Amir Allis
Amir Allis was a writer of Egyptian origin living in Egypt in the late 12th century. He incorporated many Sufi images in his writing and was generally considered a mystic. He served as a soldier under Saladin during the Third Crusade and was with the Sultan when he recaptured Jerusalem. While little is recorded regarding his life's history, it is presumed that he remained in Jerusalem after Saladin's victory. This assumption stems from some of his later work which includes plays on the similarity of Hebrew and Arabic words.
Life[edit]
His most famous writing is a collection of seven poems called The Week in which is chronicled seven stages of his relationship with his lover, Qamar. Most of it is lost in obscurity, and only a few 'days' exist. It is also speculated that the work was never finished, although Amir references it in his later writings as if it were complete.
Writing[edit]
Most of Amir's work remains untranslated in its original Arabic, although Amir also seemed to have at least a rudimentary understanding of English and Hebrew, presumably learned during his time in Jerusalem. Original manuscripts remain elusive, although the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities in Cairo holds the first and second days of The Week as well as a small collection of individual works.
Some of Amir's last works seem to have been influenced by the Jewish mystic traditions. Due to the nature of cultural clashes between Islam and Judaism, diffusion between Sufism and Jewish mysticism is sparsely documented. Amir Allis' case may be an example of where the two cultures met and blended. The following quatrain shows an example:
كثمود الاشجار الى الاسماء
الاسماءتموج المطر الى الاشجاء
المملكة مالة الثاج
الثاج مالة المملكة
As the trees reach up to the sky,
the heavens reach down water upon them.
As the kingdom belongs to the crown,
so does the crown belong to the kingdom.
The imagery found herein appears to correlate to the image of the 10 Sephiroth (סְפִירוֹת) used in the Jewish tradition, especially with reference to Kether (כתר) and Malkuth (מלכות).
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