Undoubtedly, Jahez is a prominent and unique figure among the founders of
Islamic culture and literature. His extensive information, deep knowledge and
special attitude toward literature and its arts resulted in his prominent
personality. In addition to his general knowledge and command of literature
and Islamic sciences, he is unique figure in literature criticism, especially in
rhetoric criticism. Although much attentions have not been paid to his works
and ideas in Islamic civilization and especially in Farsi language environment,
most of the theoreticians of the rhetoric and poets and writers interested in
rhetoric have been considerably affected by Jahez’s ideas. He has some new
and considerable ideas in the areas of the origins of poetry and the reasons of
its emergence, the characteristics of good poetry and speeches, the distinction
of meaning and speech and the features of structure and content and context,
the psychology of poetry and poems, the reasons for nations’ different
approaches toward poetry and prose and nonexistence of some in forms of
writing. He has some new numerous ideas upon etymology, comparative
phonetics, semantics and the likes whose understanding and interpretation give
a new life to the Persian literature and Islam theoreticians. Although he has
created more than 360 works, his literature related ideas have been stipulated in
his two books of “Albayan o Altabyeen” and “Alhayvan” and he also has
created some independent literature theses.
This article is aimed at revealing two points: first, analyzing, interpreting,
classifying and studying Jahez’s literature and criticism works and expressing
his status as the founder of rhetoric sciences. Second, the deep and extensive
impact of Jahez on Iranian thinkers especially its writers and poets and
literature criticism and rhetoric approaches because the writer believes that
rhetoric approach has been the most important literature criticism in Persian
language and literature and Jahez is the founder of rhetoric sciences in
Iran – Islam world.