A Study of the Life and Works of Shah Jahangir Hashemi Kermani

Shah Jahangir Hashemi Kermani is a poet and mystic of the 15th and 16th centuries CE who was descended from Ghasem Anvar and Shah Nematollah Vally. After reviewing his works and other related historical documents and sources, it can be claimed that he was a great poet and mystic. His works can be categorized as the direct heritage of the mystic school of Nematollahiyeh. In his lifetime, Hashemi traveled extensively. Towards the end of his life he emmigrated to Sindh. There he was revered by Shah Hassan Arghoon, the ruler of Sindh, and other great personages of the region. His main verse collection was destroyed, and only a few of its poems have remained retrievable from some scattered Tazhkirahs. Mazhar-al-Asrar was his other work in which he was heavily inspired by Nezami’s Makhzan-al-Asrar. Fortunately, numerous copies of Mazhar-al-Asrar have survived. Composed in 1562 CE, Mazhar-al-Asrar was completed by Kermani while he was in Sindh. In 1568 CE, while he was returning from Sindh, he was killed by bandits. After reviewing and comparatively analyzing numerous sources, the present study presents a precise and comprehensive account of the life and the works of Shah Jahangir Hashemi Kermani.