with God.  (Ibn al-Hawrani, Kitab Ziyarat al-Sham, 31)

INTERCESSION OR IDOLATRY For many, visiting the shrines of saints and holy persons was intended to strengthen their faith and promote religious introspection. Perhaps such a visit inspired Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya to compose the following short poem on sin and repentance:

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Do not belittle a tear drop falling from crying and weeping in fear of God. For many oceans must burn with Hell-fire to quench it and wash away so many sins. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 128)

Still, some pilgrims also visited holy places for other reasons, including consultations with fortune tellers, who interpreted premonitions and dreams. Pilgrims might also purchase elixirs to cure illness, and amulets and talismans to ward off evil. Among the most famous saints of Damascus was Abu ‘Umar (d. 1210). A visit to his grave and shrine in the suburb of al-Salihiyya, where Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya lived, was considered particularly efficacious for curing illnesses affecting both humans and their livestock, as noted by the historian Ibn Tulun: It is well known among the people that if one leads a colicky animal around Abu ‘Umar’s tomb seven times, the colic will go away, and that if a person with a fever attaches to himself seven pebbles from this tomb, the fever will go away, and he will be cured.  (Ibn Tulun, al-Qala’id, 2:561)

Ibn Tulun mentions another holy site in al-Salihiyya that may have been attracting increasing pilgrims and patronage during his and Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s lifetimes – the grave of Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-‘Arabi (d. 1240). Originally born in Andalusia, Ibn al-‘Arabi moved to North Africa in his pursuit of knowledge, then east to Mecca before settling in Damascus, where he lived and taught for a number of years before his death. During his lifetime, Ibn al-‘Arabi was well respected for his knowledge of the Qur’an, jurisprudence and mysticism. He was a prolific writer and poet, attracting a group of loyal disciples, as well as patronage from the Ayyubid princes. After his death, however, Ibn al-‘Arabi became a controversial and divisive figure due largely to his writings on mystical theology. In a number of his more esoteric works, Ibn al-‘Arabi presents a monistic view of divine unity in which God constantly reveals Himself within existence. The great mystics and saints have grasped this underlying existential oneness and so witness the interdependence between creator and creation, which reflects God’s ultimate unicity. Some more

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legally oriented religious scholars denounced such monism as blasphemy, as it undermined the essential distinction between God and His creation upon which their monotheism and religious law relied. For many of them, to visit Ibn al-‘Arabi’s grave for blessings, or any other grave for that matter, was a dangerous religious innovation tantamount to idolatry. However, Ibn Tulun noted that a number of other Muslim scholars, including the Ba‘unis of Damascus, esteemed Ibn al-‘Arabi’s writings and recognized him as a saint. In their opinion, the often enigmatic statements made by Ibn al-‘Arabi and other saints of God could be reconciled with the Qur’an and Islamic law by means of allegorical interpretation. Nevertheless, they advised caution as to who was permitted to read Ibn al-‘Arabi’s difficult and obscure writings, which should be restricted to qualified religious scholars and their more advanced students. As to the visitation of Ibn al-‘Arabi’s grave and other shrines, these scholars argued that when one visits these places and behaves in the proper manner, one does not “worship” the holy people there. Rather, one venerates and praises them as a means to attain God’s grace and forgiveness. Like an earthly king surrounded by his courtiers, God has His special friends, the prophets and saints, who may intercede with Him on behalf of others.

FORGIVENESS AND FAVOR Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya often prays for intercession in many of her poems: Who forgives the sinful woman, save Your pardon? Who remembers the wretch, save Your grace? Who aids the poor woman, save Your generous gift? Who mends the broken, save Your favor? Where is refuge for the outcast, save Your door? Who protects the fugitive, save Your glory? What strengthens the weak woman, save Your aid? What helps the afflicted, save Your kindness? When my sins grow in number, who will forgive me other than You, Lord of lords?

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You are the Real, all else is vain, and everything manifests Your divine names: Giver of Life, Taker of life, the First, the Last, the Hidden, the Manifest! Lord, divine Lord, my master, my savior, my helper, all is in awe of You! My selfish soul and its actions, all of my states and limited reason, Are lapses and misdeeds and shameful sins. By Your great glory, please forgive them! Things arose in me You know too well; my Lord and Savior, protect me! With Your grace, look upon all my affairs with a glance turning ruin to riches, And render my business worthy of Your great gift turning my weakness to strength. Choose for me blessings that will help my heart turn to see and behold You, And favor me with Your servant, the saint, to whom the great ones bow with deference. Fulfill my hope, answer my prayer, and guide a bewildered heart. My Lord, bless the Prophet with peace and honor, glory and reverence, And his family and close companions and those who follow with worthy deeds! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 80–1)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya directly addresses God in this poem as she begs Him to forgive her sins, and humbly asks Him to guide her to a life of righteousness exemplified in the lives of the great saints, and the companions and family of the Prophet. Yet, more than any other human being, the prophet Muhammad himself was the greatest source of inspiration and hope for Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya. Her chance to visit the holy land of Mecca and Medina, where he once lived, would be a dream come true.

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2 AI SHA A L- B A ‘UN I Y Y A AN D THE B ELOV ED P R O P H E T

My God, my Lord, my greatest goal, in the name of the beloved, the guide, Muhammad, I beseech You for Your favor to draw me near Your presence where the lovers reach the most glorious source of life! Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 75)

MUHAMMAD IBN ‘ABD ALLAH “There is no deity but God, and Muhammad is the Apostle of God!” These words form the core of the Muslim shahada or profession of faith, which Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya recited daily as part of her prayers. This declaration makes two assertions: that there is only one deity, God, without peer, and that Muhammad is God’s chosen messenger. Aisha’s poems attest to her faith in one omnipotent, omniscient and merciful God, as well as to her belief that the prophet Muhammad brought sure guidance to eternal life. Like most children in medieval Damascus, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya grew up hearing popular storytellers and preachers, who urgently called listeners to prepare for death and the Day of Judgment. Though all people are sinners, Muslims could still hope that the prophet Muhammad might intercede with God on their behalf. Muhammad was the final apostle sent by God to bring guidance to wayward humanity, and preachers and storytellers often incited a religious fervor in their audience by lauding the life and miracles of their chosen prophet.

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In the Qur’an, God points to His revelation as the divine sign of Muhammad’s prophetic mission. Yet after Muhammad’s death, a number of additional signs and miracles arose in the Muslim popular imagination. Once the Prophet split the moon in half, while another time, a cloud shaded him from the burning sun. Muhammad’s touch brought relief to a dead palm tree that longed to be near him; water flowed from his fingers for his thirsty companions in the desert, and pebbles in his hand blessed him out loud as God’s Apostle. With these and other tales, storytellers and preachers called Muslims back to God, but some religious scholars thought that such fantastic stories might go too far, especially if they contradicted the Qur’an and wellknown traditions of the Prophet. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya knew the Qur’an and the prophetic traditions quite well. Likewise, she had read some of the respected scholarly writings that told the story of Muhammad’s life. Similar to the Christian gospels, these works on the life of the Prophet recount Muhammad’s lineage and birth, and narrate other events of his life in the context of his prophetic mission and close relationship to God. Hearing and reading these works since childhood, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya learned that Muhammad was born to ‘Abd Allah and Amina, both members of the respected Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe in Mecca. Muhammad was orphaned young and raised by his grandfather ‘Abd al-Mutallib, who had the sacred privilege of distributing water to pilgrims in Mecca during pre-Islamic times. Following his grandfather’s death, Muhammad lived and worked with his uncle Abu Talib in the successful Arabian caravan trade. Regarded as an honest man, Muhammad soon attracted the attention of a wealthy widow, Khadija, who married him. Together they had two sons, who died in infancy, and four daughters, who lived to be adults. Khadija was also Muhammad’s emotional support after what was initially a disturbing event. One day, while meditating in a cave, Muhammad was visited by the awesome Archangel Gabriel who initiated God’s revelations to him. Once convinced that he had been divinely chosen, Muhammad began to call others to believe in the one God and strive to create a just society. However, many of the wealthy and powerful among the Quraysh tribe rejected him and persecuted his followers.

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Muhammad’s situation grew worse in 619, when his protector Abu Talib died, followed six months later by the death of his beloved Khadija. So in 622, Muhammad emigrated north with his followers to the city known today as Medina. There, he established a community based primarily on religious belief, rather than on blood ties as in the past. Over the next few years, Muhammad continued to preach and draw others to his cause, and after a series of battles with his foes among the Quraysh tribe, Muhammad returned victoriously to Mecca in 630. He destroyed the idols and purified the sacred precinct surrounding the Ka‘ba. Shortly before his death in 632, Muhammad performed the Hajj pilgrimage, thus denoting its proper rites and rituals, and thereby setting a religious precedent for centuries to come. Many accounts of the life of Muhammad claim to be based on reliable traditions, but they have their miraculous elements as well. Some traditions tell the story of Muhammad who, as a boy, was tending to a flock of sheep. Suddenly, several mysterious strangers dressed in white descended upon him, removed his heart and purified it of all evil, before returning it to his chest. Those who saw this happen feared that Muhammad was dead, but they were amazed and relieved that he still lived. Later, while on a trading mission to Syria with his uncle Abu Talib, Muhammad encountered a pious monk, Bahira, who saw signs of the young man’s future as a prophet. There are many similar stories foretelling Muhammad’s greatness. Perhaps one of the most popular was compiled from a number of traditions that recount Muhammad’s fabled night journey to Jerusalem with the Archangel Gabriel. From there, they ascended into heaven, where Muhammad met various earlier prophets, and finally God himself, before being sent back to the world below to complete his prophetic mission.

THAT SACRED PLACE All of this would have been quite familiar to Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, and much of it found its way into her poems, including her early poems in praise of the prophet Muhammad:

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Passion for him steals into my ribs; desire for him burns in my heart. For distress had blazed red-hot from rapture and the heart began to melt within, Dissolving and flowing from my eyes as tears, falling and pouring down like spring rains. But I’ll not find a cure for my sickness til I encounter a doctor from the beloved’s land, And I’ll never suffer life’s bitter taste again without the sweet nights of union. My limbs will be useless til then when my heart drinks a cup at the waters of union. And my body? Far from that sacred place, nothing remains save a sigh and a moan, While my eyes are wet with a shower of tears shed for that distant land, A land where, for the life of me, I lost it all in that sacred place, in close covenant with him, Where my intimate bonds added to my burning thirst and made my fiery passion burn brighter still. And why not, for there in that sacred place is the best apostle, beloved to Lord God! O seal of the noble apostles, who never fails one who hopes for your favor, To you, Apostle of God, I cry nearly broken by the weight of sin. I have repented now, so intercede for me, my master, with the forgiving God who answers all prayers, Who is generous, merciful, accepting of penance, forgiving, Who hears the supplicants’ prayers, for He is near. Be my defender and free me from Hellfire on a day when the infants’ hair turns gray, When prophets are begged to intercede, when torments increase, and when all are gathered for judgment. Everything tells my soul there’s no help save you, so master, call out and answer. In all the worlds, be my aid and shelter when grave misfortunes fall upon me, For you are my refuge in this life and what’s to come

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when I am gone and laid to rest in the ground. God’s blessings be upon you, whose praise relieves us of pain and distress, And prayers for your family and noble companions, and all others close to you, As long as the dove coos in the trees and the nighthawk calls back on the leas. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 92–3)

Here, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya assumes the traditional poetic role of a lover distraught by separation from her love, while the signs of physical torment reveal her internal struggles to cope. Only by returning to the land of the beloved can she find a cure for her lovesickness, and Aisha alludes here to the prophet Muhammad’s popular epithet as the “beloved of God.” By extension, the beloved’s land holds the sacred places of Mecca and Medina, and Aisha would give her life to be there in the holy presence of the Prophet, who she praises and begs for intercession. Though she has repented of her sins, she still fears the torments of Hell on the Day of Judgment. She prays that the Prophet will hear her pleas and answer her with his intercession before God. Aisha then ends her poem with prayers and blessings upon the Prophet, his family, other relatives, and close companions. Aisha composed this poem in praise of Muhammad during her youth, and placed it near the beginning of one of her poetry collections. She prefaced this poem by saying that she had been inspired by God to write it “out of excited anticipation to visit the beloved and praise him.” Significantly, it is followed by two other poems that Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya recited in Mecca.

SYRIAN CARAVAN Aisha’s father, Yusuf al-Ba‘uni, retired as the chief judge of Damascus in 1465 at the age of 65. A devout and pious man, Yusuf spent his retirement cultivating his spiritual life and fulfilling his religious obligations, which included the Hajj. This pilgrimage to Mecca is to be undertaken once during a lifetime if a Muslim is financially and phys-

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ically able to do so. The Hajj is a canonical pilgrimage following a set of rules originally established by the prophet Muhammad. As such, the Hajj occurs annually during the first two weeks of Dhu al-Hijja, Islam’s twelfth lunar month, when pilgrims perform a number of specific rites and rituals. The Hajj dramatically underscores the strength and unity of the Muslim community as pilgrims converge from all parts of the world to worship together in Mecca. Further, for many Muslims, the Hajj serves as a preview of the Day of Judgment when all of humanity will be gathered together before God. The Hajj tests a Muslim’s mental, physical and financial fortitude, for it is a major undertaking. In medieval times, this entailed weeks of preparation and considerable expenses, including for the lease or purchase of camels and pack animals, provisions of food and water, and securing accommodations, particularly in the cities of Medina and Mecca. Through his successful judicial career, Yusuf al-Ba‘uni was quite secure financially, with the means to undertake the pilgrimage. So in 1470, he resolved to go on Hajj with his children and other relatives. Perhaps in the days preceding the Hajj caravan’s departure, Aisha composed her poem praising the Prophet out of excitement for visiting the Muslim holy lands. For Muslims from Syria and Anatolia wishing to make the Hajj, Damascus was the major assembly point, and thousands would gather annually in the city to make their preparations. Mamluk officials were in charge of organizing this Hajj expedition, known as the Syrian Caravan. A senior Mamluk emir led the caravan to Mecca, accompanied by other Mamluks who provided security. The Syrian Caravan could number over 10,000 pilgrims, and so required extensive support. This included camel drivers and guides, cooks, bakers and kitchen managers, water-carriers and those who gathered firewood, a carpenter, a saddler, and torch bearers, since the caravan often traveled at night due to excessive daytime heat. Officials were assigned to manage water and food supplies, including herds of sheep, to look after the riding and pack animals, to supervise camp set up and take down, and to oversee other essential duties and supplies, such as medicines. The caravan had a medical team of a doctor, a surgeon, and an oculist, all of whom provided treatment free of charge. Caravan religious officials

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included a muezzin, a prayer leader, and a judge, who insured that the Hajj was properly performed. Notably, there was also an official assigned to manage the estates of those who died in transit. In fact, the death rate of pilgrims could be quite high due to Bedouin raids, natural disasters, disease, thirst, and exhaustion, especially among the elderly, who made up a sizeable portion of the pilgrims. On the seventeenth of Shawwal/April, 1470, the Syrian Caravan departed Damascus and set out for Mecca. This journey required between thirty and forty days to complete, and could be quite arduous. This was the case in 1470 when a year-long drought led to water shortages and high food prices. Most of the men rode in saddles on camelback, while women and children rode in howdahs carried by camels. These were small framed pavilions with a seat or two, and covered with layers of fabric, beginning with a thin veil and then thicker materials, which were occasionally decorated with brocade. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, who may have been twelve or thirteen at this time, probably rode in her own howdah.

DAMASCUS TO MEDINA Though Aisha did not leave an account of the entire journey, her Syrian Caravan would have followed a centuries-old route. The caravan left Damascus and proceeded south to the small town of Bosra where they waited a day or two for any late pilgrims from Damascus. According to Muslim tradition, Bosra was where the young Muhammad had met the monk Bahira, who told him of his future prophetic mission. In Bosra, the Syrian Caravan took on major supplies, and then proceeded in earnest as described in a pilgrimage account from the famed traveler, Ibn Battuta (d. 1369): They travel on to Ziza Pond, where they spend a day, then on to Lajjun, where there is running water. Next, they travel to the castle of al-Karak… The caravan camped outside al-Karak for four days at a site called al-Thaniya, and prepared to enter the wasteland. We then traveled to Ma‘an, the last town in Syria, and descended through Sawan Pass into the desert, as the saying goes: “He who enters the desert is

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lost, and he who leaves it is born anew.” After travelling two days, we stopped at Dhat Hajj, which has subterranean pools but no buildings, then on to Wadi Baldah, where there is no water, and then on to Tabuk. This was the place of a military expedition led by the Apostle of God, God bless him and give him peace. A spring there used to give only a trickle of water, but when the Apostle of God, God bless him and give him peace, went down to the spring for his ablutions, the spring began to flow abundantly until today, due to the spiritual power of the Apostle of God, God bless him and give him peace. The great caravan camps by this spring, and every one drinks their fill. They stay here for four days to rest, to water the camels, and to take on supplies of water for the frightful wasteland between Tabuk and al-‘Ula. Usually, the water-carriers stand by the sides of the spring with large containers made out of buffalo hides, like great vats, from which they water the camels and fill the water bags and waterskins. Each emir and nobleman has one of these large containers for watering his camels and those of his group, and to fill their water bags. The rest of the people make their own arrangements with the watercarriers to water their camels and fill their waterskins for a fixed price. The caravan sets out from Tabuk and pushes on relentlessly night and day, out of fear for this wasteland. Halfway through is Wadi Ukhaidar, or Little Green Valley, which might as well be Hell Valley, God protect us from it…where the poison wind blows… From there, the caravan moves on to al-Mu‘azzam Pond…where rain-water collects in some years, but not in others. Five days after leaving Tabuk, they reach the well of al-Hijr – alHijr of Thamud [also known as Mada’in Salih]. Water is abundant here, but no one, however thirsty, draws from the well. This follows the example of the Apostle of God, God bless him and give him peace, when he passed by Hijr on his military expedition to Tabuk. He hurried his riding camel on by, while giving orders that no one should water there… At this place are the dwellings of Thamud, hewn from hills of red stone. They have carved doorways, such that anyone who sees them would believe they were built recently. [The people of Thamud were an impious tribe and disobeyed the prophet Salih, peace be upon him, and so God destroyed them, and] their bones lie crumbling away inside their homes. “Indeed, in this is a lesson!” [Qur’an 3:13]. The she-camel of Salih, peace be upon him, knelt in a spot between two hills there, and traces remain of a mosque where pilgrims still pray.

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From al-Hijr to al-‘Ula takes a half day or less. Al-‘Ula is a large pleasant town with gardens of date palms and spring water. Pilgrims camp here for four nights and reprovision themselves and wash their clothes… The caravan leaves from al-‘Ula and camps the following day in the wadi known as al-‘Itas. This is a place of intense heat, where the deadly poison wind blows… From there, they camp at Hadiya, where there are subterranean pools…but the water is bitter. After three more days, they arrive in the evening on the outskirts of the holy and glorious land [of Medina]. We entered the sacred precinct and came at last to the illustrious mosque [of the prophet Muhammad]. We stood before the Gate of Peace and paid our respects. Then we prayed in the noble Garden between the tomb [of the Apostle] and the illustrious pulpit. We kissed the remaining fragment of the palm trunk that sighed longingly for the Apostle of God, God bless him and give him peace. We next asked God to bless the lord of all people, those of the past and those of the future, the intercessor for transgressors and sinners, the apostle and prophet from the Hashimite clan from the Valley of Mecca, Muhammad, God bless him and give him peace, exalt and ennoble him! Next, we asked God to bless his two companions entombed with him, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq and Abu Hafs ‘Umar al-Faruq, may God be pleased with both of them. We then made our way back to our camp, all the while overjoyed by this awesome gift, grateful for receiving such abundant blessings. We praised God Most High for our arriving safely at the illustrious residence of His Apostle and the awesome and glorious sights there.  (Ibn Battuta, Rihlat Ibn Battuta, 129–35)

MEDINA TO MECCA Like Ibn Battuta, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, her father, and other pilgrims spent several days in Medina visiting the Prophet’s Mosque and other holy sites in the area associated with the Prophet, his holy family and companions. Refreshed and inspired, they prepared for the grueling, final leg of their journey, and then set off: Now we left Medina, intent on Mecca, may God Most High exalt her. We stopped at the Mosque of Dhu al-Hulaifa, where the Apostle of God, God bless him and give him peace, put on the pilgrim’s garb. This

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is five miles from Medina, at the end of Medina’s sacred territory near the wadi of al-‘Aqiq. There I took off my tailored clothes, bathed, and dressed in my pilgrim’s garb. I said a prayer of two prostrations, and entered the pilgrim’s state as is required for the Hajj. I continued to say aloud “Labbaika Allahumma,” “Here I am Lord, at Your service,” on every mountain and in every valley, on every hill and in every dale, until I came to the Pass of ‘Ali, peace be upon him, where I camped that night. We left the Pass and encamped at al-Rawha’, where there is a well known as the Well of Dhat ‘Alam; it is said that ‘Ali, peace be upon him, fought with the jinn there. We then set out for al-Safra, where we camped. This wadi is inhabited, as there is water, date palm groves, and a fort… We set out from there for Badr, where we camped. Here, God gave a great victory to His Apostle, God bless him and give him peace, as He kept His promise and cut down the polytheist warriors. Badr is a town with a series of date palm groves and an imposing fort… There is an active spring there from which water flows… To the left is the Hill of Mercy where angels descended [to aid the Apostle in the battle against the polytheists]. We left Badr and traveled into the desert known as the Bazwa Depression, which is a wasteland where the guide goes astray, and one worries for oneself with no thought for another. This is a journey of three nights, ending at the wadi of Rabigh, where rain water forms pools, which last for a long time. We traveled for three nights from Rabigh to Khulais… We camped at the pond there, which is in a broad plain, with many date palm groves and an active spring… Then we traveled to ‘Usfan, in a broad plain among the hills, with wells of spring of water… We left ‘Usfan and camped in the Marr Depression…a fertile valley with many date palms and an active spring, which irrigates the region. From this valley, fruits and vegetables are brought to Mecca, God Most High exalt her. As night fell, we set out from this blessed valley, with hearts overjoyed in anticipation of reaching our goal, and in the morning, we arrived in the protected land of Mecca, may God Most High exalt her!  (Ibn Battuta, Rihlat Ibn Battuta, 148–53)

BEFORE THE BLACK STONE Arriving in Mecca, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya was probably elated and thankful that the long desert trek was over. Together with her family and other

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pilgrims in the Syrian Caravan, she likely went straight to the al-Haram al-Sharif, or Noble Sanctuary, surrounding the Ka‘ba. There, they circled the Ka‘ba seven times, and said prayers. Next, they went to a nearby pavilion and drank from the holy well of Zamzam, and then left the Noble Sanctuary to fulfill the sacred rite of running between the nearby hills of al-Safa and al-Marwa. Finally, the male pilgrims shaved their heads, and everyone made their way to their lodgings in and around Mecca. Normally, the Syrian Caravan arrived in Mecca several days before the start of the Hajj. This allowed pilgrims to rest and prepare for the rites and rituals that lay ahead. Pilgrims often spent some of this time exploring the city of Mecca, which is located in a valley surrounded by a number of hills. Of course, for the religiously minded, this is a golden opportunity to visit the Noble Sanctuary without the crush of thousands of other pilgrims, who crowd in during the official Hajj ceremonies. In the center of the Noble Sanctuary stands the Ka‘ba. This is a simple, square stone structure, approximately 43 feet high, with uneven sides ranging from 36 to 42 feet long. On the northeastern wall is a door leading into the Ka‘ba, which is unfurnished and lit by hanging lamps. Three wooden pillars support the ceiling, and an interior staircase leads to the roof. Pilgrims rarely enter the Ka‘ba, and far more important is the Black Stone outside in the eastern corner. The Black Stone sits in a silver casing about five feet off the ground, and because the prophet Muhammad kissed this stone, all pilgrims hope to do likewise. Perhaps it was in these days prior to Hajj that Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya went to the Noble Sanctuary to visit the Ka‘ba. Aisha states that God inspired her with the following poem as she “stood before the Noble Stone, may the greatest prayers and peace be upon its site”: I have come to tell my story to my intercessor with all my humility, remorse, and submission, And I tell you, who are the best of humanity, that I have squandered away life’s treasure. I have carried my load, I have earned my sins that draw out my groans of suffering. My misdeeds have multiplied, so many from me, and how long I’ve cried.

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Now, I have shown up at your door, my master, that you might be my intercessor before God. I have come repenting of awful acts that I have done, yes, and of my evil ways. So intercede with forgiveness for what I have done, with acceptance of my return and repentance. Look upon me with a glance that will place me with the righteous in an exalted station. God’s prayers and peace be upon you, banner of guidance, as long as fragrance spreads from flowers in spring, As long as one yearning is pleased by your presence where my longing and confession are sweet. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 107–8)

Aisha then recited a second poem before the Black Stone, and beginning: O great Apostle, I have come to you a wayward maiden, burdened by sin! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 108–9)

Both poems echo Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s remorse for her selfish human nature and for any moral lapses that she had committed. Seized by grief, she humbly prays that the prophet Muhammad will accept her tearful confession and intercede for her with God on the Day of Gathering when all will be judged for their actions. Both poems suggest Aisha’s salvation anxiety at the time. Doubts and misgivings about past behavior may afflict young and old alike, especially on important religious occasions, including the Hajj. This was probably underscored on the seventh of Dhu al-Hijja, when a religious official delivered a sermon which encouraged all pilgrims to take stock of their lives in light of an impending Judgment Day. The sermon also included instructions on how to correctly perform the Hajj that was to begin the next day.

HAJJ On the eighth of Dhu al-Hijja, all male pilgrims wear the ihram, or pilgrim’s garments composed of two unsewn white pieces of cloth,

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one wrapped around the waist and the other around the shoulders and upper body. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, like other women pilgrims, may have worn a long-sleeved blouse and a long skirt, with a headscarf and veil. As there is no mandatory sex segregation during the Hajj, male and female pilgrims traveled together. On this day, similar to when they first entered Mecca, many pilgrims circle the Ka‘ba seven times, say several prayers, and drink from the well of Zamzam. Next, they complete the short running between the hills of al-Safa and al-Marwa. Then all of the pilgrims move en masse toward the hill of Mina, about five miles east of Mecca, where most spend the night in designated camps. Aisha and her family stayed in the Syrian Camp, which was famous for its magnificent display of candles during that night. On the ninth of Dhu al-Hijja, after the dawn prayer, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and the other pilgrims set out southeast from Mina toward the plain of ‘Arafat, about fifteen miles from Mecca and the farthest point of the Hajj. They gathered here for “The Standing,” the climax of the Hajj, which lasts from noon until after sunset. Conditions permitting, Aisha and her family may have climbed Mt. Mercy in the middle of the plain, which is topped by a domed mosque where many pilgrims pray. While standing at ‘Arafat, all pilgrims frequently call out, “Here I am Lord, at Your service!” They imagine themselves standing before God on Judgment Day and pray to God for forgiveness. After sunset, the pilgrims turn back toward Mina, and stop at a place called al-Muzdalifa, where they spend the night. On the tenth of Dhu al-Hijja, after the morning prayer, the pilgrims set out for Mina, and Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and other pilgrims gathered small pebbles along the way. Once they reached Mina, they cast their stones at three large pillars representing Satan and his temptations. This day also begins the “Feast of the Sacrifice,” when all pilgrims either sacrifice an animal or fast a number of days instead. During the eleventh to thirteenth of Dhu al-Hijja, pilgrims stay in Mina and cast more stones at the pillars, before ending their Hajj with a return to Mecca and a final circumambulation of the Ka‘ba. At the end of Aisha’s Hajj, on the thirteenth of Dhu al-Hijja, a new embroidered covering made of black silk and gifted by the Mamluk sultan was draped over the Ka‘ba.

