Nashwat al-Sukran min Sahba Tadhkar al-Ghizlan
- Author died
- 1307 AH
- Editions
- al-Maṭba‘ah al-Raḥmānīyah
Nashwat al-Sukran min Sahba Tadhkar al-Ghizlan (The Intoxication of the Inebriated from the Wine of Reminiscing Gazelles) is an Arabic literary treatise on passionate love (ʿishq), lovers, and the manifestations of infatuation, composed by the Indian scholar Siddiq Hasan Khan (1248–1307 AH / 1832–1890 CE) .
Subject and Sources
The work is an adab (belles-lettres) treatise dedicated to exploring romantic and passionate love, descriptions of beloved women, and the emotional states associated with longing and enamorment . In compiling the text, Khan abridged and synthesized material from earlier prominent works on the subject, specifically citing Ibn Abi Hajalah's Diwan al-Sababah, Dawud al-Antaki's Tazyin al-Aswaq, and Ghulam Ali Azad Bilgrami's Subhat al-Marjan .
Structure and Content
The book is organized into an introduction (muqaddimah), distinct sections (fusul), and an epilogue (khatimah) .
Its discussions incorporate literary, philosophical, medical, and religious perspectives on love:
- Definitions and nature of love: It cites diverse perspectives, including philosophical views attributed to Plato and Aristotle, the medical definition of love as a melancholic ailment as articulated by Ibn Sina, spiritual aphorisms from al-Junayd, and reflections transmitted by early Arab literary figures such as al-Asma'i .
- Causes, signs, and temperaments: It examines the psychological and somatic causes of passionate love, physical symptoms such as emaciation and insomnia, and how love varies across bodily temperaments (sanguine, phlegmatic, choleric, and melancholic) .
- Chaste love and traditions: It discusses chaste love ('iffah), legendary traditions of the Banu 'Udhrah tribe, and critical assessments of hadith reports mentioned in literary works regarding lovers who maintain chastity .
Publication History
The book was published in Istanbul (Constantinople) at the Jawa'ib Press (Matba'at al-Jawa'ib) in 1296 AH in a single volume comprising 112 pages . It was subsequently published in Cairo by Muhammad 'Atiyyah al-Kutubi at al-Matba'ah al-Rahmaniyyah in 1338 AH / 1920 CE .
Answer updated