Nothing is known about his place or date of birth, despite some scholars have estimated that he should have been
born between 1286 and 1291 [1286-1291 CE]. Apart from his
first name (Aḥmad), we do not know his original family name or nisba. His surname “Aflākī” might refer to him
acquiring some knowledge of astronomy (Aflāq = planets) at an early age. Although he lived in
Anatolia, in his work, he provides no indications that he grew up
in Konya, which suggests that that he must have spent is youth
outside of Anatolia. There is a reference to his father being
patronised by Uzbek Khan and then dying in the city of Sarai,
capital of the Golden Horde. Despite this, no specific
mention of Aflākī being there is to be found in his writings (see (Aflākī, Aḥmad. The feats of the knowers of God: Manāqeb al-ʻārefīn. Translated by O'Kane, John. Leiden: Brill, 2002., pp. ix)).
He mentions that he studies with Siraj al-Din Mawlavi, ʻAbd al-Muʼmin Tūqātī and Nizam al-Dīn Arzanjā nī . Once he entered the mevlevi order, he became a disciple of
Jalāl al-Din Rūmī’s grandson Aref Çelebi.
The only work produced by Aflākī to our knowledge is the Manāqib al-ʻārifīn (مناقب العرفین) which was the result of a direct
request made by Aref Çelebi to write
a book containing the life of all the mevlevi leaders up to his time. Aflākī died on the
15th of June 1360 [1360 CE] and he was buried in Konya where his tomb can still be seen.
This is the well-known Persian hagiographic work on the life of Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī,
including chapters on the life of his father (Bahāʼ al-Dīn Valad, 1150-1231), spiritual masters
(Shams-i Tabrīzī, -1247) and his family (Sulṭān Valad, 1226-1312;
Aref Çelebi; et al.). It also includes
anecdotes (hikayat) about early saints of the Mawlawiyya Sufi order.
The final version of the work is the result of a compilation of different versions of the work composed by the
author in the first half of the 14th century
and from a collection of stories and anecdotes compiled from different parts of Anatolia and Ilkhanid lands. Among the literary sources he used are the
Risālah dar manāqib-i Khudāvandgār (رساله در مناقب خداونگار) of Farīdūn ibn Aḥmad Sipahsālār and the Maqālāt-i Shams(مقالات شمس) of Shams-i Tabrīzī, -1247Show more