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DREAMS For the next few days after the Hajj, the Syrian Caravan made preparations for departure, though the Noble Sanctuary and the Ka‘ba remained open for visitors. Perhaps it was at this time that something extraordinary occurred to Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya that would significantly shape her life and poetic career: God, may He be praised, granted me a dream vision of the Apostle when I was residing in holy Mecca. By God’s power and will, an anxiety prevented me from going down into the Noble Sanctuary one Friday night, as I reclined on a couch on an enclosed veranda overlooking the holy Ka‘ba and the sacred precinct. It so happened that one of the men there was reciting a mawlid, an account of the birth of God’s Apostle, and voices arose with blessings upon the Prophet, asking God to bless him and give him peace, exalt and honor him, and asking that God’s success come to all of them. Then, I could not believe my eyes, for it was as if I was standing among a group of women. Someone said: “Kiss the Prophet!” and awe came over me and overwhelmed me until the Prophet passed before me. Then I sought his intercession and, with a tongue stammering in awe, I said, “O my master, O Apostle of God, I beg you for intercession!” I repeated that, and then I heard him say, “I am the intercessor on the Judgment Day!” or “I will intercede for you on the Judgment Day!” He repeated that, calmly and deliberately, until I understood him. Then he disappeared, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, and I awoke. (al-Mawrid, 104–5)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s dream vision was an answer to her prayers, quite literally, for according to a hadith tradition, to have seen Muhammad in a dream was to have seen him in reality. Aisha’s prior anxiety regarding her salvation, so woefully expressed in her two poems before the Black Stone, was eased by the prophet Muhammad’s words: “I will intercede for you on the Judgment Day!” Soon after the Hajj, the Syrian Caravan left Mecca and retraced its route back to Medina where, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya notes, she visited the Prophet’s tomb and paid her respects. Later she fell asleep and dreamed of the holy Prophet a second time:

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I saw him, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, in another dream on my way back home. He was in his noble sanctuary [in Medina], and I was walking behind him, following his footsteps. My heart was watching his noble back with an unobstructed view, and I did not turn my sight away from him as we moved along. Whenever he turned his face toward me, I faced him, and this went on until I awoke. Praise be to God for that! (al-Mawrid, 109)

As Aisha left Medina on the long march back through the desert toward home in Damascus, she must have been elated by her visions of the prophet Muhammad and his promise of intercession for her.

WHAT IS A WOMAN TO DO? In the years following her Hajj, things changed for Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya as she reached puberty and became a young woman. A member of the Ba‘uni family, Aisha had excellent access to religious knowledge and resources. For years, her father Yusuf had been the chief judge of Damascus for the Shafi‘i rite, the most important of the four schools of Sunni law in the Mamluk domains. As such, he was authorized to appoint a number of deputy judges and oversee the vast financial holdings needed to run scores of mosques, schools, libraries and hospitals. Positions at many of these institutions were often passed on to adult children, other relatives, and friends. Since Yusuf had served in the Mamluk judiciary for several decades, he was able to cultivate friends and contacts who formed a Ba‘uni coterie or network. Following in their father’s footsteps, Aisha’s brothers became legal scholars and inherited a number of their father’s lucrative teaching and administrative positions. However, Aisha, as a woman, despite her similar education and qualifications, could not hold a professorship or a position in the judiciary. Similarly, though Aisha could read and write, she could not work in the chancellery or serve in the Mamluk civil administration as a secretary, minister, or ambassador. As in other premodern societies, women in the Mamluk domains were expected to raise children and run the family household. In fifteenth-century Syria and Egypt, women could earn wages through spinning and weaving,

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and they could own property; some elite women even oversaw family financial endowments, including rental properties. Informally, their advice might be sought on important family matters, but their roles in public life were extremely limited. For the most part, Aisha’s dearth of rewarding professional options would have reflected the situation and experience of most medieval women anywhere in the world. To take but one example, Niccolò Machiavelli (1469–1527), Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s Italian contemporary, served as a secretary, ambassador, and political advisor for the city of Florence. Yet his sisters Primavera (1465–1500) and Margherita (b. 1468), as well as his literate wife, Marietta Corsini (1481–1553), regardless of their education and essential social and familial roles, stayed at home.

POEMS OF PRAISE For respect and recognition, two options remained open to Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya: religion and literature and, more specifically in her case, religious literature. No doubt inspired by her visions of the prophet Muhammad, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya made praising him her vocation. From the time that she first began to compose Arabic verse as a girl until her old age, Aisha lauded the Prophet and asked God to bless him. Whatever the initial subject of a poem, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya often adds mention of the Prophet, while thanking God for His grace: “You effaced me in awe until vanquished, I vanished, “And this brought Your beauty as grace stabilized and restored me. “If not for You, I would have no existence, and my fate would be nothingness. “Yet, I am happy, my spirit refreshed, for among the atoms, I won a drop of life. “My hope and joy are in You, so what despair if my Friend avoids me! “You, most high, Who lifts and cheers me, delight and preserve me, You, my obsession!” So God, my Lord, kindly guided me,

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and misfortunes cleared away, And He sent His Prophet in whom I have glory and grace, for he is my life! May he receive from his Lord, blessings that will erase all my sins. May He bless his family, companions, and helpers, the spiritual masters and their dependents, As long as blossoms in the meadows smile in delight when the early clouds break down and cry, As long as the dawn of nearness arises and nothing remains of the long night alone. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 224–5)

Nearly every poet of the Mamluk period composed a poem or two praising the prophet Muhammad, but Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya wrote dozens of them. Such veneration of the prophet Muhammad was a hallmark of the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, as can be seen in several important religious and literary developments of the time connected to the celebration of the Mawlid al-Nabi, the Prophet’s birthday. This was probably inspired by earlier Fatimid Shi‘i celebrations of Muhammad and members of his holy family. Sunni Muslims in Syria and Egypt during the twelfth to thirteenth centuries began to commemorate the Prophet’s birthday in elaborate public ceremonies held on the twelfth of Rabi‘ al-Awwal, the third Muslim month. Decorations and candles were on display, and sweets and alms were distributed to those attending the festivities. Sermons were given and Sufi rituals performed, but the highlight of the event was often the recitation of poems praising the Prophet. In time, these poems coalesced into a genre of their own known as al-madih al-nabawi, “praise poems for the Prophet.” Of course, the prophet Muhammad had been the subject of verse composed during his lifetime, especially by Hassan ibn Thabit (d. c.661). He was Muhammad’s personal poet, who lampooned the Prophet’s enemies and lauded the Prophet’s magnificence: My eyes have never seen one finer than you. No one was ever born to woman more handsome than you! You were created perfect, without a fault as if you were created as you so thought! (Hassan ibn Thabit, Diwan, 371)

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Composed in the seventh century, this verse depicts the Prophet as a great warrior and leader, and these poems often reflect the marshal character of much early Arabic poetry: God blessed us with His victorious Prophet who raised the pillars of Islam for us. He honored us with His Prophet and Holy Book. and made us strong and fearless in war! (Hassan ibn Thabit, Diwan, 143)

Following Muhammad’s death, few poems were composed by later Sunni poets about the Prophet, though Shi‘i poets continued to praise him in their verse devoted to members of his holy family. However, as celebration of the Prophet’s birthday caught on among Sunnis in the twelfth to thirteenth centuries, they too began again to compose poems praising Muhammad. Devotional and mystical elements abound in much of this verse, as can be heard in the odes by a poet in Baghdad, Yahya al-Sarsari (d. 1258). He composed separate poems in praise of Muhammad rhyming in nearly every letter of the Arabic alphabet. Scattered throughout his many panegyrics are the names of places in and around Mecca and Medina, and references to events in the Prophet’s life. Al-Sarsari praised Muhammad’s handsome face and stature, his prophetic mission and miracles, and the triumph of Islam over its enemies. Most of these poems end with supplications and prayers.

MANTLE ODE Yet it was a later Egyptian poet, Muhammad al-Busiri (d. c.1297), who may have been the first to combine so many of these elements into several epic poems of praise and petition. One of these odes is popularly known as the al-Burda, or Mantle Ode. Undoubtedly the most famous poem ever composed in Arabic, the Mantle Ode has been credited for centuries with miraculous powers due, in large part, to its frame story. According to this tale, al-Busiri once suffered a debilitating stroke. Desperate, he prayed to God for help, and composed his ode

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praising Muhammad in hopes that the Prophet would intercede for him with God. After completing the poem, al-Busiri fell asleep and dreamed of Muhammad, who touched the poet’s face and wrapped him in his mantle or cape. When al-Busiri awoke, he found that the effects of the stroke had vanished. Word of this miracle spread, and others found that copies of the Mantle Ode, and even specific verses of the poem, produced cures for many illnesses. The ode had now become a source of baraka or spiritual power. Over the centuries, this poem has been frequently copied, and its verses have been incorporated into amulets and inscribed on walls of homes to ward off adversity. Not surprisingly, al-Busiri’s Mantle Ode became the focus of commentaries and imitations by later generations of poets, including Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya. In the preface to one of her collections of verse, Aisha mentions that when she was a young girl, she composed a takhmis on the Mantle Ode. In this type of poem, Aisha added three half-verses of her own composition to each verse of al-Busiri’s poem, thereby creating stanzas composed of five half-lines, hence the name takhmis, “to make five-fold.” Though this early work is lost today, it suggests that Aisha may have used al-Busiri’s Mantle Ode as a template to learn the themes of the genre and become proficient in the craft of composing poems in praise of the Prophet.

BLESSINGS Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s praise of the prophet Muhammad was more than a rhetorical exercise, since these praise poems were a sure source of heavenly reward: Praising the noble Prophet is a distinguishing feature of the pious and a sign of those who are successful. Those who desire the best, desire to praise him, while the pure of heart praise him without end, for this is among the best ways to achieve success and a means for doubling rewards! (Diwan, 64b)

In many of her poems, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya takes up a number of the standard themes found in poems of prophetic praise, such as the

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Prophet’s many miracles, while extolling the spiritual and physical benefits of blessing Muhammad: Praise of God’s prophet quickens the soul, it drives away doubt, worries, and grief, Spirits find rest, eyes cry in delight, and bodies dance, there’s no holding back! Ears savor the sound, the heart throbs in the ribs, and lips speak, though they were dumb. Lovers are moved, and longing is easy, one bewildered by passion is struck down as if mad, And favors are hoped for, and desires are sought, while cares fly away along with despair. It’s really no wonder, for he is the chosen of all His worshippers, the foundation of faith: Muhammad, sent with mercy to humanity though they be of different races. He has miracles beyond measure or count whose nature awes humans and jinn. A prophet leading us to guidance with the holy Qur’an, and removing the filth of sin. From his hands, fresh water flowed refreshing to all, and a tree sprang to life though it had been dead. Silent stones in his hand shouted his praise, and from their good fortune a seedling bore fruit. The full moon split asunder for him; for him, the sun was veiled, as God so willed. Master of worlds, humanity’s best, the one with whom God ended our ignorance. Help me! Help me, my master, with intercession on a day when the newborns’ hair turns gray. No intercessor’s word will be heard save yours, you, the best of creation among humans and jinn. Be my advocate when Hell appears so that its flame will not touch my body. Watch over me all life long, and at my death, when the grave embraces me, When my breath subsides, and my lamp goes out, and all my senses and sense depart. You are my hope then and now,

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for I will never see anxiety amid your kindness. So bless me with your light to clear my vision, and cure a heart struck by distress. May God’s prayers and peace be upon you as long as the soul longs to see you, As long as the dove coos at morn in the trees, from its hidden perch in the garden’s leaves, As long as the shining sun appears at dawn, tinging the sky with deepening hues. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 105–6)

HOLY PROPHET Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya composed many poems in praise of the prophet Muhammad, as well as several longer works highlighting his excellent virtues and special gifts. She titled one such work Gifts of Peace on the Merit of Blessings and Salutations (Silat al-Salam fi Fadl al-Salat wa-alSalam). This was her verse abridgment of a book by the historian and biographer Muhammad al-Sakhawi, his Elegant Word on Blessings upon the Beloved Intercessor (al-Qawl al-Badi‘ fi al-Salat ‘ala al-Habib al-Shafi‘). Though Aisha’s verse rendition is lost, both titles suggest that hers was a work on the benefits to be gained from asking God to bless His beloved Prophet. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya also composed a second, similar work entitled The Diver’s Pearls in the Sea of Miracles and Special Virtues (Durar al-Gha’is fi Bahr al-Mu‘jizat wa-al-Khasa’is). She based this work on Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti’s Prophetic Miracles and Special Virtues (al-Mu‘jizat wa-al-Khasa’is al-Nabawiyya). Aisha completed The Diver’s Pearls in 1497, and this long poem still exists in manuscript. There, she underscores the prophet Muhammad’s role as intercessor and enumerates his many distinctive attributes and miracles. These include having his heart purified by angels, his Night Journey and Ascension to Heaven on Buraq, a mythical winged steed with a human face, and the privilege of being the first person admitted into Paradise on the Day of Judgment. Perhaps in light of her own experiences in Mecca and Medina, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya notes the Prophet’s ability to visit believers in their

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dreams, and as always, she accentuates his special role as intercessor with God: One who sees him in a dream has seen him truly; that’s a fact, plain and true. His grave will be opened first, and without a doubt, he will be the first to rise. Gathered up by seventy thousand angels, he will ride to heaven on Buraq’s back. There, his name will be called, and he will be garbed in two robes the likes of which were never seen, And he will stand to the right of God’s throne, the most praiseworthy station, indeed. He will be given his banner under which will stand Adam, the prophets, and all other humans, And he will be the first to intercede, the first given intercession, and he will be the first to gaze upon God! (Durar, 4–5)

As was the case with Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s imitation of al-Busiri’s Mantle Ode, her verse renditions of these earlier works by two of her older contemporaries would have afforded Aisha the opportunity and means to master the many stories, miracles, attributes, virtues, and titles that had become part of the standard repertory in the popular devotional literature on the prophet Muhammad. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya combined her extensive knowledge of the prophet Muhammad and her literary skills in several other works, known as mawlids. Taking its name from the Mawlid al-Nabi, or the Prophet’s nativity, the mawlid became a popular literary genre in Syria and Egypt during the Mamluk period. Strictly speaking, a mawlid should focus on the birth of the prophet Muhammad, as well as on relevant events preceding and following his birth. Nevertheless, many mawlids also include stories of Muhammad’s pre-existence as a light standing in heaven before God, his childhood, his youth, and his marriage to Khadija. The contents of a mawlid could also range from fabulous tales recounted from anonymous sources, to more sober citations of learned scholars. Still, the ultimate intent was the same – to commemorate the birth and greatness of God’s final prophet. Naturally, mawlids were

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often recited publicly during celebrations of the Prophet’s birthday, but they could also be heard on many other religious occasions. This was the case during the Hajj when Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya listened to a mawlid being recited in the Noble Sanctuary in Mecca, where listeners raised their voices with blessings upon the Prophet, shortly before Aisha fell asleep and dreamed of him.

MOST WHOLESOME SOURCE Several of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s mawlids are lost today, but at least two have survived, including The Most Wholesome Source on the Birth of the Most Noble One (al-Mawrid al-Ahna fi-al-Mawlid al-Asna). This is a substantial work surviving in a manuscript of over 350 pages, written in Aisha’s own hand. Given the work’s size, she probably began her manuscript a year or two earlier, before completing it in 1496. In her introduction to the work, Aisha praises all of the prophets and the saints, and especially one of her teachers, Jamal al-Din Isma‘il al-Hawwari, a scholar of the Qur’an, who had died the year before in 1495. Aisha wrote The Most Wholesome Source in prose, and divided it into seven chapters. Throughout the work she placed two dozen poems inspired by the life and miracles of Muhammad. These poems often highlight a particular event or sum up a chapter’s contents. Aisha begins with a number of traditions declaring Muhammad to be the first prophet created by God in pre-eternity, while being the final prophet sent to earth with God’s guidance for humanity. Muhammad is clearly the crown of God’s creation, for God tells Adam: “If not for Muhammad, I would not have created you!” (al-Mawrid, 13). Aisha then dedicates two additional short chapters to sayings by earlier prophets, rabbis, monks, and soothsayers foretelling of Muhammad’s birth in Mecca and his subsequent prophetic career. Next, in the much longer fourth chapter, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya turns to the subject of Muhammad’s birth, beginning with stories of his parents, including their marriage and Amina’s conception and pregnancy. This is followed by his father’s early death in Medina while on a trading mission before Muhammad’s birth, and Amina’s delivery of the

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holy child. Aisha relates numerous accounts of the miraculous events that occurred on the night of Muhammad’s birth as the heavens were illuminated and the earth shook, tipping over the idols in the Ka‘ba. She cites several authorities regarding the exact date of Muhammad’s birth as the twelfth of Rabi‘ al-Awwal. Quoting a long section from Ibn Ishaq’s (d. 768) famous account, Life of God’s Apostle (Sirat Rasul Allah), Aisha tells the story of Halima bint Abu Dhuayb, Muhammad’s wet nurse and foster mother, who raised him for his first two years. Caring for Muhammad brought Halima and her family great prosperity in a time of need, and she readily gave milk, as did all the ewes in her flock. At this point, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya breaks into the narrative with verses inspired by God: Halima, daughter of Abu Dhuayb, took the child, not knowing the one she suckled was the best of God’s servants! She was blessed when the protecting One chose her of all His creation to nurse him. Now all people know God singled her out and raised her up to the eternal gardens of Paradise! So I ask God to sprinkle her place of rest with His mercy, favor, and forgiveness. (al-Mawrid, 79)

Aisha then concludes Halima’s account of raising the young Muhammad with the story of the cleansing of his heart and his return to Amina’s loving care. This ends Aisha’s chapter on Muhammad’s birth and early childhood. In her fifth chapter, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya relates many reports regarding the Prophet’s most handsome appearance, his fine facial features, and magnificent physical frame and stature. He always spoke politely, but never spoke of frivolous things, and was never long-winded. Being a prophet, he could see what was in back of him as well as what was before him, and he could see as well by night as he could in daylight. His body odor was more fragrant than musk, flies would never come near him, and he did not cast a shadow but, instead, gave off light. This brief chapter might have served as an appropriate and respectful ending to her mawlid.

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VIRTUOUS LIFE Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, however, continues to draw from hadith collections for her sixth chapter on the prophet Muhammad’s many beautiful virtues and fine qualities. This massive chapter of over 150 pages could have stood as a separate work. In fact, Aisha provides an introductory note to the chapter informing her reader that she will not include the long chains of authorities for each tradition so as to make memorization of this material much easier. She begins with reports on Muhammad’s voice and speech. Having received God’s revelation in the form of the Arabic Qur’an, Muhammad was the most eloquent and articulate of all the Arabs. When he spoke, he did so calmly and deliberately, and in the most beautiful voice. As proof of this last point, Aisha recounts her vision of the Prophet during the Hajj in Mecca. There, she saw Muhammad’s handsome face and noble stature, and heard his sonorous, measured voice promising her his intercession on Judgment Day. Likewise, the Prophet’s gait was even and easy. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya cites, as her eyewitness proof, her dream in Medina when she followed in Muhammad’s footsteps. Aisha then quotes reports on nearly every aspect of the Prophet’s life imaginable: how he prayed and fasted, how he ate (he was never a glutton), his favorite foods (bread, meat, dates and honey), his dress and appearance (he always carried a comb and a toothbrush), his bravery, weapons and war steeds, his camels and other livestock, his never striking a woman or servant, his great generosity and compassion, his love of fragrant scents, women and prayer, and even his toilet practices (he was private and did not like to be seen). Significantly, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya relates several traditions regarding the Prophet’s respect for poetry, including his reported saying: “In poetry, there is wisdom” (al-Mawrid, 183). She notes, perhaps with some personal satisfaction, that he listened with approval to verse that praised him and his companions as champions of Islam. Within this sixth chapter, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya devotes a separate section to additional historical material, briefly relating events in

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Muhammad’s life, resuming when Muhammad’s foster mother Halima returned the two-year old Muhammad to his mother in Mecca. Aisha records the death soon thereafter of his mother and then, two years later, the death of his grandfather. Muhammad was taken in at the age of eight by his uncle Abu Talib, and together they traveled for trade to Syria where, at the age of twelve, Muhammad met the monk Bahira. Aisha mentions, in a few sentences, Muhammad’s marriage to Khadija when he was twenty-five, his call to prophecy at the age of forty, the resistance to him by some of the Quraysh, and how Abu Talib protected him. Then Abu Talib died, followed six months later by Khadija, whose death profoundly affected the Prophet. Sometime thereafter, the Prophet experienced his night journey from Mecca to Jerusalem, from where he ascended into heaven. Aisha notes that he received great blessings there but, surprisingly, she gives no details about this wondrous event. She goes on to mention the Prophet’s immigration to Medina with his followers in 622, and the building of his mosque there the next year. She then lists his various battles and military expeditions, including the fall of Mecca, and finally Muhammad’s Farewell Pilgrimage shortly before his death. Finally, Aisha briefly mentions the wives of the Prophet, noting that Khadija was the first person to accept Islam, while Aisha bint Abu Bakr was the most beloved to Muhammad. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya concludes this section with the names of Muhammad’s seven children, and she gives special recognition to his daughter Fatima, who was the mother of his two grandsons, al-Hasan and al-Husayn.

RETURN TO HEAVEN Following this historical recap, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya offers a special section on Muhammad’s death. Quoting from several earlier works on the life of Muhammad, Aisha recounts the coming of the Archangel Gabriel to the Prophet in order to carry his spirit up to heaven to be with God. This was not a happy event for the Prophet’s family and followers, who were deeply distressed by his final illness and

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death. They were left the mournful task of wrapping the Prophet’s body and seeing to his burial, as all Muslims shed tears and the world grew dark. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya then devotes an elegy to the Prophet’s passing: Though splendor shown upon him here on earth, among Heaven’s folk, he now enjoys magnificence, And though his death has taken his form from us, still, memory of him lingers. The abodes are empty of his presence now, yet how could we ever forget him? We will never see him here again, yet love of him lies deep in our hearts. Our separation will stretch on, yet we look forward to God for eternal reunion. Though his death grieves us deeply, God’s reward will be greater still. For his Lord called him, longing to see him, while his glory remains among us, And when my beloved answered His call, he attained all that he wished and desired, And he rejoiced in meeting God, and now walks at peace in His presence. May our Lord God bless him with blessings that will never end, And give him an honored station and peace, for he was reverent and kind, And bless his family, companions, and friends and all who were close to him, As long as dawn cries in mourning, leading the meadows to laugh in delight, As long as the flowers spread their sweet scent among the hills on the backs of the breeze. (al-Mawrid, 245–6)

The Most Wholesome Source continues with a summation of the prophet Muhammad’s many special traits and virtues, and his essential role as intercessor on Judgment Day. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya then proceeds to a very long section on the benefits to be received by those

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who bless the prophet Muhammad either orally or in writing. Here, Aisha quotes Qur’an 33:56: “Truly, God and His angels bless the Prophet! O you who believe, do likewise and give him your blessings and salutations!” She cites several commentaries on this verse to the effect that the Prophet does not require others to intercede for him with God, and that the act of blessing him is, in fact, a means for others to attain God’s blessings. Aisha quotes a popular hadith in which the Prophet says: “Whoever blesses me once, God will bless him ten times” (al-Mawrid, 273). Aisha next relates a number of stories in which spirits of the dead are seen in dreams, where they attribute their place in Paradise to having asked God to bless the Prophet when they were alive. This leads Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya to cite a number of short poems that she composed on the power of such blessings and prayers: Bless the Prophet, for each time you do, the kind Lord will bless you ten times too! God’s blessing is mercy, and so you may see they’ll bring what’s hoped for and all that you need! (al-Mawrid, 332)

After ten more pages of additional poems and long benedictions on the prophet Muhammad, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya finally concludes this work with her seventh section, an ode of over a hundred verses of praise, prayers and petitions for her beloved Prophet. Based on the work’s size and ample quotation from scholarly sources, it is safe to say that Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya did not intend The Most Wholesome Source on the Birth of the Most Noble One to be recited in public. Rather, she probably meant it to be read, studied, and memorized by those wishing to learn of the prophet Muhammad’s many special traits and virtues so that they might imitate his actions and follow his scrupulous life in hopes of success in this world and in the afterlife to come.

PRECIOUS PEARLS Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s second surviving mawlid is quite different. She introduces this work as Precious Pearls from the Treasuries of the Unseen

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World Regarding the Noble Birth of the One Free of Any Fault or Flaw (Fara’id min Khaza’in al-Ghayb fi Sharaf Mawlid al-Mubarra’ min Kull Naqs wa-‘Ayb). Though the work is undated, clearly Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya wrote Precious Pearls after The Most Wholesome Source, since she asks God to bless both her late teacher, Isma‘il al-Hawwari, as well as his successor, Muhyi al-Din Yahya al-’Urmawi, who had since died too. Aisha may have intended Precious Pearls to be recited publicly, as she notes in her introduction that the story of the Prophet’s birth should be recited often. Moreover, when compared to The Most Wholesome Source and its over 350 pages densely packed with citations and quotations, Precious Pearls is much more streamlined, covering many of the same themes and the entire life of the prophet Muhammad in approximately fifty pages. Perhaps with public performance in mind, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya composed Precious Pearls in rhymed prose, accentuated by poems generously distributed throughout, commemorating major events and aspects of the Prophet’s life. Besides its brevity and eloquence, Precious Pearls differs most noticeably from The Most Wholesome Source in its frequent references to the Light of Muhammad. This primordial Light was God’s first creation and a major element in Islamic mystical theology. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya introduces the Light of Muhammad at the very beginning of the first section of Precious Pearls: Know – may God have mercy upon you and me – that when the great and exalted true God willed the appearance of existence from total non-existence, He did so out of pure benevolence and beneficence. So He revealed the splendid secret of His saying, “I was a hidden treasure who loved to be known” and the most special and noble entity of all created things alone…the first to appear…was Muhammad, His worshipper, His perfect, awesome messenger, His beloved… So, the most high God created Muhammad’s light before all else, and made its appearance a blessing to all the worlds. His throne did not exist then nor His footstool, nor angels or humans, Heaven or Hell, seas or skies, days or nights… He, glorified and most high, created from Muhammad’s Light whatever He wished and willed as was right. Proof of this is the Prophet’s saying, upon him be prayers and salutations, “I was a light standing before my Lord 14,000 years before Adam’s creation!” (Fara’id, 127–30)

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Aisha goes on to state that this Light of Muhammad is the source for every created thing, including prophecy and religious law. All of the prophets prior to the historical Muhammad relied upon the Light for God’s guidance. Then God sent to humanity the earthly Muhammad, the last of the prophets, and the most complete manifestation of the Light. This is evident in his exemplary life and special traits and virtues, which Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya lists and lauds throughout Precious Pearls, before drawing to a close with her account of the Prophet’s death: The prophet Muhammad, God’s blessings be upon him and salutations, continued to be the highest perfection, the most awesome creation, singled out for the greatest beauty and most noble splendor, a bringer of good news and warner of the Judgment Day, a shining lamp calling to God with His permission, until the Qur’an reached its completion. Then the most high God established for His beloved, may God’s blessings be upon him and salutations, the true and tolerant religion, with the clear proof of revelation: “Today, I have perfected for you your religion, and completed for you My benefaction, and I have chosen for you Islam as your religion!” [Qur’an 5:3] Then the most high God took hold of His beloved prophet’s spirit, and He and His angels blessed it. God elated him with a perfect reunion and total union, as was ordained in pre-eternity, though his believing community was grieved terribly by losing sight of his noble body. So, we ask God to restore him to us by placing us under his banner on the Day of Judgment, and giving us refreshment from his cool pool in Heaven, where we will be his neighbors in the celestial garden, along with the other prophets, sincere believers, martyrs and the righteous, by His grace and kindness, for He is the most merciful, the giver of forgiveness! O community of this beloved one, praise your Master for this prophet who He sent to you, who He chose in pre-eternity and favored over one and all completely, and bless him according to the revelation calling for his benediction [Qur’an 33:56]: “Truly, God and His angels bless the Prophet! O you who believe, do likewise and give him your blessings and salutations!” Pray for him, blessed and saved by God, his creator in pre-eternity. Bless this cosmic splendor, more praised than heaven, named before all other things.

