Attar
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Image:Conference of the birds.jpg
Farid ad-Din Attar (Persian:فریدالدین عطار; ca. 1142 – ca. 1220) was born in Neishapour, in the Iranian province of Khorasan, and died in the same city. Some scholars believe he was killed during the raid and destruction of his city by the Mongol invaders. His tomb is in Neishapour.
Attar is one of the most famous mystic poets of Iran. His works were the inspiration of Rumi and many other mystic poets. Attar, along with Sanaie were two of the greatest influences on Rumi in his Sufi views. Rumi has mentioned both of them with the highest esteem several times in his poetry. Rumi praises Attar as such:
- "Attar roamed the seven cities of love -- We are still just in one alley."
Attar was a pen-name which he took for his occupation. Attar means herbalist, druggist and perfumist, and during his lifetime in Persia, much of medicine and drugs were based on herbs. Therefore, by profession he was similar to a modern-day town doctor and pharmacist.
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Works
He is one of the most prolific figures of Persian literature. He wrote over a hundred works of varying lengths from just a few pages to voluminous tomes. About thirty of his works have survived.
In the style of Sufi poets in general, Attar exalts earthly love as a prelude to divine love, and a form which even if not perfect, always has a spiritual aspect because the beloved becomes supreme. One of his favored parables is the love story of the sultan Mahmud of Ghazni for his boy slave Ayaz. In his Elahi Nama he includes eight stories about their mutual love and devotion.
His most well-known and popular work is Mantiq at-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds). His other popular works include Assrarnameh (The Book of Secrets) and Tadkhirat al-Awliya, (Biographies of the Saints) which contains biographies of many Sufi mystics. Generally speaking, most of his books are popular and relatively easy to read.
His Mantiq at-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds) is one of the definitive masterpieces of all Persian literature. It is a book of poems in Persian of approximately 4,500 lines. The poem is a story about the birds, by the leadership of hoopoe, in search of their king, and is an allegory of a Sufi sheikh or master leading his pupils to enlightenment. Image:Mahmoud and Ayaz.jpg
There is solid evidence that Rumi met Attar as a young boy as Rumi's family abandoned the city of Balkh. On their way, Rumi's father came to visit Attar. It is reported that Attar gave a copy of one of his mystic poetry books to the young Jalal o-Din (who was not called Rumi or Molana until much later when he became the great mystic and poet as he is known today). Their meeting has been reported by various sources, including by Rumi's own son Hassam al-Din.
References used
- E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 0-700-70406-X
- Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. ASIN B-000-6BXVT-K
See also
External links
- Attar, Farid al-Din. A biography by Professor Iraj Bashiri, University of Minnesota.
- Poetry by Attarbg:Аттар