Keywords: Nasir Khusraw, Divan, UNESCO, Badakhshan, Tajikistan, Fatimid, ibda’, tanzil, ta’wil, zahir, batin, ‘ilm, ma‘rifa, ta‘lim, body to soul (tan ba jon), world to religion (dunya ba din), Neoplatonism, philosophy, Dari, poetry

Abstract: This paper provides an introductory perspective for the volume of articles devoted to Nasir Khusraw's millennium commemoration, entitled Nasir Khusraw: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow (2005), held in Tajikistan in September 2003.

The volume captures the intellectual quality and diversity reflected in the presentations and discussions held in the remote mountain city of Khorog and the capital Dushanbe. The introduction commences with the background to the commemoration and its rationale, followed by a brief introduction to the conference and symposium, their aims and the participants. The following section is on the approaches, themes and various ideas about Nasir Khusraw in the conference papers and it is followed by procedural comments and an epilogue.

Author

Dr Sarfaroz Niyozov

Sarfaroz Niyozov was born in the village of Shujand in the Roshan district of Badakhshan, Tajikistan. He received his undergraduate education at Tajik State University and graduated with an Honours degree in Arabic in 1983. Dr Niyozov subsequently worked as an Arabic-Russian translator in Syria and Yemen and later began his graduate studies at Tajik State University where he was also employed as an Arabic instructor.