Far¯ıd od-D¯ın ‘Att ¯ar was one of the greatest mystical
writers and poets of the Muslim tradition. His
works strongly influenced later Persian and other
Islamic literature in both subject matter and style.
Far¯ıd od-D¯ın was born in Nishapur, in northeastern
Iran.Not much is known about his life, but the
name ‘Att ¯ar (perfumer or druggist) may indicate
his family’s line of work. As a young man he traveled
extensively throughout most of the Muslim
world, from Egypt to Central Asia and India, then
returned to his hometown to pursue his writing.
Apart from writing his many poems (over 45,000
couplets) and mystical prose works, he was a diligent
collector of the sayings and writings of the
great Sufi saints and masters who, in the previous
two centuries, profoundly influenced the civilization
of Persia.
Far¯ıd od-D¯ın’s most celebrated work is his long
allegorical or didactic epic, The Conference of the
Birds. The poem follows the birds as they search for
the Simurgh, or Phoenix, whom they want to make
their ruler. Passing through the philosophical trials
and tribulations of the seven valleys of inner perfection,
most of them die through a fatal attachment to
the self: the nightingale cannot give up the rose, nor
the parrot its cage; the wagtail decides it is too small,
the peacock too large. The remaining 30 birds (si
murgh) find the king’s palace at last, only to see
themselves reflected in the phoenix’s face.
The searchers, representing aspiring Sufis, are
thus identified with the divine beloved they have
been seeking all their lives. The beloved tells them:
Since you came here as thirty birds, you
appeared thirty in the mirror.
But We are altogether far superior: We are
Simurgh, the One Reality.
Known by a hundred glorious Names. Be
annihilated, so that you may find
yourselves in us.
Far¯ıd od-D¯ın’s divan, or poetry anthology, is
suffused with many more such verses of mystical
and philosophical exploration. Two examples are
Book of Affliction, in which Far¯ıd od-D¯ın traces the
progress of a soul through 40 stages of isolation;
and Elahinama, in which a king instructs his six
sons on how to attain perfection of the self and,
through that, all their other desires.
One of Far¯ıd od-D¯ın’s prose works, Muslim
Saints and Mystics, is a thorough account of the
early Sufi movement that has served as a source
book for historians of the era. Among his most
popular works is Book of Secrets, a collection of edifying
short stories.
Some 30 of ‘Att ¯ar’s 100 books have survived.
The poet had a great influence on all subsequent
Persian mystics, including the great mystic poet
RUMI.
English Versions of Works by
Far¯ıd od-D¯ın ‘Att ¯ ar
Attar Stories for Young Adults. Translated by Muhammad
Nur Salam. Chicago: Kazi Publications, 2000.
Conference of the Birds: The Selected Sufi Poetry of
Farid Ud-Din Attar. Translated by Raficq Abdulla.
Northampton,Mass.: Interlink Publishing Group,
2003.
Works about Far¯ıd od-D¯ın ‘Att ¯ ar
Levy, Reuben. An Introduction to Persian Literature.
New York: Columbia University Press, 1969.
Ritter,Hellmut.Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and
God in the Stories of Farid Al-Din ‘Attar. Leiden,
Netherlands: Brill Academic Publishers, 2003.
Thackston,Wheeler M. A Millennium of Classical Persian
Poetry. Bethesda,Md.: Iranbooks, 1994.