The Conference of the Birds: The Selected Sufi Poetry of Farid Ud-Din Attar

by Attar of Nishapur, Raficq Abdulla (Translator), فريد الدين العطار

English (translation)Original Persian

Genres: Poetry, Classics, Philosophy, Fiction, Religion, Islam, Literature

93 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1177

About the author

Conference of the Birds , masterpiece of Persian poet and mystic Attar, fully named Farid ad-Din Attar, allegorically surveys Sufism.

From Nishapur, an immense influence of better known pen, "the perfumer," of Abū amīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm, a Muslim theoretician and hagiographer, lasts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attar_o...

Reviews

[Taufiq Yves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reviews in English and Malay:

English
Farid-al-Dīn Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Attar, better known as Fariduddin Attar, was a prominent Persian poet, mystic, and Sufi thinker who lived in Nishapur, Iran, from approximately 1145 to 1221. He is celebrated as one of the most influential figures in the tradition of Sufi literature and Islamic philosophy.

The name Attar means pharmacist or perfumer, a nod to his early career in medicine and herbal remedies. According to biographical accounts, a chance encounter with a wandering Sufi transformed his worldview. Following this pivotal moment, Attar abandoned his practice and embarked on a spiritual journey, traveling to places like Mecca, Syria, India, and Turkistan.

Attar wrote over 45,000 verses of poetry and several works of prose. Among his most famous works are Mantiqu't-Tayr (The Conference of the Birds), a spiritual allegory about a flock of birds seeking their mythical king, the Simurgh; Ilahi-nama (The Book of Divinity), a dialogue between a caliph and his sons about the meaning of life and worldly desires; and Tadhkirat al-Awliya (Memorial of the Saints), a collection of biographies and wisdom from early Sufi saints and masters.

Attar had a profound influence on Rumi, who considered him a spiritual guide. Rumi once famously said, "Attar has explored the seven cities of love, and we are still in the first alley." Attar's works laid the foundation for Sufi thought, particularly the concepts of fana (annihilation of the ego) and baqa (subsistence in God). He is remembered as a "poet of the soul" who wrote not for entertainment but to awaken spiritual consciousness.

If Attar is the root of Sufi philosophy, then Rumi is the tree that grew from it. If Attar is the spiritual guide who opened the path, Rumi is the poet who nourished that path with love and ecstasy. They are both monumental figures in the Sufi tradition, distinguished primarily by their differing styles, tones, and mystical experiences.

Understanding The Conference of the Birds:

This book is composed of 3 main parts:

1. A prayer and praise - an opening filled with praise for God and the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), along with Attar's expression of humility.
2. The gathering of the birds - various birds assemble to discuss the need to find a true king, the Simurgh.
3. The journey and the conference - the birds embark on a challenging journey through 7 valleys.

The story begins when the birds realize they have no true leader. The wisest among them, the Hoopoe, steps forward as their guide and suggests they seek the Simurgh, a mythical bird symbolizing God. At first, the birds offer all sorts of excuses to avoid the journey - no need, fear, worldly attachments, arrogance, laziness, and so on. But the Hoopoe's eloquence convinces them, and they agree to begin their pilgrimage through the seven spiritual valleys in search of the Simurgh.

At the end of the journey, only 30 birds survive. When they finally stand before the Simurgh, they see their own reflection in a mirror - they realize the Simurgh is them.

What's crucial here are the 7 valleys, which are a symbolic representation of the stages of a spiritual seeker's (salik) journey toward knowing God. Each valley represents a different inner challenge and transformation. They are:

1. The Valley of the Quest (Talab): The seeker realizes life's emptiness and begins the search for true meaning. It demands the courage to leave the material world and start a spiritual journey. It symbolizes the soul’s thirst for truth.
2. The Valley of Love (Ishq): Divine love burns away logic and ego. The seeker begins to see God as the only goal, and love becomes the fuel for the journey. Here, love is not romantic but a self - annihilating love for God.
3. The Valley of Knowledge (Ma'rifah): The seeker gains wisdom and gnosis, not through intellect alone, but through intuition and inner enlightenment. This isn't academic knowledge; it’s knowledge that connects the heart with reality.
4. The Valley of Detachment (Istighna): The seeker releases all attachments to the world and to the self. There is no longer any desire for praise, wealth, or status. It is absolute freedom from all forms of attachment.
5. The Valley of Unity (Tawhid): The seeker begins to see everything as a manifestation of God. Dualism disappears - there is no longer "I" and "He," only the unity of existence. Spiritual vision becomes clear and unified.
6. The Valley of Bewilderment (Hayrah): At this stage, the seeker is captivated and bewildered by the majesty of God. The mind is unable to fully comprehend, and the seeker is submerged in a state of awe. This bewilderment is not a weakness but a sign of spiritual depth.
7. The Valley of Annihilation (Fana'): The ego and self - identity completely vanish. The seeker "dies" to the self and "lives" in God. This is the stage of fana - self - annihilation for the sake of absolute union with the Almighty.

Passing through all 7 of these valleys requires sacrifice, love, and the courage to let go of everything false for the sake of eternal truth.

In this book, the metaphors used go beyond mere wordplay; they are the heart of the narrative and the primary tool for subtly and deeply conveying Sufi teachings. If you fail to grasp what's hinted at beneath the surface, you'll miss out on the joy of reading this book.

My Takeaways from The Conference of the Birds:
Based on various sources, here are my thoughts on the rich metaphors in the book.

1. The Birds as humanity: Each bird represents a human trait or flaw. The peacock symbolizes arrogance and an obsession with external appearances. The Hoopoe acts as the spiritual guide, much like a Sufi master. Other birds—the partridge, parrot, nightingale, etc. - represent other human weaknesses like fear, worldly desires, and laziness. The birds are a mirror of humanity itself, and their dialogues reflect the inner conflicts people face when searching for meaning and God.
2. The Simurgh as God: The Simurgh is a mythical bird that symbolizes God. The birds' journey through the 7 valleys to find the Simurgh is a metaphor for the human spiritual journey toward God.
3. The Truth Within: God is not a distant, external entity but a reality that can only be found when the ego and the illusion of the self are annihilated. At the end of the story, the birds realize that "Simurgh is them" - "si" (30) + "murgh" (bird) in Persian. Their own reflection is cast in the Simurgh's mirror.
4. The mirror of awareness: The mirror symbolizes self - awareness. God is like sunlight, which can only be seen through the reflection in a clear soul. It emphasizes the concepts of fana (self - annihilation) and baqa (subsistence in God).
5. The 7 valleys: Each valley is a metaphor for a stage of inner transformation. This spiritual journey isn't linear or easy. It's full of challenges, doubts, and sacrifices. Each valley demands that the seeker release something that ties them to the world.

