THE SYSTEM OF POEMS IN “FUNUN AL-BALAGHAH” BY SHAYKH AKHMAD TARAZI)

Abstract

The article deals with the analyses of the theory of poetic work dedicated to the Temurids’ ruler Mirzo Ulughbek (1394-1449), “Funun al-balaghah” by Akhmad Tarazi, who initially created it in the Turkish language during the period of the Temurids. Though the only manuscript of the work was discovered in science a quarter century ago that the issues connected with aruz meter (prosody) have not been studied enough. The article covers the analysis of the most important questions of Turkish aruz studies and terms connected with aruz such as: juzv, rukn, bahr, and vazn. According to the author in the work the juzvs are called “usuli sitta” (six originals), for each of which he brings separate examples, comments on the importance of these six jusvs in the formation of original rukns. In the work, for the first time, the classification of bahrs are developed in aruz-studies. Shaykh Ahmad Tarazi defined the bahrs distinguishing them into two groups: 1) muttaffiq ul-arkon bahrz which are formed from one and the same original rukns; 2) mukhtalif ul-arkon bahrz which are formed from different original rukns. Shaykh Ahmad Tarazi defines the vazns distinguishing them into three parts in accordance with the number of rukns as: a`lo (supreme) (8 rukns), avsat (6 rukns), as well as adno (4 rukns).
The author also pays special attention to the issues of adapting the aruz vazn to the Turkic language as shown in Shaykh Ahmad Tarazi’s work where he explains and analyses bahrs and vazns in the examples of poems by Turkic poets. Studying the poetic meters in this work, the author of the article notes that a total of 40 meters of poetry were cited in “Funun al-balaghah”, and that 21 of them were not mentioned in the works of Persian aruz scholars, and the author concludes that Turkic poetry peaked in the period of the Temurids.