A Fool of God

One of the earliest Sufi poets in Persian, Baba Tahir is famous for his use of rustic dialects rather than polished style in his expression of mystical love-poetry. He is one of the four great pioneers of the quatrain (the others were Abu Said, Ansari and Omar Khayyam), and his songs are still widely sung and revered in Central Asia. Known as ‘The Naked’, because of his disdain for outward show, Baba Tahir was visited by Sultan Tughrul Beg. Subsequently, it is believed that he granted the Sultan victory over his enemies, so long as the ruler upheld justice. Perhaps for this reason, the recitation of his work is imagined by some to grant the heart’s desire to an honest man.