چكيده لاتين :
1. Introduction
Tabashir Al-Hikma is one of the remarkable literary works of the
Qajar period, which was written with an approach toward
simplification and literary return. One of the crucial topics of Tabashir
al-Hikma is the narration of the concept of Noor-e-Mohammadi (Light
of Muhammad), and all the miraculous events about it. Seemingly the
author has been particularly attentive to the event of the birth of
Mohammad Mustafa (PBUH) from the book “History of Sistan”.
Analyzing the History of Sistan as one of the pioneer texts of Farsi
prose that has narrated Noor-e-Mohammadi, along with examining
Tabashir al-Hikma which is one of the latest books to deal with this
matter, and comparing these two works is clearly of great importance.
Such comparison can relate and integrate a thousand years of Persian
literature from the perspective of narrating extraordinary phenomena.
Using narrative perspectives, this study intends to review the linguistic
potentialities and narrative techniques of these two books. This article
can help to promote historiography, mysticism and the creation of
magical realism stories in Farsi. Hence, doing so seems necessary. 2. Methodology
In majority of historical-mystical books left from the ancient period of
Farsi language, the narration of miraculous events is one of the most
frequent topics that are hard for the audience to believe. The History
of Sistan and Tabashir al-Hikma, as two historical and mystical works,
are no exception. These two works are linked due to the common
theme of Noor-e-Mohammadi. Now, the point is: how did the History
of Sistan, as the earliest text of Farsi prose that has narrated Noor-e-
Mohammadi, use narrative techniques to make the wonders of the life
of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) believable? How did the author of
Tabashir al-Hikma, which was influenced by the History of Sistan,
narrate the wonders of the life of the Prophet (PBUH)? In order to find
a suitable answer, this study has compared the narration of the concept
of Noor-e-Mohammadi in these two works by using a descriptiveanalytical
method and by emphasizing the theories of narratology.
3. Discussion
The birth of Mohammad Mustafa (PBUH) is the common theme that
is repeated in History of Sistan and Tabashir al-Hikma a thousand
years apart. Both books show of a miraculous blend of reality and
astonishment. Features such as: poetic language, brevity, appropriate
narrative language, proper use of figures of speech, accurate and
consistent descriptions, nested sentences that create melodic prose,
rhythm and music of the language, proper syntax, skillful selection
and arrangement of the words, etc., have aided the authors to create
literary pleasure and to make the wonders believable while conveying
the meaning. In what follows, we iterate the factors that have led to
the credibility of the miracles of the birth of the Prophet of Islam
(PBUH), in order to identify the similarities and differences between
the narrative languages of these two works.
3- 1- Using trusted religious figures for narration: The narration of
Noor-e-Mohammadi in these two works begins with a reference to a
trusted historian. and after mentioning several implausible
phenomena, they once more mention another one of the well-known
narrators of the hadith who is trusted by the audience. Accordingly,
these citations are to improve the verisimilitude of the History of
Sistan and Tabashir al-Hikma. 3-2- Using various sources of narration to make such amazing
facts believable: In addition to referring to a reliable source, the
presence of historical figures and real people in the story, such as:
Amina, Abd al-Muttalib, the daughters of Abd Manaf, Muhammad
(PBUH) himself and others could make the fact even more credible.
In the History of Sistan, when the audience are confronting all those
implausible phenomena, hearing about them from people such as: Ibn
Abbas and Abd al-Muttalib might just render them more believable.
In the History of Sistan, eleven people have narrated the miracles of
the birth of the Prophet of Islam (PBUH). The anonymous author of
this book has splendidly validated the miraculous events of the birth
of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and embellished and strengthen
the structural coherence of the book by frequent and skillful shifting
of the narrators of the story. This narrative technique has yet been
ignored in Tabashir al-Hikma.
3-3. Render implausible facts believable through the narrative
focus: The narrative focus of the birth of Mustafa (PBUH) intricately,
serves to improve the verisimilitude. The narration of this ancient
work has been artistically developed in such ways to render the
virtues and implausible facts believable while generating charm and
polyphony. The story begins with the omniscient narrator. or in the
words of Gerard Genette, without a focal radius. In this type of
narrative, the narrator has an awareness and mastery over the
characters and the atmosphere of the story. This feature is also seen in
Tabashir al-Hikma. Sometimes writers change the narrator in order to
set a scene and to engage the audience with the story. and the story
changes from a holistic perspective to a third-person narrator. In this
case, the narrator is not a part of the story. Rather, it tells the story
from a neutral perspective. Genette calls this type of narrative a
heterogeneous representation that produces short sentences from the
outer focal radius and, by accelerating prose and a creating a faster
rhythm, speeds up the reading of the audience so as not to give him a
chance to doubt and to make him believe the implausible.
