ABOUT ALISHER NAVOI'S WORK "DEVONI FONIY" IN PERSIAN-TAJIK LANGUAGE

ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 20222.889, 2024-6.875 ResearchBib IF: 9.948 / 2024 VOLUME-5, ISSUE-12 695 ABOUT ALISHER NAVOI’S WORK “DEVONI FONIY” IN PERSIAN-TAJIK LANGUAGE Dexkanova Mamlakat Ustaxaitovna Alisher Navoiy nomidagi Toshkent davlat o‘zbek tili va adabiyoti universitetini magistratura tinglovchisi Abstract: in the process of studying and revitalizing the national cultural heritage during the period of Uzbekistan’s independence, Alisher Navoi’s work "Devoni Foniy," composed in the Persian-Tajik language, occupies a significant position. This is because it illuminates the poet’s bilingual creativity, his tatabbu’ (imitative) and original poems grounded in the traditions of Persian literature, as well as socio-ethical themes. Research on the manuscript copies and editions of "Devoni Foniy" (in Tehran, Tashkent, and Dushanbe) has been conducted by scholars such as Sadriddin Aini, Hamid Sulaymonov, and Ergash Shodiev. Through translations and analyses of the work, Navoi’s philosophical worldview, along with his ideas of justice and perfection, continue to hold pertinent significance in the development of national education and culture today. Key words: Alisher Navoi, Devoni Foni, Persian-Tajik language, tatabbu, Hafiz Shirazi, Abdurahman Jami, Navoi studies, manuscript copies, poetry collection, qasida, ghazal. Following Uzbekistan’s attainment of independence, a process of profound renewal has occurred across all spheres of societal life. The rich scientific-philosophical and spiritual-enlightenment heritage of our people, along with national values, customs, traditions, and practices, has been restored. In particular, the in-depth study of Eastern philosophy, the revitalization of the roots of our great culture and values on this basis, and their enrichment with a modern universal spirit remain a pressing task. As emphasized by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev: “In recent times, certain efforts have been undertaken to identify our cultural treasures preserved abroad, to study them comprehensively, and, where possible, to bring them back to our country. However, as we all understand, these matters cannot be resolved solely on a public basis. It is necessary to elevate this issue to the level of state policy. The primary goal hereof is that, even if it be a single page of a manuscript related to our history, culture, and religion, to collect them, introduce them to our people and youth, make them aware of the great and unique heritage we possess, and educate our children to be worthy of this magnificent legacy.” 1 . Indeed, national self-awareness, the study and research of spiritual heritage, and the enrichment of the broad masses with the scientific-philosophical and religious-ethical views of thinkers and scholars who lived in the past have become a vital necessity. Moreover, we are witnessing that “the comprehensive and in-depth study and promotion of the rare heritage, exemplary lives, and social activities of our great writers and thinkers, as well as the education of our youth in the spirit of self1 https://president.uz/oz/lists/view/649 ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 20222.889, 2024-6.875 ResearchBib IF: 9.948 / 2024 VOLUME-5, ISSUE-12 696 awareness and respect for national and universal human values” constitutes one of the most important tasks of our era. The creative legacy of Alisher Navoi, along with his virtues as a creator and individual, has been studied with great interest and enthusiasm among scholars of knowledge and literature ever since the era in which this exalted thinker-poet lived. As is well known, Navoi possessed a powerful talent that was granted to only a few creators of his time. Our great ancestor was not only masterful in the Turkic language but also equally proficient in Persian, making him a bilingual poet (zullisonayn). Navoi’s work “Devoni Foniy” is regarded as a poetic bouquet composed in the Persian language. “Devoni Foniy” (or “Foniy Devoni”) represents