In Attar Neyshaburi’s Mosibat-Nameh, which is one of the Persian mystical texts, the spiritual wayfarer, by passing from one world to another, encounters new limitations that must be transcended. This research seeks to employ Lubomír Doležel’s theory of possible worlds to demonstrate how the variety of worlds depicted in the Mosibat-Nameh and the logic governing their relations make this work a prominent example for analysis within the framework of this theory. The research method in this study is descriptive-analytical, involving a reading of the text of the Mosibat-Nameh within the framework of the theory of possible worlds. The findings of the research show that Attar, in this work, has designed five types of epistemological worlds: closed worlds, transitional worlds, open worlds, contradictory worlds, and the absolute world. These worlds are arranged in a gradual and purposeful structure that ultimately leads the wayfarer beyond ontological and epistemological limitations to the rank of final unity with absolute truth. The results of the research indicate that the Mosibat-Nameh possesses a narrative and philosophical structure founded on the principle of transcending possibilities and attaining a singular truth.[1]
Keywords: Mystical Literature, Narrative Structure, Epistemic Journey, Possible Worlds Theory, Unity of Being.
Introduction:
Attar Neyshaburi’s Mosibat-Nameh (The Book of Affliction), as one of the prominent allegorical poems in Persian mystical literature, narrates the spiritual journey of a seeker (salik) who, in pursuit of Truth, traverses forty stations or ‘realms’ (‘alam). The structure of this work is founded upon the gradual progression and passage of the seeker through various levels of existence and cognition. The present study begins with the hypothesis that the fragmented and hierarchical structure of the Mosibat-Nameh holds significant potential for analysis within the framework of modern narratological theories, particularly ‘Possible Worlds Theory’. Rooted in modal logic, Possible Worlds Theory was introduced into literary and narratological studies by scholars such as Lubomír Doležel. The core principle of this theory posits that literary texts, especially narrative ones, do not merely reflect the actual world but create independent and alternative possible worlds endowed with their own specific laws, entities, and semantic systems. Doležel emphasizes the ‘possibility of existence’ of these worlds, examining them as spaces of unrealized yet probable states and conditions that can be actualized within the narrative framework. This theoretical framework provides a powerful tool for analyzing works where multiple layers of reality, different levels of being, and diverse epistemic spaces coexist. Persian mystical literature, with its allegorical nature, spiritual journey, and plurality of intuitive stages, presents an ideal case for applying this theory. Attar’s Mosibat-Nameh, by narrating the seeker’s passage through various beings and realms—from angels and celestial bodies to natural elements, prophets, and ultimately pure Truth—precisely creates a kind of narrative ‘multiverse’ in which each station constitutes an independent world with its own internal rules and logic. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and focusing on the text of the Mosibat-Nameh and the foundational concepts of Doležel’s theory, this study seeks to answer the central question of how the constituents of Possible Worlds Theory are manifested in the structure of this work, and how these intratextual possible worlds organize the evolutionary course of the seeker’s cognition.
 
Materials & Methods
The present study begins with the hypothesis that the fragmented and hierarchical structure of the Mosibat-Nameh holds significant potential for analysis within the framework of modern narratological theories, particularly ‘Possible Worlds Theory’. Rooted in modal logic, Possible Worlds Theory was introduced into literary and narratological studies by scholars such as Lubomír Doležel. The core principle of this theory posits that literary texts, especially narrative ones, do not merely reflect the actual world but create independent and alternative possible worlds endowed with their own specific laws, entities, and semantic systems.
Employing a descriptive-analytical method and focusing on the text of the Mosibat-Nameh and the foundational concepts of Doležel’s theory, this study seeks to answer the central question of how the constituents of Possible Worlds Theory are manifested in the structure of this work, and how these intratextual possible worlds organize the evolutionary course of the seeker’s cognition.
This research emphasizes the potential for dialogue between classical Persian literature and contemporary literary theories, showing that these rich texts can still invite deeper and more systematic readings through modern analytical frameworks.
 
