A COMPARATIVE INTERPRETATION OF THE MORAL PORTRAIT OF SUFIS IN THE FIRST EPICS OF AMIR KHUSRAU DEHLAVI AND ALISHER NAVOI’S KHAMSAS

Abstract

 This article comparatively examines the artistic and philosophical representation of saints (awliya) and Sufis in Amir Khusrau Dehlavi’s “Matla’ ul-Anwar” and Alisher Navoi’s “Hayrat ul-Abror”. Particular attention is paid to the images of Nizamuddin Awliya, Bahauddin Naqshband and Abdurahman Jami, as well as to the contrast between the genuine Sufi and the hypocritical shaykh. The analysis demonstrates that Nizamuddin Awliya is presented by Khusrau as a living spiritual master, guide and model of perfection, whereas Navoi constructs the images of Bahauddin Naqshband and Jami as embodiments of purity, humility, spiritual maturity and divine love. Both poets reject the reduction of Sufism to external appearance and associate true spirituality with moral purification and overcoming the lower self. Khusrau gives greater emphasis to Sufi ethics, asceticism and renunciation of worldly attachment, while Navoi develops a sharper satirical representation of hypocritical shaykhs. The study concludes that the ideal of the perfect human being develops consistently within the Khamsa tradition and that the Sufi image performs an important ethical, philosophical and aesthetic function.