فصلنامه ادبیات عرفانی و اسطوره شناختی
سال هجدهم شماره 67 (تابستان 1401)

Mohammad Nassir-a-din Makki Hosseini in his book Bahr al-Maani (The Sea of Meanings) pays considerable attention to epistemological issues. The purpose of the present article is to explain his the epistemological views and to examine the influence of Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani's Tamhīdāt on his ideas. This study has been done by using descriptive-analytical method and based on library resources. The findings show that Mohammad Makki not only in content, but also in words and phrases, has been influenced by the epistemological views of Ayn al-Quzat. Both mystics have distinguished between inward knowledge and outward knowledge, and have considered outward knowledge as the divine knowledge that mystics receive it due to their degree of unshakable faith in God. According to both of them, man can attain divine knowledge through self-knowledge and the knowing of the prophet Muhammad; but knowing the divine essence is not possible and one can only know about divine names, attributes and acts. They speak of the existence of an obstacle (hejab) in knowing God and believe that this obstacle will not be completely removed; and for some reasons such as content, human limitations and religious limitations, the inability of the audience to understand the concepts and the issue of confidentiality, the divine teachings are inexpressible. These topics are covered in more detail in Bahr al-Maani than in Tamhīdāt.

In mystical texts, abstract concepts are explained by using the referential language and literary possibilities of language, such as allegory. The main purpose of allegory is to teach the holy traveler (sālek) to go through the stages of mystical journey (suluk) and to reach perfection. The use of allegorical language in mysticism is attributed to Abul-Hassan Nouri. After briefly referring to the background and function of allegory, in the present study, by using the method of analyzing of information and the library resources, the content and theme of Maghamat al-Gholoob (Authorities of Hearts), by Abul-Hassan Nouri, have been studied and types of allegory such as Quranic allegories, metaphors and allegorical similes have been analyzed based on the views of Paul Nwyia. The findings show that the mysticial stations and principles, in their most abstract form, are presented in this treatise. Non-narrative allegory, along with metaphor, allegories, and allegorical additions, are among the most frequent types of allegory in Maghamat al-Gholoob.

Orhan Pamuk, the well-known Turkish novelist, has created some of his works under the influence of Iranian literature and in accordance with the patterns found in the masterpieces of classical Persian literature. In The Black Book, one of Pamuk's novels, modern Western storytelling methods are combined with ancient stories and anecdotes of Eastern literature, including Persian literature. In the novel, Pamuk has paid special attention to Attār of Nishapur's Mantiq-u-Tayr and has tried to match his work with the symbolic patterns in Mantiq-u-Tayr. He has taken advantage of the content of Mantiq-u-Tayr and used it as a structural support for his work, and by creating special narrative situations, he has tried to represent the mystical paths in his novel. The present article, by analytical-comparative method, examines the way Pamuk benefits from Attar's ideas and how he was influenced by the Mantiq-u-Tayr. The findings show that the mystical, allegorical and narrative capacities of Mantiq-u-Tayr and The Black Book are similar in different ways. In his novel, Pamuk provides a semantic representation of the mystical concepts of Mantiq-u-Tayr, and refers directly to its stories, especially the story of the birds' journey to Mount Qaf; also, the mention of some common proper names in both books clearly shows that there is a deep intertextual relationship between the two works.

Sama in Qadiriyya (the Sufi path) and Kathak in Hinduism are the most well-known dances. Both are intertwined with religious beliefs and consider dancing as one of the ways to communicate with spiritual world. In addition to the aesthetic aspects, ritual dances have mystical, religious and narrative meanings that have evolved over time. According to the views of Qadiriyya sect, the mystic tries to communicate with the supernatural world during the Sama. Using the analytical-comparative method, the present article describes the similarities and differences between the two types of dances and shows the influence of Qadiriyya and Hinduism on each other on this issue. The findings show that despite the ritual and religious differences, there are common structures in the two dances. Kathak dance, as performed in Hindu temples, is rooted in the worship of the Creator and in some aspects of form and content is similar to Sama. Kathak seems to have been influenced by the Qadiriyya's Sama and underwent changes during the reigns of the Delhi kings and the Mongol emperors, through cultural ties between Islam and Hinduism.

In mystical texts, the abrogation of Islamic Laws by wise fools (Uqalā al-majānin) is one of the most frequent issues that has been interpreted in various ways. By using descriptive- analytic method, the present article attempts to explain the theoretical approaches of Sufis about the abrogation of the Islamic Laws by wise fools and to recognize the causes of it from their point of view. An attempt is made to answer these questions: In mystical anthropology, which human faculty is related to Islamic Laws? If the intellectual faculty declines, is there any other faculty related to these Laws? Considering the fact that the wise fools have a kind of intellect, can they be considered as obligated to enforce Islamic Laws like other wise men? The findings of the study show that the Sufis believe that the wise fools receive Divine inspirations and experience a state of intoxication and these spiritual modes justify their behavior. According to some Sufi theories, the decline of intellect and consequently the abrogation of Islamic Laws is a gift from God; and some Sufis consider the intoxication state of a wise fool as constant praying. The aim of the research is to study the reasons for the abrogation of Islamic Laws by wise fools from the point of view of Sufis, especially Ibn Arabi and Ayn al-Quzat Hamadani.

