The Sun Shining in a Mirror: Poetic Knowing in ʿIrāqī’s Lamaʿāt

Abstract

This article argues that the form of a text matters as much as, if not more than, its content. Using Fakhr al-Din ‘Irāqī’s Lamaʿāt (Divine Flashes) as a case study, this article explores the significance of the poetic form and the role of the reader/listener in interpreting and experiencing the poem. The article argues that a close analysis of ʿIrāqī’s work reveals a careful deployment of literary devices and rhetorical strategies to induce an affective experience in the reader, which facilitates a distinct form of “knowing.” I argue that by shifting our focus from what a poetic work says to what it does, we can glimpse hitherto unappreciated varieties and textures of Islamic philosophy, broadly construed. This approach allows us to glean not only the meaning of the text but also how it moves the reader, drawing upon the reader’s full range of senses, imagination, and intellect.