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Pray for him, and God will bless you ten times more and hold you in favor and grace. Pray, for God’s blessings are His mercy from which all benefits flow. Bless him, for one who prays for him wins a share of favor and safety from distress. Pray for my master, bless my support, pray for my intercessor who grants my desire! Pray for the lord from the noblest line, bless the chosen one, apostle to nations! Pray for him praising and praised from eternity; bless the best to walk the earth. God bless him always and forever, and his family and companions, knowing and wise, As long as the hawk’s call at noon moves the riders with joy toward the House and Noble Sanctuary, As long as the breeze blows at night from Kazima, while lightning flashes on the slopes of Dhu Salam. (Fara’id, 175–6)

From beginning to end, the mystical element of Muhammad’s Light illuminates Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s Precious Pearls, highlighting another vital element in her verse and other writings. Likewise, her final petition and prayer at the very end of the work offers another revelation about Aisha’s life and work: “I ask God to protect my faith, my life, and my son.”

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3 O MY LOV E A N D HA P PI N E S S

I ask God’s guidance in this book – honored by the divine blessings of the birthday of the Apostle of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him – to record the birth of my son ‘Abd al-Wahhab and his sister, Baraka, and what children may follow them…from Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr.  Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya (al-Mawrid, 355)

MARRIAGE AND FAMILY Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya often made references to aspects of her life in the introductions and conclusions to her writings. Sometime after completing The Most Wholesome Source on the Birth of the Most Noble One, she appended the above note at the end of the manuscript written in her own hand. She then added a family tree tracing the noble lineage of both her children back to the prophet Muhammad through his grandson al-Husayn, the second son of ‘Ali ibn Abu Talib and Fatima, Muhammad’s daughter. In this way, she explicitly staked a claim for her son to a stipend owed to any male heir of the prophet Muhammad living in Damascus. Aisha’s note also tells us the name of her husband, Shihab al-Din Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Abu Bakr Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf (d. 1503). He was the son of a prominent scholarly family living in the Damascus suburb of al-Salihiyya, and known as the Nuqaba’ al-Ashraf, or “the leaders of the honorable descendants of the Prophet.” As this title suggests, members of this family were often in charge of distributing funds

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annually to male descendants of the prophet Muhammad. The Ba‘unis and Nuqaba’ al-Ashraf knew each other well and intermarried; one of Aisha’s brothers-in-law married one of her nieces. Though there is little information on Aisha’s husband Ahmad regarding his education or career, he appears to have been somewhat prosperous. Together with Aisha, he fathered two children, a son ‘Abd al-Wahhab and a daughter Baraka, as Aisha detailed at the end of her note: God’s blessing of ‘Abd al-Wahhab was delivered just as dawn broke about an hour after the night call to prayer on the 20th of Rajab in the year 897 [1492]…and his blessed full sister, Baraka, was also born after the night call to prayer as dawn broke on the 1st of Rabi‘ al-Thani in the year 899 [1494]. (al-Mawrid, 355–6)

These birth dates raise several issues regarding Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s age and marriage. If she had been born around 1456, then she gave birth to these two children when she was between the ages of 35 and 37. This is biologically possible, but one would have expected Aisha to have had children much sooner. Normally, in medieval Syria and Egypt, young women were married off between the ages of 14 and 19, with children expected soon thereafter. Of course, it is quite possible that Aisha had been married to someone else prior to Ahmad Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf. Many elite Muslim women in medieval Egypt and Syria married two or three times, due to divorce or, more often, as the result of the death of their husbands, who were usually much older than they were. If this was the case, Aisha may have had other children whose names were not recorded because they were not descendants of the prophet Muhammad and so had no part in her note registering the births of ’Abd al-Wahhab and Baraka. There is also the possibility that Ahmad was Aisha’s only husband, but that she had miscarried or earlier children died due to the many diseases that were endemic to the region. Whatever the case, ‘Abd al-Wahhab and Baraka were still alive in 1496 when Aisha completed her book, The Most Wholesome Source. Even though she had small children, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya continued to write and compose poetry, perhaps with the assistance of a nurse or a female slave to help with domestic tasks. Coming from a prosperous family,

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Aisha probably entered her marriage with considerable wealth in the form of a substantial dowry from her own family, as well as a marriage gift of cash from her husband-to-be. Nevertheless, a good part of this cash might have been in the form of a deferred payment in the event of a divorce or her husband’s death. Aisha’s husband was tasked with all household and child expenses, including food and clothing, though Aisha may have augmented their resources through spinning or needlework, as did many other women. Still, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya devoted considerable time and effort to her intellectual pursuits, as evidenced in her many written works.

SUFI WAY Besides her children, another love that Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya shared with her husband Ahmad Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf was Sufism. Referred to in Arabic as tasawwuf, or “choosing to wear wool,” Sufism, or Islamic mysticism, grew out of pietistic and ascetical movements within early Islam. Those who renounced an ostentatious worldly life, often symbolized by silk, chose to dress in wool (suf) or cotton clothing as part of a more simple life devoted to God. Such pious men and women sought to lead their lives based on the Qur’an, which declares God to be ever-present: “To God belongs the east and west, so wherever you turn, there is the face of God, the omniscient, the omnipotent!” (Qur’an 2:115). Also inspirational has been the “Light Verse”: God is the light of the heavens and the earth. The semblance of His light is like a niche in which is a lamp, the lamp in a glass. The glass is like a shining star lit from a blessed tree, an olive, of neither east nor west, whose oil would seem to shine even if not touched by fire. Light upon light, God guides to His light whom He wills, and God strikes parables for humanity, for God knows everything!  (Qur’an 24:35)

The all-merciful ever-present God also loves those who bear witness to His oneness and worship Him alone: “God loves those who depend upon Him completely” (Qur’an 3:159). Moreover, the merci-

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ful God sent prophets to guide humanity, and so following their example was another source of guidance. This may be found in the hadith traditions relating to what the prophet Muhammad said and did: The Apostle of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “Sincerity is that you worship God as if you see him, and if you do not see Him, know that He sees you.” The Apostle of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “Be in this world as if you were a stranger or a wayfarer.” The Apostle of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “Not one of you truly believes until you love for your brother what you love for yourself.” (al-Nawawi, Forty Hadith, 69–72)

By following the Qur’an and the traditions of Muhammad, ascetics and renunciates aimed to tame their selfish desires and cultivate a life of righteousness that would lead to Paradise. The mystics went further, hoping to be blessed in this world as well as the next with a life of loving union with God and His beloved Apostle. “Say [to them, Muhammad]: ‘If you love God, then follow me, that He may love you and forgive your sins, for God is forgiving and merciful.’ ” (Qur’an 3:31) As a means to purify themselves in order to draw closer to God, Sufis developed various forms of meditation, or recollection of God, which might lead to what are termed today mystical experiences. These experiences, akin to emotional feelings, are usually of a short duration and difficult to describe, yet they are generally characterized by a positive sense of timelessness, receptivity and unity, and are often felt to offer deep insights into life. In the tenth to eleventh centuries, Sufis began composing detailed explanations of their thought and practice, including the methods to attain and refine their mystical experiences. They also offered theories and doctrines regarding the origins and significance of Sufism, and how mystical experiences contributed to Muslim life and society. Consistently, these writers stressed the Qur’anic and prophetic basis for Islamic mysticism, and their works aimed to systematize Sufism and place it within the context of the larger Islamic tradition. In fact, Sufism’s emphasis on personal experience has been frequently invoked

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to underscore the spiritual dimensions of the law and to enliven and personalize the abstract God of theology. However, this should not be construed as a rigid dichotomy of the law vs. the spirit, or orthodoxy vs. heresy. Rather, these Muslim scholars worked to establish a coherent and meaningful faith where each of its various dimensions was given its proper place and value. Shari‘a, or Islamic law, was foundational for any legitimate religious system, and Sufi scholars have made conformity to it a necessary basis for any significant spiritual advancement. Adepts must first master the rules and obligations regulating such important matters as the canonical prayers, fasting, and proper diet and behavior. Only then could they proceed to the tariqa, or Sufi path, with its additional stipulations concerning mystical meditation and devotions, personal conduct and communal life. By following the Sufi way, a few, rare individuals graced by God might experience union and receive an enlightened vision of creation in its relation to God, as related in the hadith tradition: God said: “My servant does not draw near Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties that I have imposed upon him. And My servant continues to draw near me by willing acts of devotion until I love him, and when I love him, I am the ear with which he hears, the eye with which he sees, and the hand with which he grasps.” (al-Nawawi, Forty Hadith, 118–19)

From this perspective, belief, ritual, law, and mystical experience are all essential to one who seeks the inner truth within the world of exterior forms, where all of creation, when seen aright, glows with supernal light.

VENERABLE MASTERS A major feature of Islamic mysticism is the relationship between master and disciple, which is meant to insure the accurate transmission of the teachings and practices of the Sufi path. In the twelfth to thirteenth centuries, these traditions began to coalesce into distinctive Sufi orders. Led by respected Sufi masters, who often came to be venerated as saints, branches of these orders spread throughout the medi-

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eval Islamic world. During the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods, sultans and emirs patronized shrines, lodges, chantries and other institutions supporting Sufism, where Muslims of all classes regularly attended gatherings for meditation and worship. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s devotion to Sufism followed in the long tradition of her father’s family. One of her great-uncles had been a Sufi ascetic, while her uncle Ibrahim had for a time been director of a Sufi chantry in Damascus. Further, Aisha’s father and other members of the extended Ba‘uni family were buried in a family plot adjacent to the Sufi lodge and shrine of the spiritual master Abu Bakr ibn Da’ud (d. 1403), who was affiliated with the ‘Urmawi branch of the Qadiriyya Sufi order. In a number of her writings and poems, Aisha pledged her love and loyalty to the order’s progenitor ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani of Baghdad (1078–1166). Not surprisingly, Aisha was an avid reader of manuscripts on Sufism. She made a personal copy of ‘Ali al-Jurjani’s (d. 1413) dictionary of technical terms, The Book of Definitions (Kitab al-Ta‘rifat), and composed a verse rendition of the famous Sufi guidebook, Stages for the Wayfarers (Manazil al-Sa’irin) by ‘Abd Allah al-Ansari (d. 1089). Based on citations in her own writings, Aisha read many of what are still regarded today as classic works of Sufism, including those by al-Sarraj (d. 988), al-Kalabadhi (d. 995), al-Sulami (d. 1021), al-Qushayri (d. 1074), Muhammad al-Ghazali (d. 1111), and ‘Umar al-Suhrawardi (d. 1234). Aisha probably read and discussed these writings with her two personal spiritual masters, whom she lauded in the introductions to several of her writings: My education and development, my spiritual effacement and purification, occurred by the helping hand of the sultan of the saints of his time, the crown of the pure saints of his age, the beauty of truth and religion, the venerable master, father of the spiritual poles, the axis of existence, Isma‘il al-Hawwari, may God sanctify his heart and be satisfied with him, and, then, by the helping hand of his successor in spiritual states and stations, and in spiritual proximity and union, Muhyi al-Din Yahya al-’Urmawi, may God continue to spread his ever-growing spiritual blessings throughout his lifetime, and join us every moment to his blessings and succor.  (Ibn al-Hanbali al-Halabi, Durr, 1:2:1063–4)

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We know very little about Aisha’s guide, Muhyi al-Din Yahya al-’Urmawi, who appears to have died in the late fifteenth or the early sixteenth century. However, in the introduction to several of her works, Aisha refers to herself as “related to Yusuf ibn Ahmad al-Ba‘uni on earth, and in spiritual truth to the axis, the unique and universal helper, Jamal al-Din Isma‘il al-Hawwari” (Durar, 2a). Further, in a number of her poems, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya praises al-Hawwari for guiding her on the spiritual path: God bless my guide, my crown, and my way, my treasure, my glory and support among my folk, My imam, the axis of the age, Isma’il, whose full moon rose high on the horizon of the knowledge of reality! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 250, vv. 244–5)

Isma‘il al-Hawwari was a known religious figure in Damascus, and the historian Ibn Tulun frequently met with him to discuss spiritual matters: The righteous, venerable shaykh, one overwhelmed by love of God, Isma’il ibn ‘Abd Allah al-Salihi, was one of the mendicants at the college of Abu ‘Umar… He read the Qur’an and mastered its memorization. Then senility overtook him, and he lost his reason. Some said this was due to his intensive study of the Qur’an, whereas others said this was due to his love for someone that he patiently bore in secret. Often he used to read the Qur’an while overwhelmed by a deep spiritual state, and he had excellent sayings. People had great faith in him, including such notables as…the judge Baha’ al-Din al-Ba‘uni and al-Sayyid Shihab al-Din Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf… Toward the end of his life, he frequented the New Congregational Mosque and the al-Afram Congregational Mosque. I used to meet with him often at both places, and he would ask me about certain ambiguous verses in the Qur’an. He died on the 29th of Ramadan in the year 1495, and he was buried…in the Rawda [cemetery on Mt. Qasiyun]. His funeral was remarkable, as he was lifted up and carried by many hands. The Ba‘uni Daughter had a sarcophagus built over his grave. Then, opposite the grave, she had a house built for herself, for every Friday night she used to light a lamp upon his grave. That ceased after her death, and the sarcophagus was removed.  (Ibn Tulun, al-Qala’id, 2:531)

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Ibn Tulun’s detailed account draws attention to the fact that al-Hawwari was venerated by members of the elite of Damascus and especially by the Ba‘uni family, including Aisha’s brother Baha’ al-Din Muhammad and her husband Shihab al-Din Ahmad Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf. Of course, “the Ba‘uni Daughter,” who had the house and sarcophagus constructed near the grave, is an honorific title for Aisha herself, who expressed her great devotion to her teacher with a weekly Friday vigil at Isma’il al-Hawwari’s tomb. Clearly, Aisha’s husband and at least one of her brothers were also disciples of al-Hawwari, and so probably accompanied her when she met with him during teaching or advising sessions. There, they might have discussed the Qur’an, writings on Sufism, and matters of proper conduct and mystical devotions.

RECALLING THE LORD Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya notes in several places that her spiritual purification and effacement were fostered by her Sufi guides, al-Hawwari and al-’Urmawi. This, in turn, points to the Sufi meditation practice of dhikr, or “recollection,” which was very popular at the time. The Qur’an frequently calls believers to recollect and be mindful of God and His merciful blessings, and Muslim mystics have invoked this commandment as the foundation for their meditative practices. These recollections usually involve the repetition of one or more of God’s divine names and several religious formulas. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya believed that recollection and repetition of the first portion of the Muslim witness to faith, “There is no deity but God,” was particularly efficacious for inducing moments of mystical trance and rapture. Aisha may have recited this and other formulas in silence or out loud, in seclusion or among a group of fellow seekers. Recollection rituals might require various procedures involving posture, breath control, movement and, in some cases, dance. Often the practice of recollection was part of a larger ceremony known as sama‘, or an “audition,” since the focus was on listening closely to the chanting of the Qur’an, prayers for the prophet Muhammad, and recitation of Sufi poetry. This was usually followed by a final

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group recollection. Audition sessions could last several hours, and they aimed to create a spiritual atmosphere in which selfishness and self-consciousness give way to God’s living presence in moments of grace and mystical union. Many Muslims have embraced this rite as a means to obtain God’s blessings in this life and the next. As a result, Mamluk sultans and emirs sponsored daily group sessions for recollection at a number of shrines, mosques, and Sufi lodges, which often housed their family tombs. Other recollection sessions were held weekly, and some were attended by men and women together. Conservative religious scholars generally disapproved of such mixed company ceremonies out of concern for public morality. However, Aisha would have been accompanied by her husband or brother on these occasions, though she may have been required to participate with other women in a space adjacent to or apart from the men. This was the case at the Sufi shrine and lodge dedicated to Abu Bakr ibn Da’ud (d. 1403), to whom the Ba‘uni family had spiritual ties, including their own family burial plot nearby. Built around 1397, this was the largest Sufi center in the suburb of al-Salihiyya. The center was composed of a courtyard with a waterwheel, a cistern, and a fountain for ablutions, together with a large gallery with a portico, a mosque, an endowed library, cells for Sufis, and a special section for women. Generous endowments also paid for a caretaker, a muezzin, a prayer leader, and a preacher for sermons on Friday. Recollection sessions were held weekly there on Tuesday evening. Many people attended and participated in the ceremonies, after which they received free food. Recollection sessions were usually held immediately after one of the five daily prayers. Normally, a session would begin with recitation of the opening chapter of the Qur’an recalling God’s majesty and mercy: In the name of God the compassionate, the merciful Praise be to God, lord of the worlds, The compassionate, the merciful, Master of the day of reckoning, You we worship, and to You we turn for aid. Guide us along the straight path,

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The road of those whom You have blessed, Not those with anger against them, Nor those who are astray!

(Qur’an 1)

Other Qur’anic passages were then recited, including the last two chapters of the Qur’an seeking God’s protection and, quite often, the famous “Throne Verse”: God, there is no deity but Him, the living, the eternal. Drowsiness does not touch Him, nor sleep. To Him belongs what is in the heavens and on earth. Who can intercede with Him save by His permission? He knows what is before humans and what is behind them, yet they grasp nothing of His knowledge save as He wills. His throne extends over the heavens and the earth, and He never tires of protecting them for He is the supreme and tremendous!  (Qur’an 2:255)

Following the Qur’anic recitations, participants would begin their group recollections, which included the repetition of God’s praise, greatness, glory and power, followed by prayers for the prophet Muhammad, and ending with petitions for God’s forgiveness.

NOBLE INVOCATIONS Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya makes numerous references to recollection and audition practices in her poetry. At times, she composed pithy verses to serve as religious instruction: You seeking all the rules for recollection of the Lord, take them from me: fear and hope in tears, shame, purity, fidelity, and standing before His door with humility. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 136)

Clearly, an aspirant should assume a passive and humble attitude of contrition before God, while never losing hope of His forgiveness. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya highlights the therapeutic benefits of recollection in the following intimate prayer to God:

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In recalling you my Lord, the spirit finds rest and the soul is relieved of worry and stress. One striving here to remember You, attains glad tidings and happiness. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 114)

Following a number of prominent Sufi authorities, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya extolls the spiritual power of recollection to purify the seeker of sin and selfishness, allowing God’s light to shine through. Aisha notes that the following short poem regarding recollection’s benefits was inspired by God: When sin soils the hearts, and their light grows dim and dark, Then recollection of God is their polish wiping the spots away. In recollection of God, how many hearts remove the rust, revealing the light within. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 110)

Other poems attest to the profound spiritual states that Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya experienced as a result of Sufi recollection rituals and audition ceremonies. In the following poem, she invokes a common Sufi metaphor that likens the recollection of God’s names to a fine wine, which overwhelms the drinker’s intellect, leading to spiritual intoxication and a sense of unity in the presence of God’s oneness. Significantly, as a prelude to this poem, Aisha states that these verses came from divine inspiration when “rapture was intense”: With noble invocation of the One Creator, refresh a heart melted by longing. Singer, lift up His praise and repeat it; cup-bearer, pass round His ancient wine of love. For life has passed in desire to drink it, though I never won a taste, no, not a taste. See how it revived impassioned souls brought to ruin and destruction. See how it made them disappear from all the world since they fell for it. See how it drove them love-mad and crazy, shattered by rapture and craving,

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See how it melted hearts now flowing down in tears from large round eyes. See how it brought a dead love back to life. O, how many strong lovers have died! It is a wine ever appearing to man as the rising sun, And when its bouquet spreads forth, it covers all the world and existence. When will I win its quenching taste passing me away in that abiding beauty? (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 73–4)

TASTE AND SEE Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya frequently highlights key Sufi themes in her poems, including passing away and abiding. Both terms allude to the elimination of the mystic’s self-will in order to rest in divine union, in line with the Qur’anic declaration: “All things on earth are passing while the majesty and beneficent countenance of your Lord abides” (Qur’an 55:26–7). Aisha also refers to taste, the mystic’s ability to sense the divine presence within the heart. This essential element of recollection is clear in the following poem, which Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya notes came upon her during an audition session: Recollection of Him was sweet to taste when He whispered to my heart, And His herald proclaimed: “Come quickly to me, obedient to Him! “Arise, and enter our presence with sincerity as we have ordered; “Kneel before our might and submit, and this will please us. “Give up everything until you see only Him, “For one who comes before our presence with what you have, we have remembered him. “We accept him, for after the break, we mend it with happiness.

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“Just so, after rejection, we confer nearness. “What is wished for, we have attained; what is hoped for, is given!” My heart replied with obedience: “Your wish is my command!” So He befriended my heart, then made it expand. He summoned it, then whispered to it lovingly. He astonished it, then gave it comfort; annihilated it, then made it abide. He drank with it, then exalted it; He graced it and then was satisfied. He made my heart present, then led it away; He gave it a drink and quenched it, And He made it drunk, then baffled it; He revived it and gave it new life, With a cup whose contents was beyond the mind’s grasp. For the cup held: “God! There is no deity but Him!” (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 142–3)

This poem appears to be a kind of visionary recital, as recollection of God leads to His inspiration in the heart and then to a dramatic scene in the divine court. There, a herald instructs Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s heart in selfless obedience, and when her heart complies, she is acknowledged by God. Aisha invokes a number of Sufi concepts to describe the heart’s subsequent mystical states as God exhilarated and annihilated it, then caused it to abide in His presence. In the final verse, Aisha recites the Qur’anic phrase (20:8) “God! There is no deity but Him,” alluding to the first portion of Muslim profession of faith, “There is no deity but God,” which she believed to be particularly effective for recollection.

HYMN/HIM For centuries, poetry has been publicly recited by Sufis as a means to induce trance and mystical experience, and Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya may

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have composed poems for this purpose. A number of her poems echo audition rituals, particularly her muwashshah. This name is derived from a term for a belt or sash (wishah), as these poems have refrains between stanzas. In one such poem, Aisha’s refrain repeats the terms hu (“Him”) and Allahu (“God”), which have often been used in Sufi recollection practice. Further, in stanza six, Aisha says: “In His epiphany, when He called out from His brilliant fire.” This is a reference to the story of Moses and his encounter with the Burning Bush as recounted in Qur’an 27:7–11. In the following translation, the refrain: “O Him, O Him, O God” has been retained in the original Arabic. This enables the rhythm and beat of the poem to resonate in a Sufi chant attesting to the vital role of recollection in the thought and verse of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya: You who annihilates mystically those absorbed in love of You, Give to me! Give to me! Grant me a good life and immortality with clear vision in union. Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! My love, my desire, my goal, my being Be mine! Be mine! And mend my break and free me from poverty with nearness and union. Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! Love of You bereaved Your lover: I was dazed when I lost my reason, my reason, And love bewildered me and kept me up all night as it led me on and wore me out. Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! Your beauty bound me tight, and when appeared the light, gone was my shadow, my shadow, And it stripped me, and nothing remained of me, as it annihilated me as was right.

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Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! I left myself and went away. My veil was gone, and nearness appeared: My union! My union! For He had astonished, then revived me, and He gave me new life in beauty. Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! In His epiphany, when He called out from His brilliant fire, He said to me, He said to me: “Arise, drink, and enjoy the goodness of My grace!” Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! For He had set a radiant cup before me filled with truth’s pure wine. He gave to me, He gave to me this pure drink with relief and hope and peace. Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! These wine jars are revelations of grace with gnosis to their tavern-mates, my folk, my folk, my masters, my loves, my brothers in my mystical states. Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! I have an exalted axis among them who appeared with his fidelity to me, to me, and he drew me in and brought me near and raised me up in nobility. Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! My Master, the greatest to come among us is the most exalted Prophet.

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Bless him! Bless him! and all apostles and his family and closest friends, You Most High! Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! As long as Your cup comes round to my heart with Your wine in the tavern of nearness, my drink, my drink, given to me to drink, quenching me, and reviving me in union! Ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Hu, ya Allahu Ya Allahu, ya Hu, ya Allahu! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 411–14)

EMANATION OF GRACE Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s verse on recollection was part of a long tradition of Arabic Sufi poetry. Appearing by the ninth century, early Sufi verse often stressed the love between God and His devotees, as we hear in this poem ascribed to the celebrated woman mystic Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya (d. 801): I love You with two loves: passion’s love and a love you deserve. Passion’s love is my constant recollection of You and no one else, While the love you deserve is Your raising the veil for me to see You. But there is no praise in this or that for me, for in this and that the praise belongs to You! (Homerin, Passion, 9)

Much of this verse highlights various spiritual states and stages, and it is often found in guidebooks and manuals to reinforce mystical teachings and practice. By the eleventh to twelfth centuries, Sufi poets were also composing much longer poems shaped by classical Arabic verse on love, longing, and wine to speak of their spiritual concerns. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya was well-versed in this Sufi poetic tradition from

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which she drew inspiration. Alluding to the poem by Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya, Aisha composed the following verses: I love You, only You, and when my heart turns to those I love, this is only out of love for You, And when I must speak to someone else, my heart is still recalling only You. But there is no praise in this or that for me, my Lord, for in both, my praise is for Your face. This sweet love and recollection, I did not earn, for they flow from Your pure and perfect grace. You are the True God, all else is false; You alone abide, all else will pass. So please don’t shun me, this would be Hell, even if my misdeeds would merit that! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 90–1)

Such mystical proclivities and themes are central to Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s verse, especially in the 375 poems collected in The Emanation of Grace and the Gathering Union (Fayd al-Fadl wa-Jam‘ al-Shaml). In the introduction to this collection, Aisha states that these are “inspired poems on divine and intimate conversations, mystical meanings and states of grace, spiritual efforts, matters of desire, and passionate ways” (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 71). Later, she adds that the poems span from her “days as a novice and student until mastery of the branches of mystical annihilation and the arts of effacement” (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 326). Often collections of Arabic poetry are organized alphabetically by end-rhyme, but that is not the case here. Instead, Aisha’s poems appear to be in a more or less chronological order, with verse from “the early days” opening the collection. In these early poems, she often includes praise for her guide Isma‘il al-Hawwari, who died in 1495. Later, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya cites nearly two dozen poems from her work The Most Wholesome Source, completed in 1496. These are followed by many additional poems, some containing praise for Isma‘il al-Hawwari’s successor and Aisha’s second Sufi guide, Yahya al-’Urmawi. The collection then ends abruptly, suggesting that Emanation of Grace was a work in progress. Another distinguishing feature of this collection is that Aisha

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al-Ba‘uniyya prefaces nearly every poem by the phrase, “From God’s inspiration upon her” or, more often, “From His inspiration upon her.” She frequently notes the occasion for a poem, as was the case with those inspired by Sufi gatherings for recollection and audition. In other cases, she prefaces a poem with its particular theme, as with the following couplet regarding “a mystical state”: I will not sleep as the dear ones arrive close to the presence, drawing near the Lord of Power. For if they leave me behind, I will have no way or means to take me to their towering place. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 126)

Given these statements and the poems’ apparent chronological order, Emanation of Grace may have served Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya as a spiritual diary. This record of her spiritual life included times of frustration and longing as we hear in this “lamentation to Him”: Parting hurt me; the separation grows long. I am rejected, my wish denied. I cannot lie down on my bed. My eyes are lined with sleeplessness. What life do I have if his rejection lasts? I am done with life, until he comes back. I am sure that I will have no happy life unless union returns. Sickness is my companion now since it entered my limbs and reached my heart. Passion’s flame will not go out until nearness returns from afar, And my heart cries out having attained the grace it sought from the generous Lord, When the pain is gone and our desires fulfilled, with nothing more to ask for. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 326)

Similarly, many of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s poems chart points of progress on the Sufi path, as in the following verses “concerning mystical realization”:

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He who tastes the love of God vanishes from his selfish soul and its cares to abide in Him, Annihilated without an eye or trace remaining, rapt in witnessing the awesome beauty of His love. All of his fanciful desires pass away in preference for what comes from his Beloved. He regards His prohibition as the greatest gift, and so, too, banishment from being near Him. Vision of Him leads the lover to melt away as the epiphany refines him. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 125)

POETRY OF RECOLLECTION In many poems, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya often alludes to her mystical quest in love of God and His prophet Muhammad. Following her spiritual discipline and practice, Aisha experienced moments of union, ecstasy, and joy that illumined her faith. She notes this in the following poem composed “after God’s blessings had wafted in”: When a breeze of acceptance wafts in, a deep love reminds me of union’s covenant, And when a flash of inspiration appears from my Lord, my eyes cloud up and pour. When the leader calls out His name as the caravan departs, desire wants my heart to stay, And when passion’s fire is kindled in my ribs, then, my friend, I take a drink from recollection’s cups. If critics belittle my claims to love, well, ancient is my tale of love for him, And when others slander me because of him, my every limb opposes them with passion. If all the world abandons me, recollection of him remains my heart’s close companion and friend. When the one I love is pleased, he guides me to the straight path, the path of righteousness, And he brings me to the pastures of acceptance and gives me a taste of inspiration’s fruitful knowledge.

