Guftumān-i khirad va shādī Persiska (Farsi) 2025

In this analytical study of the philosophy of Omar Khayyam, the author argues that Khayyam raises fundamental questions and challenges that have long occupied the human mind, questions that many other philosophers, whether out of fear, religious sentiment, or other considerations, never openly addressed. In contrast, Khayyam expresses such philosophical concerns freely, defying the dominant hegemony of tradition and religion in his time.

The book further contends that, through seemingly simple yet profoundly significant discourses, Khayyam introduces essential philosophical questions in his quatrains. Within these discussions, rejection or denial is never presented as a central theme of his philosophy. Interpretations that portray his thought primarily in terms of negation, the author argues, are often the result of non-specialist, reader-centered hermeneutic readings shaped more by the interpreters’ own intellectual inclinations than by Khayyam’s actual philosophical outlook.

While some of Khayyam’s verses may initially evoke a sense of philosophical pessimism, the author maintains that these themes arise from the poet’s inherently critical and deconstructive philosophical spirit. Their purpose is not to promote despair, but to stimulate inquiry and encourage critical reflection. In this sense, Khayyam is presented as embracing a principle akin to the modern notion of uncertainty, preserving space for pluralistic and diverse perspectives within his philosophical vision.

At the core of Khayyam’s philosophy lies the belief that human beings are born through one form of necessity and depart the world through another, namely death. Between these two inevitabilities, birth and death, people should not spend their fleeting lives consumed by anxiety and distress. Rather than directing humanity toward abstract and impractical forms of speculation, Khayyam offers a pragmatic and life-affirming path founded on two essential principles: reason and joy. In this interpretation, rational inquiry occupies a central place in Khayyam’s analytical philosophy, serving as the foundation of human life and deserving priority over all other concerns.