Document Type : Original Article
Abstract
In this well-known verse from the prologue of the Shahnameh, regarding the stature of humankind, "نخستینت فکرت، پسینت شمار/ تو مر خویشتن را به بازی مدار" (based on the edition of Khaleqi-Motlagh), the first hemistich should be edited as "نخستین فکرت، پسین شمار" rather than "نخستین فطرت، پسین شمار" or other variations, for several reasons and supporting evidence:
1. According to the rule, "Which variant can be transformed into the other?", "نخستین فکرت" could easily transform into "نخستین فطرت," but the reverse is far less likely; 2. The variant "نخستین فکرت" appears in earlier manuscripts of the Shahnameh; 3. The earliest recorded instance linking the hemistich "نخستین فکرت پسین شمار" to the phrase " اوّلُ الفکرِ آخرُ العمل" is found in Mullah Hossein Wa'ez Kashifi’s Lubb al-Lubab Masnavi.4. Important secondary sources, such as Ikhtiyarat-e Shahnameh, early manuscripts of Fara’id al-Suluk, and the manuscript of 689 AH of Tabserat al-Muhtadi wa Tazkerat al-Montaha, support this reading.5. The manuscript of the Shahnameh used by Nezami Ganjavi likely contained the same variant, "نخستین فکرت پسین شمار.”6. Both before and after Ferdowsi, philosophers and writers have drawn attention to the relationship between "اوّلُ الفکرِ آخرُ العمل" and the nature of humanity and its creation. The meaning of "نخستین فکرت پسین شمار" is as follows: O human, you are the first being that God considered in the act of creation, yet in the order and process of creation, you were brought into existence last.
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