Poetry Chaikhana
Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Muslim / Sufi

20th Century

Iran/Per
(Middle East)

Moulana Shah Maghsoud

Timeline (1914 - 1980)

Poems by Moulana Shah Maghsoud
Books - Links

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Hazrat Moulana Shah Maghsoud Sadegh Angha was a scientist, a philosopher, a poet, and one of the acclaimed Sufi masters of the 20th century.

He was born in Tehran, Iran in 1916. His father was Mazrat Mir Ghotbeddin Mohammad, also a greatly respected Sufi and scholar.

Maghsoud's first book of poetry was published when he was only fourteen years old.

He studied spirituality under the guidance of his father, while his academic pursuits led him to study at the University of Tehran. He wrote:

"I graduated from school and emerged with the customary body of education, but that education did not make me knowledgeable. Even then, I understood that words could not transfer the essence of their meanings from one individual to another, and that the human storage of memory was not a library of knowledge, even though I had learned many sayings, ideas, and beliefs of great people of all times, those were not my knowledge, but only quotations, narration."

Even recognizing the limitations of external education, he showed himself to be a talented student and, later, teacher.

He often quoted the Koran verse that says, "Do not follow whatever you have no knowledge of," suggesting that merely following a tradition or ritual is pointless if you haven't discovered its inner meaning.

In the 1960s and 70s, he oversaw the construction of Sufi Abaad, a complex of buildings that included a museum, library, and observatory. The materials used to create these buildings -- tiles, mirrors, hand-carved doors and windows -- were all created by Iranian artists and artisans.

Moulana Shah Maghsoud's writings ranged from poetry and treatises on Islam to philosophy, science, and medicie. His daughter, Seyedeh Dr. Nahid Angha, has been one of his primary translators.

Poems by Moulana Shah Maghsoud

	Find a pure wine and the party of the drunkard,
	Go to the Winery and exchange your robe for a drink of wine,
	If you long for the face of the Beloved,
	The light of the beloved rises from the horizon of my heart,
	The verbal unity comes from the words,
	Turn the darkness of heart by the elixir of the people of the secret,

Recommended Books

	Diwan-e-Ghazal (in Farsi), by Moulana Shah Maghsoud Amazon.com
	Ecstasy: The World of Sufi Poetry and Prayer, by Seyedeh Nahid Angha, Ph.D. Amazon.com
	Psalms of the Gods, by Moulana Shah Maghsoud / Translated by Seyedeh Nahid Angha, Ph.D. Amazon.com
	Selections:: Poems from Khayyam, Rumi, Hafez, and Shah Maghsoud, by Seyedeh Nahid Angha, Ph.D. Amazon.com

Related Links:

	IAS: Hazrat Moulana Shah Maghsoud (biography) http://www.ias.org/maghsoud.html A very good, in-depth biography of the life and spirituality of Hazrat Moulana Shah Maghsoud. Also a good source of hard-to-find translations of his work.
	Sufism Journal: Art & Literature http://www.sufismjournal.org/art/MSMsonnets1.html Several couplets by Moulana Shah Maghsoud translated into English.

Please support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you!

Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Moulana Shah Maghsoud

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Sacred Poetry from Around the World