This book is absolutely amazing and mind-opening. Attar uses metaphors to convey truths that are difficult to explain directly. You have to dig for yourself, reflect without feeling threatened, and create space for a slow, deep inner transformation. And, of course, you'll need to refer to the wise people along the way.

After reading it, here are some things I've been thinking about:

1. Identity, meaning, and purpose in life.
2. True change starts from within, not from what is visible.
3. The exhaustion of pretending and deceiving yourself.
4. The difficulty of finding unity among diverse people.

Bahasa Melayu:
Nama sebenar Fariduddin Attar adalah Farid-al-Dīn Abu Hamid Muhammad ibn Ibrahim Attar. Beliau seorang penyair, ahli mistik, dan pemikir sufi terkemuka dari Nishapur, Iran (Parsi) yang hidup sekitar abad ke - 12 (1145 - 1221). Beliau dimasyhurkan sebagai salah seorang tokoh paling berpengaruh dalam tradisi kesusasteraan sufi dan falsafah Islam.

Nama Attar bermaksud ahli farmasi atau pembuat minyak wangi, menggambarkan beliau pernah terlibat dalam bidang perubatan atau herba. Menurut biografi yang dirisalahkan, beliau bertemu dengan seorang sufi yang mengubah pandangannya tentang kehidupan. Selepas itu, Attar meninggalkan expertise-nya dan berkelana di jalan spiritual ke tempat seperti Mekah, Syria, India, dan Turkistan.

Attar telah menulis lebih daripada 45,000 bait puisi dan beberapa karya prosa. Antara yang paling dikenali adalah buku ini, Mantip-ut-Tayr (Musyawarah Burung): alegori rohani tentang sekumpulan burung yang mencari Simurgh, Ilahi-nama (Kitab Ketuhanan): dialog antara khalifah dan anak - anaknya tentang makna hidup dan keinginan duniawi, dan Tadhkirat al-Awliya (Memorial of the Saints): biografi dan kata - kata hikmah para wali dan sufi awal.

Attar memberi pengaruh besar kepada Rumi yang menganggapnya sebagai guru spiritual. Rumi pernah berkata: ”Attar telah menjelajahi 7 kota cinta, dan kami masih berada di lorong pertama.” Karya - karya Attar menjadi asas pemikiran sufisme, khususnya dalam hal penghapusan ego (fana) dan penyatuan dengan Tuhan (baqa). Beliau dikenang sebagai penyair jiwa, yang menulis bukan untuk hiburan, tetapi untuk membangkitkan kesedaran rohani.

Jika Attar adalah akar kepada falsafah sufi, maka Rumi adalah pohon yang tumbuh daripadanya. Jika Attar adalah guru spiritual yang membuka jalan, manakala Rumi adalah penyair yang menyuburkan jalan itu dengan cinta dan ekstasi. Kedua - duanya adalah tokoh agung dalam tradisi sufi, cuma pendekatan mereka berbeza dari segi gaya, nada, dan pengalaman mistik.

Menyantuni Musyawarah Burung:

Buku ini terdiri daripada 3 bahagian utama:
1. Madah doa - pembukaan yang penuh pujian kepada Tuhan dan Nabi Muhammad SAW serta pengakuan kerendahan diri Attar.
2. Pelbagai jenis burung berkumpul dan membincangkan keperluan untuk mencari raja sejati, Simurgh.
3. Musyawarah dan perjalanan - Burung - burung memulakan perjalanan yang penuh cabaran melalui 7 lembah.

Kisah bermula apabila burung - burung ini menyedari bahawa dorang tak ada pemimpin sejati. Burung yang paling bijaksana di antara dorang - Hudhud (burung hupo) tampil sebagai pembimbing dan mencadangkan agar dorang mencari Simurgh, burung mitos yang melambangkan Tuhan. Mulanya masing - masing memberi bermacam jenis alasan untuk elak - tak ada keperluan, takut, cinta dunia, angkuh, malas dan sebagainya. Dek kerana kepetahan Hudhud, akhirnya dorang bersetuju dan memulakan perjalanan melalui 7 lembah spiritual mencari Simurgh. Di akhir perjalanan, hanya 30 burung yang berjaya sampai. Di hadapan Simurgh, dorang nampak bayangan diri dorang sendiri di dalam cermin - rupanya Simurgh adalah dorang sendiri.

Yang sangat penting dan harus diberi perhatian khusus di sini adalah 7 lembah tu, ia adalah simbolik kepada tahap - tahap perjalanan rohani seorang pencari kebenaran (salik) dalam usaha mengenal Tuhan. Setiap lembah mewakili cabaran dan transformasi batin yang berbeza. Untuk rujukan:

1. Lembah Pencarian (Talab)::
- Di sini, pencari mula menyedari kekosongan dalam hidup dan memulakan pencarian makna sejati.
- Ia menuntut keberanian untuk meninggalkan dunia material dan memulakan perjalanan spiritual.
- Simbol kehausan jiwa terhadap kebenaran.

2. Lembah Cinta (Ishq)::
- Cinta Ilahi membakar segala logik dan ego.
- Pencari mula melihat Tuhan sebagai satu - satunya tujuan, dan cinta menjadi bahan bakar perjalanan.
- Di sini, cinta bukan romantik, tetapi cinta yang menghapuskan diri demi Yang Dicintai.

3. Lembah Pengetahuan (Ma'rifah):
- Pencari memperoleh hikmah dan makrifat, tapi bukan melalui akal semata, tapi intuisi dan pencerahan batin.
- Pengetahuan di sini bukan yang beraifat akademik tu, tapi pengetahuan yang menghubungkan hati dengan hakikat.

4.Lembah Kebebasan (Istighna):
- Pencari melepaskan keterikatan kepada dunia dan diri sendiri.
- Tiada lagi keinginan terhadap pujian, harta, atau status.
- Kebebasan mutlak dari segala bentuk keterikatan.

5. Lembah Kesatuan (Tawhid):
- Pencari mula melihat segala sesuatu sebagai manifestasi Tuhan.
- Dualisme hilang - tiada lagi “aku” dan “Dia”, hanya kesatuan wujud.
- Pandangan rohani menjadi jernih dan menyatu.

6. Lembah Keheranan (Hayrah):
- Pasa tahap ini, pencari terpesona dan bingung dengan keagungan Tuhan.
- Akal tak mampu memahami sepenuhnya, dan pencari tenggelam dalam kekaguman.
- Kehairanan bukan kelemahan, tetapi tanda kedalaman spiritual.

