The Symbolic Reflection of Fire in Two Stories of Masnavi Manavi: A Comparative Study

From way back, man has paid attention to fire and its place in the man’s life. One of the functions of fire is purification. In spite of burning, fire brings purity and cleanliness. According to mythological beliefs, the flaming fire is a battlefield between cleanliness and wickedness. In the present article, at first, we consider the symbolic concept of fire in various myths that indicates to passing from fire (the exam of fire) and ascend to a higher stage. Then, after considering the myth of ‘passing of Siyāvash through the fire’ and the story of ‘Abraham in fire’, we compare them with another two stories of Masnavi Manavi of Jalāl al-Din Rūmi. They are the story of ‘casting the child into the fire’ and the fable of ‘reply to the materialist who says that the world is eternal’. We try to show that Jalāl al-Din Rūmi has been aware of the ancient symbolic and mythical concepts and has recreated them.