Muhammad Ibn Muhammad Al-Nefzawi

Sheikh Abu Abdullah Muhammad ibn Omar al-Nefzawi (الشيخ أبو عبدالله محمد ابن عمر النفزاوي), also known as Cheikh Nefzaoui (الشيخ النفزاوي) or Sheikh al-Nafzawi (fl. 1410-1434), was a Persian writer and scholar known for the sole work attributed to him — the Perfumed Garden of Sensual Delight (الروض العاطر في نزهة الخاطر), a sex manual similar to Indian Kama Sutra written circa 1420, at the end of Islamic Golden Age. Nefzaoui's book is considered one of the classics of Arabic erotic literature, alongside One Thousand and One Nights, and it inspired numerous musicians over the years. A few notable works dedicated to the "Perfumed Garden" include 1923 Le Jardin Parfume piano poem by elusive English composer Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji, one of the tracks on Ray Manzarek's debut solo album The Whole Thing Started With Rock & Roll Now It's Out Of Control in 1974, 1982 Perfumed Garden disco single by Richard A. Hewson's RAH Band, or a song by Finnish melodic death metal Omnium Gatherum from their 2003 Spirits And August Light CD album. Muhammad al-Nefzawi, as evident from his name, was born in Nefzaoua, a small town on the shore of Sebkha Melrir Lake in the south of modern-day Tunisia; he likely belonged to one of the Berber tribes. The Perfumed Garden was commissioned by Vizir of Tunis, Abû Fâris Abdul-Azîz al-Mutawakkil, as an educational treatise, not a form of salacious literature, and it was text-only without illustrations since traditional Islam forbade any form of figurative art. The first translation to European languages was published in 1850, made by an anonymous French Army officer in Algeria who signed as "Monsier le Baron R***." The exceedingly rare autograph manuscript was lavishly illustrated with explicit drawings and engravings, including Sheikh al-Nefzawi's portrait on the frontispiece (offensive for religious Muslims). In 1886, a Victorian adventurer and orientalist, Sir Richard Francis Burton, published the English translation of The Perfumed Garden. According to Burton's introduction, some fragments of al-Nefzawi's text were compiled and borrowed from other Indian and Arabic authors, including stories of Mocailama and Chedja by Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazīd al-Ṭabarī, descriptions of different positions and movements for coitus likely from Kama Sutra, and some dreams interpretation taken from "Birds and Flowers" by Izz al-Din al-Mosadeqi. He further analyzed and criticized the book's contents for some omissions, noting that it barely mentions mutual masturbation, cunnilingus, and homosexuality (while describing "tribbing," or "scissoring" practiced by lesbians). Curiously, Burton complained about the lack of bestiality, too, stating that "it would certainly have been interesting to know which animals, by reason of their nature and conformation, are fittest to give pleasure either to man or woman, and what would be the result of such copulation." All the early translations omitted the final Chapter 21, which suggested a series of bizarre and disturbing "sexual challenges," like deflowering 80 virgins without ejaculating or having continuous intercourse for 50 days without losing an erection.