the collection of poetic works that Alisher Navoi wrote in Persian under the pen name Foniy. The great poet compiled this divan in the final years of his life, approximately between 1492 and 1498. In his treatise “Muhokamat ul-lug’atayn,” the exalted poet informs us that he arranged his Persian ghazals in the manner of the divan of Khwaja Hafez Shirazi (“in the style of Khwaja Hafez”), stating: “Furthermore, the Persian ghazals, in the manner of Khwaja Hafez-which are deemed praiseworthy and elegant in the view of masters of speech and poets of verse-I have arranged such that the number of verses exceeds six thousand, most of which constitute tatabbu’ (creative emulation) of the poetry of that exalted one (Khwaja Hafez).” 2 Throughout his life, Alisher Navoi created a blessed heritage by composing works not only in the Turkic language but also in Persian. His poems in this language were compiled into a divan in the mid-1490s-according to the Iranian scholar Yusuf Shirazi, approximately between 1495 and 1500-by the author himself and became renowned under the title “Devoni Foniy.” This divan was published in 1963 in Tehran, in 1965 in Tashkent, and in 1993 in Dushanbe. According to Professor Hamid Sulaymonov’s description, “Devoni Foniy” contains, aside from the “Dibacha” (preface), 7 qasidas, 554 ghazals, 1 musaddas, 1 marsiya, 72 qit’as, 73 rubais, 16 tarixes, 373 muammas, and 9 lughzes. The majority of the ghazals in “Devoni Foniy” consist of tatabbu’s (creative emulations) of the poems of renowned Persian poets. Specifically, there are emulations of 52 ghazals by Jami, 237 by Hafez Shirazi, 33 by Khusraw Dehlavi, 25 by Sa’di Shirazi, 5 by Mawlana Katibi, 5 by Shahi Sabzavari, 4 by Kamal Khujandi, and others. Alisher Navoi designated his original ghazals in Persian with the headings “Muxtara” (selected) and “invention”, numbering more than 50. A substantial portion of the poems in “Devoni Foniy” comprises tatabbu’s written in response to the ghazals of Navoi’s predecessors and contemporaries. Of the 554 ghazals, 237 are linked to Hafez Shirazi, 52 to Abdurrahman Jami, 33 to Khusraw Dehlavi, 25 to Sa’di Shirazi, 5 to Mawlana Katibi, 5 to Mawlana Shahi, 4 to Kamal Khujandi, and others. The fact that the largest number of ghazals are connected to those of Hafez Shirazi and inspired by his poetry testifies to Navoi’s profound admiration for this great master of talent. “Devoni Foniy” also includes Navoi’s (under the takhallus Foni) own original ghazals. The poet distinguished them by naming them “uxtara” (perhaps a variant of “muxtara”) and “ixtiro,” thereby separating them from the emulations. In the poet’s tatabbu’ and muxtara poems, the theme of love is celebrated in both worldly and mystical-allegorical styles. Navoi’s qasida “Tuhfat ul-afkor,” profound in its socio-political and ethical content, appears in manuscripts of “Devoni Foniy” in addition to the “Sittai zaruriya” collection. With this qasida, Navoi elevated this poetic genre to a new high level in Uzbek literature. This qasida, along with a number of other poems from “Devoni Foniy,” has been translated into Uzbek by M. Muinzoda, A. 2 Alisher Navoiy. MAT.20 tomlik.16-tom.-Toshkent: Fan ,2000.-B.32 ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 20222.889, 2024-6.875 ResearchBib IF: 9.948 / 2024 VOLUME-5, ISSUE-12 697 Hayitmetov, and others. Scholars such as S. Aini, H. Sulaymon, Sh. Shomuhamedov, N. Mallayev, E. Shodiyev, and Ali Muhammadiy have made worthy contributions to the scholarly study of “Devoni Foniy.” Upon acquaintance with Alisher Navoi’s “Devoni Foniy,” we witness a phenomenon unprecedented in any poet before or after the fifteenth century: neither Uzbek nor Tajik poets in the past had ever assigned individual headings to each ghazal in their divans or explicitly indicated which ghazal was a tatabbu’ of which poet. Alisher Navoi is regarded as the first creator in the history of Eastern literature to apply this method. Such a principle employed by the poet provides considerable convenience to researchers studying Navoi’s oeuvre, as these indications