نشریه جستارهای نوین ادبی
سال پنجاه و هفتم شماره 2 (پیاپی 225، تابستان 1403)

The list of the eight Seyr al-Moluk in the Hamzeh Isfahani's Tarikh Sunni Molouk al‑Arz va al-Anbia, is one of the most famous indexes of Iranian historical sources that has been repeated six times in the oldest historical sources of Muslims from the 4th to the 6th century AH. This study compared the list in these sources and revealed that Tarikh Hamzeh had at least two versions with minor differences. The first version with a complete list was given to the authors of Shahnameh Abu Mansouri and reached other sources. In another version, named by Biruni as Tawarikh al-Kebar al-Omam, the name of one of the sources has been removed from the list. This version was given to the Abu Ali Balkhi and Biruni. The later and existing manuscripts of Tarikh Hamzeh are consistent with this text. On the other hand, by comparing the way of recording of specific names in different narrations, it was found that contrary to the common belief, some of the eight sources had been probably in Persian. It was also found that the authors of Bal'ami's history of the “Great Shahnameh” in this section probably meant the Shahnameh Abu Mansouri, not the Shahnameh of Abu al-Mo'ayed Balkhi.

Association as an approach in teaching and learning includes an important part of mystical literature works, because, on the one hand, it has a wide connection with the productive approach of mystical content, and on the other hand, it helps the learning process. This is why association has an important place in contemporary theories of learning. The foundation is the association of dynamism and movement, and it takes the mystical text out of its static state and makes it coloured and tangible. Since mystical storytelling in Persian poetry began with Sana'i and reached Rumi through Attar along with reaching its peak in Masnavi, in this study, by examining three fictional works of Attar using a psychological approach, this study showed what position does association have in these works and what the contribution of each single work of Attar was to the use of associations. This is necessary to show the evolution of mystical storytelling. At first, the methods of association were discussed, and then these methods were examined in Attar's works. The results indicated that the characteristics of association and the variety of some of its tools are the cultivation of mystical themes, pluralism, deconstruction of intellectual confrontations and the multi-layeredness of the text. This reaches its peak in Elahinameh and Mantegh al-Teyr, while there is more stability in the tragicomic narrations.

In the western philosophical tradition from the pre-modern, modern, and post-modern eras, different narratives of the concept of “truth” can be seen. In the meantime, Martin Heidegger presents a narrative of truth. He considers the concept of "truth" to be the same as the issue of "being" and "existence”. From his point of view, the way to reach "being" also passes only through the existence of Dasein - as the enlightenment of existence. This means that the truth can be reached with the possibilities hidden in human existence. Among all the possibilities of human existence, Heidegger insists on the possibility of "seeing" and calls it the purest manifestation of truth or "being”. Accordingly, he assumes other fundamental possibilities of human existence, such as understanding, curiosity, and thinking, as a kind of "seeing”. In the mystical tradition, including in the mind and language of Rumi, the concept of "seeing" has a prominent presence and crystallization, and he used "eyes" or "seeing" for everything, including the heart, soul, ears, etc. believes, as if everything is "seeing. Although Heidegger's and Rumi’s perception of the concept of truth and its relationship with the concept of "seeing" cannot be claimed to be the same, the ontological approach of the two gave various dimensions and manifestations of the concept of "seeing" and its relationship with the concept of "truth" in the works of Rumi's poetry and prose.

Reincarnation is the foundation of ethics and eschatology of Hindu religion. Bidel Dehlavi, a famous Persian poet, has repeatedly mentioned the issue of reincarnation in his Masnavis. This study investigated the concept of reincarnation in Bidel's Masnavis. In Hindu religion, man is reborn according to the law of karma (action and reaction) to achieve the results of his actions. This birth and reincarnation that is called "Samsara" continues until a person discovers the ultimate truth within himself. According to the Upanishads, the purpose of reincarnation is to recognize the true Atman or soul. This soul is oblivious to its truth due to mixing with material and physical screens. The material and elemental soul undergoes reincarnation until it can remove the material and physical veils and come to know its truth and become unified with it. Accordingly, the heaven and hell of man is in this world. Heaven is enjoying the blessings of this world, and hell is rebirth and distance of man from Atman or his truth. In Bidel's Masnavis, reincarnation, both theoretically and in mystical stories, is a concept documented in the ontological concepts of Hindu religion.

The Qajar era, prior to the Constitutional Revolution, represents a historical period marked by the dominance of patriarchal discourse. However, this dominance was not limited to men alone; a group of literate women from upper social classes also contributed to it. Analyzing the thoughts and ideas of some Qajar women through their travelogues confirms this issue. Conducted using Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA), this study revealed that the viewpoint of these women about the imposition of patriarchal discourse was passive, manifesting as “passive acceptance”, “emotional and ineffective” and “supplementing the atriarchal discourse and aligning with the reproduction of its elements”. Furthermore, analyzing these texts revealed that the Qajar women’s travelogue, despite having literacy and special resources as tools for self-actualization, their awareness remained at a level of objectification. Therefore, they did not engage in creation of any new identity. The reasons for such reactions are rooted in the living in the court environment, being part of aristocratic families with traditional culture, and being absorbed by it. This method of encountering the patriarchal discourse and its consequences was adapted by women travelogue writers, while contemporaries such as Bibi Khanom Estarabadi were confronting the patriarchal discourse. Bibi Khanom’s voice in Ma'ayib al-Rijal represents a group of women from prior to the Constitutional Revolution, who had achieved subjectivity and were striving for liberation from the others constructed identities. Therefore, although these women left the interior houses and went on journeys, their minds remained entrenched in the interior of patriarchal Discourse’s dominance.

The Majalis al-Nafais by Amir Ali-Shir Nawai is the most important source of the history of Persian literature in the first half of the 9th century and the second half of the 10th century, especially in the literary center of Herat. This study scrutinized its corrections and translations., Moreover, this study showed the necessity of correcting and re-translating the work. The incorrect method of correction, the wrong prioritization of the versions, the incorrect reading of the Persian verses and the inefficiency of the language and the script and the alphabet of the previous two corrections are weak points, as well as the omissions, additions and changes that the translators made in their translation. Moreover, the new correction and translation of Majalis al-Nafais was introduced in this study in terms of method; a correction that has been made based on the two oldest versions: the version belong to the library of the Istanbul Topkapi Palace Museum (copied in 905 AD) and the version belong to the Royal Library State of Vienna (copied in 903 AH). In the Persian version, most adherences have been made to the Joghtai text. This translation-correction includes the introduction, appendices, and necessary lists.