RESEARCHES IN MYSTICAL LITERATURE GAWHAR-I GUYA)
Year:2013 | Volume:6 | Issue:3 (SEQUENTIAL 23)|Papers Count:7

As the title shows، the main question of this article is mokhatabshenasi (the influence of one writer on other writers) of Sanai in prose works of 6-10th centuries (AH). For finding the answer، first، the prose works which used Sanai’s poems are identified. After extracting the verses and corresponding them with Sanai’s works، the mentioned sources are categorized into eight groups based on subject: historical، mystical، interpretive، biographical، ethical، literary، fictional and epistolary. Then، the data is investigated using four different approaches. First، the historical approach shows in which historical periods and how much each of Sanai’s works was popular among other writers. Second، the geographical approach tries to investigate the locations in which Sanai’s poems were read during 6-10th centuries. Third، the analytical approach aims to study the following: the spectrum of Sanai’s readers throughout history، the parts of his works which have been more attractive for each group of readers، the semantic-emotive grounds of his poems used by other writers and، finally، the similarities and differences in the reception of his poems by readers throughout history. Our last approach is statistical on the basis of which we want to answer the following questions: 1) Among which group of writers did his poetry have more readers during 6-10th centuries? 2) How did his poetry attract the attention of others during the mentioned period? 3) Which of his works was the most popular among the readers?

There are many words about Hafiz and his poetry, perhaps more than other Persian poets. The reason for this can be sought in his ambiguous poems. Thus, a critic calls him a broad-minded mystic whose poems have mystical implications, whereas another one considers him as a fickle person who changes his opinions every moment. For some critics he is a smart poet who has simply created a literary work without inserting his mindset into it. For this reason, there are a number of paradoxical and even opposite interpretations for most of his verses and it seems that new interpretations are still possible. One reason for the interpretability of his poems is the presence of various characters such as Rend (the libertine), Pire Moghan (the old Magian), Saghi (the cup-bearer), Sufi, Mohtaseb (the reckoner) in his Divan for some of which historical equivalents have been presented in several works and some scholars have tried to prove that each of these characters refers to real persons in Hafiz’s epoch or past epochs. Contemplation on the atmosphere of his poetry brings this question to the mind that if it is possible to consider each of these characters as hidden layers of Hafiz’s psyche that his consciousness tries to achieve self-knowledge and Perfection through recognition of such layers and creating balance and harmony between them. Using the idea proposed in analytical psychology about archetypes of collective unconscious, this article tries to find an answer for the mentioned question to achieve a new horizon in the analysis of Hafiz’s poems.

In this article, a new-found sonnet ascribed to Attar Neishaburi is introduced. In the book Oradalahbab va Fosusaladab this sonnet has been used as witness for explaining the meaning of “Kharabat”. Abulmafakher Yahia Bakhrazi, the author of this book, has stated clearly that this poem belongs to Attar Neishaburi. Moreover, linguistic clues and not being in the oldest version of Araghi’s Divan prove the validity of such ascription. The important point here is that this sonnet is seen in the Divan of Fakhrodin Araghi (corrected by Saied Nafisi) with little lexical differences and addition of two verses. By studying the eighteen versions used by Nafisi in his correction, it becomes clear that this sonnet does not exist in the basic version and the selection has been done on the basis of two later versions. Moreover, this sonnet is not in the collection of Araghi’s works (critically corrected by Mohtasham) which is based on fifteen versions and it was not found in nine manuscripts observed by the authors of this article. The results of this study show that by searching in Persian printed and hand-written texts, several verses of Attar Neishaburi can be found which have not yet been discovered by Attar’s researchers.

