Analyzing the Discourse in Ahmad-e Jm's Ons al-Tebn
Abstract:
The present article has adopted a critical discourse perspective to study Ahmad-e Jāms Ons al-Tāʾebīn. Ahmad-e Jām (b. 1049 AD in Nāmaq, near Toršīz, Khorasan; d. 1141AD) was one of the mystics of Khorasan, Iran. Traces of cultural transition can be found in his works and Ons al-Tāʾebīn is his masterpiece. The book mainly criticizes the official mysticism of the writers time. The cult which had been formed in Nishapur, the political center of the time, did not recognize the dissident voices. One can well think that the sole motive for writing the book was basically to challenge the same dominant ideology.
Meanwhile, the scholars of Islamic scholastic theology (Kalam) were active and Ashʿari scholastic theology was gradually casting its shadow on Khorasan. The official mysticism of the time adjusted itself with scholastic theology. Nizam al-Mulk and other representatives of political power adapted themselves to the trio and were integrated as the fourth element of the new order of discourse.
The integration of politics, mysticism, Sahfi jurisprudence, and Ashʿari scholastic theology were the principal elements of the new order of discourse. This naturally pushed Shia jurisprudence, scholastic theology, and Karrami Sufism to the margins. Ahmad-e Jām who favored Karramiyya expressed his disapproval against official Sufism. In his Ons al-Tāʾebīn, he sets the two Sufist discourses against each other: one strongly committed to sharia and the other one which had a utilitarian attitude using sharia as a means to its ends. The first one can be termed as the committed approach and the other as the non-committed one. He strongly praised the first and dispraised the second.
Different strategies adopted in his Ons al-Tāʾebīn reveal his attitude in this regard; among them one can refer to naming and describing, allusion to historical events, representation of time and place, authoritative documentation, linguistic emotionalism, metaphorization, and other techniques. He criticizes the philosophers of his time; however, he has a high regard for the kind of logic which serves Shariah. Although he did not approve of official Karrami sect, he endorses their ideology both overtly and covertly.
Discussion
Late 5th and early 6th centuries AH witnessed a cultural transition and a disruption of the order of discourse. Ons al-Tāʾebīn was created in the same discursive milieu and it reflected the ambience of change in this period. During the writers lifetime, Hanafi and Shafi, two schools of Sunni jurisprudence, were popular in Nishapur. Before the time of Nizam al-Mulk, the Persian scholar and vizier of the Seljuk Empire, many of the Sufis in this center had Hanafi leanings. There was a compatibility between jurisprudence and Sufism at the time; however, when Nizam al-Mulk took hold of power, the balance was tipped in favor of Shafis and this time there appeared a kind of harmony between Sufism and Shafi jurisprudence.Meanwhile, the scholars of Islamic scholastic theology (Kalam) were active and Ashʿari scholastic theology was gradually casting its shadow on Khorasan. The official mysticism of the time adjusted itself with scholastic theology. Nizam al-Mulk and other representatives of political power adapted themselves to the trio and were integrated as the fourth element of the new order of discourse.
The integration of politics, mysticism, Sahfi jurisprudence, and Ashʿari scholastic theology were the principal elements of the new order of discourse. This naturally pushed Shia jurisprudence, scholastic theology, and Karrami Sufism to the margins. Ahmad-e Jām who favored Karramiyya expressed his disapproval against official Sufism. In his Ons al-Tāʾebīn, he sets the two Sufist discourses against each other: one strongly committed to sharia and the other one which had a utilitarian attitude using sharia as a means to its ends. The first one can be termed as the committed approach and the other as the non-committed one. He strongly praised the first and dispraised the second.
Different strategies adopted in his Ons al-Tāʾebīn reveal his attitude in this regard; among them one can refer to naming and describing, allusion to historical events, representation of time and place, authoritative documentation, linguistic emotionalism, metaphorization, and other techniques. He criticizes the philosophers of his time; however, he has a high regard for the kind of logic which serves Shariah. Although he did not approve of official Karrami sect, he endorses their ideology both overtly and covertly.
Keywords:
Language:
Persian
Published:
Journal of Literary Studies, Volume:49 Issue: 1, 2016
Pages:
47 to 77
magiran.com/p1682613
دانلود و مطالعه متن این مقاله با یکی از روشهای زیر امکان پذیر است:
اشتراک شخصی
با عضویت و پرداخت آنلاین حق اشتراک یکساله به مبلغ 1,390,000ريال میتوانید 70 عنوان مطلب دانلود کنید!
اشتراک سازمانی
به کتابخانه دانشگاه یا محل کار خود پیشنهاد کنید تا اشتراک سازمانی این پایگاه را برای دسترسی نامحدود همه کاربران به متن مطالب تهیه نمایند!
توجه!
- حق عضویت دریافتی صرف حمایت از نشریات عضو و نگهداری، تکمیل و توسعه مگیران میشود.
- پرداخت حق اشتراک و دانلود مقالات اجازه بازنشر آن در سایر رسانههای چاپی و دیجیتال را به کاربر نمیدهد.
In order to view content subscription is required
Personal subscription
Subscribe magiran.com for 70 € euros via PayPal and download 70 articles during a year.
Organization subscription
Please contact us to subscribe your university or library for unlimited access!