7.Lembah Kematian Diri (Fana'):
- Ego dan identiti diri lenyap sepenuhnya.
- Pencari “mati” dari dirinya dan “hidup” dalam Tuhan.
- Ini adalah tahap fana - penghapusan diri demi penyatuan mutlak dengan Yang Maha Esa.

Melepasi ketujuh - tujuh lembah ini menuntut pengorbanan, cinta, dan keberanian untuk melepaskan segala yang palsu demi hakikat yang abadi.

Dalam buku ini, metafora yang digunakan dah melaimpaui prrmainan bahasa, ia adalah jantung naratif dan alat utama untuk menyampaikan ajaran sufistik secara halus dan mendalam. Kalau kau gagal memahami suratan yang disiratkan, kau gagal peroleh nikmat membaca buku ini.

Hasil rujukan dari pelbagai sumber:

Burung sebagai manusia. Setiap burung mewakili satu sifat atau kelemahan manusia. Merak melambangkan keangkuhan dan obsesi terhadap sifat luaran. Burung hupo (Hudhud) berperanan sebagai pembimbing rohani, seperti guru sufi. Ayam hutan, nuri, bulbul, dan yang lain pula mewakili kelemahan manusia yang lain seperti ketakutan, keinginan duniawi, kemalasan, dan sebagainya.

Burung - burung ini adalah cerminan manusia ini sendiri, maka dialog dorang adalah refleksi konflik batin manusia dalam mencari makna hidup dan Tuhan.

Simurgh adalah burung mitos yang menjadi simbol Tuhan. Perjalanan burung - burung menempuh 7 lembah untuk mencari Simurgh adalah metafora perjalanan spiritual manusia menuju Tuhan.

Tuhan di sini bukan entiti luar yang jauh, tetapi hakikat yang hanya dapat ditemui apabila ego dan ilusi diri dihapuskan. Di akhir cerita, burung - burung menyedari bahawa “Simurgh adalah mereka sendiri* - “si” (30) + “murgh” (burung) dalam bahasa Persia. Bayangan dorang sendiri terpantul dalam cermin Simurgh.

Cermin ni lambang kesedaran diri. Tuhan adalah seperti cahaya matahari yang hanya dapat dilihat melalui pantulan dalam jiwa yang jernih. Ia menekankan konsep fana (penghapusan diri) dan baqa (kekekalan dalam Tuhan).

Setiap lembah yang dirempuh dalam 7 lembah spiritual adalah metafora untuk tahap - tahap transformasi batin masing - masing. Dan perjalanan rohani ini tak linear dan tak mudah. Ia penuh dengan cabaran, keraguan, dan pengorbanan. Setiap lembah menuntut pencari untuk melepaskan sesuatu yang mengikat mereka kepada dunia.

Sangat - sangat menakjubkan dan membuka minda.

Attar menggunakan metafora untuk menyampaikan kebenaran yang sukar dijelaskan secara langsung. Kau kena gali sendiri, kau kene renung tanpa rasa diancam, dan membuka ruang untuk transformasi batin secara perlahan dan mendalam. Dan sudah pastinya kau perlu banyak merujuk kepada yang bijak pandai.

Ada beberapa perkara yang aku fikirkan usai bacaan.

1. Tentang identiti, tentang makna dan tujuan hidup.
2. Berubah sebenar bermula dari dalam, bukan pada perkara yang tampak.
3. Penatnya berpura - pura dan menipu diri sendiri.
4. Susah menemui kesatuan dalam kepelbagaian manusia.

“Tujuh puluh tiga pintu
Tujuh puluh tiga jalan
Yang sampai hanya satu jalan”

“Ribu - ribu Margasatua
Mencari raja si Muraq
Yang sampai hanya tiga puluh”

Sang Algojo
nanti dulu

“Lihat dunia dari mata burung
Atau lihat dari dalam tempurung
Yang mana satu engkau pilih”

“Dalam kalut ada peraturan
Peraturan mencipta kekalutan
Di mana pula kau berdiri
Di sini”

Sang Algojo
nanti dulu

“Berikan ku kesempatan akhir ini
Untuk menyatakan kalimah sebenarnya
Berikan aku kesempatan akhir ini
Tanya sama itu hud-hud
Lang mensilang
Kui mengsikui
Kerana dia yang terbangkan aku ke mari”

Sang Algojo
nanti dulu

Segalanya menjadi begitu nyata, jelas dan terang.

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quests for enlightenment often take shape as a voyage aboard vessels of storytelling. Charting a course through hardship and heroism where milestones arrive like new chapter headings to trace a sequential chronicle of a narrative arc, the quest as allegory or parable becomes a journey in which the reader rides tandem with the characters towards hard-fought understanding. Czech-born artist and author Peter Sis delivers a pitch perfect pathway of such a spiritual journey in The Conference of the Birds. This book is such an accomplishment of narrative and visual achievement it left me awestruck. A retelling of a 12th-century Persian Sufi poem by Farid Ud-din Attar, The Conference of the Birds features the titular avian conference erupting into outcry against the chaos and suffering throughout the world and the aspirations of the wise hoopoe bird to ask upon the bird king, Simorgh of mythic legends, for answers. Gorgeously rendered in Sis’ signature style of contemplative symbolism, surreal structure, and geometric whimsicality, this is a staggeringly moving allegory with themes on the thirst for knowledge, self-discovery, and unity amidst the harshness of life and death that delivers a poetically succinct story with a universal message that can be enjoyed by readers of any age. The artwork alone is worth the price of admission here.

This is a story that takes all of 30 minutes to read but delivers a lifetime of contemplation and a visual extravaganza you’ll want to return to again and again. Sis, a highly decorated illustrator and author of many children’s books like the hauntingly delights of The Three Golden Keys or the charming Madlenka's Dog, crafts The Conference of the Birds like a fairy tale picture book for adults while still being accessible for younger readers. He rather brilliantly pares down the heftier Sufi poem and allows the art and atmosphere to do a lot of emotional heavy lifting here. I mean this is just gorgeous to look at:

His meticulous, hand-drawn art is as radiant as it is refreshing in a world so filled with digital animation, a process Sis admitted in an interview with NPR as being perhaps ‘overambitious’ yet worthwhile. Birds have a particular thematic meaning for Sis who, growing up behind the Iron Curtain, noted ‘birds never needed passports,’ and ‘go wherever they want, and we couldn't really.’ Sis says that birds have always been symbolic of ‘free movement.’ Though here it takes some coaxing from the hoopoe bird to get the birds to take flight in his quest for freedom and knowledge.

It probably doesn’t help that this bird lineup looks like a photo collage of “banned patrons” in the office of any local bar.

