Functions and codes of the symbolic number "three" and its place in Meybodi's Kashf-ol-Asrar

Subject Areas : Islamic Mysticism

Saeed  Farzanerad ¹ (استادیار گروه زبان و ادبیات فارسی، واحد سراب، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، سراب، ایران. نویسنده مسئول: farzane. saeed@gmail. com)
Saeed  Farzanerad ² (دانشیار گروه زبان و ادبیات فارسی، واحد تبریز، دانشگاه آزاد اسلامی، تبریز، ایران.)

Received: 2020-10-05 Accepted : 2020-10-05 Published : 2020-09-22

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Abstract :

The true meaning of numbers and their artistic and symbolic role in human life have a remarkable manifestation. Symbolic and sacred numbers are widely used in categorizing ideas and classifying religious, mystical, moral, scientific, artistic, literary, mythological, political, social issues, and in counting objects and measuring phenomena. In this regard, the role of the number "three" after number "seven" is more highlighted than other numbers. This seems to have a special intellectual underpinning. Therefore, knowing the source and the reasons for it can shed some light on the secret of the high frequency of divisions based on the number three and facilitate the understanding of some of its subtleties in mystical texts. For this purpose, in this article, first, the background and context of application of the number "three" have been discussed. Then the cases and methods of using "three" in the mystical-literary work of Kashf-ol-Asrar and Oddat-ol-Abrar written by Meybodi have been studied. As a result of this analytical study, the symbolic, sacred, mythological and archetypal position of the number three and its attention and desire for it become more apparent. The general structure and internal components of the mystical interpretation of Kashf-ol-Asrar are based on the principle of trinity. The author's attention to the symbol "three" in the three categories and concepts and the division and subtraction of the subjects is the basic principle of this text. In this book, a special way of using the number three can be seen, which has an exclusive feature.