Document Type : Research Paper
Author
Associate Prof of Persian Language and Literature, Dezful Branch, Islamic Azad University, Dezful, Iran.
Abstract
the ancients considered the sky as the father and the earth as the mother, a belief that we can see in the works of many poets and writers, including Naser Khosrow. However, Naser Khosrow himself, in some poems, refers to the sky as the "mother" of people and, in another instance, as the "sister of Ahriman (the demon)", thereby alluding to its feminine nature. In this article, the author attempts to explain and analyze Naser Khosrow's statements about the feminine nature of the sky, considering ancient Iranian thoughts and beliefs. Naser Khosrow, as a Muslim, was undoubtedly a follower of the Ismaili Shia branch. Despite their adherence to Islam, the Ismailis were not unaffected by ancient Iranian beliefs, and it can be accepted that "the Ismaili worldview is rooted in ancient Iranian thoughts" (cf. Riahi, 1993: 77; Dadbeh, 2003: 112). Apparently, it was due to this nationalistic inclination that their invitation was accepted by many Iranians (cf. Safa, 1992: 253). Consequently, some Sunni Muslims accused them of reviving the customs and beliefs of their ancestors (cf. Ardestani Rostami, 2020a: 53-55). Therefore, it is natural that ancient Iranian ideas, such as Mithraism and Manichaeism, are reflected in the words of Naser Khosrow, an Ismaili. It seems that the feminine nature of the sky in his words is a result of these kinds of thoughts.
Keywords
- Naser Khosrow
- femininity of the sky
- woman in Naser Khosrow's poetry
- woman in Mithraism and Manichaeism
Main Subjects
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