The Artistic aspects of Ayub's “Sharh-i Masnavi-i Mawlavi”

This article partially outlines the artistic aspects of the commentary by Ayub on the work of Jalal al-Din Rumi, "Masnavi-i Ma'navi," written in Persian in 1708-1709. This work is preserved in the manuscript collection of the Abu Rayhan Beruni Institute of Oriental Studies of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Uzbekistan under the number 2225/1. "Sharh-i Masnavi-i Mawlavi" is written in a script close to naskh in nasta'liq style, is a rare and complete manuscript that encompasses six books of the "Masnavi," with a total volume of 443 pages. In the commentary, poetic lines are explained in prose. Ayub employed various styles and artistic genres to enhance the imagery, expressiveness, and artistic value of the commentary, aiming to convey information to the reader more profoundly. The article provides examples of the most frequently used artistic techniques in the commentary. It also examines and presents examples of poetic fragments attributed to the commentator, poetic and prose excerpts borrowed from the works of other commentators, verses from the Quran or parts of them, hadiths or their fragments, artistic presentations of stories or narratives, as well as accounts from the history of the Prophets narrated by the commentator in a storytelling genre.