As a new method in literary criticism, semiotics is applied in terms of various processes one of which is tension process. In such process, a relationship is made between semiotic elements in which meaning plays the role of an element fluctuating between periphery and center. Accordingly, in sensual-perceptual activity a kind of process can be identified in which all the elements of tension are dynamically present. By the aid of these elements and in a discursive process, the rebel is placed at the center of sensual tensions. Then, relative to the depth of tension, it triggers the formation of signifieds. Such presence leads discourse to a kind of value system on which discursive content is based and confronts us with created meaning. While explaining the semiotic characteristics of Daghughi tale of Mathnavi, this article tries to analyze the transition from semiotic square to tension square and the formation of tension process in this tale by using analytical-descriptive method in order to provide an answer for this important question that how tension process can change discursive conditions and produce floating meanings. In fact, this article aims to show how an approximated mystic, as the rational Self, is disintegrated from himself via an emotional-tensional relationship. Then, in a mystical journey and via a transcendental process, he can see the Substitutes and, in a higher stage, achieve the status of Unity with God.

Container schema is one of the main image schemas which can be used for explaining mystical attitude to Existence. By such schema, abstract concepts and mystical experiences which signify the presence of something inside something else can be studied in terms of cognitive metaphor. The basis of container schema is that, by the aid of experience of being in something or has something inside himself, man can attribute volume to abstract concepts. The aim of this research is to explain several examples in Mathnavi. A number of abstract experiences and mystical concepts have been stated in terms of container schema in this work. In many verses, Molana has used container schema for explaining mystical concepts. When he likens love to a haven and place of seclusion which is full of lover’s light, by the aid of container schema, he indeed considers container and volume for love which is an abstract entity. What trigger the creation of such metaphorical expressions are conceptual structures and image schemas which help the poet to make a correspondence between source domain (concrete and experiential) and target domain (metaphysical and spiritual) for explaining the abstract concept of love. According to Molavi, language itself is a container which has the contained. Letters and words form the container whereas meaning and truth are the contained which descent into the container.

Long since, the terms hal (spiritual state) and magham (mystical station) have been controversial issues among sufists and various aspects of these terms have not been elucidated properly. The confusion of these terms has triggered a number of mistakes in understanding literary texts and thus recognizing the exact meaning as well as the semantic evolution of these terms throughout history can lead to a better understanding of Sufism ideas and thoughts. By stating different ideas about the definition of these terms, the authors of educational books of Sufism have tried to propose an exact definition of them. This matter is so important that a chapter is allocated to such issues in most of Sufism educational books. In al-Loma’ of Abunasr Sarraj a clear definition of the two terms and their referents are proposed and such definition is the basis of most mystics’ definition. There are many sufists who though accept the definition, they reject determining the referents for these two concepts or they have different ideas about this issue. Even in the works of Serraj’s contemporaries such as Abutaleb Maki, Kelabadi and the sufists near to his time like Abumansoor Esfahani and Abuabdulrahman Salami the definition of these terms and their referents are not clear. Determining referent, order and scope of hal and magham are influential in the Path and Progression of the sufists to the extent that Qusheiri considers disagreement over the referents of these two terms as the cause of dispute between Iraq and Khurasan Sufism. In this regard, Hujviri considers an effective role for Hares Mahasebi. Even in seventh century, Suhrevardi has pointed to such diversity of opinions in Avaref-al-Ma’aref. By providing the sayings of Sufism’s great figures, this article tries to study the changes and fixation of the meaning of mystical term “hal” from the oldest sufist texts to the last years of eighth century.

Discussion about Hafiz’s philosophical-theosophical view of notions such as Primordial Destiny, Determination and Human Will has been broad and controversial. Determination and destiny mean ineluctable and predetermined realization of accidents, human actions and future as the result of necessary cause and effect laws of universe or according to the a priori will of God. On the other hand, it seems that, at least, some factors determining thoughts and actions of human being are under the control of his own will. For conformists, the two claims can go together whereas for non-conformists this matter is impossible. The main aim of this article is to study fatalist poems of Hafiz besides his will-based poems. The article begins with a review of fatalist thoughts in ancient Iran and Greek and, then, such thoughts are studied in theosophical schools of Judeo-Christian and Islam. In the next stage, fatalist poems, type of fatalism and fatalist motivations of Hafiz are discussed. The results of this study show that Hafiz can be considered as a conformist fatalist.