 
 
Discussion and Results
An analysis of the Mosibat-Nameh text reveals that Attar Neyshaburi, with profound and artistic understanding, portrays the mystical journey as a passage through five types of hierarchical possible worlds. Each of these worlds represents a specific stage of cognition and a mode of relationship with Truth.
1.        Closed Worlds (Static and Limited Worlds): The seeker begins the journey from these worlds. Prominent representatives of this stage are the Archangels (Gabriel, Michael, Israfil, Azrael). These worlds are defined by fixed laws, specific duties, and unchangeable cognitive boundaries. Despite their exalted status, the angels are confined within their own knowledge and confess to the seeker that they do not know the answer to his ultimate question. The structure of these worlds is ‘closed’ because no possibility for internal transformation or transcendence is embedded within them. They symbolize the initial stages of knowledge, which, although necessary, are ultimately insufficient and require transcendence.
2.        Transitional Worlds (Intermediary and Preparatory Worlds): After the world of the angels, the seeker encounters realms that serve as bridges and intermediaries. These include the Throne (‘Arsh), the Pedestal (Kursi), the Preserved Tablet (Lawh), the Pen (Qalam), and the Earth (Farsh). These worlds constitute the cosmic foundations and the principles of the inscription and manifestation of existence. The laws here are more flexible than in the world of angels, gradually allowing for an ‘opening up.’ They prepare the seeker for entry into higher realms and symbolize those concepts and levels of existence that pave the way for the emergence of more sublime truths.
3.        Open Worlds (Dynamic and Transformative Worlds): This stage is the turning point of the journey. The seeker enters a world whose inhabitants are not static beings but Prophets: Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, David, Jesus, and finally, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). Unlike the angels, the prophets have themselves traversed the path of spiritual wayfaring and possess the capacity for transformation, experience, and guidance. These worlds are ‘open’ because their laws are based on spiritual progression, instruction, education, and movement toward perfection. Notably, the Prophet of Islam (PBUH) guides the seeker through the five valleys of Sense, Imagination, Intellect, Heart, and Spirit. These valleys themselves are possible sub-worlds, traversing which elevates the seeker’s knowledge from limited sensory and rational cognition to intuitive and heartfelt (qalb) knowledge, and finally to unitive (jan) knowledge.
4.        Paradoxical Worlds (Worlds Mingled with Knowledge and Rebellion): Before attaining final unity, the seeker encounters one of the most complex possible worlds: the world of Satan (Iblis). This world represents a paradoxical situation; a position where complete knowledge is coupled with rebellion and denial. Satan knows the Truth but refuses to obey it. This possible world signifies the great peril on the path of cognition: that knowledge in itself is insufficient and must be accompanied by submission and servitude. The world of Satan is a world where possibility turns into its opposite and places the final warning before the seeker.
5.        The Absolute World (The World of Unity and Final Annihilation): This world is the ultimate possible world and the destination of the entire journey. It is a world in which all previous stages, pluralities, contradictions, and even the distinction between the seeker and the Beloved are effaced. This stage is no longer a ‘station’ alongside others, but a state of annihilation (fana) in the singular Truth. In this world, the previous ontological laws dissolve, and only ‘pure Being’ remains. This is the station of ‘subsistence through God’ (baqa bi-llah) after ‘annihilation in God’ (fana fi-llah), demonstrating that all preceding possible worlds were, in reality, manifestations and degrees of a single Truth.
Conclusion
This analysis demonstrated that Attar’s Mosibat-Nameh can be interpreted as a precise map of a mystical ‘ontology of possibles.’ Attar, whether consciously or unconsciously employing a structure explicable through Possible Worlds Theory, has succeeded in portraying the complex process of spiritual evolution in the form of a versified narrative based on the passage through different existential realms, rendering it tangible and systematic. The fivefold pattern of Closed, Transitional, Open, Paradoxical, and Absolute worlds not only explains the narrative structure of the work but also elucidates its philosophical-mystical content. This hierarchy shows that true knowledge is not a simple, linear movement but a passage from static and limited stages (the world of angels), through the foundations of existence (transitional worlds), the dynamic experience of wayfaring and instruction (the world of prophets), confrontation with the danger of deviation even at the peak of knowledge (the world of Satan), and finally, unity and dissolution into one’s origin (the Absolute World). From this perspective, the Mosibat-Nameh is not merely a mystical tale but a structured account of the different possibilities of human existence and cognition. Employing Lubomír Doležel’s Possible Worlds Theory not only opens a new angle for understanding classical mystical texts but also demonstrates this theory’s capacity for analyzing complex concepts such as the unity of existence (wahdat al-wujud), the hierarchy of being, and the mystical path (suluk). This research emphasizes the potential for dialogue between classical Persian literature and contemporary literary theories, showing that these rich texts can still invite deeper and more systematic readings through modern analytical frameworks.