Fayz Kashani Poems

Born in Kashan, Mullā Muḥsin Fayḍ (Fayz) Kāshānī (d. 1091/1681 H/CE) was an Iranian, Twelver-Imam Shīʿa Muslim philosopher, logician, poet, mystic, jurisprudent, muḥaddith, and Quranic commentator during the Safavid period. Leonard Lewisohn refers to Fayḍ Kāshānī as one of the most eminent Shīʿite scholars and mystics of seventeenth-century Persia and adds, “There was hardly any field of knowledge among the sciences of his day that he did not examine and discuss in his works.” Fayḍ Kāshānī offers autobiographical accounts in his works, highlighting his life, thoughts, and academic contributions. Notably, Risālat al-iʿtidhār contains details about his birthplace, while Sharḥ-i Ṣadr offers insights into his educational journey. He was associated with the Isfahan school, renowned for Mullā Ṣadrā’s “transcendental theosophy.” His intellectual growth was significantly influenced by his mentors—Shaykh Bahāʾī, Mullā Ṣadrā, Mīr Findiriskī, Mīr Dāmād, and Allāmah Muḥammad Taqī Majlesī—and was later reflected in the teachings imparted to his prominent students, such as Mullā Muḥammad Bāqir Majlesī, Sayyed Niʿmat Allāh Jazāyirī, and Qāḍī Saʿīd Qummī. Fayḍ Kāshānī was a prolific writer, with his scholarly contributions extending to 116 books and treatises, spanning diverse fields such as philosophy, gnosticism, poetry, Quranic commentaries, ḥadīth, natural theology, jurisprudence, and other religious works. Importantly, Fayḍ Kāshānī highlighted the importance of theological, gnostic, and philosophical understanding to grasp the Quran and ḥadīth fully. He advocates combining Scripture with reflection to attain true knowledge—instead of merely relying on philosophical or Sufi texts. He further suggests that seekers enhance their faith and certainty (yaqīn) through worldly detachment (zuhd) and piety (taqwā) to maximize the benefits derived from knowledge and wisdom.