Attar: Poet and Mystic of the Seven Cities of Love, Part 2 of 2

In addition to his poetic works, a well-known prose text titled “Tadhkirat al-Awliya” (“Memorials of the Saints”) is attributed to Attar. It offers biographies and spiritual teachings of renowned Sufi mystics. This book is considered a foundational source for understanding Islamic Sufi mystics up to Attar’s time. It recounts the lives of 72 – according to some versions, 95 – Saints and Sufis, through vivid prose and instructive anecdotes that illustrate their paths of devotion.

“Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr,” meaning “The Conference of the Birds” or “Speech of the Birds,” is one of Attar’s most captivating and poetically rich works. Composed in rhyming couplets (masnavi form), the work is an allegorical epic of over 4,000 verses that explores the spiritual journey of the soul. “Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr” is the expression of seven steps to reach the Divine truth, which Attar refers to as the seven valleys.

In the story, all the bird- citizens of the world gather in search of their true King, the Simurgh, a mythical, radiant bird-individual who symbolizes the Divine. Among them, the hoopoe-person, the wisest and most experienced of the bird-folk, who once served as the messenger of Prophet His Majesty King Solomon, steps forward as their guide. He urges them to embark on the arduous journey to find the legendary Simurgh.

“When one leaves himself (ego) at last he can hear God’s WORD with his SOUL’S EAR.” Attar unfolds profound mystical, ethical, and philosophical reflections. He portrays the seeker’s spiritual path through essential Sufi maqamat (stations) such as seeking repentance, love, wonder, trust, contentment, gnosis, unity, poverty, and self-annihilation.

Along the arduous journey, many bird-people drop out, unable to endure the spiritual trials. In the end, only 30 bird-citizens reach the final destination. There, they come to a profound realization: the Simurgh they had been seeking is none other than themselves, a reflection of the Divine within.

Attar’s writings are rich with symbolic language and spiritual ideas that challenge rigid orthodoxy, a quality that has led many to believe he drew the ire of religious authorities. Some later accounts suggest that he was banished and that his property was looted. While these details are not firmly established by contemporary records, they are consistent with the fate of many Persian Sufi poets, who often suffered misunderstanding and exile. The renowned scholar Edward Granville Browne, a British orientalist, notes these possibilities in his work “A Literary History of Persia,” observing that Attar was not alone in this experience.