The Ismaili-Sufi Sage of Pamir: Mubarak-i Wakhani and the Esoteri ...

In 1984, Bertels gave a series of lectures on the Ismāīlīs of Badakhshan, their history, culture and tradition, at the Institute of Ismāīlī Studies in London. In one of those lectures, which were audio recorded, while discussing the local Badakhshani literature, he briefly refers to Mubārak and some of his works. Appreciating Mubārak’s intellectual capacity to cope with the sciences of his time, Bertels describes him as an extraordinary person and ‘the Avicenna of his time’. Nevertheless, as Bertels himself acknowledges, he did not have sufficient time to study the vast works of Mubārak or even publish one of them.⁶ Relatively serious attention to Mubārak was paid by a Tajik scholar, Abibov, who in his encyclopaedic monologue, Ganj-i Badakhshān (Treasure of Badakhshan) and later Az Tārīkh-i Adabiyyāt-i Tājīk dar Badakhshān (A History of Tajik Literature in Badakhshan) briefly presents a descriptive account of the pre-Soviet poets of the region. He also touches upon some moments in Mubārak’s life and works. Abibov did a remarkable job in highlighting Mubārak’s name and his major works, but it seems that the political situation of his time did not allow him to break down the ideological barriers and look deeper into the religious message conveyed by Mubārak. Thus, both his autobiographic and bibliographic accounts of Mubārak remain very narrow in both form and meaning.⁷

It, thus, remains a fact that, hitherto no serious scholarly research has been done on Mubārak’s life and works, and this book attempts to be the first introductory study on the subject. The principle goal is to provide a systematic presentation of a seminal Islamic figure. In order to establish an accurate biography of Mubārak, and to render his often confused Ismāīlī-Sufi ideas as lucidly and coherently as possible, this study concentrates on assessing his life and thoughts in their historical and religious context. It explores how far Mubārak’s works represent the indigenous Pamiri perception of Ismāīlism and where he stands in relation to general Ismāīlī thought. Likewise, through the study of the works of Mubārak, it seeks to explore the distinctive elements of Pamiri Ismāīlism, which itself is an interesting, but relatively neglected area in religio-cultural studies of the minor nations within the former Soviet Union.