Khallaq al-Ma'ani and Jami's Critique of Refined Meaning Overrunning Fluency (Salasat)
Kamal Isma'il Isfahani earned the epithet Khallaq al-Ma'ani (the Creator of Meanings) for the density of subtle, original meanings (ma'ani) packed into his verse. In the Baharestan, Jami treats him as the supreme case of this quality while also naming its cost: when the pursuit of subtle meaning (tadqiq-i ma'ani) is carried to excess, it pushes a poem past the limit of salasat (smooth fluency) and rawani (natural flow). This concept isolates the recurring critical trade-off Jami applies when judging poets — praising depth of meaning yet marking where over-refinement sacrifices ease and musicality. It is the same yardstick Jami reuses elsewhere in the Baharestan, for instance when he charges that identical excess pushed Kamal Khojandi's verse beyond fluency and drained it of the savor of love.
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Humanities
Literature
Persian Literature Prerequisite Course