Today, we study the works of famed Iranian mystic and philosopher, Shahab Ed-Din Sohravardi, such as “The Chant of Gabriel’s Wing”.

We will continue to study the works and services of the celebrated and outstanding Iranian mystic and philosopher of 6th Century AH, Sheikh Shahab Ed-Din Sohravardi, who earned the title of Sheikh Ul-Eshraq. He highly contributed to development of Islamic philosophy and Gnostics, and is the founder of one of the most important Islamic philosophical schools of thought, referred to as Illuminism.
This acclaimed philosopher was born in the village of Sohravard, in the vicinity of city of Zanjan in the year 549 AH. Upon the conspiracy of scholars of the city of Aleppo, he was killed on the instruction of the Founder of Ayoubi Dynasty, Salah Ed-Din Ayoubi, at the age of 38, in the year 587 AH. He has left behind a number of books to this day. Parts of the works of this renowned philosopher are figurative and cryptic treatises and anecdotes, which according to researchers show his true image. This group of works, which has been authored in a beautiful, delicate, and cryptic language, displays the spiritual and inner experiences of Sohravardi. We also mentioned the reasons behind his inclination and tendency toward cryptic and allegorical language, while speaking about the impact of the cryptic writings of Sheikh Ul-Eshraq on the prominent men of letter in Farsi language, such as Molavi, Hafez, and Attar.
The cryptic terms presented in Sohravardi’s books can be divided into three groups. The first group includes the cryptic terms of Illuminism. There is not much diversity in this group of cryptic terms in the works of Sohravardi. The other group is comprised of cryptic terms related to ancient Iran, and the third group is comprised of cryptic allegorical terms which have been mainly used in his cryptic treatises. In this type of cryptic language, Sohravardi has made use of his vast power of imagination and innovation.
“The Chant of Gabriel’s Wing” is one of the treatises of Sohravardi in Farsi language. Comments have been written on this treatise by Henry Corbin, in French language. The Farsi text of this treatise has also been published by Dr. Mahdi Bayani.
According to contemporary researcher, Zabih Ullah Safa, the writing style of Sohravardi in this treatise is simple and fluent. Sohravardi presented this allegorical and cryptic treatise in the form of an anecdote, coupled with questions and answers, and within the framework of an ordinary tone and approach which nears the dialect of the addressees. Hence, this treatise can be considered as an example of 6th Century Farsi language, which was common among ordinary people.
Many of the terms used in the treatise titled: “The Chant of Gabriel’s Wing” are enigmatic and cryptic and in majority of cases the used similes and allegories are complicated and vague, which has made this treatise difficult to understand. The cryptic terms of this treatise are partly the traditional symbols of mysticism. Sohravardi starts his treatise under the name of God, which manifests his belief in God Almighty. His belief is true, while the status quo of the then community has compelled him to make statements with the use of cryptic terms.
The treatise implies the spiritual ascension of Sohravardi, which according to the contents of this treatise has not taken place in wakefulness.
In this treatise, the story is divided into two sections. The first section is about the seeker of the truth which is Sohravardi, who, according to this story, goes to a monastery that has two doors. The first door leads to the city and the other door looms over a plain. The seeker of the truth embarks upon the plain. Amid his way, he runs into ten men, whose grandeur scares him. The hero of the story asks his angel of guidance about the whereabouts of his abode. The hero of the story, who is the seeker of the truth, also asks his angel of guidance about the enigma of creation. The dialog which takes shape is used by Sohravardi to clarify the main elements of the teachings of “Illuminism” School of Thought.
In this treatise, Sohravardi expresses the fundamental elements of his cognizance in accordance to divine prudence. He relies upon the traditional symbols of mystical prose and verse, and discusses the differences of opinion between the supporters of wisdom and the supporters of mysticism. The incentive behind the usage of cryptic language by Sohravardi is enhancement of the fluency of writings, promotion of the capacity of terms used, and bolster of the beauty of the writings, in addition to creation of a spiritual gravity for the writings. The names which he has chosen for this group of his treatises, and his fluent writing style all and all go to manifest his delicate taste and unique power of imagination.
RM/ME