[Photo Text] Parrot: I like it here. I feel safe. They bring me food and water every day.
Hoopoe Bird: And tell you what to think?

There are a string of rather lovely bits of wisdom along the way. The birds must fly across seven realms— aptly titled Quest, Love, Understanding, Detachment, Unity, Amazement, and Death— with each serving as symbolism for stages of spiritual development or self-discovery, though they are also challenges and dread, disbelief, danger, and death began to accumulate as the flock’s hope of ever finding the King begins to drain. Faith in something intangible is a major theme that does ring with tones of religiosity, yet it feels rather universal. Which is one of the book’s biggest charms that Sis can be direct while simultaneously vague, dispensing wisdom as mini parables along the way.

‘The ancient gravedigger was asked if you can bury love.
He answered that he had buried many corpses over many years but had never once buried his desires.’

Ultimately, this is a tale of unity, a tale where what is sought might come as a self-reflective surprise, a tale where we can be ‘nothing but ashes and dust,’ yet also something far greater than the sum of our parts. There is certainly a message of a savior not being something external to rule over you but to be the ruler of one’s own self, something that rips with some rather delightfully political undertones at times as well as spiritual. Yet, in spirituality, aren’t the two inherently connected anyways, as well as all matters and manners of life?

‘We are following a path. No one knows how long we have to go forward or how far.’

A feast for the eyes and mind, Peter Sis’ The Conference of the Birds is an inspiring work that resonates deep into the soul. Moving, amusing, affirming, and simply stunning to look at, this is an absolute gem and I would love to shout it as a book recommendation from the tallest mountain through the grandest megaphone for all to hear and take heed.

5/5

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: In The Conference of the Birds Caldecott Honor-winning children's book author and illustrator Peter Sís breathes new life into this foundational Sufi poem, revealing its profound lessons.
Sís's deeply felt adaptation tells the story of an epic flight of birds in search of the true king, Simorgh. Drawn from all species, the band of birds is led by the hoopoe. He promises that the voyage to the mountain of Kaf, where Simorgh lives, will be perilous and many birds resist, afraid of what they might encounter. Others perish during the passage through the seven valleys: quest, love, understanding, friendship, unity, amazement, and death.

Those that continue reach the mountain to learn that Simorgh the king is, in fact, each of them and all of them. In this lyrical and richly illustrated story of love, faith, and the meaning of it all, Peter Sís shows the pain, and beauty, of the human journey.

My Review: Oh heavy, heavy sigh. I have read a picture book and I have liked it. The floodgates are now open, I fear. I hasten to point out to the picture-book crowd that this is in no way a graphic novel! It is a poem adapted to picture-based storytelling.

The first question most Americans have is, “Whatinahell's a hoopoe?!”

This is a hoopoe.

It was a symbol of virtue in Persia, and its crown of feathers and coloration make it a natural choice for the role of leader-bird. In fact, the hoopoe is also the king of the birds in Aristophanes' play The Birds, to which antique model this poem bears a glancing resemblance. I don't know of any scholarly opinion or research on this observation, but the survival of so much Greek literature in the Islamic east makes me wonder if perhaps Attar, the Sufi poet who created The Parliament of the Birds as a didactic tool for the introduction of his readers to the central tenets of Sufism (the seven valleys the birds fly through are the seven ways man has of knowing god), had encountered and was influenced by Aristophanes' work.

So what are the valleys? What is Sufism? I'll give you the logline on Sufism: Mystical Islam. The valleys, in Sis's work, are:

♪ Quest
♪ Love
♪ Understanding
♪ Detachment
♪ Unity
♪ Amazement
♪ Death

Now I'll level with you here: I totally don't get the Sis versions of the valleys, and what they're supposed to represent in the quest for the True King of the Birds, Simorgh. Not even a little bit. But I've read enough quest-based literature (pretty much all sci fi and definitely all fantasy, and all mystery, fiction is rooted in the quest branch of literature) to get where I'm supposed to go. The Birds meet and decide to seek out a King whose wisdom is guaranted to answer all their questions and thus provide for all their needs. This leads all the numberless birds off to the mountain Kaf, in China (sort of), where Simorgh lives. Through the many many miles of travel, most of the birds die and, in the end, the hoopoe their leader-bird gets them to Kaf, only to discover that the mountain has only a lake, which the thirty birds remaining fly over, and see themselves in its perfect and still waters...

And there it is. “Thirty Birds” in Attar's native language is “si morgh”...SIMORGH! The king of the birds is...the birds themselves!

Why on earth would I, an agnostic and an old curmudgeon, like such a simplistic “the answer was in you all along” tale? Because it's true, and it's always been true, that looking within for guidance and sustenance and a moral compass is the surest way to make the journey to wisdom short and sweet. It's also been taught to us that we must rely on an external god for revelations and meaningful guidance, and Sufism says that god put all that inside us for us to find, so I find this story a useful corrective to the error and misdirection foisted on people by their religions.

Plus the artwork. Are you a person who, on seeing a maze, MUST solve it before moving on with your day? If you are, this book will please you. There are mazes and mazes and mazes. It's a blast. The meditative beauty of some of the images gave me lovely moments of contemplative trance, and at other times made me feel as though I too was flying, and always left me with the softly stroked sensation of having one's hands and face washed by a gentle, loving hand using soothing scented water.

The paper that The Penguin Press' production people chose for the book is weird, in that it's very strongly textured. This flies in the face of established custom, which dictates the use of very smoothly coated heavy paper for illustrated books. That, the received opinion has it, allows the artwork being printed to speak for itself. Sis's artwork in this book, being watercolory and soft-edged in its execution, would look weak and bland on conventional wisdom's paper, whereas on this strongly textured paper, where the whole sheet has visible large and small geometric structure, the contrast of the artwork's lovely swirls and soft curves and unplanned-looking dissolves from one color to another is made a part of the message.

It is a beautiful object, this book. It is a beautiful and simple message, and one I am already in sympathy with, too: Look. Look inside. Let the wind blow through the empty places...they are there for a reason. And, no matter how many say they will come with you, only a few will ever finish the journey. Treasure them, and the path that led you all to the calm, still lake where your reflection is sharp and clear and starkly beautifully you.

[s.penkevich [hiatus-will return-miss you all] · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘You must first suffer pain / to join the ranks of the brave and true.’

