Textual Criticism of Errors in Hamza-Nama with Emphasis on Formulaic Expressions

Document Type : Scientific

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Department of Persian Language and Literature, Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences, Vali - e Asr University (AJ) Rafsanjan, Rafsanjan

10.22103/jis.2025.24757.2693

Abstract

Textual Criticism of Errors in Hamza-Nama with Emphasis on Formulaic Expressions
Abstract

Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, a prominent figure in early Islam, has a biography that has strayed from historical reality and taken on the characteristics of a tale and legend. Hamzanama is a popular and legendary account of Hamza's life, apparently written in the 7th century AH (13th century CE), of which only one manuscript remains. Jafar Shoar has edited Hamzanama based on this single manuscript, but the edition has errors and flaws. This article aims to identify and correct some of these errors, to provide accurate readings of illegible words in the text, and to reconstruct omitted phrases. Our method for correcting these errors and reconstructing omitted phrases is based on comparing phrases repeated in identical situations within this narrative. These recurring phrases, which we call formulaic phrases, have a very high frequency in the sixty-nine stories of Hamzanama. The result is that misread words and omitted phrases sometimes confuse and disjoint the text, disrupting the comprehension of the narrative flow. Therefore, correcting these errors and reconstructing the omitted sentences by relying on and referring to these formulaic phrases is necessary. By applying these textual criticisms, subsequent editions of Hamzanama, one of the oldest popular accounts of Hamza's life, will be more refined.

Keywords: Ḥamzah ibn ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, Hamzanama, Formulaic Phrases, Collation, Errors, Textual Criticism, Jafar Shoar

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