The Importance of Arabic Sources in Compiling the History of Iranian Folk Literature after Islam (with an emphasis on proverbs, sayings, and anecdotes in the works of Ibn al-Muqaffa’)

Abstract

According to the experts in the field of history of literature, enough attention has not been paid to the history of Iranian folk literature so far. Among the reasons for this problem could be the obstacles in compiling the history of folk literature. According to the authors of this article, one of these obstacles is ignoring the importance of the Arabic sources of the first centuries of Islam and also the translation movement in preserving Iranian folk literature while compiling the history of folk literature. The importance of these sources is in preserving the identity, original form, and evolution of the components of Iranian folk culture and literature as well as the reflections on how Iranian culture is blended with Arabic-Islamic culture. Nevertheless, even in the most significant previous researches, such as the folk literature entry in the Encyclopedia of Persian Language and Literature, Folk Language and Literature of Iran by Hassan Zulfaqari, Research and Study on Iranian Folk Culture by Hossein Ali Beyhaqi, or Folk Literature of Iran by Mohammad Jaafar Mahjoub, the role of Arabic sources in the preservation of Iranian folk culture and literature has been relatively overlooked; or in exceptional cases, such as a part of the collection of articles The Context of People's Culture by Jalal Sattari, only the texts containing information about public morality have been emphasized. One of the leading writers whose works are worthy of attention and research in terms of reflecting the components of Iranian folk literature is Ibn al-Muqaffa’. The results of this study show that his works contain an enormous collection of Iranian folk literature components, especially proverbs, sayings, and didactic anecdotes, which are very useful in explaining the historical course, types, and context of using these components.

Keywords

• history of literature
• folklore
• folk literature
• the translation movement
• ibn al-muqaffa’