Seerah Nasir Khusraw — Abu Mu'in Nasir ibn Khusraw al-Qubadiyani al-Marwazi (1004-1088 CE): The Khorasani Philosopher-Poet-Traveler Who Converted to Ismaili Islam After a Dream Vision, Traveled to Fatimid Cairo to Meet the Imam-Caliph, Became a Hujja of Khorasan, Wrote the Safarnama (Diary of a Journey — the Most Important Persian Travel Account of the 11th Century), the Philosophical Treatise Zad al-Musafirin, and the Collection of Poetry in Diwan

Seerah Nasir Khusraw (سِيرَةُ نَاصِرِ خُسرَو; full name: Abu Mu'in Nasir ibn Khusraw ibn Harith al-Qubadiyani al-Marwazi; born 394 AH / 1004 CE in Qubadyan [in modern Tajikistan / the Oxus river region]; died approximately 481 AH / 1088 CE in Yumgan [a remote valley in the Badakhshan mountains, modern Afghanistan/Tajikistan]; born into a Khorasani elite family; early career: Nasir Khusraw served as a financial secretary [dabir] in the Seljuk administration; he was well-educated, literate in Arabic and Persian, and familiar with the philosophical tradition; the conversion: in 437 AH / 1046 CE, while in Nishapur, Nasir Khusraw had a dream in which a figure pointed him toward the qibla [Mecca] and told him to wake from his heedlessness; he interpreted this as a divine call; he gave up wine and court life; the journey: from 437-444 AH / 1046-1052 CE, Nasir Khusraw traveled from Khorasan to Cairo; his route: Nishapur → Tabriz → Mayyafariqin → Jerusalem → Cairo [spending 3 years] → Medina → Mecca → back to Khorasan via Yemen; the Safarnama [سَفَرنَامَه — Diary of a Journey]: written in Persian; the most important Persian prose travel account of the 11th century; describes the cities and lands he passed through with keen observation: the bazaars, the religious communities, the Fatimid court in Cairo [under al-Mustansir, the 8th Fatimid imam-caliph], the Friday prayers led by the imam-caliph, the ceremony and organization of Fatimid governance; particular value: descriptions of Fatimid Cairo [the palaces, markets, and ceremonies] and of Jerusalem before the Crusader conquest [1099 CE]; the conversion to Ismaili Islam: in Cairo, Nasir Khusraw became an Ismaili; whether he met the imam-caliph directly is debated; he certainly met senior Ismaili da'is; on his return to Khorasan, he served as the Hujja [the highest da'wa rank below the imam] of Khorasan, transmitting Ismaili ta'wil throughout the region; the persecution and exile: his Ismaili da'wa in Khorasan provoked hostility from Sunni authorities and the Seljuk establishment; he was forced into exile and spent his final decades in the remote Badakhshan mountains at Yumgan, where he continued to write and teach; philosophical works: [1] Zad al-Musafirin [زَادُ المُسَافِرِين — Provision for Travelers]: a major philosophical treatise in Arabic addressing metaphysics, epistemology, and Ismaili philosophical theology; discusses the relationship between intellect, soul, and matter; the Imam's role in the created hierarchy; [2] Wajh-i Din [وَجهِ دِين — The Face of Religion]: philosophical ta'wil in Persian; treats Quranic passages and religious obligations through Ismaili batin-interpretation; [3] Jami' al-Hikmatayn [جَامِعُ الحِكمَتَين — The Combination of the Two Wisdoms]: harmonizes Greek philosophy [particularly the Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Porphyry] with Ismaili theology; [4] Khwan al-Ikhwan [the table of the brethren]: moral and philosophical aphorisms; poetry: the Diwan of Nasir Khusraw is one of Persian literature's most philosophically rich collections; his qasidas [odes] are vehicles for Ismaili theology, satire of court life, and meditation on exile; his poetry was memorized and transmitted throughout the Persian-speaking Ismaili world; his role in Ismaili history: Nasir Khusraw is the first great Ismaili philosopher-poet in Persian; he brought Ismaili theology into Persian literary culture; his works were preserved and studied in the Ismaili communities of Badakhshan, the Pamirs, and later in South Asian Ismaili contexts; the Aga Khan University's Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilizations and the Institute of Ismaili Studies have produced critical editions and translations of his works) is Ismailism's greatest Persian philosopher-poet.