3-4- Using accurate descriptions of religious places, people, etc. to
make implausible facts believable: Meticulous description of Amina House, strange birds that fly around that house, description of
Abd al-Muttalib's surprised face while attending: prostrating of the
Ka'bah, disfiguring the idols and such, by mentioning all the details,
arises from this attitude toward language that makes the strange and
extraordinary event of the holy birth of Muhammad, believable. The
detailed descriptions of a magical phenomenon through language,
where adverbs play an important role, lead to the rationale of
believability. Applying adverbs and adjectives for meticulous
descriptions is more salient and diverse in the History of Sistan
compared to Tabashir al-Hikma.
3-5. Adopting the right tone in the narration of extraordinary
events: One of the important terms that differentiate the narration of
Noor-e-Mohammadi in the History of Sistan and Tabashir al-Hikma
is the application of tone and its functions. A comparative study of
these two works indicates that the anonymous author of the History
of Sistan has mastered the artistic function of tone and has benefited
from different tones according to the moods and attitudes of the
characters. This expertise has caused the reader to travel through time
and to feel the atmosphere of the story by reading about the birth of
Mohammad Mustafa, and to rejoice and mourn with the characters
around the Holy Prophet (PBUH). There is no trace of such narrative
technique in Tabashir al-Hikma.
3-6. Using villains to make implausible facts believable: frequent
use of villains in narrating the miracles of the Prophet in both books
is remarkable whereas rendering the events more believable. Witch
with a cane, priests, Iblis, Hobal, and some Qurayshi people are antiheroes
who express or observe such extraordinary phenomena. The
instance used in the History of Sistan and Tabashir al-Hikma are
somewhat similar and are equally effective in narrating astounding
events.
3-7. Employing dialogue to recount a narrative story: When it
comes to miracle and supernatural phenomena, history may depart
from reality and the credibility of historical events may be distorted.
Dialogue can be a suitable tool to imply the legitimacy of historical
stories. Amina's dialogue with the angels, Amina's dialogue with, Abd al-Muttalib, Halimah's dialogue with the pebbles, Abd al-
Muttalib's dialogue with the heavenly men, and Muhammad's
dialogue with the heavenly men are some interesting dialogues of this
historical story as mentioned in both History of Sistan and Tabashir
al-Hikma. Such examples are indication of the crucial impacts of
dialogue on improving the elegance and believability of the wonders
of the story regarding the Prophet's birth. One of the reasons for this
dramatic credibility is the liveliness and dynamism of events through
the dialogues among the characters.
4. Conclusion
After a thorough comparative study of the History of Sistan and
Tabashir al-Hikma from the narratological point of view, the
following results were obtained: short sentences, appropriate word
choices, accelerated rhythm, pleasant linguistic music, accurate
descriptions, syntactic displacement, characterization, and use of
religious mythology and religious places are all well exploited by the
author of History of Sistan, notably within the narration of Mustafa's
birth. The anonymous author of the History of Sistan, by mastering
the language, has used it to serve astonishing facts, in fact a major
part of the rhetorical-communicative function of this work is a result
of his complex narrative techniques and linguistic power. The author
by diversifying the narrative language, benefiting from dramatic
narrative, constant changes in the focus of the narrative, utilizing
authentic and trusted historical and religious characters, applying the
narrative language of the main characters with a first-person
perspective, adopting the anti-hero narrative perspective, the sacred
voices, diversifying in the narrative aspect to create an emotional
language, and finally by employing the element of dialogue; was able
to significantly improve the elegance, artistic value and verisimilitude
of the story of Mustafa's birth (PBUH).
Tabashir al-Hikma was written at a time when Iranian society was
experiencing an era of return to the literary past (literary restoration)
and simplification. It seems that this general approach has led the
author of Tabashir al-Hikma to be influenced by the books of Islamic
history, including the History of Sistan, and the author has written
this book by combining the literary terms and traditions of different
eras. Although the author of Tabashir al-Hikma, while being influenced by the History of Sistan, has adopted some narrative
techniques, such as: citing trusted narrators, narrating wonders
through the villain’s words, shifting the narrative focus, using sacred
voices, accurate citing of the date of extraordinary events during the
life of the Prophet (PBUH), accurate characterization of historical
figures, use of narration by trusted narrators, accurate description of
places and the events of the Prophet‘s(PBUH) life, and employing the
element of dialogue; but he has not realized the essence of the
narrative language of History of Sistan. Hence, there is a significant
difference in the narration of these two works.