immediately reveal whether a given work is a tatabbu’ or an original invention of the author. Navoi’s Persian heritage was highly praised by Persian tadhkira (biographical anthology) compilers such as Davlatshah Samarqandi (“Tazkirat al-shu’ara”), Abdurrahman Jami (“Nafahat al-uns”), Som Mirzo (“Tuhfa-i Sami”), Riza Quli Khan Hidayat (“Majma’ al-fusaha”), and Husayn Va’iz Kashifi (“Tafsif-i Forsi”). In his qasida “Tuhfat ul-afkor,” Navoi himself notes that he received high praise from Jami and was even symbolically honored with gifts such as a fur coat and a turban. Numerous sincere reflections on Navoi’s Persian-Tajik heritage can be found in the heartfelt records of Abdurrahman Jami. Particularly noteworthy are the words of Davlatshah Samarqandi: “Dar awani shabab zullisonayn shud va dar shi’ri turki sahibfan gardid va dar tariqi forsi sahibafzal shud.” Translation: “In his youth, he became renowned as a bilingual poet; in the Turkic style, he became a master of the word, and in the Persian tradition, he attained the highest rank.” Alisher Navoi himself places his Persian heritage on equal footing with his Turkic works, speaking proudly of their significance and writing: Forsiy nazm ichra chun surdum qalam Nazmning har sinfini qildim raqam Navoi scholars in our country explain the relatively late study of “Devoni Foniy” by the absence of the divan in library and manuscript collections within the nation. One of the earliest researchers of “Devoni Foniy,” Sadriddin Aini, as far back as the 1920s, included Alisher Navoi among the Tajik classics and, in 1926, incorporated 18 couplets from his qasida “Tuhfat ul-afkor” in the book “Samples of Tajik Literature” published in Moscow. 3 . He was the first to meticulously examine three manuscript copies of a divan preserved in the manuscript collection of the Abu Rayhan Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies at the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, which primarily consists of poems by the poet Muhammad Muhsin Foni Kashmiri. In summary, based on Sadriddin Aini’s observations, he identified 97 ghazals, 2 qit’as, and 4 rubais as belonging to Alisher Navoi on the grounds of their content, language, style, and meter. To these, he added Persian poems encountered in the poet’s other works as well as in various manuscript sources, thereby compiling a small collection of Alisher Navoi’s Persian verses. Although the esteemed Sadriddin Aini was unable to obtain the original “Devoni Foniy,” he embarked upon the exceedingly complex and arduous task of distinguishing the poems of Foni-Navoi from those of other Fonis based on stylistic features. According to Ustoz Aini’s observations, three manuscript copies of “Devoni Foniy” existed in the Central Library of Uzbekistan in Tashkent. These 3 S.Ayniy. Tojik adabiyoti namunasi -Dushanbe Nashriyoti 1926.-B.79 ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 20222.889, 2024-6.875 ResearchBib IF: 9.948 / 2024 VOLUME-5, ISSUE-12 698 divans were copied in Khwarezm; the periods of their transcription are close to one another, and their contents are almost identical. However, the majority of the poems in these copies belong to the Kashmiri Muhsin Foni, among which Navoi’s Foni poems are also found. It is also fitting to highlight the contributions of another devoted literary scholar and textual critic, Abdulloh Fitrat. His 1925 article titled “On Navoi’s Persian Poetry and His Persian Divan” is dedicated to refuting the well-known opinion-widely accepted in literary and artistic circles-of one of the greatest luminaries with the deepest insight, Babur Mirzo, who stated that “most of Navoi’s Persian verses are weak and inferior.” As we have noted above, we bear witness to the fact that Navoi, the foremost representative of Chagatai literature, was also a noteworthy figure in Persian literature. Prominent representatives of Persian literature, such as Abdurrahman Jami, Davlatshah [Samarqandi], Hidayat, Husayn [Va’iz Kashifi], Som Mirzo, and others, confirm that he was a powerful master of the pen in Persian literature as well. However, in the world of literature and art, Babur Mirzo-who possessed the most profound vision-stands somewhat apart from these Persian tadhkira compilers. Nevertheless, there is also the known information that Zahiriddin Muhammad Babur, in his “Baburnama,” writes that the majority of Alisher Navoi’s works in the Persian-Tajik language “are weak and inferior.” 