The genre of munāẓara (‘Persian debate poetry’) has been an essential part of classical Persian literary tradition for centuries. Munāẓara in its general sense, meaning discussion, dispute, and contest was and still is a part of Persian culture. The most familiar occasions when this term is used today is to refer to the electoral disputes or contests in Iran's political discourse. These munāẓaras take place between candidates trying to win people's votes when running for presidency. There is a mediator and the candidates attending the sessions take turns to present their future plans and win over the other candidates. The debate sessions are broadcast for the general public and there may sometimes be heated discussions and hostility. Although these disputes may pursue the aim of winning over a rival in a conversation, for political purposes in the case of the electoral debates, they are not to be confused with the literary genre of munāẓara or debate poetry.

The fully-fledged classical examples of debate poems are five munāẓaras written by Asadī-yi Ṭūsī that have survived. We know about the continuity of the genre until the fourteenth century. A debate poem similar to the classical ones written by Asadī, is a poem by Nazārī-yi Quhistānī (d. 1320). In the examples mentioned here, Parvīn's forefathers use the imaginary space in this literary genre to safely express their thoughts about polemical issues of their times such as questions of religious