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He gives me a drink from the spring of love, and I attain what I seek and desire, And he leads me to smell a scent on the breeze of nearness, reviving me, though the hot winds blow. He tears away the veils of pride and heedlessness that cloud the skies of the heart, So I behold the truth of the True God in every atom, and leave aside what passes and does not last. O, Lord, confirm my view of You, for You are, indeed, all-knowing of needs, most generous with grace! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 137–8)

In this poem, through a process of recollection, reflection, and understanding, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya draws near to God, and in her imagination experiences His love and grace. As such, this and similar poems are a type of meditative verse linked to the Sufi practice of recollection and audition: The nature of meditative poetry…may be defined by studying its close relation to the practice of religious meditation in that era. The relationship is shown by the poem’s own internal action, as the mind engages in acts of interior dramatization. The speaker accuses himself; he talks to God within the self; he approaches the love of God through memory, understanding, and will; he sees, hears, smells, tastes, touches by the imagination… Essentially, the meditative action consists of an interior drama, in which a man projects a self upon an inner stage, and there comes to know that self in the light of the divine presence. (Martz, Poem of the Mind, 33)

In sixteenth-century Europe, a similar phenomenon was taking place. Christian forms of meditation, especially the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola (d. 1556), significantly influenced the form and content of verse by several English poets. John Donne (d. 1572), George Herbert (d. 1633), Thomas Traherne (d. 1674), and Henry Vaughan (d. 1695) applied a process of preparation, composition, dialogue and conversation to compose their meditations and poetry. Nearly four centuries earlier, the Ayyubid Egyptian poet ‘Umar Ibn al-Farid (d. 1235) alluded to recollection and audition practices in his poems. Ibn al-Farid composed a number of odes and ghazals

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on mystical themes, as well as several wine odes on the intoxicating love of God. Though he generally weaved religious strands subtly into his introspective verse, several of Ibn al-Farid’s younger contemporaries were more explicit as to the religious nature of some of their poems, particularly those in praise of the prophet Muhammad. In Baghdad, the poet and mystic al-Sarsari dedicated scores of panegyrics to Muhammad, including one rhyming in M and based on the same ode by Ibn al-Farid that would later be used by al-Busiri for the opening to his famous Mantle Ode. Inspired by Ibn al-Farid’s verse, Sufi poets of the Mamluk period composed many poems that mixed religious themes with double entendre and paradox. Such Sufi verse, together with the panegyrics to Muhammad, lend a marked metaphysical quality to much Arabic poetry of the period. Perhaps culminating this religious trend was Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya. Religious themes are pervasive in nearly all of her lyrical verse, whether devotional hymns to the prophet Muhammad, poems expressing a sense of awe and wonder with the divine, or any number of other mystical themes. Further, the meditative process is vital to many of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s poems. Memory and recollection are essential as she unites thought and feeling for spiritual insights into love and life, as in the poem cited above: When a breeze of acceptance wafts in, a deep love reminds me of union’s covenant.

This opening recollection echoes the earliest pre-Islamic Arabic verse, where the poet conjures an image of his lost beloved to mourn their love-pact that has been broken. Yet, for Aisha, “union’s covenant” remains intact, and so she is filled with desire when God’s name is recited to begin a journey, perhaps the Hajj pilgrimage. She becomes intoxicated by the pure wine contained in cups of recollection. Aisha is then confronted by those who blame and ridicule her, perhaps indicative of feelings of unworthiness and self-doubt. Nevertheless, she holds true to her covenant despite the attempts to dissuade her from her love. Though abandoned by others, she takes solace from the recollection of her beloved within her heart, which, in turn, leads her into the divine presence and a new life in love. As the

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poem progresses and the beloved’s divine identity becomes clearer, Aisha’s recollection transforms the ancient poet’s reverie and nostalgia into an act of Sufi recollection to purify the heart of selfishness in order to reveal a mystical epiphany: So I behold the truth of the True God in every atom, and leave aside what passes and does not last.

Here, in the penultimate verse of this poem, Aisha again alludes to Qur’an 55:26–7: “All things on earth are passing, while the majestic and beneficent countenance of your Lord abides.” Then the poem ends with her prayer that God deepen her spiritual life with further acts of grace.

HE’S MY DESTINY Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya again suggests the holy nature of her love in the following muwashshah, with several possible allusions to the prophet Muhammad. She likens her beloved to the full moon, both standard poetic references to Muhammad, the beloved of God, whose face shone like the moon. Moreover, Aisha’s refrain: “I see him always with me,” may also be translated as “How can I not bear witness to him always with me.” Again, this echoes the Muslim profession of faith, “I bear witness that there is no deity but God, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Apostle of God”: I see no one but my love, when I’m here or when I’m gone. I see him always with me, for he’s my destiny. O my joy and happiness, faithful love has graced me With passing away in abiding and abiding in passing away, With my reunion, my departure, and departure, my reunion. So my heart, take pleasure in union with my love; I see him always with me, for he’s my destiny. He’s my attributes, my essence;

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I see him and nothing more; He’s my effacement, my endurance when I pass and then return. He’s my union and dissolution in my aim and way of life. He’s my substance and my meaning, far away or near. I see him always with me, for he’s my destiny. So by God, my heart enjoy, for God made my bliss complete. I loved my lover and my lord, spring of my soul and being. Then life was good as I was always near and God made my vision last. His brilliant flash, no other, appeared to me so clear, I see him always with me, for he’s my destiny. My love was sweet, my rending fine, in love with beauty’s lord. My union came, division left, my wide expansion stayed. My illusion gone, my truth proved true and unadorned appeared. A handsome moon beguiled me; he held all wondrous things. I see him always with me, for he’s my destiny. By my life, I do intend he be my highest aim. My art is passing away in him, with passion my food and drink. He’s my reason, my religion, my doctrine and devotion. Wherever I turn my face, I see him alone, no other. I see him always with me, for he’s my destiny! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 365–6)

In the final verse, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya alludes to Qur’an 2:115, often quoted by Sufis: “Wherever you turn, there is the face of God.” Yet, Aisha might also be alluding to the prophet Muhammad, whose handsome face she saw in her dream in Medina while returning home for the Hajj.

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OLD LOVES FOR NEW Ambiguity regarding the beloved’s identity is heard at the start of the following poem inspired during a session of mystical audition: My friend, please, mention again the one I love. Despite my devotion to come to him, I can’t get enough as long as I live! Tales of passion for him have been told by me, And in spreading them arose a new life that will never end. So I can’t forget him; I can’t wait or be without him; I can’t be away from him. No. I can’t cope. My tears flow from passion; my heart is grilled by love For between my ribs is a fire burning me within. Critics blame my heart, but, my friends, it won’t be turned By their honeyed lies for they are masters of deceit. Yet, when I complained of my state, my love sickness, and tribulation, My heart replied: “This is not the way of one who loves. “One stripped bare before love casts off complaining. “To die for him is nothing; misfortunes are adored for him!” So, do you think I can win his nearness curing all my ills? Being close to him is my highest goal and furthest desire, And I don’t mean by this, old loves like Salma or ‘Alwa or Hind.

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My only aim is Him who knows the heart and love talk, One everlasting God who shaped all creation. From Him, I hope for an honored place in the safe Abode of Eternity. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 88–9)

Once again, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya sets the scene at the beginning of her poem as she calls her companion to repeat the name of her beloved, which she has heard during the audition session. In this poem, she focuses on her longing to be reunited with her beloved, and there may be an allusion to the prophet Muhammad, as she has related “tales of passion,” or more literally “hadiths of passion.” As is standard in many of Aisha’s love poems, her critics blame and revile her. Yet when she complains, she is chastised by her heart. For Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and her mystical contemporaries, the heart was the site of both love and spiritual inspiration, particularly during Sufi recollection and audition. Heeding the advice of her heart to eradicate her selfish life for love, Aisha prays that she may once again return to the presence of the beloved, who is now clearly not a person of flesh and blood, but God Himself: And I don’t mean by this, old loves like Salma or ‘Alwa or Hind. My only aim is Him who knows the heart and love talk, One everlasting God who shaped all creation.

Aisha states explicitly that her lover is not “Salma or ‘Alwa or Hind,” names of several beloveds of classical Arabic verse. As Aishah undoubtedly knew, the celebrated Arab poet Abu Nuwas (d. c.815) had earlier cast aside such legendary loves in his preference for the wine of the grape. In Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s case, however, these beloveds are dismissed to underscore the divine nature of her love, who Aisha declares to be “One everlasting God,” as she paraphrases the first two verses of Qur’an 112, a chapter often used in recollection and audition ceremonies: “Say He is God, the one, God the everlasting.”

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IBN AL-FARID Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya was clearly influenced by earlier Arab poets, and she frequently alludes to their verse in her own work. This was the case with Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya and especially, Muhammad al-Busiri, who Aisha often paraphrases in her poems in praise of the prophet Muhammad. Similarly, Aisha composed a mystical poem in which she incorporated an entire poem ascribed to the founder of her Sufi order, ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani. Yet the Sufi poet who Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya most admired and imitated was ‘Umar Ibn al-Farid. He lived most of his life in Cairo, where he taught poetry and the traditions of the prophet Muhammad. After Ibn al-Farid died, a grandson collected this verse, to which he added a reverential account of his grandfather, including tales of mystical states and miracles. By Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s day, Ibn al-Farid was regarded as one of the great saints of Cairo, and his verse was enormously popular. However, some conservative scholars took issue with Ibn al-Farid. They especially disliked his monistic view of existence, which they linked to the mystical theology of his contemporary in Damascus, Ibn al-‘Arabi. These critics admitted begrudgingly to the beauty of Ibn al-Farid’s verse, but they condemned his use of wine, which was forbidden to Muslims, as a metaphor for God’s love. Even more infuriating was Ibn al-Farid’s portrayal of God as a female beloved. These criticisms became part of a major controversy that flared up in the Mamluk domains during Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s lifetime. In 1469, the historian and religious scholar Ibrahim al-Biqa‘i (1407–80) wrote a polemical work in which he quoted verses by Ibn al-Farid to demonstrate the poet’s godless infidelity. Al-Biqa‘i called for a public condemnation of Ibn al-Farid, along with Ibn al-‘Arabi, and the burning of their writings. Ibn al-Farid’s many supporters, including a large number of poets and respected religious scholars, rallied to his defense. One of them, Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, wrote a refutation of the poet’s critics, noting their many misreadings and poor understanding of Ibn al-Farid’s verse.

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Al-Suyuti concluded that Ibn al-Farid was an enlightened Sufi master and a saint of God, whose shrine outside of Cairo should be visited for religious inspiration and blessings. As to the poet’s critics, they were narrow-minded people who risked God’s anger against them and so only hurt themselves. Other defenders of Ibn al-Farid also wrote refutations, but al-Biqa‘i held his ground and fired back with yet another polemic. This time, he went even further to censure not only Ibn al-Farid, but anyone who believed that Ibn al-Farid was a saint. Al-Biqa‘i stridently declared all those who were favorable toward the poet to be infidels, heretics or, at the very least, ignorant fools. Here, al-Biqa‘i appears to have crossed the line between religious debate and slander. In response, some of Ibn al-Farid’s supporters lampooned al-Biqa‘i and other critics of Ibn al-Farid, as the controversy became the talk in Cairo and Damascus for several months. Significantly, among those al-Biqa‘i had criticized in his blanket condemnation was a great patron of Ibn al-Farid’s shrine, Barquq al-Nasiri (d. 1472). He was a senior Mamluk emir and a close ally of the Mamluk sultan Qaytbay. As a result, the sultan put an end to the feuding and controversy by soliciting a legal opinion on the matter from a senior religious scholar respected by all parties involved. In his official ruling, he declared Ibn al-Farid to be an illumined mystic free of any taint of heresy or infidelity, and further, that those who did not understand his profound poetry should keep quiet. Al-Biqa‘i was disgraced by the ruling. Fearing physical harm, perhaps from Barquq al-Nasiri, al-Biqa‘i left Cairo and returned home to Damascus. However, the sultan then named Barquq as the viceroy of Damascus, perhaps to keep the rabble-rouser al-Biqa‘i in check. Many religious scholars had weighed in with their opinions during the controversy. However, nothing is recorded regarding the views of Yusuf al-Ba‘uni or other members of his family on the issues, though they were known supporters of Ibn al-‘Arabi. The reason for this omission may simply be that Yusuf al-Ba‘uni and many of his family members were away on the Hajj pilgrimage during much of this dispute, and so were engaged with their own important religious rites and rituals.

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ODES IN T Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s high opinion of Ibn al-Farid is quite clear from a number of her poems that paid homage to his verse. Aisha consciously modeled one of her longest Sufi poems of 252 verses on the Ode in T-Major (al-Ta’iyya al-Kubra), Ibn al-Farid’s most celebrated, if controversial, poem. Also known as the Poem of the Sufi Way (Nazm al-Suluk), Ibn al-Farid’s poem is also very long, spanning 760 verses. There, Ibn al-Farid speaks of a mystical life in love of God and the many stages on the mystic quest, which culminates in an experience of union near the Ka‘ba during the Hajj pilgrimage. Not surprisingly, when Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya composed her own poem on the various stages of the Sufi path, she chose to imitate Ibn al-Farid’s Ode in T-Major, which begins in praise of wine and the beloved: The palm of my eye handed me love’s heady wine to drink, and my glass was a face of one revealing loveliness. Drunk by my glance, I caused my companions to suppose that drinking their wine had brought my heart joy. But by the dark pupils of the eyes I did without my drinking bowl, and from fine eyes, not cold wine, came my intoxication. (Ibn al-Farid, Diwan, 66, vv. 1–3)

Using the same rhyme, meter, and several images, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya signals her debt to Ibn al-Farid’s poem in her own opening verses: He quenched me with love’s heady wine before my birth, and I delighted in my drunk prior to my being, And He called me to witness beauty’s grace as He willed what He desired when He willed my bearing witness, And He placed in my heart the joy of a secret beyond the grasp of insight or understanding. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 237, vv. 1–3)

Despite the many similarities throughout the two poems, one major difference is very clear from the outset: Aisha’s beloved in this and nearly all of her poems is male. While this frees her poems from one of the more controversial elements of Ibn al-Farid’s verse, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya does not shy away from the use of wine imagery, which frequently appears in her poems on God’s love and the power

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of recollection. Further, whereas both poems begin as wine odes, Ibn al-Farid’s Ode in T-Major quickly transitions from wine to issues of love for a woman who comes to represent the divine beloved. By contrast, Aisha leaves no doubt that her male beloved is God, due in part to her overtly devotional aims. Moreover, as a woman composing and publicly reciting Arabic love poetry, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya may have wanted to avoid any hint of scandal regarding the spiritual character of her love.

COVENANT In her opening verse, Aisha’s beloved Lord summons her spirit and those of all humanity, in order to make a covenant with them. Here, Aisha alludes to several passages in the Qur’an: And when your Lord drew from the loins of the children of Adam their progeny and made them bear witness against themselves: “Am I not your Lord?” They said: “Indeed, yes! We so witness.  (Qur’an 7:172) Recall the blessings upon you from your Lord and His covenant that He confirmed with you when you said: “We hear and obey!”  (Qur’an 5:7)

Among the early Sufis, this event was known as the “Day of The Covenant” when, in pre-eternity before creation, God called forth all the spirits of humanity. They then pledged obedience to their Lord and thus confirmed the original loving encounter between God and the divine spirit within each human being. This initial meeting is the root of the human being’s innate love of God and the longing to be in His divine presence once more. Further, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, Ibn al-Farid, and many other Sufis believed that the recollection of this moment in meditation or audition may result in the spirit’s momentary return to abide in God’s oneness. Aisha next turns to dismiss her critics who cannot fathom her abiding love, which has annihilated her selfish will in union with God. She then assumes the role of the spiritual master, as Ibn al-Farid often does, to recall a moment of union as embodied in the pilgrimage to the Muslim holy lands of Mecca and Medina:

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I cried: “Here I am Lord!” annihilated from all else, as my intention to perform the Hajj was the passing of my human nature, And on the ‘Arafat of love, I stood in a station that every weak seeker had yet to reach, And from there the departure was only to a presence, holy and undefiled by how or why, And in the oasis of Mina, I attained the desires there in a union without separation, as my beloved wished. I slaughtered my selfish soul against its wishes, so He delivered it from every evil and temptation. My heart remained with providence as my mount traveling to the Door of Peace pulled by my attraction. Then my heart circled beauty’s fine favors praying to the awesome glory of the essence without a veil, And grace was my Safa, intimacy my Marwa, and the running there gave thanks to the law of love. My way was annihilation in Him, yet creation pulled me back from going all the way, for limitation is bound to my clay. He caressed my heart when the pilgrim rites were through, and from His high call, I waxed full of grace. How very fine, a mystical Hajj fulfilling my lesser pilgrimage, too, with my bond and my fate. There I drank a sip from the Zamzam well of love that cured me of every illness and disease within. I stood there beneath the Spout of His blessings, and as it flowed freely, I attained what I needed most. Before His door, I made my heart wallow in the dust, while the place for prayer was in a holy presence. Then after the Hajj, people have a most noble custom, visiting the tomb of the Apostle, my intercessor. So on this Hajj, my heart paid a visit to his heart, and I gave it the utmost desire and greatest wish, And by the grace of God, the flood of His blessing returned, and all of my worlds savored it. For to God belongs all who exalt Him on a sacred Hajj with which my spirit won the highest bliss! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 238–9, vv. 19–36)

In this section of her poem, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya offers a travelogue of her mystical pilgrimage in the Muslim holy land. She names various places

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and rituals of the pilgrimage and alludes to their spiritual significance. The plain of ‘Arafat, where she stood with other pilgrims in prayer, is the station of gnosis (‘arafa); the oasis of Mina, where she and her family made the sacrifice, becomes the site of sacrificing her selfish soul to attain her desire (muna) for union; the water that she sips from the well of Zamzam, represents love that can cure all things. With these and other specific references, Aisha constructs an elaborate mystical allegory involving not only the Hajj, but also the ‘Umra or “lesser pilgrimage” in Mecca. This is followed by her subsequent visitation of the Prophet’s mosque in Medina, where she had her second dream vision of him.

WINE OF LOVE After recounting this mystical pilgrimage, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, like Ibn al-Farid, resumes the role of the spiritual guide. While Ibn al-Farid spreads his teachings over hundreds of verses, Aisha is fairly concise regarding the importance of annihilation and abiding, obedience and poverty: Seek out a clear exposition of my school. Here are its principles; grasp them firmly: My annihilation is in my love; my abiding is in His light. My humiliation is exaltation; my abasement, my high station. My distress is my comfort; my need is my wealth. My contrition is my cheer, and my death is my life! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 239–40, vv. 38–40)

Though God has blessed Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya with union, she worries about spiritual pride. She was wrong to think that she could earn union through obedience on her part, as union is in fact an act of divine grace. While lamenting her mistake, Aisha takes solace in God’s mercy and compassion and His granting her union. Drawing from Ibn al-Farid’s Ode in T-Major, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya compares this experience of union to the wedding night with her beloved. Alone together in the bridal chamber, they sip the wine of love. For this next section, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya draws from another famous poem by Ibn al-Farid, his Wine Ode (al-Khamriyya), in which he celebrates the eternal love between God and humanity:

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In memory of the beloved we drank a wine; we were drunk with it before creation of the vine. (Ibn al-Farid, Diwan, 158, v. 1)

Aisha had already alluded to this pre-eternal vintage in her opening verse: He quenched me with love’s heady wine before my birth, and I delighted in my drunk prior to my being.

Just as Ibn al-Farid describes this wine of love in his Wine Ode, so too Aisha enumerates the amazing appearance and powers of this celestial drink, which can illuminate the night, cure ills, and even raise the dead. Aisha’s account of the wine’s miraculous effects parallels that in Ibn al-Farid’s Wine Ode, as does her description of the wine in its glass: It is the sun save it never sets, while it casts those worthy of wine into the desert of concealment. The full moon its glass, and stars are its bubbles, while tavern-mates are dear ones, worthy folk of love. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 241–2, vv. 76–7)

Ibn al-Farid wrote: The full moon its glass, the wine a sun circled by a crescent; when it is mixed, how many stars appear! (Ibn al-Farid, Diwan, 158, v. 2)

Again following Ibn al-Farid, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya explicitly links this wine with God’s grace of love and mystical union, and she notes the wondrous effects that it has on her heart and spirit: There was never a day when its fragrant bouquet spread through the mind without it guiding to the mystic path, And since time began, its shine never shone to mystic vision without guiding to the truth. The heart never tasted it without the clouds of God’s grace drawing near and pouring down. The spirit never tasted it without blessings flowing to it with joys of delight. The inner heart never tasted it without the clouds of separation parting to reveal the sun of union. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 242, vv. 80–4)

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The wine has made her yearn for Paradise, whose residents, according to Islamic doctrine, will drink wine and see the face of God. This spurs Aisha on to discipline her selfish soul, while her heart burns with love and her spirit longs to return to the divine presence.

MOSES OF THE HEART Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya takes comfort in the knowledge of her ultimate salvation as she again recalls a powerful mystical experience. This time, however, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya introduces a new allegory involving “the Moses hidden in my heart.” In a divine saying popular among the Sufis, God says: “My earth and My heaven do not hold Me, but the heart of My believing servant holds Me.” Sufis have interpreted this to mean that the heart is a place of spiritual encounter between the mystic and God. In her allegory, Aisha likens her heart to Mt. Sinai where the prophet Moses spoke with God. According to the Qur’an, Moses went too far when he asked to see God while on the mountain: When Moses arrived at the appointed time, and his Lord spoke with him, [Moses] said: “My Lord, reveal Yourself to me that I might gaze upon You.” He said: “You cannot see Me! Rather, look upon the mountain. If it stays in place, you will see Me.” Then, his Lord revealed Himself to the mountain; this leveled it, and Moses fell down, stunned. When he recovered, [Moses] said: “Glory be to You! I turn to You with repentance, and I am the foremost of believers!” (Qur’an 7:143)

Similarly, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya recounts the dawning of enlightenment in her heart: I did not forget my intimacy when I saw the light on the Sinai of enlightenment where I had no time for thought, Where it whispered to me of a grace confirming my salvation from evil and temptation. When the blessing appeared that I had sought, I saw the mountain of being crumble away from me, And the Moses hidden in my heart was struck by a thunderbolt

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which, if not for beauty, would have destroyed him. Then, by beautiful grace, he awoke in mercy, turning again and again to glorify God after repenting. (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 242–3, vv. 94–8)

Here, at a climax in her Sufi ode, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya likens the crumbling mountain to her heart as it beholds the blessing of God’s grace of salvation. Like Moses, she loses herself in God, only to be revived to praise Him. Within Sufism, this story of Moses at Sinai had long served as an allegory for mystical annihilation, though one that fell short of the prophet Muhammad’s encounter with God. Whereas Moses was struck down, Muhammad stood firm, “his vision did not turn away or transgress, and truly, he saw one the greatest signs of his Lord!” (Qur’an 53:18). In fact, at the end of his Ode in T-Major, Ibn al-Farid’s poetic persona merges in an exhilarating union to become the Light of Muhammad, yet another section of his poem that may have riled his critics. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, however, had no intention of comparing herself to the beloved prophet Muhammad or his Light. Instead, she chose to compare her heart to the character of Moses at Sinai. There, a presumptuous prophet who spoke with God was chastened, but then forgiven and blessed. This story may have resonated with Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, for she tells us, in this and other poems, of her own spiritual misgivings, and how she was forgiven and blessed with her dream visions of the prophet Muhammad. Aisha again declares love to be her pre-eternal destiny. She urges those who are afraid of commitment to follow the one who called them to annihilation in love, and the first to attain this high station – the prophet Muhammad. Those who can follow his example will abide in rapture with their Lord, as Aisha has done. Referring again to the story of Moses on Sinai, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya describes her mystical experience as a blinding flash of awe that ended her life of ignorance and brought her to a new life of intoxicating love: So when a glorious flash appeared from the awesome mountain side, it leveled and annihilated my existence, And then came my resurrection with a beautiful breath that bestowed blessings, brought life, and revived me.

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How wondrous my state from end to beginning! How wondrous my death and new life in love! From life and death, I arose with a drunken spirit; how lovely my birth, how sweet my intoxication! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 244, vv. 122–5)

Similar to Ibn al-Farid in his Ode in T-Major, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya goes on to reject her critics and affirm her own high status in mystical knowledge. She cites her personal experience of union as an example of a life of true passion, free of selfishness. Her love of God has transformed her existence into one of joy and happiness: By Him, my moment was pure, and my watering places ran clear; my words were subtle, and my allusions refined. So glad tidings came to me while my troubles turned away; my joys were sweet, delighting me with union. My zephyr was fresh, and my gatherings a delight; my morning dawned bright as my veil of night fell away, And my branch bore fruit; my planets shone bright; my full moon appeared, then my sun rose clear. My sweet basil was brought and my sweets were served; the cups of wine went round in the very best presence, And my existence vanished in my contemplation, blessed at last with my final, greatest goal! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 245, vv. 137–42)

SEAT OF TRUTH Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya urges others to seek out love and the beatific vision as she concludes her account of love and union, and turns to praise. This signals a major difference from her ode rhyming in T and that of Ibn al-Farid. Long eulogies for the prophet Muhammad are common in Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s verse, but they are not found in Ibn al-Farid’s poems. Such extensive verse in praise of the Prophet only became a marked feature of Arabic poetry several generations after Ibn al-Farid’s death in the 1235. In this section of her ode, Aisha lauds her mystical teacher, the saint Isma‘il al-Hawwari, who God chose to be her guide in pre-eternity. Aisha regards her teacher to be the spiritual heir

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to the prophet Muhammad, who is Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s next subject of praise as the greatest prophet of God: The best of creation, the noblest intercessor, the most exalted of those chosen for the secret of love, The most awesome envoy, the most excellent one sent with the straightest path to the best community, A prophet who has, in the presence of proximity, a rank above every favored companion, A beloved for whom my Lord created existing things, the spirit of the cosmos, the secret of the universe! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 246, vv. 164–7)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya concludes her poem with her panegyric and more prayers to Muhammad, which span nearly a hundred verses. Her adoration of the prophet Muhammad includes his essential role as intercessor on behalf of Muslims on the Day of Judgment. This leads Aisha to beseech the Prophet’s aid for over thirty verses, each beginning with the invocation, “O Apostle of God!” She goes on to confess her sins and swear her fidelity to God and His Prophet. Following this long petition for aid, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya confirms that her request for intercession was indeed granted, leading to her mystical union: Best of those who intercede, whose intercession is always welcomed, best support of all creation, I sought you, my Prophet, for intercession with God, my Compassionate One, who was merciful to my lowly state With the realization of my hopes, the attainment of my aims, and reaching my desires to the furthest degree, By removing my cares, and clearing my clouds away, as I attained the union of union without separation, As I was drawn to Him and was refreshed by His nearness, as I drank from the pure wine of love, Face to face as required in the seat of truth in contemplation, free of any veil! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 249, vv. 224–9)

In two early poems from her collection Emanation of Grace, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya recounted her regrets as she stood before the Black Stone in the Ka‘ba during her pilgrimage to Mecca. In those poems, she was

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repentant and desperate as she asked the prophet Muhammad for his intercession. This he granted in her dream vision of him in Mecca. Read in light of these experiences, this section of her ode may allude to Aisha’s salvation anxiety and subsequent events, which eventually resulted in union and a happy life. Aisha confidence in her own salvation and the beatific vision to come are clearly implied by her reference above to “the seat of truth.” This phrase is used in the Qur’an to describe the exalted state of those residents of Paradise who are near God: “As for the righteous, they are in gardens with streams, in a seat of truth before a mighty King!” (Qur’an 54:54–5). Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya concludes her poem with more blessings and prayers, first upon the prophet Muhammad and then the other prophets. Next, in a series of verses, she asks God to bless other major figures of early Muslim history, including the Apostle’s grandsons, al-Hasan, and al-Husayn, from whom descended Aisha’s husband, son, and daughter. Then, in the final verse, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya returns full circle to her beginning in pre-eternity: May the first pledge of fidelity be recited among the noble ones: “I drank the heady wine of love before my birth!” (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 251, v. 252)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s long ode on the mystical stations highlights the poetic influence upon her of Ibn al-Farid’s Sufi verse. Yet her poem is not a slavish imitation, as she deftly integrates various poetic and thematic elements into her own account of a spiritual journey. This poem admirably illustrates Aisha’s poetic creativity and knowledge of Sufism and, perhaps, her avoidance of some of its more controversial ideas and themes. Nevertheless, the poetic language of her ode may be ambiguous at times, particularly regarding her mystical beliefs and practices. So to be clear on these spiritual matters, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya left us her guidebook to Sufism.