4 As is known, many poets have composed under the takhallus “Foni.” It is possible that [Babur’s] opinion was formed on the basis of another Foni’s divan. The aforementioned article by Fitrat also alluded to this very point. Alisher Navoi’s masterpiece creations received their true appreciation-as we have reiterated aboveduring the years of the past century. In particular, the monographs published in Russian, Tajik, and Uzbek by E. E. Bertels, S. Aini, and O. Sharafidinov are of immense value. The period from the 1940s to the 1960s of the past century is considered a particularly productive era for the serious scholarly study of Alisher Navoi’s poems in the Persian-Tajik language. The Orientalist scholar E. E. Bertels, in his monograph on Navoi, discusses the poet’s works in Persian-Tajik and acknowledges with regret that his Persian divan was unfortunately absent from the libraries of our country. In 1941, the Iranian scholar Ali Asghar Hikmat, who visited as a guest for the 500th anniversary of Alisher Navoi’s birth, reported on the Tehran manuscript of the Foni divan during a scientific session in Uzbekistan. Relying on the phrase “Khuld Allahu mulkahu” (“May God make his reign eternal”) that follows the name of Husayn Bayqara in the divan, the scholar concluded that the Tehran manuscript was copied during the time of Husayn Bayqara. In 1963, the Iranian scholar Humayun Farrukh published this manuscript. Citing the words of the scholar Ibn Yusuf Shirazi, who described this copy, Humayun Farrukh provided information that the divan was transcribed during Navoi’s lifetime, namely between the Hijri years 900–901 (1495–1500 CE). According to the publisher, this manuscript is incomplete, with its final pages missing; subsequently, deficiencies in the middle of the book were also identified. The Navoi scholar Hamid Sulaymonov, utilizing catalogs compiled by foreign scholars, identified the most complete copy of “Devoni Foniy” preserved in the National Library of France in Paris and succeeded in obtaining its microfilm. Subsequently, the scholar examined Foni divans in other libraries worldwide and determined that five copies exist to date. Two of them are in Paris at the National Library of France; another two are in Turkey-at the Library of the Museum of Turkish and 4 Bobur Boburnom.- Toshkent.1960.-B233. ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 20222.889, 2024-6.875 ResearchBib IF: 9.948 / 2024 VOLUME-5, ISSUE-12 699 Islamic Arts and the Nuruosmaniye Library; the fifth is preserved in the Library of the Iranian National Assembly in Tehran. As an integral component of Navoi studies, research on “Devoni Foniy” has gained increasing momentum in recent years. In the 1960s of the past century, this collection reached readers in Tashkent and Tehran. This event was received in literary life as a major occurrence and was evaluated as a significant advancement in the development of literary scholarship. In particular, it is written in one of the tadhkiras: “The first publication of ‘Devoni Foniy’ in our country serves as clear evidence of the elevation of our Navoi studies to a high level.” After obtaining the original manuscripts of “Devoni Foniy” attributable to Navoi, Hamid Sulaymonov meticulously studied and compared the five manuscript copies of “Devoni Foniy” from Navoi’s pen preserved in libraries in Paris, Turkey, and Tehran. He determined that all are variants of the same divan, with the primary difference lying in their volume, and concluded that the most complete is the Paris copy. The fruit of this immense labor was presented to the broad readership in the form of the fifth volume (comprising two books) of Navoi’s 15-volume complete works. Literary