The Comparative Analysis of Attar’s Sheikh-Sana’n with John Bunyan’s The Pilgrim’s Progress

Extended Abstract

Introduction

In Iran, the history of comparative literature, as a discipline, goes back to the 1940s, while the emergence of the field in Europe dates back to the first half of the 19^th century. One of the most interesting and significant research themes in comparative literature is the field of mysticism. The comparison of concepts related to mysticism in Persian and English literature is also of paramount importance. 
In the present research paper, on one hand, there is a very famous work from Persian literature, Sheikh-Sana’n, and on the other hand, there is a well-known novel from English literature, The Pilgrim’s Progress. The former is authored by Attar in 1177, and the latter by John Bunyan in 1678. The two works were selected for comparison since both were replete with delicate religious allusive references focusing mainly on spiritual journey. Furthermore, the stages of spiritual journey in both stories seemed outstandingly comparable. 
The purpose of the study was to discover the areas of similarity and difference between two works which shared the common theme of spiritual journey. Encouraging prospective researchers to carry out comparative studies and refute or confirm the results obtained in this study, including the examination of the applicability of Attar's model of spiritual journey, were other purposes of the study. If future researchers’ findings support the current paper’s findings, valuable results concerning the comparative research in this field will emerge. Therefore, another purpose of the study was to take a step towards achieving this aim. 
The study aimed to find answers to the following questions: 
(a) To what extent is Attar's model of spiritual journey applicable for the comparative analysis of the two stories? 
(b) What factors have influenced the comparability of the two works? 
(c) What are the differences among the stages of the spiritual journey in the works? 
(d) How similar are the stages of the spiritual journey in the two stories?
 

Methodology

2-1. Materials
A brief summary of the stories is essential. First, the tale of Sheikh San'an and the Christian girl: After fifty years of seclusion in the shrine, one night Sheikh San'an dreams that he has gone to Rome and is bowing down to an idol. He sets off for Rome with four hundred disciples and there falls in love with a beautiful Christian girl. The gorgeous Christian girl sets four conditions for the Sheikh to gain her affection: renouncing his faith, embracing idol worship, burning the Quran, and drinking alcohol. The Sheikh, who has nothing to offer, promises to tend pigs for a year as her dowry. The disciples, seeing that the Sheikh has completely lost his way, abandon him and return. However, one disciple who hadn’t traveled to Rome with them admonishes them, saying: ‘You all should have pretended to wear the belt of sin in order to follow the Sheikh, but inwardly, you should have sought God's help for the Sheikh's healing.’ The disciples set off for Rome again, and after a forty-day retreat, this loyal disciple dreams of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), who tells him that He has freed the Sheikh from his chains. Finally, the Sheikh breaks the belt of sin, performs a cleansing ritual, and sets off for Hijaz with his disciples. In the meantime, the Christian girl dreams that the sun has come beside her and commands her to follow the Sheikh and choose his faith. The Sheikh also becomes aware of the Christian girl’s intention to renounce her past and wants to embrace the true religion. So he returns along the path with his followers. The Christian girl asks Sheikh Sana’n to present Islam to her. The Sheikh does so, and she becomes a Muslim. Overflowing with the joy of faith and unable to bear even a moment apart from the Truth (Allah), she closes her eyes to the world.
The second story is the novel The Pilgrim's Progress, written by John Bunyan in the seventeenth century. The hero of this story, Christian, leaves behind his family and home, known as the City of Destruction, and sets out for a utopia called the Celestial City. Along the way, he navigates through the Slough of Despond, the County of Coveting, Prating Row, the Hill Difficulty, the Valley of Humility, the Delectable Mountains, Vanity Fair, and the Town of Deceit, encountering both good and bad characters, as he progresses through various stages of his journey.
 
