Ferdowsi is one of the great Iranian poets who devoted his life to preserving and reviving the Persian language. Ferdowsi, entitled Abul-Qasem Ferdowsi was born in Tusi and considered the father of the Persian language. Once the Arabic language became the official language of Iran and the Persian language was marginalized, Ferdowsi decided to change this annoying condition. So he spent 30 years of his valuable life composing the longest epic poem in the world that is called Shahnameh.
Ferdowsi tried to explain the stories, history and myths of Iran and he successfully wrote Shahnameh or the Book of Kings. He focused on writing in the Persian language instead of Arabic and due to his efforts the Persian language was revived. Like the father of the Persian language, we aim to protect the Persian language by teaching to anyone who has a passion for learning Farsi. So the GetBookOnline.com team of Persian teachers through online Persian language courses helps Persian lovers to learn Farsi.
Now please scroll down to learn about Ferdowsi, the honorable Iranian poet who we all Iranian people commemorate him for his precious efforts to save the Persian language.
Who Is Ferdowsi?
Ferdowsi, Hakim Abol-Qasem Ferdowsi, Firdosi, Firdusi, or Firdawsi, is an eminent Persian poet who owns Iran’s honorable masterpiece called Shahnameh. He was born during the kingdom of Samanids and Ghaznavids in a village named Paj in Tus (a city in Khorasan Province in Iran.)
He was a poet and landowner who lived 87 years and devoted 30 years to composing the longest epic poems in the world. According to the evidence, her wife was literate and considered one of the influential figures of Naqqali. This great Iranian poet had a son who died on his 37th birthday; this great Persian poet wrote an elegy for his loss and included it in Shahnameh.
The Legacy of Ferdowsi
Hakim Abol-Qasem is the creator of Shahnameh, which is translated into The Book of Kings. It consistents of over 60 thousand verses and illustrates the battle between good and evil. This honorable book is Iranian’s national identity and a treasure to protect their culture. He claimed that:
بسی رنج بردم در این سال سی
عجم زنده کردم بدین پارسی
The investigation of Shahnameh reveals in-depth information concerning ancient Iran’s rich culture and civilization. The creation of Shahnameh, an eternal kingdom, lasted for 35 years; it is a live source that invites people to be free, praise its value, and stand against physical and mental slavery.
Why Ferdowsi Is The Father Of The Persian Language?
People call Him the father of the Persian language due to his efforts to preserve this ancient language. As he says in his glorious book says:
پی افکندم از نظم کاخی بلند
که از باد و باران نیابد گزند
He belongs to a high-class Iranian family who cares about the pre-Islamic treasure of culture and literature. After the Arab invasion, the Persian language’s life was endangered because the Arab rulers banned the employment of this sweet language.
Consequently, the Persian language was marginalized, and many authentic words were forgotten. Ferdowsi grew up in this period and took advantage of the last centuries’ influential figures to promote the position of the Persian language.
He merged pre-Islamic and post-Islamic Iranian cultures and was influenced by ancient Iran’s rituals, such as Zoroastrianism (a religious philosophy that emerged in ancient Iran), Mithraism (an Iranian religion), and Zurvanism (a Zoroastrianism movement popularized during the Sasanian Empire).
It proves Ferdowsi’s loyalty to his country’s customs and beliefs. As mentioned earlier, he was a Dehqan, and due to his origin, he was highly knowledgeable about ancient Iran’s rituals and cultures. In fact, he relied on this information to create an immortal empire called Ferdowsi Shahnameh, which is an invaluable treasure of Persian words.
Thus his masterpiece provides meaningful stories based on Abu-Mansuri Shahnameh (a prose book by Abu-Mansur Mamari). Khorasan (a province in Iran) was ruled by Iranian rulers who acted independently; that’s why Persian literature flourished in this part of Iran.
The Worldview of Ferdowsi
Ferdowsi’s poems in Shahnameh are not simple verses or legend stories but reflect his wisdom. He believed that human beings could not find God with wisdom, reason, or meditation; in other words, the created world and human beings are extraordinary evidence of God’s worship.
He believed that human beings wouldn’t experience good or evil without God’s will; this famous Iranian poet has reflected his worldview in his poetry. He praised wisdom and knowledge and referred to them as two elements guiding human beings toward salvation. Ferdowsi has composed the following verses in glorifying wisdom:
به نام خداوند جان و خرد
کزین برتر اندیشه برنگذرد
He considered wisdom the origin of goods and said that the pain and suffering of life occur due to the shortage of wisdom. On the whole, the wise person is moving toward success and, step-by-step, becoming a whole human, which is the ultimate goal of each person.
