Urdu language research in Pakistan on Shahnama from the perspective of approachology

Abstract

The perspective and approaches of non-Persian speakers toward Persian literary figures, especially Ferdowsi's Shahnameh, have always been fascinating for Persian speakers. Many researchers from the Indian subcontinent have written their works in Persian, but there are also numerous studies in Urdu that have remained unknown to Persian speakers. To understand which aspects of the Shahnameh have attracted Urdu speakers' attention and how they interpret it, this paper attempts to explain their approach and orientation in their Urdu-language research 

It appears that Urdu speakers have viewed the Shahnameh from various angles and addressed diverse topics. Some works have pursued a specific approach with a clear objective, while some authors have adopted an integrated approach combining literary history, analytical interpretation, moral and educational approaches, and translation methods. They have often found the rhetoric of the Shahnameh remarkable and have rarely criticized it. It seems that the Urdu writings of renowned Ferdowsi scholars like Hafiz Mahmoud Shirani remain the primary source for Ferdowsi studies in this region even after many years, with others writing about Ferdowsi under the influence of Shirani's views. Meanwhile, recent Persian research appears to have been largely inaccessible to Urdu speakers

Classifying and analyzing these approaches in a selection of Urdu language research representing just a fraction of the whole provides a clearer picture of non-Persian speakers' enthusiasm for classical Persian literature