2-2 Methods 
The present study was conducted employing an analytical-descriptive approach and was mainly on the basis of content analysis. The data analysis of the study was fundamentally rooted in the American school of thought. On the basis of the major principles of the American school, the literary dimensions and aesthetic values of the stories need to be at the forefront of comparative researchers' attention, rather than historical proof. It emphasizes the point that the similarities among literary works commonly stem from the shared spirit of all humanity.
The theoretical framework of the current study is based on the seven stages of spiritual journey outlined by Attar. "Manṭiq al-ṭayr" or "The Conference of the Birds" is Attar's masterpiece that provides an astonishing and inexplicable illustration of the spiritual journey of those seeking the path of love. The general theme of this allegorical masterpiece is the collective journey of thirty birds in search of the Simurgh (i.e., literally, thirty-bird). Of course, the birds represent the Wayfarers who long for the union with their true beloved, and the Simurgh symbolizes the divine. In Attar’s story of the birds, the seven valleys of the birds’ journey correspond to the seven stages of the true Wayfarers’ spiritual journey: quest, love, wisdom, detachment, unity, wonderment, poverty and annihilation.
 

Discussion

The main findings of the article can be discussed as follows: 
Both works are considered allegorical stories and fall under the category of religious and mystical literature. The story of Sheikh San'an is part of Islamic literature, and the story of the Pilgrim's Progress is centered around Christian literature.
Concerning the authors, the Persian work's author, Attar, is a renowned religious mystic. The English author, Bunyan, is also passionate about sacred texts, and his book holds significant importance in Christianity, right after the Bible.
 As far as the audience is concerned, the audience of both works is adults. Regarding the concept of aversion to worldly life, it was found that neither Sheikh San'an nor the Christian could tolerate being present and embark on their journey. 
A sort of breaking of norms by the Wayferers and the stirring of others against them was revealed in both stories. We could obviously detect the opposition of the followers against Sheikh San'an and the strong objections from the Christian's family and friends stem from the resistance and opposition encountered by the Wayferers who defy norms. 
As far as the oscillation of despair and hope in the hearts of the Wayferers is concerned, in both stories, the Wayferers experience moments of hope and despair, and their journey isn’t a straightforward path filled with unwavering hope. 
Regarding the complete devotion of the Wayferers to their beloved, it was found that the Wayferers in both stories were so devoted to their beloved that they even expressed readiness to sacrifice their sweet lives for the chance of achieving unity with them. 
Concerning the presence of gray characters, or black and white in the stories, it was found that in the tale of Sheikh San'an, the Wayferers often encounter gray characters, but in the novel of the Pilgrim's Progress, the distinction between black and white characters is much more pronounced compared to the other work.
In both stories authored by Attar and Banyan, the main character is the Wayfarer. Moreover, concerning the absence of a tangible guide or mentor on the spiritual journey, it was revealed that the main mentor in the story of the Pilgrim's Progress has been the Bible, which appears in the form of a preacher, interpreter, supporter, etc. On the other hand, the dream that Sheikh San'an sees in his homeland actually serves as his initial guide at the beginning of his journey.
As far as the narrative style of the two stories is concerned, in the story of Sheikh San'an, the reader faces an omniscient narrator, while the narrative style in Banyan’s story isn’t solely omniscient.
Regarding the type of text, it is noteworthy that while the novel the Pilgrim's Progress is a blend of prose and poetry, the story of Sheikh San'an is entirely poetic.
As far as the change or stability in the perspectives of the Wayfarers is concerned, it was found that Sheikh San'an initially fell in love with a worldly beloved and, after going through certain stages, finds his true beloved. However, the Christian had been nurturing the desire for union in his heart from the very beginning of the story by reading the Bible, and he followed the path of spirituality fueled by this eagerness.
As regards the form of the spiritual path, it was found that although the path outlined for the Christian is a one-way journey, Sheikh San'an's path is back and forth (from the Kaaba to Rome and back), yet the internal path of the Wayfarers in both works moves toward light and awareness.
As regards (in)consistency in the characters of the two stories, it was found that in the tale of Sheikh San'an, we see the character of the Christian girl is initially negative but finally turns positive. However, in most of the characters in Banyan’s story, there is a noticeable stability, such that we do not witness any change in characters that were initially positive or negative.
 

Conclusion

The present paper briefly explained the differences and similarities between the two stories from a comparative perspective. The main similarity between the stories is the adaptability of the stages of the Wayfarers' journey within Attar's framework, in the sense that the stages of the birds' journey and Christian’s journey could be well analyzed according to the seven mentioned stages in Attar's model. Ultimately, the adaptability of the two stories can be seen in their shared focus on the theme of spiritual journeying. Additionally, the common concerns of authors who believe in Abrahamic religions in portraying the path of seeking perfection and truth can play an important role in the adaptability of the two stories.