Myth is a kind of story that the ancient people once considered to be true, but today, the emphasis is on its narrative aspect. In the story of The Temptation of Saint Anthony, Gustave Flaubert has made effective use of the myths of ancient Iran, and has shown his interest in the theme of encountering of man and the devil. In the poem of Serivili's House, Nima Yooshij has also made mythopoeia. In this poem, based on his past culture, he has dealt with the encountering of man and the devil and has intervened in it. The devil has a mythological role in both works and plays a social function. The present research, by using analytical-comparative method, examines the common themes of the myths in The Temptation of Saint Anthony and Serivili's House based on the story of the creation of the devil. The findings show that Nima Yooshij is completely influenced by Flaubert's The Temptation of Saint Anthony in composing Serivili's House.

One of the main approaches in contemporary literary criticism is the archetypal approach. Northrop Frye, The foremost theorist of archetypal criticism, argues that the mythological archetypes appear in a variety of literary texts and the corresponding genres for the four seasons are as follows: The mythos of spring: comedy; The mythos of summer: romance; The mythos of fall: tragedy; The mythos of winter: irony. Frye believes the tragedy focuses on a single hero who passes through the six phases - from innocence to falling - in his/her life and finally calm prevails in the atmosphere. The present article, by a descriptive and analytical approach, attempts to study the motifs of enameled ceramics of Ilkhanid period based on Northrope Frye’s theory of archetypal criticism. These motifs depict scenes from the story of Bahram & Azadeh (as narrated in Shāhnāmeh). The results show that the visual narrative of the story is based on the form of the mythos of fall and the genre of tragedy and convey a special political and social message to its audience.

Due to their common roots, the epics and myths of Iran and India are very similar. Zahhak the snake shoulder is one of the characters of Iranian epics, whose functions are also seen among the epic characters of India. Vishvarupa because of having three heads and Vritra because of his connection to drought are epic characters that scholars consider them to be the Indian counterpart of Zahhak. Also, the story of Indra's sin and the transfer of his power to Nahusha has many similarities with the story of Jamshid's sin and accession of Zahhak to the kingdom. In Indo₋Iranian narratives, Indra and Jamshid are examples of sinners who lose their Farr (glory and splendor). But Zahhak and Nahusha, as their successors, after committing similar crimes such as trying to seize the former king's wives, humiliating the clergy and supporting heresy in religion and society, are deposed and taken captive in places like the underworld. In the present article, the commonalities of these stories in Shāhnāmeh, Mahabharat and other Indo-Iranian narratives are compared and analyzed. The findings show that, contrary to the opinion of many scholars who compare Zahhak with Vishvarupa and Vritra, in Indian narratives, Nahusha is more consistent with Zahhak.

Modernity has influenced the mythological attitude through scientific thinking and rationalism. Based on the views of prominent mythologists of the twentieth century and by using library sources and comparative method, in the present research, the impact of modernity on the structural-cognitive concepts of myth is analyzed. In order to understand the effects of modernity, the religious, historical, artistic, literary, temporal and spatial, philosophical and scientific aspects of myths in the period before the emergence of modernity and after its emergence have been compared. Also, differences and similarities in the structural-cognitive concepts of myths before and after the advent of modernity have been analyzed. The findings show that at the beginning of modernity, changes in attitudes in the structural concepts of myth, such as temporal, spatial, scientific and philosophical concepts have diminished the role of myths. However, after the decline of modernity, the scientific attitude with its expansion was able to include the mythological attitude.

On the first day of the battle, Esfandiyār overcomes Rustam with the power of invulnerability, a divine power, and not by use of muscle. This is a blessing given by Ahura Mazda, the strongest god of Zoroastrianism. Rustam has to ask the gods and smaller supernatural forces to help him to overcome Esfandiyār's invulnerability. In Shāhnāmeh, there are numerous signs of the widespread presence of supernatural forces, including gods, demon, fairy, and Rustam calls them to overcome Esfandiyār. The present article attempts to analyze textual and inter-textual evidences of the role of supernatural forces and Rostam's help from them. The results show that a group of supernatural forces came to Rostam's aid in the last battle, and this caused a balance in the supernatural forces on both sides and led to Rostam's victory over Esfandiyār. The research is a qualitative one based on text analysis.