What Anvari wants in his Du'a

Anvari is one of the prominent praise poets of the Seljuk period and a key figure in Persian literature. His odes, like most ancient Persian odes, consist of various sections, including the introduction, the body, and the concluding parts, which encompass Sharita, Ta'bid, and Du'a. Analyzing the content of these sections in Anvari's poems illuminates a facet of the history of spirituality in relation to power. The perspectives of courtiers, including praise poets, regarding prayer as a component of the statements made by those in power are of fundamental significance. In this study, we randomly selected 65 odes from Anvari's total of 204 odes in his Divan and conducted a statistical and frequency analysis of this segment. The findings reveal that, contrary to the essential role that prayer plays in the spiritual lives of individuals, these prayers often appear morally and spiritually vacuous, functioning more as compliments and linguistic conventions. Nevertheless, the aesthetic techniques employed in Anvari's poetry are evident even within his prayers. 
Introduction:
The act of prayer is one of the pillars of Persian odes. A Persian ode consists of several relatively distinct sections, which, in its traditional form, can be divided into Tashbib, Taqazzol, Takhallos, and Du'a. The main body of the ode is comprised of praise, while Du'a serves as the concluding section, typically expressed alongside an excuse, reflecting on the longevity of life for the praiseworthy or the audience of the poem. This section is often accompanied by a Sharita. The question raised in this research is: What was the purpose of prayer in this form of expression and at this level of Iranian culture, and how it can be assessed and evaluated.
Materials and Methods:
In order to study and analyze the theme of prayer in Anvari's poetry up to the 50th ode, all of the odes were reviewed, and subsequently, one-tenth of the total odes were selected for further examination. This resulted in a total of 65 of Anvari's 207 odes being included in this research, which represents 31.4% of Anvari's body of work, or approximately one-third of his poems, a figure deemed acceptable for this study. Since prayer is an integral component of the traditional structure of odes of praise, this research focused exclusively on odes. Any instances of prayer found in Qata'at or other forms of his poetry were excluded, as they did not align with our defined scope.
Results and Discussion:
By analyzing the content of the final section of Anvari's odes through random sampling, it becomes evident that, contrary to expectations from earlier periods, the prayer within the ode does not lead to happiness and perfection. Anvari's poetry lacks this characteristic. The court system and the lifestyle it promotes compel the poet to pursue personal pleasures and desires, thereby diminishing the element of prayer of its sublime and perfectionist essence. In this context, Anvari's focus is not directed toward the heavens; his prayers are rarely addressed to God or the source of the unseen world. Instead, his prayers are predominantly complimentary and lack significant spiritual value in terms of content. His desire for a long life for the praised is not merely an exaggeration; his wish for an eternal kingdom for Mamdouh can be seen as a departure from religious decorum. Although he occasionally acknowledges the spiritual interests of the praised and the people, this aspect does not constitute the dominant theme in Anvari's poetry.