Rudaki’s scholarly legacy is being promoted

As part of the “First Renaissance: Eras, Figures, Scientific-Creative Activity, and Discoveries” section of the exhibition at the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan, a media project dedicated to the thinker Abu Abdullah Rudaki is currently under development.

During the reign of Bukhara’s ruler Nasr ibn Ahmad Samanid (914–943), Rudaki’s fame as a poet spread widely throughout Bukhara and the East. A close look at his works reveals his strong grasp of astronomy and ancient Greek philosophy.

According to literary and historical sources, the legacy of Abu Abdullah Ja’far ibn Muhammad Rudaki the founder of Persian-Tajik literature is estimated at between 700,000 and 1.3 million lines of verse. Some even claim he left behind hundreds of volumes. Unfortunately, only a small portion of this great poet’s scholarly legacy has survived to the present day.

In 1956, to commemorate the 1100th anniversary of Rudaki’s birth, his scattered poems were compiled, totaling 1,840 lines. The following year, in 1957, these poems were translated into Uzbek and published by the distinguished translator and Persian literature scholar Munirkhon Muinzoda.

Subsequently, Rudaki’s works were published two more times in translations by Shoislom Shomuhamedov, a prominent researcher and translator of Persian-Tajik literary art.

Rudaki is considered the pioneer of the rubai (quatrain) genre in written literature, as the earliest rubaiyat that meet all the formal requirements of the genre are attributed to his pen. In his quatrains, he explored the theme of love in a broad and profound manner.

Ancient sources mention that Rudaki authored epic poems such as “The Era of the Sun”, “Arois an-Nafais” (“Delicate Blossoms”), and “Sinbadnama”.

Among his surviving qasidas are “Mother of Wine”, “In Praise of Bukhara”, and “Complaint of Old Age”. Rudaki’s literary work reflects the social life of the 10th century, expressing the aspirations and interests of the people in all his compositions.