Struggling through life trying to find yourself amidst a battle with your own ego snapping up vices like a crow with shiny objects is always much more interesting when wrapped in the packaging of a surreal allegory. One of these is going to get way more traction: I’ve been drinking too much caffeine (fraught with a mysterious poison) and having a panic attack (caught in a battle of wills against an evil sorcerer trying to choke the life out of you with magic) while responding to a polite and 3 weeks overdue work email (plunging your sword in the the heart of a snarling dragon). Writers have picked up on this neat trick centuries ago and Sufi poet Faridoddin Abu Hamed Mohammad Attar Nishapuri—for the sake of brevity he was down with the name Attar of Nishapur—delivered the epic poem The Conference of Birds as a sweeping epic on the soul’s search for meaning. Described by Rumi as ‘the Master’ of Sufi poetry, Attar of Nishapur was true to his name of “Attar” meaning “apothecary” and delivers some medicine for the heart and soul through the sublimnity of his verses. Feeling directionless and leaderless in a world caught in the cross-hairs of suffering and tyranny, a conference of all the world’s birds decides to set out and find Simurgh, the mystical King of legend, to lead them. Led by the Hoopoe bird who serves as a wise, Sufi master, it is a story made up of hundreds of small stories addressing vice and virtue and the arduous quest for understanding and unity. A masterpiece of Sufi literature translated from the Persian to English in my edition by Sholeh Wolpé, The Conference of Birds is an epic adventure pulled along by gorgeous prose and contemplative themes and messages.

'All that you have uttered
All that you have heard.
All that you knew,
And all that you have seen,
All of it from the very start
Is just the beginning of the fairy tale.

Disappear. This ruin is not your abode.
What matters is essence of truth,
Independent and pure.
What does it matter if truth branches or not?
When the True Sun shines eternal,
Does it matter if here is an atom
Or here, its shadow?'

I came to this poem having read Czech-born artist and author Peter Sís’s magnificent retelling bursting with his signature artwork and had to take a peek at the original. It is a long poem and takes many side-quests in spiritual pursuit of purity for the soul, but it never feels bogged down and the humor really keeps you moving with a lightness of heart through this epic work. Each bird becomes a sort of stand-in for humanity's seemingly endless vices and foibles and the Hoopoe addresses each in turn with a message for them as to their wrong-doings and spiritual counseling to attain greater unity with the self, community, and the divine.

'You who are drunk on love of treasures,
Suppose you come across one.
You will guard it until you are dead,
And while your life slips away, you gain nothing.

Love of treasure is for the foolish.
Worshipping gold is for pagans.
Make idols of gold and you are
No different from Abraham’s father.
Or are you from the tribe who made the Golden Calf?

If your heart is flawed by love of gold,
You will enter eternity with a face ugly with greed.'

This ugly face, we learn, is the face of the rat. The poem progresses through many parables, including a parable about Jesus himself telling parables, and the stories of the Old Testament such as those of Moses, Abraham, and Joseph are frequently cited in the Hoopoe’s speeches. There is a bit of an affinity between him and many prophets or wise figures of many religions and, like Jesus, he advises that ‘not until you forsake all you possess / can you start this journey.’ The quest for the divine is one that transcends earthly values and the physical realm and it is only through non-existence that eternal existence can be discovered for those who are able. The ending in particular, with the name Simurgh being revealed to be si--meaning ‘thirty’--and morgh--meaning birds--is an excellent note on the idea of holding divinity inside one’s self and community if spiritual purity is obtained.

Art by Habiballah of Sava from a folio of the poem dated 1600

Attar’s The Conference of Birds is a bit of a challenging yet very rewarding read. An epic poem of an epic adventures across epic valleys each full of pitfalls, tests of faith, and more, this is an excellent allegorical tale on spirituality that has understandably lasted through the ages with its rather broad and universal messages on purity and the pursuit of the self. An excellent read that is as uplifting as it is empowering.

4.5/5

‘Leaving yourself is annihilation.
When awareness of this annihilation
Is annihilated, you’ll find eternal life.’

[ReemK10 (Paper Pills) · Rating 5 out of 5]



I have been wanting to read The Conference of the Birds for a very long time. The peacock in me ordered the Raficq Abdulla interpretation, lured as I was by the illustrations of Persian miniatures from The British Library (this is the only, modern illustrated edition), and they do not disappoint.



This is only a 93-page book. It serves as a delightful amuse-bouche but leaves one with a hungry appetite for more. This can be found in Peter Avery's The Speech of the Birds which the owl in me will be reading next as it is the more scholarly translation and will hopefully have more clues.



What I love, truly, deeply, passionately, emphatically love about Farid ad-Din Attar's masterpiece is coming across allegories that bring about enlightenment. Ah sublime bliss! But as always when you deal with metaphor and rhetorical riddles, you need to come prepared with a heavily-built superstructure of previously acquired knowledge beforehand to be able to correctly make your own connections and understandings of this poem. You need to have lived! The more you know, the more you will understand, and hence the constant urge to keep reading and learning!



I think that the birds led by the hoopoe are prefect parables of us as readers who are often unbearably self-aware.



The ishq of Sufism seduces us into squeezing meaning out of every word in this very intimate mystic poem. Attar absolutely delights as he takes us on this journey of life: love, understanding, detachment, unity, bewilderment, deprivation and death and our own psychological and spiritual journey as we deal with our personal flaws and disappointments.



Abdalla makes this ancient masterpiece of a poem very accessible to the modern reader.



"Nothing I know,
I understand nothing, I am surface-dead
Only loves survives, I am traveling unsurely, I go
To the Beloved unknown to this heart waiting to be read."

[Hend · Rating 5 out of 5]

These poems about, the birds of the world gather to decide who is to be their king, as they have none. The hoopoe, the wisest of them all, suggests that they should find the legendary Simorgh, a mythical persian bird roughly equivalent to the western phoenix. It is an allegory of the quest for God (The Simorgh). The hoopoe respresents a sufi master and each of the other birds represents a human fault which prevents man from attaining enlightenment. When the group of thirty birds finally reach the dwelling place of the Simorgh, all they find is a lake in which they see their own reflection.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

تو منطق الطیر سفر پرندگان به سوی سیمرغ تمثیلی از سیر و سلوک آدمی به سمت خداست در نتیجه میتونیم بگیم که هفت وادی‌ای که پرنده‌ها برا رسیدن به سیمرغ باید ازشون رد می‌شدند هم مراحل مختلف سلوک عرفانی رو نشون میده.
عطار بعد از معرفی هر وادی چندین حکایت مختلف رو هم میاد بیان می‌کنه.

1. وادی طلب: مرحله اوله که سالک با اشتیاق به دنبال حقیقت میوفته، اون داستان ابلیس عاشق خداست و تنها فرشته ایه که راز الهی رو می‌بینه مال این‌جاست.

