Investigating Sentence Mood in the First and Second Parts of Attar's Tazkirat al-Awliya

In this study, the biographies of two mystics from the first section (Junayd of Baghdad and Bayazid Bastami) and two mystics from the second section (Abu al-Hasan Kharaqani and Abu Sa'id Abu'l-Khayr) of the book Tazkirat al-Awliya are examined from a modal perspective. First, modality is analyzed in two categories: indicative and non-indicative. The total frequency of non-indicative moods in all four sections shows no significant difference. This difference can be analyzed in terms of the prose style of Sufism and the intentions of the speaker and author. In the next section, among the non-indicative moods, the frequencies of imperative, interrogative, and conditional moods are examined and compared. From this perspective, there are significant differences between the two mystics in the first section and the two mystics in the second section. Additionally, the two mystics in the first section show complete similarity in their use of different moods, while the two mystics in the second section, besides differing from the first section, also differ from each other, which can be analyzed from discourse and stylistic perspectives. From the viewpoint of power discourse, Abu Sa'id's section most prominently displays the power of the mystic, followed by the sections of Abu al-Hasan, Junayd, and Bayazid. From a stylistic perspective, the differences in modality and other examined elements indicate a distinct style between the first and second sections of the "Tazkirat", supporting the hypothesis that the second section might be a later addition.