scholars such as Vohid Abdullayev, Botir Valixo’jayev, and Shavkat Shukurov recognized this publication not only as a major achievement in Navoi studies but also as a monumental event for our culture. Ergashali Shodiyev, in his researches, dwelt on the characteristics specific to Alisher Navoi’s works in the Persian-Tajik language and produced specialized studies, monographs, treatises, and articles. Alisher Shomuhammedov analyzed the phenomenon of tatabbu’ in Alisher Navoi’s oeuvre by comparing it with other literary phenomena such as parody and translation. He succeeded in compiling a precise catalog of differences in Navoi’s tatabbu’s to Nuriddin Abdurrahman Jami through comparison of microfilms of the Tashkent, Tehran, and Paris copies. This contribution by the scholar can be regarded as the first step in the field of preparing a textological-comparative edition of the divan manuscripts. In the 2001 candidate’s dissertation by S. Sotiboldiyeva titled “The Artistry of Foni’s Ghazals,” the ideological and artistic features of the ghazals in Navoi’s Persian divan were examined, with an attempt to investigate, to the extent possible, the place this divan occupies in the poet’s oeuvre and in the culture, poetics, and philosophical thought of the Uzbek people. In this dissertation, a multifaceted scholarly analysis was undertaken of the semantic essence of the poet’s responsive poems (javobiya) to the ghazals of Amir Khusraw Dehlavi. In Navoi studies, a number of works have also been accomplished regarding the publication of “Devoni Foniy.” In the 1960s of the 20th century, this collection-albeit incomplete-was published in selective form in Tehran (1963) and Tashkent (1965). Furthermore, in the 1990s, a compact selection was presented to readers in Tajikistan (Dushanbe, 1993) in the Arabic script. The first editions of “Devoni Foniy” were realized in 1963 in Tehran by the Iranian scholar Rukniddin Humayunfarrukh and in 1965 in Tashkent by the renowned Uzbek scholar, Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Hamid Sulaymonov. Translators such as Gafur Gulom, Shoislom Shomuhamedov, Chustiy, Abduqodir Hayitmetov, Jamol Kamol, Nosir Muhammad, Said G’aniy, Olimjon Bo’riyev, Ergash Ochilov, and Abduhamid Pardayev have rendered samples from the poet’s Persian heritage into translation. However, it is fitting to emphasize one point: even to this day, we do not possess a complete poetic translation of this magnificent heritage. In his article “Uzbek Translations of ‘Devoni Foniy’,” E. Ochilov provides an impartial evaluation of the contributions of the translators mentioned above. As the scholar notes, ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 20222.889, 2024-6.875 ResearchBib IF: 9.948 / 2024 VOLUME-5, ISSUE-12 700 the most serious step on the path of translating “Devoni Foniy” was taken by the People’s Poet of Uzbekistan and masterful translator Jamol Kamol. Some qit’as from “Devoni Foni”... Qit’as Har on, ki az hama ashxosi purmashaqqati dahr, Burudu soxt Vatan dar harami tanhoy. Agarchi hech nadoram mushobaxsh ba nasib, Ba vohide ki musallam ba o’st yaktoy Translation Whoever has severed the threads of connection with the toil-filled people of this world and has made solitude’s sanctuary his homelandeven though in lineage he bears no resemblance to the Lord, the very fact that solitude has been granted to him is sufficient. We witness that in his works, Navoi devoted particular attention to his philosophical worldview in the perfection of the ideal human being (komil inson). In the East, every person who has attained the bliss of perfection has considered the most dangerous among the maladies of the heart to be entanglement in the world and the external realm-becoming bound to the blessings of this world. For until one is liberated from this entanglement and attachment, perfection cannot be achieved. To ascend to the station of perfection naturally requires enduring great hardships and becoming a true possessor of spiritual insight and enlightenment. In other words, from the qit’a above, we can understand that to