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4 TRE E OF M Y S T I C A L L I F E

We saw him looking longingly for instruction in the way of realization and for guidance to the right path. So we sought God’s guidance, may He be glorified, for explaining things to him in the language of speech that he might, if the exalted God so wills, attain the language of the mystical state. Then we answered his request and fulfilled his hopes solely for the grace of God and His satisfaction, for all aid and right guidance are from Him.  Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya (al-Muntakhab, 3)

PRINCIPLES OF SUFISM Assuming the role of the spiritual master, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya prepared a manual on Sufism to lead this student and others to a deeper spiritual life in love. She named this work, Selections on the Fundamental Stations in the Science of Sufism (al-Muntakhab fi Usul al-Rutab fi ‘Ilm al-Tasawwuf), which may be abridged to the Principles of Sufism. The term “selections” underscores that Aisha consciously composed her guidebook around extensive quotations from a number of sources. These works include the Qur’an, hadith collections, and earlier classical writings on Sufism, particularly those by Muhammad al-Kalabadhi (d. 995), Muhammad al-Sulami (d. 1021), and especially Abu al-Qasim al-Qushayri (d. 1072) and ‘Umar al-Suhrawardi (d. 1234). She carefully quotes her material, while offering her own insights throughout the work. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya does not date Selections. However, at the conclusion of the work, she asks God to bless her, her children,

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and her husband, so the work was probably written before Ahmad Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf passed away in 1503. Using a traditional Muslim metaphor for knowledge, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya likens Sufism to a tree of many branches, and nourished by four vital roots or principles: repentance (tawba), sincerity (ikhlas), recollection (dhikr), and love (mahabba). Aisha devotes a separate chapter to each principle, all organized in a similar way. First, she quotes Qur’anic verses related to her topic, along with pertinent commentary to highlight mystical allusions and meanings. This is followed by her quotation and any commentary of traditions from the prophet Muhammad pertaining to the subject. Next, Aisha quotes sayings from the early Muslim forefathers and the teachings of later Sufi masters. She concludes each section by summing up the material, adding her own observations and inspired verse regarding the principle under discussion. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya regards all four principles as necessary for a healthy mystical life, which may blossom into mystical union.

REPENTANCE Following a long-held Sufi precedent, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya begins her guidebook with a chapter on tawba, or repentance. She points out that this term suggests a conscious act of turning and returning. This is a key concept of the Qur’an, and Aisha quotes a number of verses: “Turn to God, together, O believers, that you might be successful.”  (Qur’an 24:31) “Seek forgiveness from your Lord, then turn to Him in repentance.”  (Qur’an 11:90) “O you who believe, turn to God with sincere repentance!” (Qur’an 66:8) “Truly God loves those who turn in repentance, and He loves those who purify themselves.”  (Qur’an 2:222) (al-Muntakhab, 7)

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Stressing the idea of a return, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya notes that outwardly, repentance is to turn away from blameworthy thoughts, words and deeds, in order to return to appropriate and praiseworthy ones. In line with standard Sufi practice, Aisha cautions that the penitent must be remorseful for past sins and be resolute not to sin again, or one’s repentance will be insincere and invalid. As to inward repentance, which is at the heart of Sufism, this is the spiritual seeker’s turning away from materialism and selfishness in order to return to a spiritual life with God. Once achieved, the Sufi may eventually return to life in the world to help others, as Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya hopes to do by composing her guidebook. Aisha next selects a large number of traditions from the prophet Muhammad. Many of them underscore God’s nearly infinite mercy for those who turn from their selfish ways and sincerely repent: The Apostle of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “Were you to commit wrongs such that your sins rose up to the sky, and then you turned in repentance, God would turn to you with forgiveness!” The Apostle of God, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “The one who turns from sin is like one who never sinned.” (al-Muntakhab, 7–9)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya offers several famous accounts of repentance by pious forefathers as insightful examples. These include the case of Shaqiq al-Balkhi (d. 810), who repented of his arrogant, self-righteous pride, and learned to trust completely in God: Shaqiq al-Balkhi was the scion of a wealthy family, who as a young man, traded in the land of the Turks. There, he entered a temple full of idols, and when he saw their caretaker, Shaqiq said to him: “Truly, you have a God, a creator, living, omniscient, and omnipotent. Believe in Him and not these idols, which can do no harm or good.” “If it is as you say,” replied the caretaker, “then He should be able to provide for you in your own country so that you would not need to trouble yourself to come here for trade.” Shaqiq understood and, after repenting, took to the path of renunciation. (al-Muntakhab, 31)

Sufis have noted repeatedly that repentance and abstaining from sin are never easy. Rabi‘a al-‘Adawiyya was reported to have said: “Our seeking forgiveness requires asking for it time and time again!”

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(al-Muntakhab, 11). Yet, repentance may have its pitfalls, too. An adept may become obsessed with purity and sin, leading to shame and despair. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya relates several stories of individuals who suffered from these ill effects: Fudayl ibn ‘Iyad [d. 803] said: “While standing on the Plain of ‘Arafat during the Hajj, I saw a quiet young man marked by meekness and humility. As the people around us were praying to God to fulfill their needs, I said: ‘Young man, hold your hands before your heart and pray for your needs,’ and he replied: ‘Master, melancholy has come upon me, and now I have no time.’ ‘If this is so, it is too late,’ I replied…and when he tried to raise his hands, he screamed and fell dead.” (al-Muntakhab, 29)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya may have included such stories as cautionary tales regarding some of the possible subtle psychological side effects of repentance. Perhaps for this reason, Aisha repeatedly reminds her readers that God is always merciful and forgiving. Therefore, while spiritual seekers should be mindful of their thoughts, words and deeds, they must not lose sight of their goal of mystical union. Aisha notes that such lapses can happen to anyone, including the great Sufis of the past: Al-Junayd [d. 910] said: I met al-Sari [d. 865] one day, and I saw that he was upset. “What’s wrong?” I asked, and he replied: “A young man came to me and asked about repentance. So, I said to him: ‘It is that you do not forget your sins.’ But he disagreed with me and said: ‘It is that you do forget your sins!’ ” Al-Junayd replied to al-Sari: “As I see it, the young man spoke the truth… If I am in the mystical state of estrangement, and God moves me to the state of purity, then memory of estrangement in the state of purity would be estrangement.” (al-Muntakhab, 15)

The point of this story is that as one cultivates a selfless spiritual life, one must let go of any form of self-centered consciousness, especially if one wants to recollect only God. This may lead spiritual seekers to realize that, though they are divine creations, they are nevertheless ephemeral human beings who must pass away and return to the everlasting God. From this more metaphysical perspective, Aisha

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quotes another Sufi master, who said: “Repentance is the effacement of human nature and the confirmation of divinity, such that you return to the root of non-existence, while the True Reality abides as ever” (al-Muntakhab, 19). Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya sums up her selections in this chapter by again stressing that sincere repentance is the necessary first step on the Sufi path. Equally important, she reminds all seekers that while repentance may be difficult, God is always there to help: When God turns to a servant with forgiveness, He causes the recording angels to forget what they recorded of the servant’s bad deeds; He exchanges his bad deeds for good, and registers him among His beloved ones… God’s love is especially for the penitents. As God has said: “Truly God loves those who turn in repentance!” [Qur’an 2:222]… If you do not turn to God in repentance, you will have no success. You must therefore validate your repentance with hard work. Repentance is the foundation for the pillars of happiness. The servant will enter the Sufis’ mystical stages only through the door of repentance, and he will attain his goal only by holding fast to repentance. Your forefather Adam, peace be upon him, with all of his prestige, still fell from the abode of felicity into the abode of misery. Then what of your condition? God has inspired these verses of mine on this subject: Though my grave faults sicken my condition, my faith in Your grandeur is strong indeed. Though the wide world closes in on me for my sin, good thoughts of You are boundless indeed. (al-Muntakhab, 31–33)

SINCERITY The fundamental act of repentance and returning must be followed by a concerted effort to lead a sincere religious life free of selfishness and hypocrisy. Good actions can only follow from good intentions and, so, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya begins her discussion of sincerity with the Qur’anic verse (39:2): “Worship God sincerely, dedicating faith to Him alone” (al-Muntakhab, 37). As a commentary, she relates a story as told by the

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prophet Muhammad regarding the importance of unselfish intentions and actions: Three men from before your time set out on a journey and sought shelter in a cave for the night. As they entered, a boulder rolled down the mountain and trapped them in the cave. They said to one another: “We will only be saved if we appeal to God based on the righteousness of some deed.” One of them said: “Dear God, my parents were very old, and I used to give them the evening drink of milk first, before my own wife, children, and slaves. Once, I was delayed, and when I came to my parents, they were asleep. I milked my animals for their evening drink, but I found my parents still sleeping. I was loathe to give the milk to my family or slaves before them, so I stayed, cup in hand, waiting for them to wake until dawn broke… Then my parents awoke, and they drank their milk. Dear God, if I did this for Your sake, remove from us this boulder before us!” Then the boulder moved slightly, but not enough for their escape. The second one said: “Dear God, my uncle had a daughter whom I loved more than any other person. I wanted her, but she refused me. Then, some years later, I visited her, and I offered her one hundred and twenty dinars if she would let me have my way with her. She agreed, but as I was about to mount her, she said: ‘You are not permitted to take my virginity unless you marry me!’ I got off and left, though I loved her more than any other person, and I left the gold. Dear God, if I did that for Your sake, remove from us this boulder before us!” Then the boulder moved, but not enough for their escape. The third one said: “Dear God, I hired a group of workers and gave them their wages, except for one man who had left without collecting them. I invested his wages, and the wealth grew considerably. After a time, he came to me and said: ‘O servant of God, give me my wages.’ I replied: ‘All that you see here, camels, cattle, sheep, slaves, is from your wages,’ and he said: ‘O servant of God, don’t mock me!’ ‘I am certainly not mocking you,’ I replied. So he took them all and herded them off, leaving nothing behind. Dear God, if I did this for Your sake, remove this boulder before us.” Then the boulder moved, and they walked out. (al-Muntakhab, 37–9)

In this hadith tradition, all three men trapped in the cave tell a story in which they ultimately did what they thought was right, but not always with selfless intentions. In the first story, the man’s extreme fidelity to

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his parents comes at the expense of his children and other dependents who are made to wait and suffer. In the second story, though the man does not commit fornication with his cousin, if he truly loved her as he claimed, then he would have married her. However, the third man does act selflessly when one of his workers leaves before collecting his wages. Rather than keep the money for himself, he invests the wages. When the worker returns years later, the man pays him in full with interest. The third man’s selfless thought and action rolled away the rock and led to freedom. In this light, Aisha quotes another tradition of the prophet Muhammad: “God does not look at your bodies or your shapes. Rather, He looks in your hearts.” (al-Muntakhab, 43) Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya informs the spiritual seeker that the opposite of sincerity is hypocrisy. The prophet Muhammad said: “One who is hypocritical toward God for the sake of something else has shunned God!” (al-Muntakhab, 45). To drive home this point, Aisha recounts a number of traditions and stories regarding the Judgment Day. In one instance, some people who thought they were righteous learn that this was not true. In fact, these hypocrites had acted in their own self-interest with little concern for others, including God. By contrast, sincerity and fidelity require that spiritual seekers forget about status, rank, fame, and what others think about them, in order to cultivate a childlike innocence. One of the great Sufis said: “An act requires four things to be safe from hypocrisy: knowledge before beginning it, proper intention at its start, patience during it, and sincerity at its conclusion” (al-Muntakhab, 51). While God promises to reward all good deeds, the seeker must look beyond any kind of compensation, which may become a barrier to nearness to God. A Sufi said: “One who possesses sincerity does not desire compensation in this world or in the next, nor good fortune from either realm,” to which the celebrated Sufi scholar al-Qushayri added: Sincere worship is to embrace the divine command with the utmost humility within one’s self, heart, and spirit. Sincerity for one’s self is to avoid rebelliousness; sincerity for the heart is to be oblivious to others’ opinions about you, and sincerity for the spirit is cleansing one’s self of seeking to be distinguished. (al-Muntakhab, 53)

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Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya notes that this is true sincerity, which inspired the following verses: Whoever sees sincerity in their acts, truly needs sincerity, that’s a fact. So beware lest one day you’ll wonder why you began or did some suspect act. (al-Muntakhab, 53–5)

Aisha then sums up her chapter on sincerity: Know, may God show you mercy, that sincerity is a light dispelling the dark afflictions of concupiscence and Satan. Action is a well-spring, and hypocrisy is a pollutant, whereas sincerity is the secret from the mysteries of God that purifies this pollutant. By God, whoever piles up hypocrisy will have no share of the fragrance of the rose of acceptance! Sincerity is red sulfur. If an ounce of it were thrown on a ton of copper deeds, it would turn them into pure gold fit for a king… There is no ascent to the high place of acceptance except on two wings: one is truthfulness, the other, sincerity. Hypocrisy is a pair of shears; if the wings are shorn by them, there will never be an ascent. Sincerity is water that causes the tiny seed of a good deed to grow, whereas hypocrisy is a cyclone of fire which, when it alights upon a field of deeds, consumes it! So choose for yourself what is sweetest. (al-Muntakhab, 57)

RECOLLECTION To cultivate sincerity and ascend to a selfless love requires spiritual purification and transformation through recollection of God. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya begins her discussion of this third principle by quoting God’s promise in the Qur’an (2:152): “So remember Me, and I will remember you!” This is immediately followed by selections from al-Qushayri’s commentary on this verse. He notes that for those who understand the Qur’an literally, this verse means: “Remember Me at the appropriate times, and I will remember you with acts of grace.” For the mystics, by contrast, the divine message is: “Remember Me by leaving behind all thought of reward or punishment, and I will remember you by establishing you in My truth after your passing away from yourselves” (al-Muntakhab, 63).

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Aisha elaborates on recollection’s reciprocal relationship between God and His faithful worshippers in a series of mystical interpretations: Remember Me with sincerity, and I will remember you among the spiritual elect. Remember Me in your striving, and I will remember You in contemplation… Remember Me in your passing away, and I will remember you in your abiding… Remember Me in your hearts, and I will remember you in nearness to Me… Remember Me in your spirits, and I will remember you in moments of enlightenment. Remember Me in your inner hearts, and I will remember you in illuminations! (al-Muntakhab, 65)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya follows the classical Sufi tradition in regarding recollection as both a process and a mystical state. As a process, recollection of God helps the seeker to eliminate selfishness and hypocrisy in order to strengthen sincerity and to remain vigilant against Satan. Though it is impossible to remember God constantly with one’s lips, the spiritual seeker must strive to recollect God constantly within the heart. Similar to repentance, recollection may differ in its effects depending on one’s spiritual level. In this context, Aisha quotes another verse from the Qur’an (13:28): “Truly, with remembrance of God, hearts find peace!” She follows this with her paraphrase of a mystical Qur’anic commentary by al-Sulami: There are four [types] of hearts. The hearts of the common people are at peace in remembrance of God by glorifying Him, praising Him, and lauding Him in consideration of grace and well-being. The hearts of the religious scholars are at peace with the divine attributes, names, and qualities. So they consider what appears to them from those things all the time. The hearts of the spiritual elite are at peace in recollection of God with their sincerity, their total dependence on Him, their thanks, and patience, and so they rest in Him. As for the unitarians, this is a bane, for their hearts are not at peace in any mystical state! (al-Muntakhab, 67)

The unitarians of this passage appear to be those advanced mystics for whom even this state of a tranquil heart is a veil between them and the oneness of God. As a result, the ultimate goal of their recollection is a paradoxical state of forgetting everything while abiding in union with God. Aisha quotes another Sufi master who said:

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“No deed is more efficacious in saving one from God’s punishment than the recollection of God.” When he was asked: “Not even jihad in the way of God?” he replied: “Not even jihad. For God has said [Qur’an 29:45]: “Indeed, recollection of God is greater!” (al-Muntakhab, 77)

Citing a number of ascetics and Sufis, Aisha notes that recollection can render spiritual seekers more thoughtful and less heedless. This will lead them to a state of profound silence in nearness to God, as described by a respected master: When God the exalted wants to befriend a worshipper, He opens the door of recollection for him, and if the worshipper finds recollection pleasant, God then opens the door of nearness for him. Then He raises him up to the intimate gatherings and seats him on the throne of oneness. There, God raises the veils from him and brings him into the incomparable abode, and reveals to him His glory and splendor. When the worshipper beholds the glory and splendor, he abides without individual being, for he will be annihilated from himself, abiding with his Lord. (al-Muntakhab, 83)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya next quotes a tradition from the prophet Muhammad stating that the surest means to realize this unitive mystical state is to recollect the phrase: “There is no deity but God.” To be effective, however, this phrase must be said with utter sincerity and free of selfish desires and any thought other than God: Recollection, then, is the means to attain what is hoped for. When God the Exalted wants to befriend one of His worshippers, He helps him to remember Him constantly until he is submerged in Him… That is true recollection, leading to the goal after you have experienced poverty, tasted humility, embraced submission, and achieved constant tranquility; you must scatter tears, be sincere in repentance, and true in sincerity. In everything, you must turn to God and abstain from all else, ridding yourself of any claims, continuously turning toward the One recalled, may He be glorified, turning to Him, facing Him, and seeking His help for the true recollection of Him. Then your recollection will be by Him and to Him, such that you will disappear from the recollection in the One recalled, then from the One recalled, in the disappearance of obliteration and annihilation. This will lead you to abide in the presence of the One you remembered, in an everlasting life in Eden with Him and

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with the comfort of His nearness, in a life of felicity with whatever you desire of vision, union, and benevolence. (al-Muntakhab, 93)

The practice of recollection brings about this mystical transformation. The seeker who recollects God is lost in God’s recollection of him. This annihilates the seeker’s selfishness, and so he abides in the divine presence. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya sums up this process in several of her inspired verses: I recalled You with a recollection that began from You, so I disappeared from memory, immersed in You. For nothing remained of me to speak save You to speak for me from within and without! (al-Muntakhab, 91–3)

Near the end of this chapter, Aisha underscores the intimate connection between love and recollection: Know, may God show you mercy, that recollection is one of the signs of love. The greatest beloved, the prophet Muhammad, God’s blessings and peace be upon him, said: “The one who loves something, remembers it often.” So what a privilege and honor for the one who remembers, that he is remembered by the True Reality, who has made a promise that He will never break [Qur’an 2:152]: “Remember Me, and I will remember you!” (al-Muntakhab, 91)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya concludes this chapter with a poem inspired by God: The heart is a meadow revived by the water of recollection, and the heart is drunk there when He quenches it. The trees of inspiration blossom from the emanation of grace with a bloom yielding fruit when He reveals Himself. So recollect Him without wants or desires; be sincere and humbly hold to recollection’s rules, And persist in recollection til you disappear from yourself in God, leading you, in the end, to obliteration in Him. In that loss, immortality will come to you with Him in whom you passed away, so live with Him, by Him, in Him

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In a pleasant life, forever, in the gardens of fulfillment, quenched by a cup whose bearer is the heart’s love. This is the life for you, in His hands, with all that is desired! (al-Muntakhab, 95)

LOVE Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya begins her discussion on the fourth principle by quoting Qur’an 3:31, where God commanded the prophet Muhammad to declare: “Say: If you love God, then follow me, and God will love you!” (al-Muntakhab, 97). This love is the final root nourishing the tree of mystical life, where spiritual seekers are effaced completely in the divine Beloved. Aisha reinforces this point in her selection of prophetic traditions by quoting the famous divine saying on love, known as “The Tradition of Willing Devotions,” a standard Sufi text in support of mystical union: God said: “My worshipper draws near to Me by nothing I love more than the religious obligations that I have imposed upon him. Then, he continues to draw near to Me by acts of willing devotion such that I love him, and when I love him, I become his hearing, his sight, his tongue, his heart, his mind, his hand and support!”  (al-Muntakhab, 103)

Aisha next offers a number of sayings and opinions about love in its many permutations. Love must be all-encompassing so that the lover belongs to his beloved in every way. Moreover, the lover with the best intentions will have the purest love. Some scholars have noted that when the lover is separated from his beloved, he may go mad. When reunited with the beloved, the lover may be so overwhelmed that he stammers like a drunk. Love, then, is like intoxication without ever sobering up, an utter astonishment without any conscious perception. Love may also appear as an affliction without any known cure. Once again, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya turns to the mystical commentary on the Qur’an by al-Qushayri:

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The worshipper’s love of God is a subtle state that he finds within himself. That state moves him to accept His command for him gladly, without aversion, for that state demands from him preference for Him, may He be praised, over everything and everyone else. Love stipulates that there never be in it any thought of one’s own lot, for whoever has not ceased thinking of his own good fortune will not have even a sliver of love. God’s love for His worshipper is His desire to be charitable and kind to him; it is His desire to bestow a special grace. (al-Muntakhab, 105)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya also quotes a concise definition from another Sufi master comparing common love to spiritual love: The love of the common folk is a love that sprouts from the appearance of divine grace, takes root by following prophetic practice, and that grows in response to divine providence. It is a love that cuts off the Tempter, that makes service sweet, and that gives solace for misfortunes. On the path of the common folk, love is the support of faith. As for the love of the spiritual elite, it is a ravenous love that stifles expression, that suppresses allusion, and that is impossible to describe, for it is known only through bewilderment and silence. (al-Muntakhab, 111)

Drawing from a number of Sufi works, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya then catalogs some of the innumerable “signs of love,” such as leaving everything behind for intimacy with God and His acceptance. Another sign of love is the lover’s preference for God above all else and total obedience to Him. When the lover’s heart is free of everything but God, the lover will think nothing of this world or of the world to come. A sure sign of love is intense longing, and to love only what the beloved loves. Love is the annihilation of everything in the beloved, as one Sufi said: “The lowest stage of love is that, were one’s beloved to throw him into Hellfire, his commitment to love would never waver!” (al-Muntakhab, 115)

AMAZING STORIES Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya believed such inspiring statements based on the Qur’an and the prophetic tradition were sure proof of the eminence of

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the Muslim community in love of God. Since the prophet Muhammad and his Light are the most perfect in creation, it follows that his religious community is the most eminent. The great Muslim lovers are worthy to bear God’s love, something earlier religious communities could not do, though they tried. For God’s beloved and chosen prophet, Muhammad, was sent to strengthen the believers of his community and to bring them the success that comes from God alone. As further proof, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya recounts numerous “amazing stories” of love and Muslim lovers. Significantly, several of them feature women overwhelmed by love, who offer instruction to male Sufi masters. The following story is told by Sumnun (d. c.912), famous in Sufi lore as a great lover of God: I used to hear about a virtuous woman who lived in the desert. I sought her out several times, but could not find her. Later when I was on the Hajj pilgrimage alone, I met a disheveled, drunken, and confused woman, and I said to her: “What has happened to you?” “Ardent love!” she replied. “For whom?” I asked. “For One who has no direction to which I can point, nor any quality about which I can report,” she replied. So I said: “Where will this lead?” and she replied: “To astonishment and bewilderment! Time after time I sought out the Ka‘ba until I heard within my inner heart that the Ka‘ba’s knowledge of Him is like the whale’s knowledge of Him under the seas, that the stars’ knowledge of Him is like the earth’s knowledge of Him. Then I reflected on the secret of my ardent love for Him around His Throne, and it called out to me saying: ‘I seek that which you seek, and I am bewildered by what bewilders you!’ ” Sumnun said: “Hearing her words intoxicated me! When I came to, I could not find her.” (al-Muntakhab, 127)

The celebrated ascetic and mystic Dhu l-Nun of Egypt (d. 861) tells a similar tale: I overheard the mystical recollection of a young woman who had arrived at union. I found her with an emaciated body in a ruined cloister; she wept often and was in a bewildered state. I stood there considering her situation, when I heard something of her conversations with God, as follows: “My Lord, by the truth of Your intimate friends, have mercy on me! For if You do not have mercy on me, then who will, O beloved of the hearts?” Then she let out an intense sigh and fainted. When she recovered, I drew near and said: “Peace upon you, young woman,” and

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she replied: “And upon you peace, Dhu l-Nun.” “How do you know my name?” I asked, and she replied: “Haven’t you heard the statement: Hearts are gathered in groups true to themselves as the spirit of God decides. Those who know each other are in harmony, while those who don’t, go their separate ways. “Dhu l-Nun, our spirits roamed together in the World of Power [in pre-eternity], so we were made known to one another by the Living One who will never die.” Then I said: “Can’t you find a place in which to live in this world other than a Christian cloister?” and she answered: “Dhu l-Nun, mind your manners and think! Do you find anyone other than God in the universe?” “You are right,” I replied, “But aren’t you lonely?” and she said: “Dhu l-Nun, is there an intimate friend other than God? How can a heart filled with the love of God fear any but God? This heart filled with the lights of God the exalted, is like a lamp, with love as the chain holding it aloft, desire its wick, and oneness its light. Providence is its water on which floats its oil, which is mystical wisdom, whereas faith is the encompassing glass, and rapture its clarity. This is a heart that is close to God and intimate with God, whose love is for God, and whose ultimate return is to God. If selfish imaginings burn within it and extinguish its holy lights, then the breeze of providence moves upon it from the place of care and protection. Providence sways the chain, draws out the wick, and reignites the fire, causing the light to reappear, while replenishing the water, purifying the oil, and polishing the glass, thereby filling the heart with light upon light; ‘He to whom God does not give His light, has no light’ ” [Qur’an 24:40]. Then she added: “Dhu l-Nun, by Him who filled my heart with love of Him, who bestowed His pure providence upon me, and who dressed me in the vestments of His munificence, I give no mind to anything save God the exalted!” (al-Muntakhab, 137–41)

