Depicting the principles of human lives through animal stories in the world literature dates back to VI. century B.C. With these animal stories, basic issues related to human beings such as politics, morality and Sufism were lectured. The way the truth is narrated through animals is a consideration that has gained popularity in many civilizations. In the Muslim world, Mevlana drew attention to these issues with the animal characters he used in his Masnawî. Mevlana provided the understanding of abstract subjects based on concrete subjects with animal stories he used in his Masnawî. In this study, we discussed the metaphorical meanings attributed to the dog in Mevlana's Masnawî. In Sufism, while the dog is generally regarded as "ignorant person who pursues world goods and unawares of truth", it was used in negative metaphorical meanings such as "superstitious belief, cruel, evil, devotion to the world, soul-body difference, devil, self, to yield to flesh, desires and wishes, ignorance, to turn away from the ignorant, disbelieving hypocrisy, hypocrisy, shamelessness, thanklessness, false guides, getting angry, deprivation of love”; and positive metaphorical meanings such as “obedience to the God, seeking the God, to reach a good state, loyalty, love, love of God, friend of God, thinking, reasoning" in Masnawî. This study aims to contribute to the understanding of the nuanced language Mevlana uses through the character of the dog while explaining the truths about human beings.
Primary Language | Turkish |
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Subjects | Religious Studies |
Journal Section | Articles |
Authors | |
Publication Date | December 30, 2020 |
Published in Issue | Year 2020 |