Function of the Semantics of "Opposition" in a Tale from "Beyhaqi's History".

Introduction According to the structuralists, all phenomena belong to a structural system whose elements and components have a purposeful and coherent relationship with each other, and understanding this relationship is possible only by discovering the differences. One of the most important of these relationships is binary opposition. Semantic oppositions are one of the branches of binary opposition at the level of the word, in which the word finds its meaning according to its opposite pair. In the field of language and literature, structuralism examines the factors that bring the structure of a work closer to the artistic structure and cause the connection of the parts of a work with its whole. One of the most important factors is binary opposition. In the story of "Harun and the Two Ascetics", Beyhaqi first describes Harun's entrance into Ibn-Omari's house, the conditions of Ibn-Omari's house, and what happens there; then he describes the conditions of Ibn-Sammak's house and the events that take place there, which are completely opposite to each other. Beyhaqi, as a master historian and storyteller, who is also well aware of the subtleties of language, has strengthened the main matrix of the story, which is the binary opposition of true true asceticism/false asceticism, with the help of various oppositions. Extracting and studying these types will introduce the way of thinking and the attitude of this capable writer. Methodology Semantic oppositions in the story of "Harun and the Two Ascetics" have a wide application in such a way that they can be considered as the important features of this story. Based on this, the main goal of this research is to determine the types of semantic oppositions in this story and to explain the processing method and its functions in a descriptive-analytical method which leads to a better understanding of the message of the story and its aesthetic aspects. In the present research, first, different types of oppositions will be discussed. Then the related items in the context of the sentence will be analyzed and the thought that causes its consistency will be analyzed.. Discussion Semantic opposition is based on the concept that is created between two opposite words, and from the linguistic point of view, it has different types: 1- Graded opposition: two words that are conceptually opposed to each other are graded; words like cold/hot; 2- Directional opposition: two words are opposed to each other; words such as going/coming or sending/receiving; 3- Complementary opposition: the negation of one of the two words proves the other; for example, the two words alive/dead; 4- Two-way opposition: the opposites are placed in a twoway relationship with each other, words like husband/wife; 5- Lexical opposition: the words are opposited with each other with the help of negative morphemes, words like aware/unaware; 6- Implicit opposition: two opposite words do not seem to have any opposition with each other and in this sense they may even be unrelated to each other; for example, elephant/cup (fil/fenjan in Persian). Apparently, these two words have nothing to do with each other, but in their implicit meaning, there is an opposition of big and small. The story of "Harun and Two Ascetics" from Beyhaqi's History is made up of the macro semantic oppositions of "hypocritical asceticism/true asceticism" and is strengthened by the help of small semantic oppositions such as "greed/contentment", "poverty/wealth" and "trust/fear". According to this story, Harun al-Rashid goes to Mecca. It is reported to him that there are two ascetics named Ibn-Omari and Ibn-Sammak living in Mecca who do not appear before any king. Harun tells "I wish to see these ascetics who do not near the kings and to hear their words, and to know what their state and character is, inside and outside.". Then he decides to test them with bags of gold. The story of Ibn-Omari is narrated firstly and then comes the story of Ibn-Sammak. The mentioned oppositions are visible both in the speech and in the behavior of the two ascetics. What Harun sees and hears in the house of Ibn-Omari is completely different from what he faces in the house of Ibn-Sammak. The reader can make a right judgment about the behavior and speech of two ascetics in front of the king. Ibn-Omari feels himself in a lower position than Harun, but Ibn-Sammak places himself in a higher position than the king and does not fear him. As a hypocritical ascetic, Ibn-Omari's greed for worldly wealth and the king's forgiveness made him speak from a position of weakness. He fulfills all the usual compliments. His words are very short and as soon as Fazl (the vizier) protests, he withdraws. It seems that his greed has folded his speech and he does not have the necessary courage to speak. Since Ibn-Sammak is a real ascetic and does not have any desire to be related to Harun, his speeches are longer and bolder, and his advice and preaching are more direct. The part of the story that is related to the house of Ibn-Omari is about one page, while the part that is related to the house of Ibn-Sammak is twice as long and is about two pages. Conclusion Oppositions play an important role in the beauty and structural coherence and content of the text. Beyhaqi's History is one of the most important Persian historical and literary texts and the story of "Harun and Two Ascetics" is one of the beautiful stories of this book. In this story Harun al-Rashid decides to visit two ascetics (Ibn-Omari and Ibn-Sammak) and ask them for advice and then test them by giving them gold bags. Ibn-Omari accepts the gold and Ibn-Sammak declines it. Everything that happens in the house of Ibn-Omari and Ibn-Sammak is in opposition to each other. Beyhaqi is not an ordinary historiographer, but the owner of a deep and profound worldview, which is evident in most of his narratives. He was well aware of the educational and moral benefits and purposes of history, and for that reason, while narrating historical events, he neglected to emphasize its educational elements. The story of "Harun and Two Ascetics" is among these stories. The text of the mentioned narrative constitutes a thought system and a matrix of oppositions. The frequency of "graded opposition" is the most. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]