Analysis of the Influences of Ghazali's Sawānih on Iraqi's Lama'at Based on Gérard Genette's Theory of Intertextuality

Intertextuality is a new approach to reading and criticizing literary texts. According to this theory, each text is formed by borrowing from previous texts. In other words, no text is produced independently. Gérard Genette, a theoretician in this field, proposes three types of links between literary pieces: explicit and announced, non-explicit and undeclared, and implicit between two or more texts. Since mystical texts present a more coherent and precise communication, the theory of intertextuality can be applied very effectively to such texts. Ghazali's Sawānih and Fakhreddin Iraqi's Lama’at are two of the well-known mystical texts. Discovering the relationship between these two texts, hence, helps us know the characteristics of some works that are influenced by mystical texts. In this article, a descriptive-analytical method is used to find examples of Ghazali’s influences on Iraqi based on the theory of intertextuality. Findings suggest that in writing Lama’at, Iraqi is independent in terms of language, but he has made intertextual use of Sawānih’s structure and content: He has added points to the original writing and has altered several points from Sawānih, interpreting various parts of the former piece, deleting some parts, and adding some others.