Document Type : Scientific-research
Authors
1 PhD candidate of Persian Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
2 Associate professor of Persian Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran.
3 Associate professor of Persian Language and Literature Department, Faculty of Literature, Alzahra University, Tehran Iran.
4 رئیس آکادمی مطالعات ایرانی لندن (LAIS). لندن. انگلستان
Abstract
This article is an analysis of the mystical incident (Waqi’ah) in the book Safwat al-Safa with the semiotic method of Umberto Eco. Safwat al-Safa by Ibn Bazaz Ardabili is about the life of Sheikh Safi al-Din Ardabili.The semantics of the incident has a long history in mystical texts, but the semiotics of the incident has been neglected. The incident is both a sign and a carrier of meaning. First, the theoretical framework of semiotics is presented, followed by applying some semiotic methods in text analysis to demonstrate how semiotics can be used to analyse the incident. Examples of incidents mentioned in the book Safwat al-Safa are analysed using this method.It is concluded that from the perspective of the theory of sign production, the incident can be considered as a coin with one side representing the communicative path between the wayfarer and the transcendent world, and the other side carrying a message from t the transcendent world to the wayfarer. The wayfarer is the recipient of the message but is unable to perceive the meaning of the wayfarer message. The spiritual master is the interpreter of the incident, revealing the main message of the incident to the wayfarer. On the other hand, the incident itself is a sign that has functions, including the quest to find the spiritual master and his educational functions. In addition to decoding the meanings of the incident, semiotics also focuses on the structures and intra-textual relationships of the incident and the sender, receiver, and interpreter
Keywords
Main Subjects
)