Journal of the stylistic of Persian poem and prose
volume Number 19، number In Volume 1، Apeil 2026 ، issue Number 119

Refutation of the Attribution of the Poem Ilāhī to Sanā’ī Qaznavī

Yazdan Zekalvand (Author in Charge), Reza Khabazha

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: One of the tests most frequently faced by editors is distinguishing authentic poems by poets from spurious and falsely attributed poems found in manuscript copies. One such work that has been attributed to them in later manuscript traditions is a qaṣīda attributed to Sanāʾī of Ghazna, the poet and mystic of the sixth century AH. While briefly referring to previous research in this field, the present study introduces a qaṣīda with a divine takhalluṣ and, based on stylistic and codicological evidence, rejects the correctness of attributing this poem—which itself bears a takhalluṣ different from Sanāʾī’s and appears in all printed editions of his Dīvān—to Sanāʾī of Ghazna.

METHODOLOGY: This study is a descriptive–analytical investigation grounded in codicology and stylistics. By examining the sole extant manuscript copy of the qaṣīda (if it can indeed be considered an independent work; the National Library of Iran manuscript) and the approaches adopted by editors in various printed editions of Sanāʾī’s Dīvān, and by analyzing the poem’s diverse stylistic features—from takhalluṣ, rhyme, and poetic language to thematic style and its inconsistencies with Sanāʾī’s worldview and other works—it will become clear whether this qaṣīda can plausibly be attributed to him or not.

FINDINGS: All versions of this qaṣīda are weak, of unknown date, and inconsistent with Sanāʾī’s own poetic style (including differences in takhalluṣ). Moreover, it contains numerous prosodic and linguistic flaws and meaningless verses, and its content is incompatible with Sanāʾī’s worldview and his other poems, showing significant divergence from Sanāʾī’s authentic works.

CONCLUSION: Based on codicological and stylistic evidence, this poem is certainly weak and cannot be attributed to Sanāʾī. Its inclusion among Sanāʾī’s qaṣīdas is erroneous and has led to incorrect information about him; rather, it belongs to one of the later divine poets who adopted the takhalluṣ “Qarnhā” after him.

Keyword
Sanā’ī Ghaznavī , the pen name "Ilāhī" , critical editing , textual criticism , apocryphal and misattributed poems