Ferdowsi said that wisdom helps humans differentiate good and evil and guides them to approach redemption, which is the world and the afterlife’s path. Ferdowsi was called Hakim, which means a philosopher and a wise person who sees the world beyond the ordinary level.
Hence Shahnameh is life’s philosophy which is loaded with advice and guidance for rulers and kings. He claimed that wisdom is an inner and spiritual power God dedicates to human beings that can elevate their position. Wisdom is a blessing that prioritizes human beings over animals. The moral lessons of his poetry include the succeeding points:
- Worshipping God;
- Avoiding improper acts;
- Being patient;
- Avoiding being selfish;
- Ignoring life’s temptations;
- Refraining from loquacity;
- Recognizing other’s value;
- Making friendships with wise friends;
- Bearing insane people and guiding them toward wisdom;
- And other crucial points.
The Influence of Ferdowsi Over Persian And World Literature
This brilliant Iranian poet united the culture of Iran before and after Islam and concentrated on the magnificent culture of past millenniums. Scholars believe the Persian language and literature would have failed to develop and reach their present position if Ferdowsi had not created Shahnameh.
In a word, the fame of Hafez, Khayyam, and Rumi owes to the legacy of these influential literary figure. It is better to say that Shahnameh influenced the literary works presented after Ferdowsi; Sanai (a Persian poet) was one of the first poets who heroes and the mystical verses of Shahnameh influenced.
Other poets who take pleasure from the epic verses of Shahnameh are:
- Khaghani;
- Hafez;
- Jami;
- Sa’adi;
- Rumi;
- Anvari;
- Mu’izzi;
- Ubayd Zakani;
- Aref Qazvini;
- Fereydoon Moshiri;
- Seyyed Mohammad Hossein Behjat Tabrizi;
- Etc.
Mohammed-Ali Eslami Nodoodhan declares that Shahnameh and three famous epic books, Illiad, Odyssey, and Mahabharata, share various similarities due to Iran’s cultural environment and the living condition in Ferdowsi’s era; nobody can prove that the authors of these masterpieces influenced each other.
The Tomb of Ferdowsi
This honorable Iranian poet passed away in 1019 in Tus. At this time, the clergyman refused to bury Ferdowsi’s body in Tus cemetery because he was shia and shia people had no place in this resting area.
Consequently, the people of Tus buried him in his house’s yard. His tomb is the holy shrine of literature lovers, and many people head toward Khorasan to spend some hours of their life beside his spiritual presence.
Unfortunately, in the past centuries, his tomb was destroyed at various times; however, some Iranian kings like Reza Shah Pahlavi reconstructed his resting place to commemorate this significant Persian poet.
Hooshang Seyhoon was the designer and architect of Ferdowsi’s tomb and employed marble for the construction of the tomb and the square-shaped saloon. If you step into this magnificent place can trace the architectural elements of the Achaemenid empire.
The outer part of the tomb is made of stone, concrete, and ceramic and is similar to Cyrus The Great’s Tomb in Pasargadae. The museum and library around the tomb devote to preserving the discovered antiquities from Tus.
The yard of this tomb is decorated with various statues such as Arash, The Archer (a heroic figure in Iran’s mythology), Rostam and Esfandiyar (two heroes of Shahnameh), Daqiqi (a Persian poet), and Rostam and Sohrab (a father and son in Shahnameh).
The Position of Ferdowsi In The World
The world knows this eminent Iranian poet who has composed the longest epic book, and various translators have translated Shahnameh so that non-native Persian people can read and enjoy this epic poetry.
His statue is positioned in different places, including Tehran, Rome, and Tajikistan. On May 15, Iranians celebrate their distinguished poet by organizing gatherings, reading his poems, and performing Naqqali (a kind of storytelling in Iran.)
Nowadays, different foundations explore Shahnameh and its creator; the most famous ones are Ferdowsi Foundation and Ferdowsi Shahnameh Foundation. It is worth mentioning that in 2010 Iran and Albania agreed to organize the institute of Iran Study and The Persian Language in Tirana ( the capital of Albania.)
Ferdowsi the Protector of the Persian Language
Ferdowsi, the great poet of Persia and the father of the Persian language, is the creator of Shahnameh, which is a precious source of Persian words. Hakim of Tus is an unequal poet whose name is interwoven with epic poetry and stories of the kings, which are full of advice for people of all ages.
Ferdowsi’s efforts and devotion to the Persian language and culture is reflected through his excellent work, Shahnameh. He saved this language and if today we speak Farsi is due to his endless love for this country and language. He showed Iranian people the importance of preserving our mother tongue and created a firm foundation that will never hurt.
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