بعد از آن ابلیس گفت آن گنج پاک
چون مرا روشن شد، از لعنت چه باک
لعنت آن تست رحمت آن تو
بنده آن تست قسمت آن تو
گر مرا لعنست قسمت، باک نیست
زهر هم باید، همه تریاک نیست
چون بدیدم خلق را رحمت طلب
لعنت برداشتم من بی‌ادب

2. وادی عشق: که سالک اینجا در آتش عشق الهی می‌سوزه. اون داستانی که عاشق می‌ره معشوق بیمار شده‌اش رو بکُشه تا در قصاص اون بمیره هم برا اینجا بود.

عاشق آن باشد که چون آتش بود
گرم رو سوزنده و سرکش بود
عاقبت اندیش نبود یک زمان
در کشد خوش خوش بر آتش صد جهان
لحظه‌ای نه کافری داند نه دین
ذره‌ای نه شک شناسد نه یقین
نیک و بد در راه او یکسان بود
خود چو عشق آمد نه این نه آن بود
ای مباحی این سخن آن تونیست
مرتدی تو، این به دندان تو نیست

3. وادی معرفت: اینجا به شناخت عمیق و درک حقایق الهی میرسه.
گر بیاری دست تا عرش مجید
دم مزن یک ساعت از هل من یزید
خویش را در بحر عرفان غرق کن
ورنه باری خاک ره بر فرق کن
گرنه‌ای ای خفته اهل تهنیت
پس چرا خود را نداری تعزیت
گر نداری شادیی از وصل یار
خیز باری ماتم هجران بدار
گر نمی بینی جمال یار تو
خیز منشین، می‌طلب اسرار تو
گر نمی‌دانی طلب کن شرم دار
چون خری تا چند باشی بی‌فسار

داستان عباسه طوسی رو هم اینجا بیان کرده بود.

4. وادی استغنا: مرحله بی‌نیازی از هر چیز جز خداست و اینجا معرفی جالبی داشت:
بعد ازین وادی استغنا بود
نه درو دعوی و نه معنی بود
می‌جهد از بی‌نیازی صرصری
می‌زند بر هم به یک دم کشوری

صد هزاران سبز پوش از غم بسوخت
تا که آدم را چراغی برفروخت
صد هزاران جسم خالی شد ز روح
تا درین حضرت دروگر گشت نوح
صد هزاران پشه در لشگر فتاد
تا براهیم از میان با سرفتاد
صد هزاران طفل سر ببریده گشت
تا کلیم الله صاحب دیده گشت
صد هزاران خلق در زنار شد
تا که عیسی محرم اسرار شد
صد هزاران جان و دل تاراج یافت
تا محمد یک شبی معراج یافت

5. وادی توحید: اینجا مرحله یگانگی و دیدن وحدت در کثرته.
چون همه هیچی بود هیچ این همه
کی بود دو اصل جز پیچ این همه

6. وادی حیرت: که شخص دچار شگفتی و سرگشتگی در برابر عظمت الهی میشه. اصلا توضیحات این بخش و حکایاتش خیلی عجیب بودند. اون داستانه غلامی که بیهوش میکنن میبرند قصر پیش دختر پادشاه و برمیگرده عقلشو از دست میده هم برا اینجا بود.

گر بدو گویند مستی یا نه‌ای
نیستی گویی که هستی یا نه‌ای
در میانی یا برونی از میان
بر کناری یا نهانی یا عیان
فانیی یا باقیی یا هر دوی
یا نهٔ هر دو توی یا نه توی
گوید اصلا می‌ندانم چیز من
وان ندانم هم ندانم نیز من
عاشقم اما ندانم بر کیم
نه مسلمانم نه کافر، پس چیم
لیکن از عشقم ندارم آگهی
هم دلی پرعشق دارم هم تهی

7. وادی فنا و فقر: نابودی خود و رسیدن به خدا. اون داستان عاشق شدن شاه بر پسر وزیر و بعدا در غیرت اون پوست کندن و‌ دار زدنش هم اینجا بود.

نبود او و او بود، چون باشد این
از خیال عقل بیرون باشد این


یه قسمتی قبل از رفتن مرغ ها به سمت وادی ها داره که اولش هر پرنده یه چیز میگه بعد ز این که تصمیم میگیرن برن هر کدوم یه بهونه میارن و هدهد شروع می‌کنه با تعریف عشق و این چیزا قانعشون کنه.

عشق را با کفر و با ایمان چه کار
عاشقان را لحظه‌ای با جان چه کار
عاشق آتش بر همه خرمن زند
اره بر فرقش نهند او تن زند
درد و خون دل بباید عشق را
قصهٔ مشکل بباید عشق را

بعد داستان معروف شیخ صنعان رو داشت و این داستان‌ها دیگه.

بعد از ورژن‌های مخصوص نوجوانانش، خود متن اصلی رو اولین بار حدود ده سال پیش شروع کردم به خوندنش اما تا همین حدود تصمیم پرنده ها برای رفتن، دقیق��تر بخوام بگم اونجایی که عطار بعد از بهونه گرفتن پرندگان شروع می‌کنه به ذکر حکایت‌های قطاری تا بخواد بگه مرد راه عشق باید باشید، میخوندم و میذاشتن کنار.
این سری دوباره قشنگ از اول شروع کردم هم متن رو خوندم هم توضیحات رو و هم صوتی خانم محبوب رو گوش دادم(که انصافا چقدر خوب خوانده‌اند. البته با سرعت ۱.۵ برابر.) و هم مقداری مقاله در ارتباط باهاش خوندم.
قسمت‌هاییش که برا خودم جذاب بود رو باز جدا کردم و گذاشتم کانالم.

فروردین ۱۴۰۴

[Momen Bari · Rating 5 out of 5]

ايه العظمه دي
كتاب منطق الطير كتاب متعمق في الجانب الروحاني بدرجه ممتاز
بدايه فان مترجم الكتاب ومحققه الدكنور بديع محمد جمعه كتب مقدمه دسمه بديعه افاض فيها بالكثير عن حياه المؤلف فريد الدين العطار وحياته ومذهبه بالاضافه الي تعليقه علي المنظومه وغيرها من صنوف الشعر المثنوي الفارسي والتصوف وغيره كما اضاف في تحقيقه عن كل الشخصيات المذكوره في الكتاب وغير ذلك من متشابهات او رموز قد تقف عثره امام القارئ
ولم يترك لغيره الكثير عن الكلام عن المنظمه فنعم المترجم والمحقق

