Abdurrahman al-Jami; Prolific Sufi Teller of the Story of Yusuf-Zulaikha

 

Abdurrahman al-Jami; Prolific Sufi Teller of the Story of Yusuf-Zulaikha

Is Nuruddin Abdurrahman al-Jami, the great poet of the classical era who was born in Khurasan on the 23rd of Sha'ban 817 Hijriyyah or coincides with November 7, 1414 AD. He was born about five hundred years after the Sufi martyr al-Hallaj, who lived in the full era turmoil. In this era, Sufism was really established, and many great Sufis emerged such as Shah Ni'matullah Wali, Muhammad Nurbakhsh, and Bahauddin Naqsyabandi.

As a Sufi who was born into a family of scholars, al-Jami since childhood has been forged directly by his father. He studied Arabic grammar and sharia. Then as usual the son of a scholar in his time, he made an intellectual odyssey to a number of areas. Al-Jami started his studies under the guidance of Junaid Ausuli and then entered the Nizhamiyyah Madrasa under the guidance of Samarqandi. When he was fifteen years old, he had completed all the lessons he had learned. His tenacity in learning to a number of teachers has resulted in achieving intellectual maturity. He was dubbed as a scholar whose intelligence was unmatched in his time.

Despite the high degree of scholarship in the eyes of the scholars of his time, his thirst for knowledge made him not feel enough. He did not only study the religious sciences. Al-Jami also completed mathematics, astronomy, and other scientific disciplines. His thirst for knowledge he describes in a verse:

From the knowledge of the divine law and all its pillars,

I know the reason behind every command.

From studying hadith, I became familiar with the lifestyle and methods of his companions.

However, the external sciences are not enough:

But my thirst was not quenched by these sciences.

Then I decided to put into practice what I had learned.

I associate with clear and clean hearted Sufis

The goal of learning is to be.

Al-Jami, like his father, is a scholar who adheres to the creed of Ahlussunnah wal jamaah. In jurisprudence he belongs to Imam Hanafi. While in the field of belief he follows the Ash'ariyyah understanding. While in the matter of order, he supposedly follows the order of Naqsyabandiyyah from the path of Sheikh Sa'duddin al-Kasyigiri, from Sheikh Nizamuddin Khamus, from Sheikh 'Ala al-Haq, from Sheikh Bahauddin An-Naqsyabandi.

His works

His works in prose and poetry are numerous. That said, he left eighty-one works. Among them the most famous is Nafahat al-uns fi sirati as-shufiyyah which was adopted in 883 H. This Sufi encyclopedia is said to have been inspired by As-Sulami's work, entitled Thabaqat as-Shufiyyah . Instead, he made many improvements to As-Sulami's work by including biographies of a number of Sufis that had not been written by As-Sulami. This work occupies a fairly high position in the study of Sufism.

In addition to writing works on Sufi encyclopedias, he also has a work that reviews one of Shaykh al-Akbar Ibn Arabi's magnum opus, Fushush al-Hikam which he gives the title al-Lawami' Syarh Fushush al-Hikam li as-Shaykh al-Akar Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi which was completed in 896 H.

Al-Jami is not only focused on writing Sufism works. He also had time to write works in the field of Arabic grammar (Nahwu). His work in the field of Nahwu elaborates on Ibn Hajib's Syarah Kafiyah (a well-known Nahwu expert) and is entitled al-Fawaid ad-Dhiyaiyyah Syarh Kafiyah Ibn Hajib fi Nahwi wa al-Fawaid . A book that became the muqarrar of Nahwu lessons in various Islamic educational institutions in India.

As a prolific writer, al-Jami also wrote a number of poems and seven stories in the form of "matsnawi". Of the seven stories, the most affected is the story of Yusuf and Zulaikha, a classic story that tells of the temptation of Yusuf by his employer's wife, named Zulaikha. A story that touches the hearts of its readers, in which Zulaikha's desire for Yusuf is the main and handsome physically and spiritually illustrates the submission of the human soul to the Divine story.           

Wallahu A'lam bisshawab