World Literature Indebted to Farsi Language and Literature

27 of Shahrivar, corresponding with September 18, is the day of Farsi Poetry and Literature in Iran. Poetry and literature is the identity of Iranians as this country has been famous as the land of beautiful stories and fables since oldm times.

Contemporary French poet, Abel Bonnard, said, "A person, who has traveled to all Asian countries and lived with their peoples, may be enchanted with the philosophy of India, astounded with the grandeur of China and amazed with the genius of Japan, but he will surely be spellbound with the art of Iran. This nation has been brilliant in all arts and been attracted to one of them, namely, poetry and literature."

 The familiarity of westerners with Farsi poetry and literature dates back to the Crusades. Some of the orientalists believe that the Iranian fables, poems and stories entered the Medieval Europe through Spain. This made the Europeans fascinated with the beautiful literature of the East, especially that of the Muslim lands. French orientalist, Rene Grousset, writes on Iran,

"If I am allowed to express my opinion as a foreigner, I should say that Iran has a great right on mankind; for, as history bears witness, Iran with its strong culture and Islamic delicacies has created mutual comprehension, agreement and consistency among nations, so that they have found a single philosophy, thought and ideal. Impressed by the Iranian thoughts and poems, different races have become common in belief and faith. Iranian poets have nurtured a world. The emotions that the Iranian poets have expressed impress a French just as they do an Indian, or a Turk just as a Georgian. It should be said that the Iranian mystics, though they are Muslims, they make a Christian's heart throb just like a Brahman's; and that's why they belong to the all mankind."

Czech scholar, Jerzhi Bečka, states, "Farsi literature ranks first in the romantic literature of the world and Hafez has received the top position throughout 1000 years of the Farsi poetry. Hafez is absolutely the greatest poet in the entire literature of the world throughout history."

Renowned German poet, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was enchanted by Hafez and his poems, writes in his eternal work, West-Eastern Divan,

"O Hafez, your word is great like eternity, as it has no beginning and end. Your word is self-dependent like the dome of the sky and one cannot differentiate between the middle of the lyric and its start as the whole of it is in utmost beauty and perfection. You are the gushing fountain of poetry and cheerfulness from which emanates wave after wave every moment. Your temper is always ready for singing as is your heart for affection. Even if the world ends I wish I were beside you O Celestial Hafez! And share your joy and grief like a brother. I wish I expressed love like you for this is the pride of my life and the source of my life. O Hafez! I will imitate your style of lyrics, versify rhymes like you and ornate my lyric with the delicacies of your word. First I will think of the meaning and then cover it with the garment of words. I won't bring a word twice in rhymes unless they have separate senses with a single appearance. I'd like to apply all these guidelines so that I may compose a poem like you O the Poet of the World Poets!

The German translations of Hafez's poems have enthralled many thinkers. Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche calls his poems as a splendid edifice and a phenomenon that seems impossible to create anew.

French thinker, Jean-Paul Fouchecourt seems to have lived with Hafez. He says, "The poem of Hafez is for all moments of life. Hafez's romantic expression has been shaped in the Islamic framework; a framework which has a very strong theme of monotheism. The addressee of love is only a single being and this love is a love which is perfect, unmatched, envy-inspiring and estranged from others. The concept of Hafez's love has been adopted from a mystic environment."

What fascinates great world thinkers across the world are the lofty thoughts and ideas that prevail the poems of the Farsi of Iranian poets. Philosophical questions of Khayyam, mystic love of Mowlavi and Hafez, rationality of Ferdowsi and wisdom of Sa'adi have attracted myriads of lovers all over the world. Once, the English translation of Khayyam's quatrains by Edward Fitzgerald were the third bestseller only after the Bible and plays of Shakespeare. This trend spread to the extent that Khayyam's poems were the friends of British soldiers during the two world wars. English poet, Richard le Gallienne, says on the translation of Khayyam's quatrains (Rubaiyyat),

"it might be said that the quatrains are not a flower by themselves but rather the petals of rose which make a flower collectively. And, the translation of Fitzgerald may be the wonder of this flower. The petals came from Iran but the English magician, with his spell, made an inspiring rose out them; a rose made up of 101 petals which no flower rivals it in terms of beauty and scent."

The translation of Jalal Uddin Mowlavi Roumi's poems also revolutionized the world literature. The world has heard Mowlavi's message and has been fascinated by his lovely whispers. German orientalist, Karl Hermann Ethe, says, "Whenever Mowlavi was filled with the love of attaining the divine mysteries, he would compose those countless blossoms of pure mystical lyrics. In terms of the beauty of language and rhythmicality of the lines it is considered the jewel of the world literature."

Shahnameh, the magnum opus of the renowned Iranian poet Ferdowsi, is undoubtedly one of the most glorious heritages of mankind. In terms of profundity, purity, delicacy, brightness, style and language it seriously rivals the Greek epics. Orientalists, especially Russians, call Shahnameh as the rare treasure of the world literature. Yevgeny Eduardovich Bertels, believes that: "As long as there is the meaning of Iranian in the world the honourable name of the great poet, Ferdowsi, who had devoted the burning love of his heart to his land, will also be eternal. Ferdowsi wrote Shahnameh with travail; and thus he attained the love and respect of the Iranian nation and added one of the best rare jewels to the treasury of the world literature."

Jan Rypka, prominent Czech orientalist, translator and professor of Iranology, has described Ferdowsi as Rostam of the Farsi literature; a Rostam who has made a lot of effort for this literature. He believes that: "Ferdowsi stands up like Tahamtan throughout the Farsi literature. The story of Shahnameh addresses a kind of human epic and its manifestation, namely the Iranian history. Shahnameh is a precious historic document that has preserved the past traditions with ultimate trustworthiness despite the imaginations and figurative language that have been used in it. It discloses the realities that are important not only for history but for the beginning of history and studying of the primary communities."

French orientalist, Henri Massé, maintains that: "Among all Iranian epics, Shahnameh is especially superior; for, it speaks of the conflicts of an old nation which defends its nationality and sovereignty. Shahnameh is the poetry of a nation's honours and pains and this suffices to place it among the highest literary works. Yet, Shahmameh has another value, too. It combines two different eras: On one hand, there is the ancient Iran where one of the most famous religions emerged; and on the other hand there is the Iran of the 11^th century which is considered as the dawn of the new Iran. This national epic, which includes two worlds of Zoroastrianism and Islam, has illustrated one of the most effective Asian developments."

The two books of Golestan and Bustan of Sa'adi have also fascinated the lovers of literature and art in the world. Sa'adi is the teacher of a lofty and valuable wisdom whose bases have been founded on altruism. As a matter of fact, what has attracted the westerners were the ethical teachings of Sa'adi who had no inclination except dignity and love of human beings. As American poet, Ralph Waldo Emerson, says Sa'adi speaks in the language if all nations and ethnicities and his words are always fresh like those of Homer, Shakespeare and Cervantes. Emerson considers Golestan of Sa'adi as one of the bibles and maintains that its ethical instructions are public and international laws.

FK/RM/MG