The function of Juristic Discourse in Mathnavi of Mowlavi

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Abstract

Mowlavi experiences the process of creating mathnavi through relying on his own creativity determined by the social factors. Impressed by various motivations, he produces this text in a specific language and with specific formal characteristics. These signs and features, being the outcome of the various discourses and formulations, form a text in which the traces of different discourses can hardly be followed. Of the triple major sources of thought in mathnavi, one is juristic discourse which is the representation of Mowlavi's religious knowledge.
The present article after introducing the generalities of this knowledge deals with the various aspects of Mowlavi's juristic discourse such as taharat (state of purity), zakat (alms giving) , ruzeh (fasting), namaz (The Prayer), hajj (The Pilgrimage), jahad (holy war), etc. and shows that Mowlavi by modifying this discourse through placing juristic terms and special linguistic constituents in new contexts and dictions, makes use of them as the new epistemological instruments. In fact, this very different discourse is the source of his rather independent and emancipating thought.

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