A Reflection on the Functions of the Words “Chastity and Pudency” in the Divan-e-Bahār as Indicators of Islamic Life Style

Abstract

One of the main issues the supreme leader of Iran pointed out during his visit to North Khorasan Province is the matter of the characteristics of “Islamic lifestyle”. It can be argued that for some reasons, such as the existence of religious explanation approach toward this subject in the country, in general, and the lack of resources for its better justification in terms of a variety of sciences, in particular, there is no specific domestic source about this subject and nor it can be said that it is being taught academically. Therefore, the necessity of interdisciplinary studies in this regard is clear and it is also necessary to study examples of the Islamic lifestyle in literature. Chastity (/effat/) and Pudency (/sharm-va-hayā/) are words that, while reminding of the discussion of chastity and hijab in religion, are considered as some of the indicators of Islamic lifestyle and are widely used in poems of Persian poets. Malek Al-sho’arā Bahār is one of the most famous contemporary poets during the Constitutional Revolution, who has also been the Minister of Cultural affairs for several years. The purpose of this study is to investigate the functions of these words in his poetry. His related verses have been extracted, analyzed and coded using descriptive-analytical method. The results showed that despite the specific characteristics of this period, including the unveiling order by Reza Khan and Westernization, etc. there are considerable number of verses by Bahār about the necessity of observing chastity and virtuousness, which can be somehow considered the indirect justification of Islamic lifestyle.