اولا حياه المؤلف فريد الدين العطار النيسابوري :لم يصل المترجم البديع عن انباء محققه عن هن حياته وميلاده ووفاته ولكن الراجح انه ولد عام 545 هجريه وان وفاته كانت في 627
قيل ان العطار انه اشتغل بالطب والعطاره وكان غنيا مشهورا في مجاله قبل ان يترك ذلك كله ليتفرغ الي التصوف وعشقه وطريقه الي الله
وههنا يذكر عبد الرحمن جامي في كتابه نفحات الانس قصه تحول العطار من الطب والعطاره الي التصوف فيقول ( ذات يوم كان العطار في دكان عطارته فجاءه فقير وقال له عده مرات : اعطني شيئا لله فلم يابه بالفقير فقال الفقير : ايها السيد كيف تموت ؟ فقال العطار :كما ستموت انت. فقال الفقير : ايمكنك ان تموت مثلي ؟ فقال العطار : نعم . فوضع الفقير قدحه تحت راسه وقال الله واسلم الروح فتغير حال العطار وتخلص من متجره توا وجاء الي هذا الطريق ) وهنا نري كيفيه تحول العطار وان كنت اري ان القصه ههنا تعتبر اسطوره خاصه انها كتبت بعد وفاته لاضافه الكثير من النفحات والكرامات للعطار في عصر بدات الصوفيه تتحول الي دروشه
وكذلك قصه وفاته عند هجوم التتار وما تحمله من دروشه واحيل القارئ اليها في مقدمه الكتاب وملخصها انه بعد ان ضربت عنقه الف (كتاب المقطوع الراس)

وقد كان العطار معتز بنفسه ايما اعتزاز فيقول انه لم يلجأ يوما الي قصر ولم يكن ذليلا لكل حقير ولم يطعم من خبز ظالم مطلقا ولم يختم كتابه له بذكر احدهم
وقد قال العطار عن نفسه وكتبه
_ونظمي يتسم بخاصيه عجيبه فهو يولد معني جديدا في كل اونه
_ زحتي يوم القيامه لن يكتب شخص قط كلاما مثلي انا الولهان ( ثقه تصل لحد الغرور)



ثانيا المنظومه
لم تكن الفكره بجديده عندما صاغها العطار فقد سبقه الشيخ الرئيس _حبيبي_ابن سينا في رساله الطير وان كانت رساله بن سينا فلسفيه مرهقهه ومنظومه العطار صوفيه مشرقه
وكذلك تاثره بالغزالي في قصته عن الطير وان لم يكن تاثره هنا بالفكره ففط ولكن تاثر بالعديد من افكار الغزالي
اما رساله الغفران فقد حاول الكثيرين اثبات تاثر العطار بها لكن الحقيقه (معرفش) تاثر بها ولا لا

ويجب التنويه الي تنه ولو كان العطار قد اخذ فكرته من من سبقه الا انه ابدع واضاف وجدد

تبدا المنظومه بالمقدمه التي يحاول فيها العطار اعطاء كل خليفه حقه من ابو بكر الي عمر وعثمان وعلي ونبذ التعصب فيقول : يا من وقعت اسير التعصب وظللت ابدا اسير البغض والحب اذا كنت تفاخر بالعقل واللب فكيف تنطق بععد ذلك بالتعصب
وهنا يتجرد العطار عن المنازعات والتعصب وغيره من اساليب البغض والفرقه وهذا هدف التصوف الذذي نراه قد تجلي لدي العطار الذي كان غرضه في النهايه التلقي والوصول الي حد الفناء في اللهومن ثم البقاء بعد الفناء ( وهذا كما اري غرض كتاب العطار )

وتبدا المنظومه بجمع للطيور يتوجهون فيه الي اله واحد للعباده ( وهنا انطق العطار الطيور عكس رساله الغزالي ) لانهم لا يستطيعوا العيش دون ملك وهنا يظهر دون الولايه والمريدين فنري هنا الطيور مريدين ولا بد بهم من طريق

ثم يقع الاختيار علي الهدهد ليكون المرشد لهم الي الطريق ( وهنا نري دور الهدهد التاريخي في التراث الاسلامي وذلك بسبب ذكره في القران الكريم ولكونه كان السبب في هدايه اهل سبا وكذلك لما يمتلكه الهدهد من خواص فيقول الجاحظ عن الهدهد : زعموا انه هو الذي كان يدل سليمان علي مواضع الماء في قعر الارض ) فكان نعم الاختيار من العطار

وهنا يطلب الهدهد من الطيور التوجه الي سيمرج الاله المنشود ( وسيمرج هنا تعبير عن التراث الاسطوري الفارسي الذي يصور سيمرج طائر خرافي عشه علس شجره طيبه واعتقد انه يماثل العنقاء في التراث العربي وهنا يوضح العطار الصله بين السيمرج والطير عندما قام احد الطيور بالسؤال عن الصله بينهم وبين السيمرج فاوضح العطار ان لله وجود في خلقه وضرب مثال بالظل والشمس او البحر والقطره ..فما العالم الي قطره

ثم يبدا سرد الاعذار لجميع الطيور الذين يريدون التخلي عن الطريق الي الله وهنا نري الاعذار هي مشكلات الحياه من شهوات وشرك وكذب وكسل وغرور

ثم رد الهدهد عليهم وفند اعذارهم واقنعهم بالمسير معه نحو السيمرج

ثم الاتفاق علي التوجه نحو السيمرج وعقبات الطريق فالطريق هنا مجاهده ملئ بالاخطار

ثم عرض العطار للاوديه السبعه للوصول وهي بالترتيب وادي الطلب _ العشق _ المعرفه
الاستغناء _ التوحيد _ الحيره _الفناء
فوادي الطلب ملئ بالمشاق والالم والجهد والتطهر . ووادي العشق ملئ بالاحتراق واللهفه وترك العقل . ووادي المعرفه يتطلب الزياده من المعرفه والاسرار . ووادي الاستغناء يتطلب التخلي عن الدنيا وما فيها . ووادي التوحيد يختفي الكل في واحد . ووادي الحيره ( دا حكايه لوحده ) يظل المريد في حيره والم وحسره متواصله فلا يعرف ان كان موجودا ام لا اهو مع الخلق ام خارجهم اهو حق ام باطل فهو وادي وعر وكانه طربق منحدر بين جبلين . ووادي الفناء هو اخر المطاف وهو غرض المريد وهو الفناء في الله والفناء عن الفناء هو البقاء بعد الفناء ولكن حذار حذار من النسيان ومن الخطايا والذنوب
فالطريق الي الله متعدد بعدد انفس الخلائق

ثم نري ان ثلاثين طائر فقط هما من استطاعوا الوصول الي ا لسيمرج والمثول امام حضرته والفناء معه

