Persian Literature

Abstract Our land, Iran, has gone through many ups and downs throughout its history, among which we can mention Timur's invasion and the formation of the Timurid government. A government whose rule lasted for more than a century and led to extensive social, cultural, linguistic and literary developments. Among the linguistic and literary consequences of this period, we can mention the spread of history writing and linguistic and stylistic developments in the historical texts of this period. In this essay, the author has tried to investigate the ways and causes of those transformations, as well as the linguistic and stylistic features of the historical texts of this period.

Our land, Iran, has gone through many ups and downs throughout its history, among which we can mention Timur's invasion and the formation of the Timurid government. A government whose rule lasted for more than a century and led to extensive social, cultural, linguistic and literary developments. Among the linguistic and literary consequences of this period, we can mention the spread of history writing and linguistic and stylistic developments in the historical texts of this period. In this essay, the author has tried to investigate the ways and causes of those transformations, as well as the linguistic and stylistic features of the historical texts of this period.

Abstract Shater Abbas Sabouhi was a poet of the nasrian era whose divans published under his name were collected by his admirers after his death. this work, while preserving some of his poems, has mistakenly included some poems by other poets in his divan. however, we know 8 ghazals and 2 unfinished Poem of correct attribution from Shatter Abbas that can hlep the exact stylistics of his poetry. the present article uses a descriptive-analytic method to identification the poet's possible poems compared to his true poems. quantitative analysis based on probability theory, in addition to providing guidance for identifying stylistic features of certain poems by Sabohi, leads to the presentation of a table of the frequency of use of these features in the poet's probable poems in order to obtain the probability of correctness or incorrectness of attribution of these poems. this article, finally, according to the use statistics of more prominent stylistic features in ten layers including phonetic, lexical, morphological, syntactic, rhetorical-literal, rhetorical-spiritual, meterical, rhymical, thematic and motific, has concluded that 35 gazals, 1 mokhammas, 1 ghet'e, 10 roba'i, 13 unfinished poems and 1 folk song and 61 probable poems in total, Only 16 ghazals, 1 mokhammas, 4 roba'is, 1 ghet'e and 8 unfinished poems have more and more ability to be attributed to Sabouhi and the rest do not have this possibility or have it less and less.

Abstract The authenticity of some of the contents of mystical texts, especially the books that focus more on the biographies and sayings of Sufis, has always been the subject of discussion. Discussions and criticisms will increase when they are supposed to use the narrations of such books in compiling historical details and facts. One of these books is Attar's Tazkira al-Awliya, which, although it is one of the first books in Persian that deals with the sayings and anecdotes of Sufis and has a unique prose, its statements cannot be trusted in absolute terms. In this essay, after an introduction about Tazkira al-Awliya, due to the occurrence of historical errors in books of tazkira and authorities will be discussed, and then nine of the propositions of this book will be examined and criticized from a historical perspective, and the audience will find out that the story of Imam Sadiq in the meeting of Mansour Davanighi is influenced by the interpretation of the story of the miracle of Prophet Moses with the magicians, which is given in Tafsir Beizawi. Abu Hazem Madani had no connection with Abu Hurairah and it is difficult to consider him as one of the "Tabe’in" elders. Abdullah Mubarak died before Fozayl Ayaz and it is not possible that he said anything in mourning the death of Fazil Ayaz. Bayazid Bastami's discipleship with Imam Sadiq was once again investigated and rejected. Imam Shafi'i was never a disciple of Malik Dinar. Imam Shafi'i was the predecessor of Ahmad Hanbal. It is not possible that Abdullah Mubarak went to visit Ahmad Hanbal. None of the caliphs of the time have fallen to the ground with the curse of Sufyan Thori. The youth of Shaqiq Balkhi was not comparable to the reign of Ali Ibn Isa Mahan.

Abstract Nāser-e Khosrow has repeatedly boasted of his philosophical knowledge, often dismissing his contemporary poets and dabirs as inferior. Yet, his poetic persona has long overshadowed his reputation as a theologian. Furthermore, due to his historical context and Persian-language corpus, his theological and philosophical ideas have been studied far less than those of his predominantly Arabic-writing predecessors. This disparity stems partly from the marginalization of Persian philosophical texts in classical Islamic scholarship. This paper examines the theological dimensions of his work by comparing his discourse on Substance and Accident—a foundational concept in Aristotelian metaphysics—particularly in Zād al-Musāfir (his most significant philosophical work), with Ibn Sinā’s treatment of the same subject in Dānish-nāma-yi ‘alāyī (the latter’s sole work originally composed in Persian). Through this analysis, we demonstrate how Nāser-i Khusrow strategically engaged with Peripatetic thought to articulate his theological arguments, repurposing its frameworks to advance the Ismailis’ apophatic theology. We contend that the Ismailis’ intellectual disputes with philosophers are rooted in these reinterpretations. By highlighting philosophical reflections on Substance and Accident in his poetry, we argue that his philosophical expertise is inextricable from his poetic identity and that interpreting his verse requires close engagement with his prose—an approach many commentators of his poetry have overlooked or neglected, resulting in fragmented readings of his interdisciplinary legacy

