“Hamzah’s sha’ir derived its original or primary influence not from the ruba’i, but from the four-line shi’r of Ibnu’l-Arabi and ‘Iraqi which forms the bulk of quotations of Sufi poetry in his works.” SufismSufiTasawwufHamzah FansuriIraqiIbnu Arabi Book:The Origin of the Malay Sha'ir Source: The Origin of the Malay Sha'ir
“It seems to me that apart from the aptness of the Malay language in the construction of four-lined verses with a AAAA pattern of rhyme, the influence of Ibnu’l-‘Arabi’s and ‘Iraqi’s four-line shi’r and Jami’s ruba’i, the concept of the bayt and the shi’r in Arabic and Persian prosody, the creative genius of the poet, Hamzah’s choice of the four-line shi’r composed of a single bayt could well have been influenced also by the symbolism in the Sufi doctrines.” SufismSufiSymbolismTasawwufHamzah FansuriIraqiIbnu Arabi Book:The Origin of the Malay Sha'ir Source: The Origin of the Malay Sha'ir