A Study of Prayers in Ferdowsi's Shāhnāmeh

Shāhnāmeh is a great encyclopedia that encompasses the culture and history of Iran. One of the thousand valuable spiritual concepts is praying to God Almighty. The widespread reflection of this spiritual act in Shāhnāmeh indicates that prayer is a laudable act since ancient times in Iran. By reflecting on Shāhnāmeh, one can realize that prayer is one of the strongest shelters of the God-seeking, the wise, heroes, and kings and a means for confronting the magic, malicious thinking and tricks of the enemy. Shāhnāmeh 's prayers give lessons about God and are mostly used to ask public needs, national interests and spiritual salvation, not personal interests. This act connects man to the main source of power and is a proof his need, no matter how strong he is like Rostam or wise and powerful like King Keykhosrow. The present paper investigates Shāhnāmeh 's prayers from different aspects like requests in prayer, praying characters in Shahnāmeh, etc.