Three Key Figures in the Construction of the Muʿammā Genre: Yazdī, Jāmī, and Nishābūrī

Abstract

Muʿammā (a riddle in verse encrypting names), used to conceal information or ensure its understanding is limited to certain individuals, developed and systematized in Persian literature, particularly during the Timurid period of the 15th century, through the works of Sharaf al-dīn Ali Yazdī, Abd al-rahmān Jāmī, and Mīr Hussein Nishābūrī.

In this study, the concept of the muʿammā is examined in detail, both in its lexical and terminological meanings. Following this, Yazdī›s work, Hulal-i Mutarraz der Fann-i Muʿammā ve Lugaz, considered the founder of muʿammā genre, is introduced. Finally, information from his work Muntahab-ı Hulal-i Mutarraz a more understandable summary of Yazdī›s work, is presented.

Jāmī was the figure who developed and deepened this structure,established by Yazdī. With his four treatises about muʿammā—Hilya-i Hulal, Risāla-i Muhtasar der Bayân-ı Kavâʿid-i Muʿammā, Risāla-i Sagîr der Muʿammā, and Risāla-i Esgar der Muʿammā—he enriched the subject theoretically and classified and clarified the muʿammā under main headings such as ‘‘tashīlī, tahsīlī, and takmīlī’’.

Following Jāmī, Nishābūrī, the ultimate organizer and systematizer of the muʿammā, completed the subject under four main headings with his comprehensive work, Risāla-i Muʿammā, adding the heading ‘‘tezyīlī’’ to Jāmī’s threefold classification.

This study explains how these three authors, through their complementary contributions, transformed the scattered art of the muʿammā into a distinct literary genre by establishing its rules and theoretical foundation. Furthermore, following the introduction of the works of each of these three authors on muʿammā, the 109 manuscript copies identified from over 200 muʿammā manuscripts in the Presidency of the Manuscripts Institution of Türkiye demonstrate the richness of their legacy and the opportunities available for academic and philological studies in this field.

Citation: Uzun, Adem (2026). “Three Key Figures in the Construction of the Muʿammā Genre: Yazdī, Jāmī, and Nishābūrī”, Erdem, June, Issue:90, pp. 215-248.