An Investigation into Aesthetic Aspects of Allegory in the Tales of Attar's Musibat-Nama

The use of allegory in Persian language and literature has a long history and it is highly useful in explaining intellectual, mental and abstract ideas to the audience. Examining various dimensions of allegory is a big step toward identifying the works of Attar, especially that of Musibat-Nama. This work is about the mystical journey of the seeker of the knowledge, with Attar, in this allegorical tale, attempting to take the seekers of the truth through this mystical journey to Allah with his mystical teachings and special techniques. Amid the tales, some good examples of allegorical tales, exemplum, allegorical simile, allegorical metaphor and oslub-e moadele (a type of allegory) can be seen. This article tries to find how Attar has drawn upon allegory and its different types to present mystical and ethical concepts and better explain these notions to the audience in this work. It was found that among allegorical tales, the parable and oslub-e moadele have the highest and lowest frequency respectively since the poet is not to decorate speech but aims to express mystical states and perceptions. The current article has been carried out using library research method and note taking and has answered to some ambiguities and questions through a descriptive-analytical method and the gathered data.