behold the beauty of God and attain union with Him, one must renounce all the blessings of this world and choose solitude. For the foundation of all successes on the path to perfection is one: purifying the heart from turbidity. Javonmard az karam muflis nagardad Sakhiyro az ato chun nist dar chehr Ba roshidan chi nuqs oyad ba daryo Ba afshonidan chi kam gardad zari mehr Translation: A noble youth does not become destitute through generosity; Wrinkles do not appear on the generous man’s face from giving. Does the sea diminish by sprinkling its waters? Does the sun’s light decrease by scattering its rays? In Navoi’s view, those who have made goodness their aim become generous and magnanimous. For instance, in his work “Mahbub ul-qulub,” Navoi defines generosity (saxovat) as follows: “Generosity is the fruit-bearing tree of the garden of humanity. It likens generosity to the surging sea of the realm of humaneness. A person without generosity resembles a rainless cloud or musk amber devoid of fragrance. Generosity is the distinguishing trait of people of magnanimity,” he emphasizes. 5 We will try to analyze a short excerpt about Alisher Navoi’s qasida "Tuhfat ul-afkor." Otashin la’le, ki toҷi xusravonro zevar ast, Axgare bahri xayoli xom puxtan dar sar ast. Shah, ki yod az marg n-orad, z-ӯst vayronii mulk. 5 Mahbub ul qulub 89 bet ISSN: 2582-4686 SJIF 2021-3.261,SJIF 20222.889, 2024-6.875 ResearchBib IF: 9.948 / 2024 VOLUME-5, ISSUE-12 701 Xusravi be oqibat xusri bilodu kishvar ast. Qaydi zinat musqiti farru shukӯhi xusravist, Sheri zanҷirӣ zi sheri besha kamsavlattar ast. Lozimi shohӣ naboshad xolӣ az dardi sare, “Kӯsi shah xoli-yu bongi g’ulg’ulash dardi sar ast Translation 0. Whoever has severed the threads of connection 1. with the toil-filled people of this world 2. and has made solitude’s sanctuary his homeland3. even though in lineage he bears no resemblance to the Lord, 4. the very fact that solitude has been granted to him is sufficient. 5. We witness that in his works, Navoi devoted particular attention to his philosophical worldview in the perfection of the ideal human being (komil inson). In the East, every person who has attained the bliss of perfection has considered the most dangerous among the maladies of the heart to be entanglement in the world and the external realm-becoming bound to the blessings of this world. For until one is liberated from this entanglement and attachment, perfection cannot be achieved. To ascend to the station of perfection naturally requires enduring great hardships and becoming a true possessor of spiritual insight and enlightenment. In other words, from the qit’a above, we can understand that to behold the beauty of God and attain union with Him, one must renounce all the blessings of this world and choose solitude. For the foundation of all successes on the path to perfection is one: purifying the heart from turbidity. 6. Javonmard az karam muflis nagardad 7. Sakhiyro az ato chun nist dar chehr 8. Ba roshidan chi nuqs oyad ba daryo 9. Ba afshonidan chi kam gardad zari mehr 10. Translation: 11. A noble youth does not become destitute through generosity; 12. Wrinkles do not appear on the generous man’s face from giving. 13. Does the sea diminish by sprinkling its waters? 14. Does the sun’s light decrease by scattering its rays? 15. In Navoi’s view, those who have made goodness their aim become generous and magnanimous. For instance, in his work “Mahbub ul-qulub,” Navoi defines generosity (saxovat) as follows: “Generosity is the fruit-bearing tree of the garden of humanity. It likens generosity to the surging sea of the realm of humaneness. A person without generosity resembles a rainless cloud or musk amber devoid of fragrance. Generosity is the distinguishing trait of people of magnanimity,” he emphasizes. Literature 1. https://president.uz/oz/lists/view/649 2. Alisher Navoiy. MAT. 20 tomlik. 16-tom. Toshkent: Fan, 2000. B. 32. 3. S. Ayniy. Tojik adabiyoti namunasi. Dushanbe: Nashriyoti, 1926. B. 79. 4. Bobur. Boburnoma. Toshkent, 1960. B. 233. 5. Alisher Navoiy. Mahbub ul-qulub. 89-bet.