Discourse Analysis of the Rhymed Introductions in Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ within Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistic Framework

Articles in Press

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Visiting Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Persian Language and Literature Education, Farhangian University, Tehran, Iran

10.22108/jpll.2026.147168.1975

Abstract

Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ by Attār of Nishapur is one of the most significant works of Persian mystical prose from the sixth century AH. Written in a rhythmic and rhymed style, it narrates the lives and spiritual ranks of the Sufi saints. Among its various parts, the introductory sections of each chapter occupy a distinctive discursive position, for in them Attār employs balanced, rhymed prose to represent the sanctity and eminence of the saints. Drawing on Halliday’s Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) and focusing on the three metafunctions—ideational, interpersonal, and textual—this study analyzes the discourse of these rhymed introductions. The research method is descriptive-analytical and based on qualitative analysis of selected samples. The corpus consists of seventy-two introductory passages from Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ, examined in terms of syntactic structures, lexical choices, and discursive context. The findings reveal that through the use of rhymed structures, material and mental processes, and referential pronouns, Attār constructs a “sacred, didactic, and laudatory” discourse in which language functions as a means of representing mystical experience and reinforcing the saints’ spiritual authority. The ideational metafunction relies on descriptive and transitive structures; the interpersonal metafunction highlights relations of reverence and humility between the speaker and the subject; and the textual metafunction maintains linguistic cohesion and balance through rhythm and rhyme. Overall, the systemic-functional analysis demonstrates that Attār’s rhymed prose is not merely aesthetic but functional, reproducing mystical and ideological meanings through the linguistic system.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Research on Mystical Literature

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 20 June 2026

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History

  • Receive Date: 14 December 2025
  • Revise Date: 01 June 2026
  • Accept Date: 20 June 2026

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