The ancient manuscript set out from the Bodleian for the Center’s exhibition

Husayn Gozurgohi’s Majalis al-‘Ushshaq, which embodies the theme of Sufi love and spiritual perfection, is expected to take its place in the exhibition of the Center of Islamic Civilization as a literary symbol of divine love. This work, which tells of the spiritual and intellectual life of the 15th century and the Sufi milieu in Bukhara and Herat, is still highly regarded today as a supreme example of Eastern mysticism and spirituality.

Majalis al-‘Ushshaq is a unique work in literature that expresses the themes of Sufism, spiritual love, and mystical knowledge. Written at the end of the 15th century, during the final phase of the Timurid dynasty, it is connected to the high cultural level of the literary environment of Herat in Khorasan, along with its Sufi and romantic thought.

The work was composed in 1502–1503 and recounts the life stories of more than 70 well-known Sufis, poets, and rulers. Through these figures’ spiritual worlds, heartfelt experiences, and yearning for divine love, the author reflects on the purity of the heart and the mystical path. The mystical love of great figures such as Jalal al-Din Rumi, Baha’ al-Din Naqshband, Alisher Navoi, Abdurahman Jami, and Fakhr al-Din ‘Iraqi is poetically depicted.

The work is of great historical and literary significance. One of its most famous and rare manuscript copies was transcribed in Bukhara in 1552 and is currently preserved at the Bodleian Library of the University of Oxford, United Kingdom (MS. Ouseley Add. 24). This manuscript not only reflects the antiquity of the work but also demonstrates the esteem in which it was held within Bukhara’s scholarly circles. The academic community values this manuscript as a vivid example of the Sufi heritage of Central Asia and as an important source on the aesthetic and spiritual value of Sufi literature. This manuscript is also featured in the Center of Islamic Civilization in Uzbekistan’s media project “100 Ancient Manuscripts of Uzbekistan”.

In Gozurgohi’s work, worldly love is interpreted as a means to attain divine love. Copies of Majalis al-‘Ushshaq were widely disseminated both in its own time and in subsequent centuries, with illustrated versions produced in various countries, contributing to literary and artistic culture.

The poetic quotations within the work enriched with verses by poets such as ‘Iraqi, Ghazali, Navoi, and Jami transform it into not only a biographical memoir but also a high-level Sufi poetic text. This is one of the reasons for its enduring appeal.

The manuscript of Majalis al-‘Ushshaq preserved in the Bodleian Library plays an important role in understanding the historical life of the work and the value it held in medieval Bukhara. Through this copy, we gain insight not only into the text itself but also into the courtly environment, spiritual traditions, and culture of love of that era all of which have reached us through refined art. It stands as one of the most important and rare sources for the study of Eastern Sufi heritage and mystical literature.

Durdona Rasulova

P/S: The article may be used provided that the official website of the Center is cited.