Abstract Rudaki of Samarqand, the master of poets and the father of Persian poetry, is one of the peaks of the Iranian language and literature, and his few poems have attracted the attention of researchers in the last century. The importance of this issue is related to the exploration of early poems and the analysis of how Persian-Dari poems were formed. On the other hand, Persian-speaking people in Iran, Tajikistan, Afghanistan and other countries consider Rudaki and his poems to have a special place among Persian-speaking poets; therefore, any brief or detailed statement about Rudaki's surviving poems is very valuable, and undoubtedly, finding new points in his poems requires reflection and analysis of documented and advanced sources. One of these important sources is dictionaries, and among them, the archive of Rudaki's verses in Halimi's dictionary (Bahr al-Gharaeb) is efficient and effective due to the author's use of reliable sources before him, such as the Persian Dictionary and the Persian Compendium, which has not been considered by the accurate and scholarly correctors of Divan of Rudaki. For this reason, the authors in this article, after examining all the verses attributed to Rudaki in Halimi's dictionary, have selected three important verses from the 120 verses in it that have unique and noteworthy archives. They then evaluated these verses and showed why these archives are authentic or noteworthy and are preferable to the archive of the correctors.

Abstract This study explores the crucial role of simile and allegory in explaining the complex concept of wahdat al-wujud (the Unity of Being) in Attar's mystical masterpiece The Conference of the Birds. Given the profoundly abstract nature of mystical concepts in Islamic philosophy, Attar skillfully and systematically employs these rhetorical devices—particularly simile and allegory—to present these transcendental ideas in a more tangible, relatable, and impactful manner for his readers. The primary aim of this research is to carefully analyze how these sophisticated literary strategies function in effectively conveying the subtle notion of wahdat al-wujud, while also critically examining their unique strengths and inherent limitations as tools of mystical expression. The methodology adopted is fundamentally descriptive-analytical, deeply grounded in both classical Islamic mysticism and traditional rhetorical theory. Findings clearly indicate that Attar creatively utilizes various profound allegories such as "the Simurgh and its shadow," "wax and its multiple forms," and "the astrologer's divination board" to vividly illustrate different philosophical aspects of wahdat al-wujud. These carefully constructed figures serve the dual purpose of both clarifying the mystical concepts (through approximation) while simultaneously, due to the inevitable limitations of all figurative language, potentially leading to certain misinterpretations (through distancing). The research ultimately concludes that Attar, through his remarkable artistic synthesis of poetic simile and solid mystical foundations, has successfully created an exceptionally effective mechanism for conveying abstract spiritual ideas. Nonetheless, for a more comprehensive understanding of wahdat al-wujud, further comparative analysis of these allegories with other important mystical texts and deeper exploration of their philosophical implications are strongly recommended.

Abstract Abstract

Speculative fiction surpasses the rules of our world to create entirely new ones. The sub-genres of dystopian, apocalyptic, and post-apocalyptic fiction consider very extreme circumstances that test human values and survival. This paper compares Kāj-Zadegi and Bārān-Zād by Zoha Kazemi with Mah-Ālood by Alista Aghaei, focusing on their governance systems, societal structures, and defining characteristics. The comparison is done along four dimensions: governance, human experience, social dynamics, and environmental features.

Kāj-Zadegi emphasizes authoritarianism, strict security measures, harsh punishments, and loss of personal identity through mechanization. In contrast, Bārān-Zād is subtler in her critiques while addressing character development, empathy, and the struggle of individuals for love, justice, and survival in the face of adversity. Common to all three works are themes of societies recovering from human or natural catastrophes. Shared motifs include class relations, fear, hope, chaos, betrayal, and strange end-of-the-world creatures.

While Mah-Ālood has stressed military components, Kāj-Zadegi does not highlight religion and sovereignty, demoting militarism, whereas Bārān-Zād refers to them all. Their settings are different-Mah-Ālood on a faraway planet and Kāj-Zadegi and Bārān-Zād on Earth, but with different futures of dystopia. All three works explore how governance and societal structures adapt to and reflect the challenges of speculative worlds.

Abstract Attar, in his work Mantiq-ut-Tayr elaborates on the seven valleys of spiritual journey, with the fourth valley being named "indifference" In this valley, the Lord is indifferent to the seeker, and the existence or non-existence of the seeker makes no difference to Him. Before Attar explains this valley in Mantiq-ut-Tayr he discusses its overall concept without any specialized terminology in the story of Job in Elahi-Nameh. Among the philosophical discussions in the Islamic world, the issue of God's knowledge of particulars, especially Al-Ghazali's interpretation of it, resonates with the valley of indifference. It is likely that Attar drew his main material for elucidating indifference from Al-Ghazali's "Incoherence of the Philosophers."

These discussions align with an ancient belief suggesting that not only humans but also the earth is so insignificant within the cosmos that the celestial sphere remains oblivious to it and is fundamentally unaware of its existence or non-existence. This issue is also raised in Attar's Asrar-Nameh and has been previously mentioned in Sanai's Hadiqe. Apparently, Sanai derived it from the Shahnameh, where the belief in the ignorance of the celestial dragon is manifested in several ways; this notion is a remnant of Zoroastrian beliefs. This article attempts to trace the origins of the valley of indifference, leading us first to a philosophical discussion and ultimately to a Zoroastrian belief found in the Shahnameh.