Episode 2: al-Hallaj

Professors Carl Ernst and Cyrus Zargar discuss the poetry and singular legacy of al-Hallaj, the famous early Sufi poet and teacher who became legendary for his shocking statement, Ana al-Ḥaqq, “I am the Real,” and his dramatic execution by the authorities in Baghdad in 309/ 922. al-Hallaj left behind a body of beautiful Sufi poetry in Arabic that is still popular today and became a legendary figure in Sufi literature. Links and Further Reading/Listening: “Life, Works, and Poetic Legacy of a Martyred Mystic” Abbasid History Podcast. . Carl Ernst, al-Hallaj: Poems of a Sufi Martyr (Chicago: Northwestern University Press, 2018) […]