The Structural Analysis of Ebn-e Sina's Merajnameh According to Campbell's Model of the Hero's Journey

Merajnameh is an example of religious and mystical literature. It is a report of spiritual journey to unknown territories beyond self-awareness. In this literary form and narrative, the concept of journey has always been a well-known element in the evolution of mankind towards perfection. For that reason, Merajnamehs of spiritual pilgrimage have been written in the form of travel books. The Meraj of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), narrated by Abu-Ali Sina (aka. Avicenna), is one of the oldest independent examples in the Persian literature, written in prose, with a symbolic approach to the elements of narrative. The importance of studying such texts according to new literary theories is to attempt to open a new horizon in the reader's knowledge of the text in order to reveal its cryptic layers and to extend his comprehension of the text. The present research examines Ebn-e Sina's Merajnameh according to Campbell's concept of monomyth, which is a structuralistic psychological approach to the hero's journey, with a descriptive-analytic method and based on interdisciplinary studies of comparative literature. The results demonstrate that Abu-Ali Sina's Merajnameh is compatible with the narrative structure of Joseph Campbell's model of the Hero's Journey, except for some inconsistencies in the sublevels of "rejecting invitation" and "refusing to return" Which reveals the eloquence and dynamism of the ascension of Hazrat Khatami (PBUH) based on its narrative structure in the verses of the Holy Quran.