Inside the shrine of Baba Afzal

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Baba Afdal (d1283) inscription at his Tomb.
(in Iran) +  Qasidah (poem)
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Taken from: W.C. Chittick : The heart of Islamic Philosophy

 

Persian philosopher and poet Afdal al-Din Muhammad ibn Hasan Kashani, born 1213
Tomb is located in Maraq in central Iran. The grave to the right side of the kibla belongs to Baba Afdal, that to the left is attributed to : 'Padishah-I-Zang' litterally:  'King of Zanzibar' or more generally;' an important man from east Africa'. Who is said to have been his devoted disciple.

Note: this small inscription can be used in James de Verre Allan's argument that the relationship between Shirah and east Africa must have included the sending of students from East Africa to Iran.

However: K. Vasiltsov in his Afdal al-Din Kashani and His Treaties: The Book Everlasting; speaks about a Governor of Zanzibar. But the text that he adds: پادشاة زنگ  translates as King of Zang. Pādešāh : پادشاة : King
 
Taken from : Seyyed Nasr : The intellectual tradition in Persia
Out of one of his Qasidah (long poems) it can be concluded that:

Afdal al Din was imprisoned by the local governor of his home city on the pretext of being a magician (sahir). He served his prison term in Kashan and that there was a stranger who served with him and who might have been a king of Zanzibar and who was his disciple.

This Qasidah got published by P. Bayda'l in his: habsiyya yi Hakim Afdal al din Kashani Yaghma vol 4 1330AH.