Verification of some literary works attributed to Obayd Zakani

Since Obayd Zakani has written comedies in various formats, his anthology is one of the richest collections in the history of the Iranian culture. So far, many works in various genres have been attributed to him. Clearly, these works have affected research on Obayd’s biography, thought and works and, consequently, influenced the emergence and transformation of some genres during the eighth century. Thus, the most important task in correcting Obayd's anthology is to separate the original works from the works that have been mistakenly attributed to him. Although examining the works attributed to Obayd Zakani has attracted researchers for a long time, there are still many ambiguous points that should be addressed. From the many works attributed to Obayd, five are selected here including "Maktub-e Qalandarān", "Taʿrifāt-e Mollā Dopiyāza", both of which can be seen in most editions of Obayd’s anthology, Fāl-nāmas, which were first published in the last edition of the anthology, "Sharh al-Caqmini", and "maqāmāt". These have been attributed to Obayd in some studies. They are in different genres but are not equally known; each has its own characteristics. Considering these differences, this paper seeks to investigate the attribution of these works to Obayd Zakani by examining the existing manuscripts, stylistics evidence and historical backgrounds. It is concluded that Fāl-nāmas is correctly attributed to Obayd, while the others are mistakenly considered to be his works.