Makhzan ol-Asrar
Makhzan ol-Asrar or Makhzan al-Asrar is a famous mathnawi poem by the Persian poet Nizami Ganjavi. It is the first of Nizami's five long poems known collectively as the Khamsa. It is a didactic and philosophical work consisting of about 2,250 Persian distichs. It was completed when Nizami was forty years old, and since then it has been considered one of the most important poetic and written works in Persian literature.
Plot
The main purpose of the book Makhzan ol-Asrar is to invite people to self-knowledge, theology and choosing good habits and behavior. The poem begins with the traditional invocation of the name of God :After this, the author points to one of the main principles of mysticism and Sufism: the unity of God's existence and his obligatory existence. Makhzan ol-Asrar is full of mystical points and advice that are presented to the audience in the form of lyrical stories.
According to scholar Hamidreza Shayeganfar, the main themes of the Makhzan ol-Asrar can be categorized as follows: first, about human neglect in the world; second, about the unreliability and instability of the world; third, about man's relationship with God; fourth, about social issues; and finally, about politics and government.
Nizami says that when he wanted to compose Makhzan ol-Asrar, the archangel told him "you want to write poetry for people, so you should know what you want to sing. Therefore, refine yourself with your heart and follow your heart so that you can build yourself". Then Nizami says that I followed archangel's words and followed "the heart preceptor". From then on, he talks about the nights when he meditated with his heart. Those verses are very complex and beautiful at the same time. They may be considered the first surrealist texts in world literature. Because it speaks to issues that are similar to surrealist texts. He even goes so far as to say that "I went into my heart and saw his houses".