WONDROUS SECRET With these stories of great selfless love, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya brings her chapter on love to a close. Then she adds an “Epilogue on Love” drawn from her own experience and mystical truths inspired by God:

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Know, may God show you mercy, that love is God’s most wondrous secret. It is the result of being chosen, the effect of designation, the means to proximity, and the ascension to union. Love is pure grace, pure generosity, and true munificence. It is the secret of the inner heart and the subtlety of the divine command. Love is an ocean without a shore, a jewel without a price, and a light without darkness. Love is a secret whose essence cannot be fathomed and a subtle meaning whose description cannot be grasped: “That is the grace of God, which He gives to whom He wills, and God possesses wondrous grace!” [Qur’an 57:21] The quality of love is a fire that does not go out, a blaze that never dies. It is never-ending tears, an untreatable illness, an incurable disease. It is constant wasting away and incessant grief, a desire without solace, a never-ending passion, a persistent longing. As a result, restlessness builds up, breathing grows faster, confusion multiplies, and burning love increases. The end result of love is total absorption, effacing the lover as his shadowy existence passes away with promised grace. Divine providence sends him forth to those worthy of saintly sovereignty, with the realities of the attractions of oneness and the subtleties of eternity’s breaths. No trace or word remains of anything else, indicating that the shadow of existence has disappeared in the rising sun of witness to oneness. Then the tongue of glory recites in the presence of perfection: “Such is God, your true Lord, and after the True Reality, there is only being lost!” [Qur’an 10:32]. The following was composed by the very tongue of this mystical state: The worshipper vanished in true love, gone from himself and all the worlds. So there wasn’t a jot of difference to mark one off from another. Then with an epiphany, He revived one He had effaced in Him, as difference disappeared, And so with this promised gift, He pleased the eyes and heart. (al-Muntakhab, 143–5)

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya asserts that defining love is impossible. Despite the many sayings and stories on love, all allusions miss the mark, as words and thoughts fail to capture it. Like the mystical experience

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of which it is a part, love is beyond reason and understanding, and so must be tasted to be known. Spiritual seekers should know that love will seize the heart and carry it away, plunging the lover’s existence into that of the beloved. In fact, true love demands total sacrifice and the lover’s ultimate annihilation. Yet in this end the lover will be blessed with a new beginning and unimaginable divine favor. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya turns once again to mystical metaphors of wine: One intoxicated by the drink of love can never recover. Its delight never turns to sorrow, for drinking it is felicity, and its exhilaration lasts for eternity. Its bliss is permanent, its joy abiding. Its clarity is widely described, and its bouquet is widely recognized; its mixed form is friendship; its unmixed form is true vision. We have alluded to this in verse, as follows. An exalted drink beyond description of an eloquent report or symbolic speech. He sends it round in the presence of realization in two cups: glory’s power and beauty’s benevolence, To the masters who disappeared in the Cup-bearer to live again with Him in a life without end. So they are always with Him there in the garden of proximity where they have what they desire of union’s bliss. (al-Muntakhab 147–9)

OCEAN WITHOUT A SHORE Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya now draws her guidebook to a close: The lover’s heart is the place of vision. If God makes a heart worthy to receive the gift of realization, He removes from it the filth of otherness, sweeping away from it the desolation of difference. Then He fills the heart with the light of love and reveals to it the true essence. He is his ear and his eye, so by Him, he hears and sees; he hears His address, and he beholds His beauty. Love is God’s grace. The worshipper cannot attain it by means of great effort, nor by a clever stratagem that he took great pains to devise, nor by means of a good deed that he has perfected, nor by weighty knowledge

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that he has mastered, nor due to some power on which he relies, nor any exalted lineage that he may have. How could this be? Love is, after all, pure grace, pure generosity. God chooses whichever worshipper He pleases for it. This love forgives sins, covers faults, exalts the humble, raises the fallen, returns one from exile, and reunites one who was cut off. Such is God’s love for his worshipper. As for the worshipper’s love for God, it is a secret that seizes him completely and draws all of him, until it rejoins him to his Lord and seats him in His presence; it causes him to pass away from his ephemeral self, and this passing leads him to abide in His essence… In this light is our poem inspired by God as follows. God looked with favor on a folk, so they stayed away from worldly fortunes. In love and devotion, they worshipped Him; they surrendered themselves with the best intention. They gave themselves up in love with Him and passed away from existence; nothing left behind! Then with kindness and compassion, He turned to them and revealed to them His essence, And they lived again, gazing at the living face as His eternal life appeared. They grazed near Him in the garden of union, and drank from contemplation’s cups Filled as promised with a pure wine from the vision of true oneness. Oh how they drank it, cups of pure wine bringing good cheer. It gave them never-ending happiness in a tranquil life of pleasant union Where fears and doubts fled away as protection arrived against the veil of difference. So here’s to good health, glad tidings, and blessings for reaching the wish and the goal: A union without separation, and a vision never to be concealed! After this, by God, there is no desire, no, nor aim for a pure spirit. So they were pleased with their good fortune: union with a lover who chose them above all others, As He gave them His love

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and fulfilled His promise in the holy presence. They were chosen by Him as His vice-regents and raised in rank to help others. So under their banner stands all existence where their command is carried out at once. They are His people due to His grace upon them, while all others are but strangers. They appeared in existence bearing largesse to all the worthy ones. So among humanity, they are chosen suns, whom only the blind deny. They are the masters, and I was joined to them as we stood alone in oneness, And drank the wine, not from cups, but from jars in the tavern where the oath was sworn. We drank it until we were drunk in pre-eternity where drunkenness lasts forever. So you see us drunk on wine, though appearing sober to disguise the affair. And gracing us by passing round wine is the noble one, the most praised Muhammad, chosen from the best, The grace of God, His mercy for us, the noblest of creation, the best of humanity’s best, The best of servants, to whom He revealed the Qur’an and gave the special gift of prophecy. He is the light of our eyes, who grants our desires, the secret of secrets of those who give aid. May the Beloved’s blessings, ample peace, and cheer be abundant for him, And for his progeny, companions, and family to whom we have a sublime connection, As long as the cups come round to us and quench our thirsty hearts, As long as our Beloved reveals Himself, and we behold true oneness in this epiphany! (al-Muntakhab, 149–65)

In this poetic conclusion to her mystical guidebook, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya praises those who have been graced by God’s love and union with Him, especially the prophet Muhammad and his descendants. With

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her marriage to Ahmad Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf, a direct descendent of the prophet, and the birth of their two children, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya has been drawn even closer to the Holy family: May the Beloved’s blessings, ample peace, and cheer be abundant for His Prophet, And for his progeny, companions, and family to whom we have a sublime connection.

Also of significance in this poem, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya explicitly links herself to the great spiritual guides: They are the masters, and I was joined to them as we stood alone in oneness.

Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya does not name her deceased spiritual teachers Isma‘il al-Hawwari or Yahya al-’Urmawi in this poem. Yet elsewhere she refers to herself as being related to them in spirit, and now, she too is a Sufi master. In this role, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya clearly intended her Selections on the Fundamental Stations in the Science of Sufism to be a collection of insightful and inspirational passages to aid seekers on the mystic path. Those who follow her lead begin with repentance and a return to God, and then move on to cultivate a life of sincerity. This life is purified and deepened by recollection and moments of union, nourishing a selfless love of God. Throughout Selections, Aisha’s tone is positive and often uplifting. Perhaps due to her vision of the prophet Muhammad and her personal mystical experiences, she is confident that all will be well in the end for seekers and lovers of God. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya stresses repeatedly that divine mercy and grace are all around if only humanity would remember God’s love for them, and open their spiritual eyes and see: I see love, an ocean without a shore; if you are love’s worthy one, dive in! (al-Muntakhab, 149)

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5 GA T H ER I N G UN I O N

What happens to a person happens. So the heart must be content with God, for in Him is salvation from destruction!  Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya (Diwan, 64b)

NEW CHALLENGES Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s positive attitude shines through in some of her later poems thanking God for His blessings of grace and union: O lovers, be happy and joyful for the cup-bearer came ready to serve. His cup was clear and bright in his tavern as he plied the tavern-mates with wine, And they lived the blissful life with a drink that quenched them and cured all ills. They spent their souls for it and disappeared with nothing left and so found peace, And the gardens of my love were opened, and there we drank a pleasant wine. After God, there is nothing left to desire, for the promise was kept and the veil torn away! (Fayd, ed. ‘Arar, 445)

Some of these poems have a musical quality with refrains praising God, the prophet Muhammad, and Aisha’s Sufi masters. This verse may have been recited at public gatherings and ceremonies, and Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya began to gain a reputation in Damascus as a fine poet and

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scholar. Still, despite her optimism and growing professional acclaim, Aisha’s life was not always easy. Famines, droughts, and various epidemics regularly occurred in Syria and Egypt in the sixteenth century, and Aisha’s daughter Baraka appears to have died as a child. In later poems from Emanation of Grace and likewise at the end of Precious Pearls, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya asks God to protect her son, but says nothing about her daughter. Important political changes were occurring at this time, as well. The revered Mamluk sultan Qaytbay died in 1496, and for the next five years various senior emirs jockeyed for power, including several rebellious viceroys of Damascus. Much to the relief of the populace who had grown tired of coups, assassinations and instability, a sixty-year old emir, Qansuh al-Ghawri, was enthroned as sultan by the end of 1501. Al-Ghawri was shrewd and calculating, and reigned as sultan for many years. Yet whereas Qaytbay was esteemed for his accomplishments, al-Ghawri was reviled for his greed and stinginess, as noted by his contemporary, the Egyptian historian Muhammad Ibn Iyas (1448–c.1524): Al-Ghawri’s sultanate…lasted fifteen years, nine months, twenty-five days, each of which weighed down on the people like a thousand years. He was a prince who inspired respect, of somber bearing, imposing of processions, pleasing to look upon. Had it not been for his injustices, the frequency of his confiscations against the masses, his insatiable love of riches, he would have been…one of the better rulers over Egypt… His word was undisputed, his authority uncontested. Officers, governors, and soldiers he held in his grip; none dared oppose him – until his ill-fated encounter with Selim Shah. Then he suffered an unparalleled catastrophe, without precedent in the history of Egypt’s kings. Al-Ghawri possessed both good and bad qualities, but the defects outweighed his positive traits… He profoundly revered pious and spiritual figures… He understood poetry and appreciated fine music. He actually wrote verses in Turkish. He was acquainted with works of history, biography, and poetry… He rarely displayed insolence, arrogance, or grossness – in contrast to the typical behavior of kings. Yet his faults were legion. The sultan put his hands on money deriving from family estates and seized the patrimony of orphans unjustly… The sultan appointed prefects and shaykhs over the local provinces, charging

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them large sums for their offices. In turn, these officials assessed the fief- and trust-holders double. The army consequently declined, and the decay of the countryside worsened. The sultan installed governors of the Syrian provinces in like fashion, demanding large sums every year at a set level. These governors proceeded to extract their dues from the populace in cruel and oppressive ways. The sultan imposed a tax on grain sales – affecting both buyers and sellers… Indeed, he renewed taxes in a fashion unparalleled by his predecessors. No notable merchant ever received a favor without paying for it. The sultan even dared to confiscate the property of the Caliph, on the pretext of reclaiming the latter’s debts. The list of those who died under torture because of money is too long to recount. (Petry, Twilight, 119–21)

Earlier sultans had levied high taxes and sold religious, judicial, and administrative offices. Al-Ghawri, however, appears to have exceeded them all in his pursuit of political and financial security. Moreover, the early unstable years of his reign resulted in a breakdown of local security, with an increase in Bedouin raids and highwaymen in the countryside and along the pilgrimage routes. These factors affected Syria as well as Egypt, yet Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and her family persevered. However, in 1503, Aisha’s husband, Ahmad, died. Their son, ‘Abd al-Wahhab, was only twelve, too young to inherit any of the religious or administrative positions that his father might have held. Ahmad’s death undoubtedly caused emotional and financial distress to Aisha and her son, but they could still count on support from her one surviving brother, Muhammad al-Ba‘uni. Yet, in this same year, the sultan al-Ghawri dismissed Muhammad as overseer of a college in Damascus, so as to appropriate this salary for himself. Tragedy struck again the next year in 1504, when Aisha’s brother Muhammad fell sick and died. Again, ‘Abd al-Wahhab was too young and lacked the educational qualifications to succeed his uncle in any of the lucrative positions that he held at the time of his death. Aisha may have then sought any needed support from her brother-in-law, Ibrahim ibn Muhammad Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf. He served as the head of the descendants of the prophet Muhammad and so managed the substantial endowments that provided the annual stipends for male descendants of the Prophet, including Aisha’s son, ‘Abd al-Wahhab.

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The next few years continued to be difficult for Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and ‘Abd al-Wahhab. Aisha’s brother-in-law Ibrahim died in 1507 during a visit to Cairo. Perhaps it was around this time that Aisha made several additional comments regarding her family at the end of her manuscript of The Most Wholesome Source. There, she noted that her son was no longer receiving his stipend as a descendent of the Prophet. This may have been due to several factors. Such endowments were often tied to agricultural lands, so bad weather and crop failure could reduce their revenues. A more probable cause was embezzlement by the new administrators of the endowments, perhaps with the sultan al-Ghawri’s blessing. Five years later in 1512–13, food prices in Damascus soared to the point that on some days the bakers could not afford to make bread. Then an epidemic descended on the city, claiming the lives of many people, especially women and children. As the epidemic raged, the viceroy of Damascus called for a three-day fast of atonement and for the visitation of the holy shrines in the area. This was followed by a day of prayer, when all shops were closed save the bakeries and public kitchens. The viceroy gathered together religious officials and civic leaders for a procession to the outskirts of town, where they all recited and repeated in unison: “There is no deity but God; God is most great!” This was followed by a prayer vigil, calling out to God for aid. Over the next few days, Sufi leaders held recollection sessions and Qur’an readings in the hope that God would relieve their distress.

TO EGYPT Such circumstances must have increased Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s anxieties regarding her son’s future; now twenty years old, his professional prospects may have been slim to none in Damascus. Generally, in such a situation, a father or uncle would have gone to the Mamluk capital of Cairo in the hopes of finding a position for his son or nephew somewhere in the empire. Yet Aisha’s husband, brothers, and notable in-laws had been dead for a number of years, and the influence of both the Ba‘uni family and that of the Nuqaba’ al-Ashraf had clearly declined.

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Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya therefore took it upon herself to travel to Cairo with ‘Abd al-Wahhab in order to find him a place in the Mamluk administration. Aisha probably aimed to enlist the aid of a very influential family friend, Mahmud ibn Muhammad ibn Aja (1450–1519). He was the confidential secretary and head of the chancellery for the sultan al-Ghawri. Significantly, Ibn Aja had close relations with members of the Nuqaba’ al-Ashraf family. When Aisha’s brother-in-law Ibrahim lay dying in Cairo in 1507, he appointed Ibn Aja as the guardian of his children. In addition, Ibn Aja was originally from Aleppo, and he may have known Aisha’s brother, Muhammad, who had once been a judge there. In 1513, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and ‘Abd al-Wahhab left for Cairo. They set out from Damascus, perhaps travelling due south for several days on the main post road to al-Karak, then turning west just south of the Dead Sea. At this point, they might have stopped at several holy places, including Jerusalem. There, they probably visited the Dome of the Rock, where the prophet Muhammad was believed to have ascended to heaven accompanied by the Archangel Gabriel. They may have also traveled to nearby Bethlehem, where pilgrims paid a visit to the birthplace of Jesus, and then rode on to Hebron, where they could visit a cave containing what many believed were the graves of the prophets Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. From there, Aisha and her son proceeded southwest to Gaza, and then traveled for several more days through the northern Sinai desert along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. En route, they stopped at a number of post stations for lodging, food, water, and other necessities. Finally, the desert portion of their trek ended at Bilbeis, on the edge of the lush, green Egyptian delta. This was the last staging point where they spent the night before travelling the final thirty-three miles southwest to Cairo. However, near Bilbeis, their caravan was suddenly attacked by bandits. Though they were not physically harmed, Aisha and her son were robbed of all of their possessions, and Aisha later remarked that losing her writings was especially hard. The next day, they arrived destitute in Cairo. Fortunately, Aisha and her son were taken in immediately by Ibn Aja. He treated them with kindness and generosity, and soon employed ‘Abd al-Wahhab as

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a secretary in the chancellery. Ibn Aja also gave Aisha her own rooms in the women’s quarters of his lavish home near the Aq Sunqur Bridge, which crossed Cairo’s Grand Canal between Elephant Lake to the southeast and al-Nasir Lake to the west near the Nile.

CAIRO Ibn Aja’s residence in Cairo, where Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya stayed, was in a popular elite residential section of the ever-expanding city. Egypt was the gift of the Nile, as the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (fifth century bce) once observed. The area around medieval Cairo had been inhabited since prehistoric times to take advantage of this gift and its fertile surroundings watered by the annual flood. Furthermore, this was a strategic location where the Nile divided into two branches on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. On the western bank of the Nile, about twenty miles southwest from the center of today’s Cairo, stood the ancient city of Memphis. Founded around 3500 bce, Memphis became the capital and royal residence of the pharaohs of ancient Egypt during the Old Kingdom (c.2686– c.2134 bce). Memphis lost much of its political importance during the Middle Kingdom (c.2055 – c.1650 bce) and New Kingdom (c.1550 – c.1077 bce), though it remained the second largest city of the empire after the capital of Thebes in Upper Egypt. Memphis continued to serve as a strategic military base and an important religious center due to its location near the Giza plateau on the edge of Egypt’s western desert, where the great pyramids arose, surrounded by many cemeteries. Even after invasions by the Assyrians in the seventh century bce and the Persians in sixth century bce, Memphis continued to flourish. Alexander the Great was crowned pharaoh in Memphis in 332 bce. After his death in 323 bce, his body was embalmed in Memphis before being moved to Alexandria for burial by his successor, the Greek general Ptolemy (d. 283 bce). Across the Nile, approximately twenty-five miles northeast of Memphis, was another ancient city, Heliopolis. As its name suggests, Heliopolis was home to the cult of the Egyptian sun god. In the sixth

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century bce, the Canal of the Pharaohs was begun in order to connect the Nile to the Red Sea, and the canal’s western start on the Nile was near Heliopolis. Heliopolis thus served as the collecting point for tolls levied on boats ascending or descending the Nile, carrying fruits, grains, and other goods. During the Hellenistic period, Heliopolis was noted for its schools of science and philosophy. However, both Heliopolis and Memphis were later eclipsed by the Mediterranean port city of Alexandria, the capital for the Ptolemies during their three centuries of rule (323–30 bce). Cleopatra (69–30 bce) was the last effective ruler of the Greek Ptolemaic dynasty. She had liaisons and children with Julius Caesar (100–44 bce) and later Mark Antony (83–30 bce), in an attempt to maintain Egypt’s independence. Nevertheless, after her death, Egypt was incorporated into the Roman Empire by Augustus (63 bce–14 ce). Under Roman rule, Alexandria remained the capital and largest city of their Egyptian province. For over three hundred years, Egypt served Rome as a major source of grain and tax revenues. Roman emperors recognized the strategic importance of the Nile region between Memphis and Heliopolis for both military and commercial purposes. Trajan (53–117 ce) had the canal dredged, and ordered a new fortress to be erected nearby on the eastern bank of the Nile. Known as the Babylon Fortress, Babylon of Egypt, or simply Babylon, this became the starting point of what would grow into the city of Cairo. According to Christian tradition, Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus spent time in this area during their flight into Egypt to escape the persecutions of King Herod. Later, following the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 ce, Babylon of Egypt and Alexandria gradually became centers of Jewish life and culture. Around this same time, Mark the Evangelist (d. 68 ce) was said to have brought Christianity to Egypt. Though Christians were sometimes persecuted by the Romans, eventually in the fourth century under the Byzantines, Christianity became the religion of the empire. Then Christians, in turn, persecuted the pagans in Egypt. Christian zealots defaced many ancient monuments, while pharaonic temples were reused as churches and monasteries.

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Christian asceticism flourished in the Egyptian delta and deserts, and by the fifth century most Egyptians were Christian. However, theological disputes led many Egyptian Christians to break away from their Greek and Roman brethren. After the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Egyptian Christians formed the Coptic Orthodox Church with their own bishops and pope. As a result, Coptic Christians faced persecution, especially from Byzantine Orthodox emperors, including Justinian (482–565) and Heraclius (610–41).

VICTORIOUS As had been the case in Syria, Arab Muslim armies ended the Byzantine rule in Egypt. In 641, the Byzantine garrison at the Babylon Fortress surrendered to Muslim forces led by ‘Amr ibn al-‘As (d. 664), who subsequently occupied Alexandria the next year. Yet due to logistic and strategic concerns, the first Muslim capital of Egypt would not be Alexandria, but Fustat, a site north of the Babylon Fortress where ‘Amr ibn al-‘As stationed his troops. As the first Muslim governor of Egypt, ‘Amr ibn al-‘As built a large congregational mosque at Fustat, and assigned land to Muslim soldiers and Arab immigrants who settled in the region. During the Umayyad caliphate of Mu‘awiyya ibn Abi Sufyan (661–80), the Muslim population of Egypt may have reached 40,000, though the much larger majority of Egyptians remained Christians for centuries. In the eighth and ninth centuries, the Abbasid caliphs and their governors added new settlements to the north and east of Fustat, where they built additional palaces, mosques and a hospital. Nearby, between Fustat and the Muqattam Hills on the edge of Egypt’s eastern desert, arose the Qarafa. This sprawling cemetery contained the graves and shrines of important early Muslims, including descendants of the prophet Muhammad. Much of the stone used for these building projects was scavenged from Memphis, Heliopolis, Giza, and other pharaonic sites, whose functions and importance had long been forgotten. In fact, some travelers and pilgrims believed that the pyramids at Giza were grain silos built by the Israelite Joseph to spare Egypt

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from the seven-year famine mentioned in the Book of Genesis and in the twelfth chapter of the Qur’an. Warring factions undermined the Abbasid caliphate in Baghdad during the ninth and tenth centuries, and several Turkish generals in Egypt took this opportunity to establish largely independent states of their own. However, they soon faced an imminent threat of invasion from the west as the Shi‘i Fatimids moved toward Egypt with the goal of destroying their rival Sunni Abbasid caliphate. After several failed attempts, the Fatimids finally took Egypt in 969. The Fatimid commander Jawhar (d. 992) established his camp north of Fustat, where he began to build a new imperial city, later named al-Qahira, “the Victorious,” or Cairo. There, Jawhar built palaces for the caliph and his family, as well as the Azhar congregational mosque and school to spread Shi‘i teachings. The Fatimid city of Cairo eventually expanded to incorporate earlier settlements in the area, including Fustat and Babylon. From this vibrant capital, the Fatimids ruled their caliphate, which soon included Damascus and most of Syria. Cairo and the rest of Egypt flourished under the two centuries of Fatimid rule. More Egyptians were now Muslims and spoke Arabic, not Coptic or Greek, but they were generally Sunnis, not Shi‘is like their rulers. Christians and Jews were still a significant portion of Egypt’s populace. Muslim rulers regarded them as protected people who could practise their religion in exchange for paying an annual tax. Several of the oldest Coptic churches in Egypt were built along the walls of the Babylon Fortress, and this area gradually came to be known as Old Cairo or Coptic Cairo. The Ben Ezra Synagogue stood nearby on the spot where, according to tradition, the baby Moses was found among the rushes by the Nile. In 1168, the celebrated Jewish physician and philosopher Moses ben Maimon, or Maimonides (d. 1204), settled near the Ben Ezra Synagogue and served as leader of the Egyptian Jewish community until his death. Fatimid power waned in Syria and Egypt during the twelfth century, and in 1171 Saladin ended the Shi‘i Fatimid caliphate and established Sunni rule once more. Soon thereafter, with the support of the Abbasid caliph in Baghdad, Saladin became the first sultan of the Ayyubid dynasty, which included both Syria and Egypt. During his

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reign, Saladin ordered the construction of the walled Citadel on the eastern edge of Cairo on the Muqattam ridge. This would serve as the sultan’s residence and seat of power for the Ayyubids and their Mamluk successors. The Ayyubid and Mamluk sultans and emirs also established scores of mosques, schools, libraries, chantries, hospitals, and other institutions in their capital Cairo, supported with ample endowments. The city grew to be one of the largest in the medieval world, with a population perhaps topping 250,000, as noted by the Franciscan friar Niccolò of Poggibonsi, who passed through Cairo in 1349–50, during his pilgrimage in the Holy Lands: Cairo of Babylon is a big city, and is all crowded with buildings. There are so many people, that one cannot pass anywhere through the streets if not shoulder to shoulder; and this is by reason of the great multitude of Saracens. They say that the circuit of Cairo is XXXII miles, excluding Babylon; to the east are high mountains, where they quarry much beautiful stone… Now wonder, if this city is not the greatest under the heavens!  (Niccolò of Poggibonsi, Voyage, 87–8)

POMP AND PRINCESS During the Mamluk period, Cairo continued to expand, especially north toward the suburb of Bulaq and westward toward the Nile. This included the area around Cairo’s Grand Canal, which irrigated the gardens near the Aq Sunqur Bridge where Ibn Aja had his palatial residence. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s apartment there was next to the quarters for Ibn Aja’s wife, Sitt al-Halab (d. 1526). Sitt al-Halab was the daughter of an important Mamluk emir and official of Aleppo. After her father’s death, she became the overseer of the substantial religious endowments that he had created during his lifetime. No doubt aided by Sitt al-Halab’s vast wealth, Ibn Aja became the chief Hanafi judge of Aleppo in 1485. He continued to seek royal favor in the capital of Cairo, and in 1501, the Mamluk sultan Qansuh al-Ghawri appointed him confidential secretary and head of the

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Mamluk bureaus for documents and correspondence. During his long tenure, Ibn Aja enjoyed the high esteem and friendship of al-Ghawri, and he was popular with many Mamluk emirs and the larger populace. Ibn Aja threw lavish banquets for his sultan, often at a guest house on the Nile in Bulaq, and the sultan reciprocated with expensive gifts. Sitt al-Halab, too, had elaborate meals prepared for al-Ghawri and his entourage when the sultan came to visit their Aq Sunqur residence. Al-Ghawri’s trust in Ibn Aja was evident in 1514, the year after Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and ‘Abd al-Wahhab arrived in Cairo. Ibn Aja was to accompany the sultan’s wife, the Circassian princess Jan-i Sukkar (d. 1516), and the ten-year-old crown prince Muhammad, on the Hajj pilgrimage. This was a grand affair, and the pilgrimage caravan left Cairo in an elaborate parade to the fanfare of horns and drums, with horses covered in armor and camels in brocade and silk. At least twenty camels carried the luggage of the princess and her son, which included porcelain plates and cups, crystal goblets, gold cutlery, and a copper bath tub with silver spigots, carried by a camel of its own. While the Hajj caravan made its way toward Mecca, al-Ghawri toured the Egyptian delta, inspecting fortifications in Alexandria and elsewhere. He timed his return to Cairo to coincide with the beginning of the pilgrimage rites in Mecca. His grand entry was a fabulous spectacle, which the populace of Cairo came out to see, and Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya and ‘Abd al-Wahhab were probably among them. The sultan’s escort included nearly 200 horses, some clad in chain mail and velvet pads with silver and gold embossing, while others wore yellow silk covers with jeweled clasps. Fifty horses carried trumpeters and drummers. There were many pairs of camels arrayed in silk and velvet, and two elephants carried howdahs with sacred relics. At last, al-Ghawri, dressed in a purple cloak and a horned turban, rode in on his steed, accompanied by five hundred elite Mamluks dressed in their full armor and weapons. In the week that followed, al-Ghawri’s wife and son completed their pilgrimage, and they returned home the next month. Yet news traveled ahead of them. While the Emir of Mecca had given the pair costly gifts, they had given him nothing in return. Though mother and son had traveled in royal luxury, others around them had been made to suffer hunger and thirst. To add insult to injury, al-Ghawri’s

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wife re-entered Cairo at night and went straight to her quarters in the Citadel without the customary distribution of sweets and candy to the populace. Of these events, the historian Ibn Iyas wrote: As for the princess – the wife of the sultan – and his son, no one spoke well of them, for the princess did not even offer water at the rest stations… None of the other pilgrims received even a grain of sugar or a bit of pastry from her, and all those who returned with them complained of hunger. But blame this on the sultan, who is by far among the vilest and stingiest of God’s creatures!  (Ibn Iyas, Bada’i‘, 4:441)

AMONG THE ELITE Despite this bad publicity for the royal family, Ibn Aja’s wife Sitt al-Halab remained on friendly terms with the princess, whom she met at monthly soirees. Perhaps Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya attended some of these sessions and met the princess too. Aisha may have also gone with Sitt al-Halab to visit the holy places in and around Cairo, especially in the Qarafa cemetery, which was a popular pastime. As was the case in Damascus, guidebooks were available in Cairo to assist Muslims wishing to visit the resting places of God’s saintly friends buried there. These included the shrine of Sayyida Nafisa (d. 824), a direct descendent of the prophet Muhammad, who was believed to have the power to perform miracles even after her death. Also popular was the large, domed mausoleum and mosque of Imam al-Shafi‘i (d. 820), the progenitor of the law school to which the Ba‘uni family belonged. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya might then have continued on toward the base of the Muqattam Hills to pay respects to one of her favorite poets, Ibn al-Farid. His shrine was visited by many pilgrims, as noted by a Turkish traveler to Cairo: Every Friday there are such crowds at his mosque that a new comer thinks he won’t find room but, then, by God’s command, he squeezes in, as though entering the ocean of nobles, and finds a place. All the people sit on one another’s knees. Elite and commoners do not find each other disagreeable but all participate together with common purpose.

