Allegories of Nawruz and the Spring Equinox in Ismaili Thought

Abstract

Spring’s equinox, known as Nawrūz in Persian, has fascinated humankind for millennia. Esoteric Muslim literature spanning virtually every major historical period abounds with spring and Nawrūz symbolism. It is present in the literary heritage of its three principal linguistic groupings: the Arabic of the Islamic heartlands, the Persian of Iranian and Central Asian traditions, and the various South Asian languages of the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent. In referring to esoteric Islam, we specifically intend the tradition of the Ismailis, known as the Bāṭiniyya, or the esoterics par excellence. Regional influences are readily apparent in the timing of the festival in the Arab world, the vivid imagery and vocabulary of South Asian cultures that draw from the symbolism of wider mystical currents in the Subcontinent, and the metres and metaphors that permeate Persian works, indelibly rooting them in the birthplace of Nawrūz, and the conventions that sprung from it. Two uniting themes permeate the three broad linguistic traditions: firstly, vernal phenomena as metaphors for the blessing of the Imam of the time and, secondly, the sacralisation of the earth’s springtide finery as symbols conveying knowledge of a spiritual world beyond sensory experience.