Genealogy of a Ruba'i attributed to Avicenna in Majalis al Mo'minin

Majalis al Mo'minin, written by Qazi Noorullah Shustari, 1610 AD, is one of the most significant books in Shiite Rijal, important in literary studies because it contains verses attributed to poets of early Hegira centuries. Many contemporary scholars treated these poems with doubt; however, no genealogical study has been conducted on these verses to date. One of these poems, attributed to Avicenna, is a Ruba'i in praise of Imam Ali first recorded in Majalis al Mo'minin thus finding way to several biographies and books of Persian literature history. The theme of the Ruba'i is closely related to calligraphy terminology and certain mystical notions. Therefore, the study, using historical content analysis, attempted to genealogically address the type of calligraphy and development of the mystical symbols to approximate the time the poem was written and explore how the poem entered Majalis al Mo'minin. The results show, considering mirror-writing in the theme of the Ruba'i, emergence and development of this type of calligraphy after 9th century Hegira and its accordance with certain common mystical thoughts in sects like Hurufism, Noorbakhshia, Bektashi and etc., it was written four centuries after the death of Avicenna, 1024 AD. Furthermore, since Qazi Noorullah Shustari was a poet connected to mystics and familiar with calligraphy, it is possible that the ruba'i was one of his that he attributed to Avicenna to support his claim.