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It is a marvel! This kind of spiritual unity is not to be found at other shrines. The reason is according to the religious scholars of Egypt, that the noble spirit of the Prophet himself and the spirits of other prophets are present in the mosque every Friday. All of the shaykhs of Egypt are agreed on this point. (Homerin, Arab Poet, 78)

Religious ceremonies at Ibn al-Farid’s mosque and shrine were held weekly after the Friday noon prayer and sermon. The session began with the chanting of passages of the Qur’an, along with prayers for the prophet Muhammad and the reigning sultan. This was followed by Sufi recollections. Then, professional chanters rose and intoned moving recitations of Ibn al-Farid’s poems, which led some in the audience to fall into mystical trance. Ibn al-Farid’s mosque had a veranda where special guests could watch the ceremony, and Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya may have sat there. Certainly, Aisha was something of a celebrity, as her scholarly and poetic reputation had preceded her to Cairo. By this time she had composed over a dozen works in prose and poetry, ranging in subjects from prayer, hadith, Sufism, and her forte, praise of the prophet Muhammad. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya was also now an older woman beyond childbearing, and so had more freedom to move in mixed company. Aisha was thus able to study and share views with a number of Cairo’s finest scholars, who gave her permission to teach their works. Significantly, they authorized her to teach law and give legal opinions of her own, a rare honor for a woman at that time. During her stay in Cairo, Ibn Aja introduced Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya to the noted littérateur and hadith scholar, ‘Abd al-Rahim al-‘Abbasi (1463–1557). Aisha exchanged a number of witty poems with him, filled with puns, riddles, and wordplays. In the following verses, al-‘Abbasi compared Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya to a beautiful garden: O meadow of knowledge whose excellence is plain to see, You have grown lush from a clear flowing stream. The budding prose blossoms have flowered now, And rows of poem posies lay

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like strings of pearls round the neck. When the nightingale sings sweetly there, Hearts sway to and fro in joy and delight!

To which Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya replied: Your aim is unsurpassed, you are far out of reach, And your worth and value are plain to see. You have reached the limits of power and glory, And your excellence is clear, that no one can deny, As you move round through the meadow of knowledge, Gathering its fruit as you pick and choose.

(Ibn al-Hanbali, Durr, 1:1068)

Not surprisingly, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya composed a number of elegant verses dedicated to her patron and supporter, Ibn Aja, to offer thanks for helping her and her son in a desperate time: Would that I knew if my many hopes and needs will ever be met before my life ends. But my Lord is strong, and His blessings and gifts are innumerable and limitless, For I have a handsome hope and sponsor, an endless source of healing kindness, Who provides generous, loving care to meet my needs and break my chains of want. So in splendor, the dawn of union rises, joyous and bright due to the minister Ibn Aja, the refuge, the wise, giver of favors, the support of dominion and glory. He is the sun in the sky, the stars that guide, a gracious host, and the dawn of joy! (al-Ghazzi, al-Kawakib, 1:304)

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Similar to greeting cards today, such poems were often exchanged among educated men during the Mamluk period. They might offer thanks for a favor, blessings on birthdays and holidays, congratulations on a marriage, the birth of a child, or a promotion, and condolences for the loss of loved ones. However, rarely do we find such poetic exchanges between men and women. Perhaps for this reason, several of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s later biographers recorded her poetic trysts with two leading men of her time.

FIVE-FOLD GOOD WORD Perhaps rejuvenated by these scholarly and poetic exchanges, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya began to compose longer poetic works during her stay in Cairo. Eventually, she compiled these works into her Diwan, a collection of six long poems in praise of the prophet Muhammad. Two poems in particular stand out, including The Five-Fold Good Word on The Mantle of Praise (al-Qawl al-Sahih fi Takhmis Burdat al-Madih). Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya completed this takhmis in 1515 after her earlier one was stolen, along with other writings, during her journey to Cairo from Damascus. As the title indicates, Aisha’s poem is in homage to Muhammad al-Busiri’s Mantle Ode, which Aisha had read and imitated as a young woman. Like her earlier takhmis, Aisha’s Good Word incorporates al-Busiri’s original poem, to which she added three halflines to each verse of the original poem, thus making 160 stanzas of five half-verses. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya placed her three half-lines before each verse by al-Busiri. Closely following the structure of the Mantle Ode, her Good Word has distinct thematic sections, beginning with the opening recollection of the beloved: I hid my pain but it came to light in streaks of crimson tears. So my anguish was clear, and my companion said: “Was it memory of those you loved at Dhu Salam that made your tears run red?” (al-Qawl, 22, v. 1)

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The Good Word follows the pattern of the classical Arabic ode, which often begins with the poet and his travel companions stopping at the remains of an abandoned campsite. The poet’s beloved once stayed there, and this induces a melancholy reverie on the loss of love and life. From the outset of her poem, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya imagines herself and al-Busiri as travel companions commiserating together. In the second section of the poem, they lament their lives wasted in sin as they gave into selfishness: Bless the soul that kept its covenant with God, careful to speak the truth alone, never prone to look for pleasure. But my wayward, willful soul foolishly ignored the warnings of greying hair and age. God showered this soul with grace; if only it had done what He had asked. But it wasted time away for nothing, And did not prepare good deeds as provisions for the old age that has shamelessly befallen me! (al-Qawl, 28, vv. 13–14)

The two poets then warn others against leading a wayward life as they have done, while confessing that they have failed to practise what they are now preaching. Yet they still have hope that their sinful life may be redeemed by turning in repentance to God and by devotion to the beloved Prophet: By spreading guidance, he put out the shades of doubt; with the light of reason, he effaced oppressive sin. He is the beloved without whom, nothing would be: Muhammad, master of all the worlds, master of humans and jinn, master of the Arabs and all other folk! (al-Qawl, 36, v. 34)

This leads them to ample praise of the prophet Muhammad, including an account of the miracles that occurred on the night of his birth and a retelling of some of the miracles that the Prophet was believed to have performed during his lifetime. Of course, Muhammad’s greatest miracle was the Qur’an, which both poets laud for the beauty of its

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Arabic and the divine truths that it contains. Next, they give a short account of Muhammad’s Night Journey and Heavenly Ascension, followed by a longer section on the Prophet’s struggle and ultimate victory over his pagan Arab enemies. The poem then concludes with the poets’ pleas and petitions for intercession on the Day of Judgment and their final prayers and blessings upon the Prophet. Throughout her Good Word, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s verses seamlessly elaborate on al-Busiri’s themes. She uses vocabulary and imagery from al-Busiri’s Mantle Ode to presage or echo the original poem to good effect, as in the opening verse regarding bloody tears. All in all, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s Good Word displays her extensive knowledge of many of the popular sayings and stories associated with the life and teachings of Muhammad, as well as her mastery of the panegyric tradition for praising the Prophet.

CLEAR INSPIRATION The Good Word was admired by later generations, yet Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s most famous poem from her Diwan was the Clear Inspiration in Praise of the Trusted One (Fath al-Mubin fi Madh al-Amin): In the beauty of the rising moon at Dhu Salam, I was a guiding star among the band of lovers. (Fath, ed. Kuttab, 27, v.1)

Unlike the Good Word ode, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s Clear Inspiration is a ghazal, or love poem. Similar to many of her earlier panegyrics to the Prophet, this poem laments her separation from the Muslim holy lands where Muhammad, his family and companions once dwelt. In the classical ode, the poet’s courage and bravery are put to the test in a harrowing desert crossing or in battle. However, in the ghazal, the poet is often tried by blamers, slanderers, and insincere advisors, who urge the poet to forget about the beloved and seek consolation elsewhere. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya has no time for these charlatans and pushes them aside as she recalls the blissful union in the beloved’s company:

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I saw their campfire, and from their place on Sinai, they gave me a torch to shine in the dark. They dressed me in their union’s robe as a sign of favor and raised my banner in the cities. They bestowed sovereignty on me there, and so I won forgiveness in an emanation of perfect grace! (Fath, ed. Kuttab, 85–7, vv. 48–50)

Once again Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya draws from the Qur’anic stories of Moses’ encounters with God in the Burning Bush and on Mt. Sinai to intimate an experience of mystical union and illumination, when God graced her and forgave her sins. Though she is now separated from her loved ones, she prays that they will meet again, for among them is “the best of God’s creation.” Naturally, this leads Aisha to extensive praise of the prophet Muhammad. She recounts some of his many miracles, and then praises his saintly successors who are guiding stars leading to the truth. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya ends her poem with a final prayer and petition to the Prophet asking him to intercede for her on the day when humanity is gathered together for judgment: When I fear sin, I seek refuge in him, Muhammad, and my fear is calmed as he rescues me from punishment. Whenever I hope for generous aid, I always receive what I had hoped, and more. For the storm never blows without my seeing for me a flash of acceptance and a downpour of grace. O most honored apostle, I call to you in earnest, for you are most generous to those who beg for aid: Remember me with love when men are gathered with their beloveds, you, my eternal happiness, For I have praised your glory with all sincerity, and with that I end my elegant eulogy of you. (Fath, ed. Kuttab, 160–6, vv. 123–9)

The Clear Inspiration follows the basic pattern and contours of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s many other panegyrics to Muhammad. Yet this poem is exceptional in that it is also a badi‘iyya, a complex poetic form in which each verse offers an example of a rhetorical device or trope (e.g. paronomasia, simile). Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya intentionally patterned

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her Clear Inspiration on earlier works by Safi al-Din al-Hilli (d. 1349), and Abu Bakr Ibn Hijja al-Hamawi (d. 1434), with all three poems based on al-Busiri’s Mantle Ode. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s Clear Inspiration consists of 129 verses, each illustrating a different rhetorical device or trope to which she added a commentary. Aisha first cites the name of the trope, then her verse, followed by a commentary. In her commentary, she cites a definition for the trope, often quoting earlier scholars, along with additional examples by other poets and, finally, a brief explanation on how her own verse is a suitable example: Self-reproach Soul! Why are you so lazy? Get with it, for the lovers may soon arrive! That’s the goal, and then if I die, I’ll have a proper death. The learned Ibn Hijja, may God have mercy upon him, said: “This type of self-reproach is not normal criticism. Rather, it is always of a rhetorical character, hence it is numbered among the tropes…” It is also among the tropes given by Ibn al-Mu‘tazz [d. 908], and a commonly cited example is in the Hamasa [of Abu Tammam (d. 845)]. I said to my soul, blaming it bluntly: “Woe to you! Why are you so patient and slow?” The self-reproach in my verse above is exactly this type of trope, and God knows best! (Fath, ed. Kuttab, 52, v. 21)

Needless to say, the Clear Inspiration is a poet’s poem. In all, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya cites over fifty Arab poets in her commentaries, ranging from the pre-Islamic period to her own day. These commentaries, together with the poem itself, demonstrate Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s adroit poetic skills and her extraordinary command of Arabic language and literature. Unfortunately, the many rhetorical devices and tropes in the poem make the Clear Inspiration nearly impossible to translate in any meaningful way if one is to capture both the love themes and the wordplays. The Arabic language in this and similar poems relies extensively on rhyme and rhythm, phonetic or graphic similarity, and euphony and harmony. These elements are often lost in translation, which then fails to bring over the virtuosity and ingenious wordplays in these tropes and schemes.

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For example, in her opening verse, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya lays claim to her eloquence: In the beauty of the rising moon at Dhu Salam, I was a guiding star among the band of lovers.

The trope offered here is “A Felicitous Opening” (bara‘at al-matla‘). Aisha plays on this expression with her phrase “beauty of the rising” (husn matla‘), which, in a strictly rhetorical context, could be translated as “a beautiful opening.” There are many similar examples of such wordplays throughout the Clear Inspiration. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s learned audience in the sixteenth century would have found the Clear Inspiration to be a stimulating read, requiring a nimble mind to catch the many puns, wordplays, and references to earlier poets. Yet to leave nothing in doubt, Aisha explained them all in her commentaries, which could serve as a textbook to study and master the many rhetorical devices and tropes of Arabic poetry. Not surprisingly, for centuries to come, the Clear Inspiration in Praise of the Trusted One would be Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s lasting claim to fame in the history of Arabic literature.

SHADOWS OF WAR Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya stayed in Cairo from 1513–16, a tense period for the sultan al-Ghawri and his Mamluk regime. In Istanbul, a young and vigorous Selim (r. 1512–20) had succeeded his father as the sultan of the Ottoman Empire, and his imperial ambitions and ruthless ways were soon apparent. Selim immediately moved to strengthen his army, which he successfully unleashed against his Christian foes in Europe. Selim then turned his troops against the Shi‘i Safavid Shah, Isma‘il, whose forces were crushed by the Ottomans at Chaldiran in northwestern Iran in 1514. Over the next year, Ottoman raids began to encroach upon the northern Mamluk frontier, and the Mamluk governor of Aleppo feared an Ottoman siege. With diplomatic options seemingly exhausted, al-Ghawri, now seventy-five years old, began to muster his troops

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and prepare for war early in 1516. In mid-May of that year, he began his long march toward Aleppo with his troops. These included spiritual reinforcements in the form of his four chief judges, the Abbasid caliph, and a number of Sufi holy men. Al-Ghawri left his able nephew Tumanbay (d. 1517) in charge of Cairo, but al-Ghawri made sure to take most of the Mamluk treasury with him. In June he entered Damascus, where he was joined by additional regiments, before leaving for Aleppo, which he finally reached in July. Traveling with the sultan were portions of the Mamluk civil administration, including his confidential secretary Ibn Aja and his assistant ‘Abd al-Wahhab, Aisha’s son. Aisha followed her son to Aleppo, where an extraordinary event occurred. Since arriving in Aleppo, the sultan had been reclusive and rarely appeared in public, perhaps mourning his wife, the princess, Jan-i Sukkar, who had recently died. However, in late July or early August, al-Ghawri held an audience with an elderly woman – Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya; he kept a respectful distance, with a row of male scholars between them as a matter of decorum. Sources do not mention what Aisha and the sultan discussed during this meeting, though perhaps they reminisced about better times and Arabic poetry, which al-Ghawri appreciated. Al-Ghawri may have also sought Aisha’s spiritual advice and blessings for the daunting battle ahead, since Aisha was now regarded as a respected Sufi master. Following this meeting, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya returned to her home in the suburb of al-Salihiyya near Damascus. A few weeks later, al-Ghawri and the Mamluks took the field against Selim and the Ottomans. North of Aleppo on the plain of Marj Dabiq, many Mamluks fought valiantly, but others switched sides and joined the Ottomans, who eventually prevailed. During the battle, al-Ghawri suffered a stroke, fell from his horse, and died. Though his body was never found, the victorious Selim was stunned when he discovered al-Ghawri’s vast treasure trove of jewels and precious objects, along with millions of gold dinars, a staggering sum that would finance future Ottoman military campaigns. Word of the Mamluk defeat quickly spread to Damascus as fugitive Mamluks fled back toward Cairo. Recalling Timur’s sack and destruction of their city a century earlier, the populace feared the worst. Yet, after his victory, Selim was respectful to the caliph and other Sunni

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religious officials who had accompanied al-Ghawri’s campaign. The Ottomans methodically consolidated their victory and moved slowly, mopping up through Syria. Eventually they pitched their sprawling camp outside Damascus in late September, 1516. There, Selim met with various civic and religious leaders, including several Sufi masters. He then appointed his own chief judges, with the Hanafi rite as the dominant one. Likewise, Ottoman officials assumed various other leadership positions in the city, where Selim’s name was read out as sultan in the Friday sermons. Selim remained in Damascus until the end of the year. Then he marched on Cairo. After several battles, the last Mamluk sultan, Tumanbay, was killed in 1517, ending the Mamluk dynasty. Renegade Mamluks were hunted down and killed or imprisoned, though in time, many received amnesty and subsequently served in the Ottoman army.

TIME OF CHANGE To underscore the Ottoman victory and dominion over the Mamluk state, Selim had the marble paneling stripped from the sultan’s mosque at the Cairo Citadel. This sumptuous marble was packed off to the imperial capital of Istanbul, together with the Abbasid caliph, the symbolic head of the Sunni community. As in Damascus, so too in Cairo, Ottoman officials replaced their Mamluk civilian counterparts. Ibn Aja resigned his positions and was evicted from his house near the Aq Sunqur Bridge, which was occupied by the new Ottoman vizier. Ibn Aja was allowed to retire to Aleppo with his wife, Sitt al-Halab, along with their daughter and son-in-law. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s son, ‘Abd al-Wahhab, also left government service, and he returned to Damascus where he could care for his aging mother. ‘Abd al-Wahhab often paid visits to Sufi masters and continued his legal studies with several noted teachers. These included the religious scholar and historian of Damascus, Muhammad Ibn Tulun, who recorded in a daybook some of the changes taking place under the Ottomans. Throughout 1516–17, the first full year of Ottoman rule, many prominent families in Damascus saw substantial reductions to their

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revenue streams and family fortunes. New taxes were levied, and prices rose for nearly everything. Some Damascenes, including Ibn Tulun, were evicted from their homes, while others were required to lodge Ottoman troops. Ibn Tulun also noticed changes in dress, and one Ottoman official ordered all men to wear a particular style of Turkish trousers in public, or face castration. An Ottoman judge, however, overruled this draconian measure. Ibn Tulun was also dismayed to learn that many Ottoman religious officials could read, but not speak, Arabic, while he could not understand Turkish. A few religious institutions suffered, including the al-Ashrafiyya library in Damascus, where Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya may have studied; the library was closed and its many volumes shipped to Istanbul to become part of the Ottoman royal library. Nevertheless, the sultan Selim set about repairing old mosques and schools. Significantly, he ordered a domed shrine to be erected over Ibn al-‘Arabi’s grave in al-Salihiyya, next to which he built his personal congregational mosque overlooking Damascus for all to see. Amid this challenging time, Muhammad Ibn Tulun made the following entry in his daybook, under the year 923 [1517]: On Tuesday, the sixteenth of Dhu al-Qa‘da, died the righteous religious scholar and author, the outstanding poet, mother of ‘Abd al-Wahhab, the Ba‘uni Daughter, and she was buried in the Rawda cemetery. (Ibn Tulun, Mufakahat, 2:74)

LEGACY In the years following her death, Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s admirers made copies of her writings, especially her Diwan, which included the very popular Clear Inspiration in Praise of the Trusted One. These copies of her Diwan were based on a manuscript that Aisha had written in her own hand and compiled in Cairo, which she took with her when she returned to Damascus. Copies of her earlier works that had been stolen from her also began to circulate. Some of these, including Precious Pearls and the Principles of Sufism, may have been copied in Damascus before Aisha

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left for Cairo. However, Aisha’s personal handwritten copy of The Most Wholesome Source on the Birth of the Most Noble One is found today in Cairo’s National Library, suggesting another possibility. In the centuries before cheap printing, manuscripts were quite valuable, and so the bandits who stole Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s manuscripts near Bilbeis probably sold them on the black market. From there, the writings eventually ended up in various book collections and libraries where subsequent copies were made. This appears to be the case for Aisha’s Emanation of Grace, with its many poems from throughout her life. This collection, however, does not include any mention of the poems that she composed in Cairo, and so this work was probably among those stolen from her at Bilbeis. The personal elements of many poems in Emanation of Grace led some sixteenth-century biographers to quote verses from it, together with Aisha’s autobiographical musings found in other works. Significantly, these biographers consistently describe Aisha in terms comparable to her distinguished male colleagues. Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya would have appreciated this fact, as well as the following tribute to her life and work: Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, the daughter of Yusuf ibn Ahmad ibn Nasir alDin, the intelligent, righteous religious scholar in word and deed, the Sufi master from Damascus, mother of ‘Abd al-Wahhab, the Ba‘uni Daughter. She was one of the marvels of her age and of all time in erudition, knowledge, prose and poetry, virtue and religion. She became a pious mystic under the direction of the great master Isma‘il and then his successor, Muhyi al-Din Yahya al-’Urmawi. Later, she traveled to Cairo, where she undertook extensive studies and received permission to teach and give legal opinions of her own. She authored a number of books…but on her way to Cairo in 1513, she was robbed of her compositions in both poetry and prose. Then when she arrived in Cairo, she pled her case regarding her son’s situation. Among her close friends was the noble and honorable Mahmud Ibn Aja, who was originally from Aleppo and was then the head of the Egyptian bureaus for documents and correspondence. He was generous to her and her son, and he gave her a place in the women’s quarters of his home. She praised him in an ode… He then introduced her to the master littérateur al-Sayyid al-Sharif ‘Abd al-Rahim al-‘Abbasi of Cairo,

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and he was quite impressed with her. He sent her a witty ode that he had composed, and she responded in kind; then they exchanged other poems… Among her mystical writings is the following: My love, you are near my heart, your beauty ever present within me. You bestowed loveliness in self-revealing robes, and I beheld beauty no one else saw. You made union last forever; there was no turning back, no suspicion or doubt. In concord’s tavern, you passed round to me a cup whose taste made life sweet. So my shadows vanished with the rising of my sun; it appeared but never set, And I arrived in a courtyard with you there, my destiny, love of my heart. You drink with me and ply me with wine; you take me to you, so I will never go. You bring me close to behold a beauty sacred, without equal. So there is no fear, for you guard my heart; there is no illness, save you are the cure. There is no sorrow with your joy within my heart, and there is no doubt: you are my love! (al-Ghazzi, al-Kawakib, 1:287–91)

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B I B LI OG R A P H Y

For a detailed bibliography of primary and secondary sources on ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya, see: Homerin, Th. Emil. “‘A’isha al-Ba‘uniyya.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Islamic Studies. Ed. John O. Voll. New York: Oxford University Press, 2018.

Works by ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya al-Ba-‘u-niyya, ‘A-’isha. Dı-wa-n ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya, or Kita-b  Sharh.  al-Badı-‘iyya. Princeton: Islamic Manuscripts, Garrett no. 64H. — Durar al-Gha-’is. fı- Bah.r al-Mu‘jiza-t wa-al-Khas.a-’is.. MS 558 (H.adı-th). Cairo: Da-r al-Kutub al-Mis.riyya. — Fara-’id min Khaza-’in al-Ghayb fı- Sharaf Mawlid al-Mubarra’ min Kull Naqs. wa-‘Ayb. Ed. Fa-ris Ah.mad al- ‘Ala-wı-. In ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya al-Dimashqiyya. Damascus: Da-r Ma‘add lil-T.iba-‘a wa-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzı-‘, 1994, 117–79. [Al-‘Alawıincorrectly cites this work as ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya’s al-Mawrid al-Ahna-.] — Fath. al-Mubı-n fı- Madh. al-Amı-n: Badı-‘iyyat al-Fath. al-Mubı-n fı- Madh. al-Amı-n. Ed. H.asan Raba-bi‘a. Amman: Wiza-rat al-Thaqafa, 2008. Al-Badı-‘iyya wa-Sharh.uha-: al-Fath. al-Mubı-n fı- Madh. al-Amı-n. Ed. ‘A-dil Kutta-b and ‘Abba-s Tha-bit. Damascus: Da-r Kina-n lil-Nashr wa-l-Tawzı-‘, 2009. — Fayd. al-Fad.l wa-Jam‘ al-Shaml. Ed. Mahdı- As‘ad ‘Ara-r. Beirut: Da-r al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, 2010. — Al-Mawrid al-Ahna- fı- al-Mawlid al-Asna-. MS 639 (Shi‘r Taymu-r). Cairo: Da-r al-Kutub al-Mis.riyya. — Al-Muntakhab fı- Us.u-l al-Rutab fı- ‘Ilm al-Tas.awwuf. Ed. Th. Emil Homerin as The Principles of Sufism. New York: New York University Press, 2014. — Al-Qawl al-S.ah.-ı h. fı- Takhmı-s Burdat al-Madı-h.. Ed. H.asan Raba-bi‘a. Amman: Wiza-rat al-Thaqa-fa, 2009.

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Studies and Translations al-‘Ala-wı-, Fa-ris Ah.mad. ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya al-Dimashqiyya. Damascus: Da-r Ma‘add lil-T.iba-‘a wa-l-Nashr wa-l-Tawzı-‘, 1994. al-Dhahabı-, Ma-jid and S.ala-h. al-Khiyamı-. “Dı-wa-n ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya.” Tura-th al-‘Arabı- 4 (1981): 110–21. Homerin, Th. Emil. “‘A-’ishah al-Ba-‘u-niyyah (d. 1517).” In Essays in Arabic Literary Biography II: 1350–1850. Ed. Joseph Lowry and Devin Stewart. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2010, 21–7. — “Crossing Borders: ‘A-’ishah al-Ba-‘u-nı-yah and Her Travels.” Der Islam 96: 2 (2019): forthcoming. — (tr.) Emanations of Grace: Mystical Poems by ‘A-’ishah al-Ba-‘u-nı-yah (d. 923/1517). Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae, 2011. [A selection of poems translated into English from Fayd. al-Fad.l wa-Jam‘ al-Shaml.] — “Living Love: The Mystical Writings of ‘A-’ishah al-Ba-‘u-nı-yah.” Mamlu-k Studies Review 7:1 (2003): 211–36. — (ed. and tr.) The Principles of Sufism. New York: New York University Press, 2014. [An Arabic edition and English translation of al-Muntakhab fı- Us.u-l al-Rutab fı- ‘Ilm al-Tas.awwuf.] — “ ‘Recalling You, my Lord’: ‘A-’ishah al-Ba-‘u-nı-yah on Dhikr.” Mamlu-k Studies Review 17 (2013): 130–54. — “Writing Sufi Biography: The Case of ‘A-’ishah al-Ba-‘u-nı-yah (d. 923/1517).” Muslim World 96:3 (2006): 389–99. Mukhlis., ‘Abd Alla-h. “‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya.” Mujallat al-Majma‘ al-‘Ilmı- 16:2 (1941): 66–72. Raba-bi‘a, H.asan. ‘A-’isha al-Ba-‘u-niyya: Sha-‘ira. Irbid, Jordan: Da-r al-Hila-l lil-Tarjamah, 1997.

Additional Arabic Sources al-Ans.a-rı-, Mu-sa- ibn Yu-suf. Nuzhat al-Kha-.tir wa-Bahjat al-Na-z.ir. Ed. ‘Adna-n Muh.ammad Ibra-hı-m and ‘Adna-n Darwı-sh. Damascus: Manshu-ra-t Wiza-rat al-Thaqa-fa fı- al-Jumhu-riyya al-‘Arabiyya al-Su-riyya, 1991. al-Bu-s.-ı rı-, Muh.ammad. Dı-wa-n. Ed. Muh.ammad Sayyid Kı-la-nı-. 2nd edn. Cairo: Mat.ba‘at Mus.t.afa- al-Ba-bı- al-H.alabı-, 1973. al-Bus.rawı-, ‘Alı-. Ta’rı-kh al-Bus.rawı-. Ed. Akram H.asan ‘Ulabı-. Damascus: Da-r al-Ma’mu-n lil-Tura-th, 1988. al-Ghazzı-, Muh.ammad. Al-Kawa-kib al-Sa-’ira bi-A‘ya-n al-Mi’a al-‘A-shira. Ed. Jibra’ı-l Sulayma-n Jabbu-r. Beirut: Da-r al-Fikr, 1945. H.assa-n ibn Tha-bit. Dı-wa-n. Ed. Sayyid H.anafı- H.usayn. Cairo: Da-r al-Ma‘a-rif, 1983.

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Ibn al-Fa-rid., ‘Umar. Dı-wa-n Ibn al-Fa-rid.. Ed. Giuseppe Scattolin. Cairo: Institut Français d’Archéologie Orientale, 2004. Ibn al-H.anbalı- al-H.alabı-, Muh.ammad. Durr al-H.abab fı- Ta’rı-kh A‘ya-n H.alab. Ed. Mah.mu-d al-Fa-khu-rı- and Yah.ya- ‘Abba-ra. Damascus: Wiza-rat al-Thaqa-fa, 1973. Ibn al-H.awra-nı-, ‘Uthma-n. Kita-b Ziya-ra-t al-Sha-m al-Musamma- al-Isha-ra-t ila- Ama-kin al-Ziya-ra-t. Damascus: Maktabat al-Asad, 1998. Ibn al-H.ims.-ı , Ah.mad. H.awa-dith al-Zama-n wa-Wafiyya-t al-Shuyu-kh wa-l-Aqra-n. Ed. ‘Umar ‘Abd al-Sala-m al-Tadmurı-. Beirut: al-Maktaba al-‘As.riyya, 1999. Ibn al-‘Ima-d, ‘Abd al-H.ayy. Shadhara-t al-Dhahab fı- Akhba-r man Dhahab. Cairo: Maktabat al-Qudsı-, 1931. Ibn Bat.t.u-t.a, Muh.ammad. Rih.lat Ibn Bat..tu-.ta. Ed. T.ala-l H.arb. Beirut: Da-r al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, 1987. Ibn Iya-s, Muh.ammad ibn Ah.mad. Bada-’ı-‘ al-Zuhu-r fı- Waqa-’ı-‘ al-Duhu-r. Ed. Muh. ammad Mus.t.afa-. Cairo: al-Hayat al-Mis.riyya al-‘A-mma lil-Kita-b, 1982. Ibn Jubayr, Muh.ammad. Rih.lat Ibn Jubayr. Beirut: Da-r Bayru-t, 1979. Ibn Mulla- al-Haskafı-, Ah.mad ibn Muh.ammad. Mut‘at al-Adha-n min al-Tamattu‘ bi-al-Iqra-n. Ed. S.ala-h. al-Dı-n Khalı-l al-Shayba-nı- al-Maws.ilı-. Beirut: Da-r al-S.adir, 1999. Ibn T.u-lu-n, Muh.ammad. Mufa-kahat al-Khilla-n fı- H.awa-dith al-Zama-n. Ed. Muh. ammad Mus.t.afa-. Cairo: al-Da-r al-Mis.riyya lil-Ta’lı-f wa-l-Tarjama, 1963. — Al-Qala-’id al-Jawhariyya fı- Ta’rı-kh al-S.a-lih.iyya. Ed. Muh.ammad Ah.mad Duhma-n. Damascus: Mat.ba‘at Majma‘ al-Lugha al-‘Arabiyya, 1980. — Qud.a-t Dimashq. Ed. S.ala-h. al-Dı-n Munajjid. Damascus: al-Majma‘ al-‘Ilmıal-‘Arabı-, 1956. al-Maqrı-zı-, Ah.mad. Durar al-‘Uqu-d al-Farı-da fı- Tara-jim al-‘Aya-n al-Mufı-da. Damascus: Wiza-rat al-Thaqa-fa, 1995. Muslim ibn al-H.ajja-j. S.ah.-ı h. Muslim. Ed. Muh.ammad Fu’a-d ‘Abd al-Ba-qı-. Cairo: Mat.ba‘at Ah.ya-’ al-Kutub al-‘Arabiyya, n.d. al-Sakha-wı-, Muh.ammad. Al-Daw‘ al-La-mi‘ li-Ahl al-Qarn al-Ta-si‘. Cairo: Maktabat al-Qudsı-, 1934. al-Suyu-t.-ı , Jala-l al-Dı-n. Nuzhat al-Jilsa-’ fı- Ash‘a-r al-Nisa-’. Ed. ‘Abd al-Lat.-ı f ‘A-shu-r. Cairo: Mat.ba‘at al-Qur’a-n, n.d. al-‘Umarı-, Ibn Fad.l Alla-h. Masa-lik al-Abs.a-r fı- Mama-lik al-Ams.a-r. Ed. Ah.mad ZakıBa-sha-. Cairo: Mat.ba‘at Da-r al-Mis.riyya, 1924.

Additional Sources ‘Ankawi, Abdallah. “The Pilgrimage to Mecca in Mamlu-k Times.” Arabian Studies 1 (1974): 146–70. Beattie, Andrew. Cairo: A Cultural History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2005.

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Behrens-Abouseif, Doris. Cairo of the Mamluks: A History of the Architecture and its Culture. London: I.B. Tauris, 2007. Berkey, Jonathan P. Popular Preaching and Religious Authority in the Medieval Islamic Near East. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001. — The Transmission of Knowledge in Medieval Cairo. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1992. — “Women and Islamic Education.” In Women in Middle Eastern History. Ed. Nikki R. Keddie and Beth Baron. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1991, 143–57. Black, Robert. Machiavelli. London: Routledge, 2013. Broquière, Bertrandon de la. Travels A.D. 1432, 1433. In Early Travels in Palestine. Ed. Thomas Wright. London: Henry G. Bohn, 1848, 283–382. Burns, Ross. Damascus: A History. New York: Routledge, 2005. Cachia, Pierre. “From Sound to Echo in Late Badı-‘ Literature.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 108:2 (1988): 219–25. Celenza, Christopher. Machiavelli: A Portrait. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. Conermann, Stephan. “Ibn T.u-lu-n (d. 955/1548): Life and Works.” Mamlu-k Studies Review 8:1 (2004): 115–39. Conermann, Stephan and Gül S,en (eds). The Mamluk–Ottoman Transition: Continuity and Change in Egypt and the Bila-d al-Sha-m in the Sixteenth Century. Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2017. Degeorge, Gérard. Damascus. Paris: Editions Flammarion, 2005. Haarman, Ulrich. “In Quest of the Spectacular: Noble and Learned Visitors to the Pyramids Around 1200 A.D.” In Islamic Studies Presented to Charles J. Adams. Ed. Wael B. Hallaq and Donald Little. Leiden: Brill, 1991, 57– 67. Hirschler, Konrad. Medieval Damascus: Plurality and Diversity in an Arabic Library. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2016. — The Written Word in the Medieval Islamic Lands. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2012. Homerin, Th. Emil. “Another Prophetic Paradigm: Moses in Sufi Verse.” In A Legacy of Learning: Essays in Honor of Jacob Neusner. Ed. Alan Avery-Peck et al. Leiden: Brill, 2014, 360–71. — “Arabic Religious Poetry, 1200–1899.” In Arabic Literature in the Post-Classical Period. Ed. Roger Allen and D.S. Richards. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006, 74–86. — From Arab Poet to Muslim Saint: Ibn al-Fa-rid., His Verse, and His Shrine. 2nd edn. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2001. — Passion Before Me, My Fate Behind: Ibn al-Fa-rid. and the Poetry of Recollection. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2011. — “Saving Muslim Souls: the Kha-nqa-h and the Sufi Duty in Mamluk Lands.”

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Wollina, Torsten. “Between Beirut, Cairo, and Damascus: Al-amr bi-al-mar‘u-f and the Sufi/Scholar Dichotomy in the Late Mamluk Period (1480s–1510s).” Mamlu-k Studies Review 20 (2017): 55–92. — “Sultan Selı-m in Damascus: The Ottoman Appropriation of a Mamluk Metropolis (922–4/1516–18).” In The Mamluk–Ottoman Transition. Ed. Stephan Conermann and Gül S,en. Bonn: Bonn University Press, 2017, 221–46. Ziadeh, Nicola A. Damascus Under the Mamluks. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1964.

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AC K N OWLEDG M E N T S

All translations of Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya’s writings presented in this book are mine, as are the translations of other Arabic sources, unless noted otherwise. I am grateful to the journals Der Islam, Mamlu-k Studies Review and The Muslim World, where earlier versions of some of this material originally appeared. The maps have been reprinted with the kind permission of Cambridge University Press and the University of Washington’s Henry M. Jackson School of International Studies. This project has taken shape over a number of years, and has had the support of many institutions and foundations. I am grateful for the support of the Fulbright Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Research Center in Egypt, and the University of Rochester. In Egypt, I was greatly assisted by Dar al-Kutub al-Misriyya, the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo, the American University in Cairo, and the American Research Center in Egypt. I would like to acknowledge the dedicated work of the many helpful librarians at the University of Rochester, as well as the editors of the series Makers of the Muslim World, especially Khaled El-Rouayheb, who suggested the series for this biography, along with Jonathan Bentley-Smith, Paul Nash and Anthony Mercer. Likewise, I also wish to thank a number of friends, students and colleagues who have graciously given their support for my work on Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya, including Michela Andreatta, Daniel Beaumont, Kenneth Cuno, Bruce Craig, Rachel E. Darken, Yehoshua Frenkel, Li Guo, Ahmad Haridi, Carl Petry, Tahera Qutbuddin, Marlis Saleh, Rosemary Shojaie, John Swanson, Shawkat Toorawa and Aleeza Wachs. I appreciate Robert Black’s helpful answers to several of my

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150  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

queries on Machiavelli’s family. Finally, I would like to recognize the members of my Aisha al-Ba‘uniyya seminar at the University of Rochester who read and discussed an earlier draft of this work. For their pointed questions, valuable insights, timely cuts and corrections, and, above all, their wit and humor, I thank Deema George Abdo, Daria Lynch, Sophia McRae, Naomi Ruetz, Sarah Thornton and, with love, Nora Walter.

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I N DEX

al-cAbbasi, cAbd al-Rahim  127–9, 138–9 Abbasid caliphate  3–4, 10–11, 19, 122–3, 135–6 c Abd Allah  26, 47 c Abd al-Mutallib  26, 50 c Abd al-Wahhab  55, 57–8, 93, 95, 114, 116–20, 135–8 Abel 19 Abraham  19, 119 Abu Bakr al-Siddiq  33 Abu Bakr ibn Da’ud  62, 65 Abu Hayyan of Granada  xvii–xviii Abu Nuwas  14, 81 Abu Talib  26–7, 50 Abu Tammam  133 Abu cUmar  22, 63 Adam  46–7, 53, 99 Aisha bint Abu Bakr al-Siddiq  50 Ajlun  (map 3), 1 Aleppo  (map 1), 2, 7, 119, 124, 134–6 Alexander the Great  9, 120 Alexandria  (map 4), 120–2, 125 c Ali ibn Abu Talib  10, 19, 34, 57 Amina  26, 47–8, 50 c Amr ibn al-cAs 122 Mosque of  (map 5), 122 Andalusia  xvii, 22 al-Ansari, cAbd Allah  62 Aq Sunqur Bridge  (map 5), 120, 124, 136 al-Aqsa Mosque  2 Arabia  (map 3), 9, 31–9 c Arafat  (map 3), 37, 86–7, 98 al-Ashrafiyya, library of  14, 137 Assyrians 120 audition  64–72, 74–6, 80–1, 85, 115, 127 (see also samac)

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Augustus Caesar  121 awlad al-nas (sons of the elite)  4 Ayn Jalut  3 Ayyubids  3–4, 11–12, 14, 22, 62, 123–4 Azhar Mosque  (map 5), 123 Babylon Fortress (Old Cairo)  (map 5), 121–4 badiciyya (poetic form)  132–3 Badr  (map 3), 34 Baghdad  10, 11, 42, 62, 77, 123 Bahira  27, 31, 50 Banu Hashim  26 baraka (spiritual power)  19, 43 Baraka  57–8, 93, 95, 114, 116 Barda River  (map 2), 9 Barquq, sultan  2, 5 Barquq al-Nasiri  83 Barza 19 Bacun 1 al-Bacuni, c Abd Allah  6 c Abd al-Latif  6–7 c Abd al-Rahman  6 Ahmad  1–2, 5, 7, 12–13 Ibrahim  2, 7, 13, 62 Ismacil 1 Muhammad ibn Ahmad  2, 13 Muhammad ibn Yusuf  6–7, 63–5, 117, 119 Nasir 1 Yusuf  2, 6–7, 14, 29–30, 39, 62–3, 83, 138 al-Bacuniyya, Aisha bint Yusuf Bacuni Daughter  63–4, 137–8 birth 7

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152  INDEX Clear Inspiration (Fath al-Mubin)  131–4, 137 death 137 Diver’s Pearls (Durar al-Gha’is) 45–6 Diwan  129, 131, 137 dreams of the prophet Muhammad  38–9, 45–7, 49, 87, 90, 93 dress 17–18 education  1, 6–8, 14, 62 Emanation of Grace (Fayd al-Fadl) 73–4, 92, 116, 138 Five-Fold Good Word (al-Qawl al-Sahih) 129–31 Gifts of Peace (Silat al-Salam) 45 marriage and family  57–9 Most Wholesome Source (al-Mawrid al-Ahna)  47–53, 58–9, 73, 118, 138 Precious Pearls (Fara’id min Khaza’in al-Ghayb)  52–5, 116, 137 Principles of Sufism  95, 137 (see also Selections on the Fundamental Stations) religious belief and practice  14–18, 23–4, 43, 62–5, 75, 96–114 Selections on the Fundamental Stations (al-Muntakhab)  95–114 (see also Principles of Sufism) verse  15–17, 20, 22–5, 28–9, 35–6, 40–1, 44–6, 48, 51–2, 54–5, 63, 66–93, 99, 102, 105–6, 110–15, 128–34, 139 Baybars, sultan  4 Ben Ezra Synagogue  123 Bethlehem 119 Bilbeis (Bilbays)  (map 4), 119, 138 al-Biqaci, Ibrahim  82–3 Black Death  5, 12 Black Stone  35–6, 38, 92 Book of Genesis  123 books and libraries  xvii–xviii, 6, 8–9, 12, 14, 39, 65, 124, 137 Bosra  (map 3), 31 Broquière, Bertrandon de la  13 al-Bukhari 14 Bulaq  (map 5), 124–5 Buraq 45–6 al-Busiri, Muhammad  42–3, 82, 129–33 Mantle Ode (al-Burda)  42–3, 46, 77, 129–33 Byzantines  9, 121–2

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Cain 19 Cairo  (map 4–5), xvii–xviii, 1, 4, 10–13, 82–3, 118–27, 134–8 Canal of the Pharaohs  121 Chaldiran 134 Christians  3, 9–11, 19, 76, 109, 121–3, 134 Citadel of Cairo  (map 5), 124, 126, 136 Citadel of Damascus  (map 2), 11, 13 Cleopatra 121 Coptic Orthodox Church  122–3 Corsini, Marietta  40 Council of Chalcedon  122 Damascus  (map 1–3), xvii, xix, 2–5, 8–14, 17, 20, 22, 25, 29–31, 39, 57, 63, 82–3, 115–19, 123, 126, 129, 135–8 Dead Sea  (map 1, 3), 119 dhikr  64, 96 (see also recollection) Dhu l-Nun  108–9 Dome of the Rock  119 Donne, John  76 Egypt  (map 4), 3–5, 7, 11, 39, 46, 58, 116–17, 120–5 Elephant Lake  (map 5), 120 Euphrates  (map 1), 9 Faraj ibn Barquq, sultan  2 Fatima bint Muhammad  10, 19, 50, 57 Fatimid caliphate  10–11, 19, 123 Florence 40 Fudayl ibn cIyad 98 Fustat 122–3 Gabriel, archangel  14–15, 26–7, 50, 119 Gaza (Ghazza)  (map 1, 3, 4), 119 al-Ghawri, Qansuh, sultan  5, 116–19, 124–6, 134–6 ghazal (Arabic)  76, 131 al-Ghazali, Muhammad  62 Giza  (map 4), 120, 122 Grand Canal (Cairo Canal)  (map 5), 120, 124 Grotto of Blood  19 hadith (prophetic traditions)  6–8, 12, 14–15, 26–7, 38, 47, 49, 52–3, 60–1, 95–7, 100–1, 104–5, 107, 127

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INDEX  153 Tradition of Willing Devotions  61, 106, 111 Hajj  (map 3) 2, 15, 17, 27, 29–39, 50, 77, 79, 83–7, 92, 108, 117, 125–6 (see also pilgrimage) Halima bint Abu Dhuayb  48, 50 al-Haram al-Sharif (The Noble Sanctuary)  35, 37–8, 47, 55 al-Hassan ibn cAli  50, 93 Hassan ibn Thabit  14, 41–2 al-Hawwari, Isma’il  47, 53, 62–4, 73, 91, 114–15, 138 heart  27–8, 34, 43–5, 67–9, 72, 76, 80–1, 86, 88–90, 101, 103, 105–6, 108–11, 113, 128, 139 Hebron  (map 1), 119 Heliopolis 120–2 Heraclius 122 Herbert, George  76 Herod, king  121 Herodotus 120 Hijr of Thamud (Mada’in Salih)  (map 3), 32–3 al-Hilli, Safi al-Din  133 al-Husayn ibn cAli  19, 50, 57, 93

c

Ibn Aja, Mahmud  119–20, 124–9, 135–6, 138 Ibn al-cArabi, Muhyi al-Din  22–3, 82, 137 Ibn al-Farid, cUmar  14, 76–7, 82–91, 93, 126–7 Ode in T-Major (al-Ta’iyya al-Kubra)  84–7, 89, 91 shrine of  83, 126–7 Wine Ode (al-Khamriyya) 87–9 Ibn Battuta  (map 3), 31–4 Ibn Hijja al-Hamawi, Abu Bakr  133 Ibn Ishaq  48 Ibn Iyas, Muhammad  116–17, 126 Ibn Jubayr  11 Ibn Khaldun  4 Ibn Muctazz 133 Ibn Naqib al-Ashraf, Ahmad  57–9, 63–5, 93, 95–6, 114, 117–18 Ibrahim 117–19 Ibn Tulun, Muhammad  7, 22–3, 63–4, 136–7 c Id al-Adha (Feast of the Sacrifice)  17, 37

Kacba  15, 27, 35, 37–8, 48, 55, 84, 92, 108 al-Kalabadhi, Muhammad  62, 95 al-Karak  (map 3), 31, 119 Khadija  26–7, 46, 50 khanqah (chantry)  6, 11, 62

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Id al-Fitr (Feast to Break the Fast)  17 Ignatius of Loyola  76 ihram (pilgrim’s garb)  33–4, 36–7 intercession  18, 21, 23, 25, 28–9, 33, 35–6, 38–9, 44–6, 49, 51, 55, 92–3, 131 Isaac 119 Isma’il, Shah  134 Istanbul  134, 136–7 Jacob 119 Jan-i Sukkar  125–6, 135 Jawhar 123 Jerusalem  (map 1), 2, 11, 50, 119, 121 Jesus, son of Mary  18, 119, 121 Jews  9, 19, 121, 123 al-Jilani, cAbd al-Qadir  62 John the Baptist  19 Joseph 122–3 Judgment Day  18, 21, 25, 28–30, 36, 38, 45, 49, 51, 54, 92, 101, 131–2 Julius Caesar  121 al-Junayd 98 al-Jurjani, cAli 62 Justinian 122

love  60, 63, 67, 72–3, 75–82, 80–2, 84–5, 87, 90–1, 95–6, 105–114, 130, 139 Machiavelli, Margherita 40 Niccolò 40 Primavera 40 al-madih al-nabawi (praise poems for the prophet Muhammad)  40–3, 77, 91–2, 131 madrasa (law school)  6 mahabba  96 (see also love) mamluk 3 Mamluk Sultanate  2, 4–9, 12, 37, 116–19, 124–5, 134–6 Mamluks  3–5, 8, 12–14, 30, 37, 62, 65, 83, 116, 124–5, 134–6

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154  INDEX Mantle Ode (al-Burda), see al-Busiri Marj Dabiq  (map 1), 135 Mark Antony  121 Mark the Evangelist  121 al-Marwa  35, 37, 86 mawlid (literary form)  38, 46–8, 52 Mawlid al-Nabi (birthday of the prophet Muhammad)  41–2, 46–8, 52 Mecca  (map 3), 2, 10, 15, 22, 24, 26–7, 29–31, 33–8, 42, 45, 47–50, 85, 87, 92, 125 Medina  (map 3), 20, 24, 27, 29, 33–4, 38–9, 42, 45, 47, 49–50, 85, 87 Mediterranean Sea  (map 1, 4), 9, 119–21 Memphis (Egypt)  120–2 Mina  37, 86–7 Mongols  3–4, 12 Moses  18–19, 70, 89–90, 123, 132 Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides)  123 Mt. Mercy  37 Mt. Qasiyun  (map 2), 9, 19, 63 Mt. Sinai (al-Tur)  (map 4), 89–90, 132 Mu’awiya ibn Abi Sufayn  9–10, 19, 122 Muhammad, the prophet  3, 9, 10, 14–15, 18–20, 24–30, 32–55, 57–60, 64, 66, 71, 75, 78–9, 81–2, 90–3, 97, 100–101, 104, 106, 108, 113–15, 117, 119, 122, 127, 129–32 birthday of, see Mawlid al-Nabi heavenly ascension of  27, 45–6, 50, 119, 131 Light of  45–6, 53–5, 90, 108 mosque and tomb of  33, 38–9, 50, 86–7 Muhammad ibn Qansuh al-Ghawri  125–6 Muqattam Hills  (map 5), 122, 124, 126 Muslim ibn Hajjaj  14 muwashshah (poetic form)  70, 78 Muzdalifa 37 mystical experience  60–1, 88, 90, 95, 103, 110–11 Nablus  (map 1), 3 al-Nasir Lake  (map 5), 120 al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun, sultan 4–5 al-Nawawi, Muhyi al-Din  17 Nazareth 1 Niccolò of Poggibonsi  124 Nile  (map 4–5), 120–1, 123–5

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Noble Sanctuary, see al-Haram al-Sharif Nudar bint Abi Hayyan  xvii–xviii ode (Arabic)  76, 130–1 Ottomans  5, 134–7 Paul the Apostle  9 Persians 120 pilgrimage  20–3, 26, 83, 85–7, 117, 119, 126 (see also Hajj) poetry of recollection  75–8 profession of faith, see shahada Ptolemaic dynasty  121 Ptolemy 120 Pyramids of Giza  (map 4), 120, 122 Qalawun, sultan  4 Qansuh al-Ghawri, see al-Ghawri Qarafa cemetery  (map 5), 122, 126 Qaytbay, sultan  5, 7, 83, 116 Qur’an  1–2, 6–8, 12, 14, 16–18, 21–3, 26, 32, 42, 44, 47, 49, 52, 54, 59–60, 63–6, 68–70, 78–9, 81, 85, 89–90, 93, 95–6, 99, 102–110, 113, 118, 123, 130, 132 Light Verse, 59 Throne Verse, 66 Quraysh tribe  26–7, 50 al-Qushayri, Abu Qasim  14, 62, 101, 102, 106–7 Rabica al-cAdawiyya  72–3, 82, 97 Ramadan  15, 16–17, 63 Rawda cemetery  63, 137 recollection  60, 61, 64–72, 74–8, 85, 96, 98, 102–6, 114, 118 127 (see also dhikr) Red Sea  (map 3–4), 121 repentance (tawba)  96–9, 103–4, 114, 130 Romans  9, 121–2 al-Safa  35, 37, 86 Safad  (map 1), 2 saints  8, 18–24, 47, 61–2, 82–3, 91, 110, 126, 132 (see also wali) al-Sakhawi, Muhammad  8, 45 Saladin (Salah al-Din ibn Ayyub)  3, 11, 123–4 al-Salihiyya  (map 2), 8–9, 22, 57, 65, 135, 137 Salih 32

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INDEX  155 samac  64 (see also audition) Samarqand 12 al-Sari al-Saqati  98 al-Sarraj, Abu Nasr  14, 62 al-Sarsari, Yahya  42, 77 Sassanids 9 Satan  37, 102, 103, 107 Sayyida Nafisa, tomb and shrine of  (map 5), 126 Selim, sultan  116, 134–7 Seljuks 10–11 al-Shafici, tomb and  mosque of  (map 5),126 shahada (Muslim profession of faith)  25, 64, 69, 78, 104 Shaqiq al-Balkhi  97 sharcia (Islamic law)  5–6, 23, 39, 61 Shem, son of Noah  19 Shicism  10–11, 19, 41–2, 123 sincerity (ikhlas)  68, 96, 99–102, 104, 114 Sitt al-Halab  124–6, 136 Sufi verse  64, 68–93, 127, 139 Sufism  9, 11–12, 19, 22–3, 41, 53, 59–74, 78, 84–5, 89–90, 93, 95–114, 118, 127, 135–6, 138 al-Suhrawardi, cUmar  14, 62, 95 al-Sulami, Muhammad  62, 95, 103 sultan 10 Sumnun 108 Sunnism  6, 10–11, 19, 41–2, 123, 135–6 al-Suyuti, Jalal al-Din  xvii, 45, 82–3 Syria  (map 1), 2, 5, 7, 9, 11, 27, 30–1, 39, 46, 50, 58, 116–17, 123, 136 Syrian Caravan  (map 3), 29–35, 38–9

tariqa  61 (see also Sufism) tasawwuf  59 (see also Sufism) Thebes 120 Timur  5, 12, 135 Traherne, Thomas  76 Trajan 121 Tripoli (Tarabulus, Lebanon)  (map 1), 2 Tumanbay, sultan  135–6 ulama (scholars of religion)  5–6 c Umar ibn al-Khattab  15, 33 al-cUmari, Shihab al-Din  8, 12 Umayyad caliphate  10, 19, 122 Umayyad Mosque  (map 2), 2, 10, 12–13, 19 c Umra (lesser pilgrimage to Mecca)  87 union  28, 60–2, 65, 68, 70–1, 75, 77, 79, 84, 87–88, 91–3, 98, 105–6, 108, 111–14, 128, 139 al-‘Urmawi, Yahya  53, 62–4, 73, 114–15, 138 Vaughan, Henry  76 wali  18–19 (see also saints) wine  67–8, 71–2, 77, 81–2, 84–5, 87–9, 93, 111–13, 115, 139 women  xvii, 7–9, 16, 18–19, 31, 37–40, 49, 58–9, 65, 127, 129 Zamzam, well of  35, 37, 86–7 al-Zanji, Nur al-Din  11 hospital of  11, 14

Tabuk  (map 3), 32 takhmis (poetic form)  43, 129

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