ونري الكثير من الحكايات بين الفصول للتاكيد علي فكره العطار وهي حكايات عظيمه الاثر واهمها والتي اخذت جانب كبير من المؤلف وكذلك في مقدمه المترجم وهي حكايه الشيخ صنعان التي تحكي عن وعوره العشق وصعوباته
ولكني اري ان الحكايات التي تلت وادي الحيره هي اكثر جمالا وضياعا ودهشه

وكذلك نري كره العطار للفلسفه فيقول وكاف الكفر هنا لافضل كثيرا من فاء الفلسفه . ونري كره العطار للفلسفه هو ما تؤدي اليه من طرق مسدوده وطرق جامده عكس التصوف والجانب الروحاني الذي يحتوي علي النفحات والتجليات والاحوال فالتصوف يجعل الانسان محلق فوق الخلافات وفوق التعصب والطرق الضيقه

وكذلك نري في مقدمه الكتب للمترجم ان العطار كان ضد وحده الوجود وان كان مع وحده الشهود ولكن نري في المنظومه كيفيه الاتحاد مع السيمرج وان الطيور ادركت انها هي السيمرج مما يودي بالاعتقاد بوحده الوجود التي يرفضها العطار وهنا يجب التفرقه بين العطار الشاعر وبين افكاره العقائديه فهو شاعر ( واخدته الجلاله ) فتغلب عليه شعره ووجده. وهنا احيل القارئ الي كتاب لاحمد بهجت وهو بحار الحب عند الصوفيه ويري اننا يجب ان ننظر لاشعار المتصوفه باعتباره فنا لا دين فاشعار الحلاج ومحي الدين العربي والعطار وغيرهم كانت فنا تعبير عن حاله الوجد والعشق والشاعر دائما ما يكون مشتت الفكر لا يعرف لنفسه حدود

فخلاصه الكتاب ( البهرايز ) هي صراع الانسان من اجل الوصول الي الله بالاتحاد معه في وحده شهوديه



_
_ يا خالقي لقد وقعت في الحيره والاضطراب اما انت فظللت في سترك خلف النقاب فلترفع النقاب ولا تحرق روحي ولا تعذبني اكثر مما انا فيه فقد غرقت فجاه في امواج بحرك فلتنقذني من كل هذا الاضطرابوتلك الحيره فكم بقيت وسط لجه بحر الفلك ولكنني ظللت خارج تلك الحجب فمن هذا البحر المتلاطم انقذني لقد القيتني فيه .فمنه خلصني. لقد سيطرت نفسي علي كلي فان لم تاخذ بيدي فالويل لي كما لوث العبث روحي ولم تعد لي طاقه لتحمل عبث فاما ان تخلصني من هذا الفساد والا فلتنه حياتي ولتوارني التراب الخلق يخشونك وانا اخشي نفسي فما رايت منك الا كل خير وما رايت من نفسي الا كل شر

[Biblio Curious · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing, mystical, philosophical, & anti-philosophical all wrapped into beautifully translated couplets.

Dick Davis stayed as true to the original format as possible. This edition includes the previously untranslated Prologue & Epilogue. The "Note on Translation" says the original Persian poem has rhyming couplets with a similar meter as the English "Heroic Couplet" of twenty syllables. The flow of Davis' translation lets the story sing, his rhyme scheme is never clunky and actually enhances the pairing of the couplets.

From the Prologue:

"Your soul will be the talisman then bidden
To be the body bearing what is hidden."
(Lines 139-158)

The story itself is essentially an allegory of birds being compared to human nature. They go on a quest to find the Simorgh; a mystical King to become their leader. It's actually a potpourri of many little parables, problems told in story snippets that are replied with scenes of wisdom. Overall, it's told from both a very macro & micro point of view.

There are many references to the earliest books of the Koran/Torah/Bible. I'd recommend this great book to folks of all 3 faiths because there is some solid common ground for everyone. I'd also recommend it for people who enjoy philosophy about universal concepts or folks who enjoy a good story about bygone days.

It's my first real experience with Persian poetry & certainly will not be my last.

Here's a little quote video I made for this amazing book (spoiler free & the best parts are left out of course)
https://youtu.be/wwQbMXrg6AI

My finished review on my blog:
Conference of the Birds: Allegory for Humanity
http://www.biblioatlas.com/2019/04/co...

[cypt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viena gražiausių kada nors skaitytų knygų, o gal ir pati gražiausia! Kažką išklibino viduj, vos neapsiverkiau vietomis skaitydama iš kažkokios estezės (ar sinestezės). Tas grožis net keliasluoksnis - ne šiaip sau gražūs paveiksliukai, gal tai ir atima žadą.

Peteris Sísas, Havelui skirto "Skraidančio žmogaus" gobeleno autorius, perskaitė mano irgi ką tik skaitytą Attaro "Conference of the Birds" ir visą tą poemą nupaišė. Jis apsėstas paukščių, taigi išmetė per langą visokius Attaro pasakojimus apie šeichus ir karalius, liko tik PAUKŠČIAI. Kai dingo apskritai bet koks istorinis kontekstas, liko tik labai bendra istorija apie dvasinę (ir nebūtinai religinę) kelionę, tokia "Džonatano Livingstono žuvėdros" versija (tik Džonatanas Livingstonas yra labiau "Bavarija", o Síso paukščiai - Laurie Anderson). Liko net ne tiek alegoriniai, kiek poetiniai-metaforiški pasakojimai apie supanikavusį paukštelį, kuris dykumoje per rėtį sijojo smėlį, nes norėjo rast "esmę", ir kiti. Visi - visiškai apvalyti, su aiškiom potekstėm ir, paradoksaliai, su mažiau moralo, nes nėra to pobjaurio kukučio, kuris nuolat aiškina, kaip gyventi ir kas ką negerai daro. Kukutis čia - vienas iš daugelio paukščių, kurių kiekvienas pilnas nerimo ir baimės, bet ok, skrenda per visokius slėnius, jei jau reikia, gal bus gerai. Apskritai nebėra jokių nuorodų į kokią nors dvasinę lyderystę ar "teisingesnį" gyvenimo būdą, ir tai man atrodo pats geriausias adaptacinis žingsnis, kokį tik buvo galima šitai poemai padaryti.

Kas yra - piešiniai, kurie ir perteikia tą mikroistorijų, mažų pasakojimų dermę ir tai, kaip visi tie pasakojimai susilieja. Pažiūrėkit:
čia paukščiai susirenka, sušaukti kukučio,
čia abejoja, ar jiems tikrai jau reikia kažkokio karaliaus, kurio dar reikia skrist patiems susirasti,
čia pagaliau nusprendžia, kad nu ok, gal nepamaišys,
čia jau skrenda ieškoti Simorgh - to tikrojo karaliaus,
čia jau priskrenda Kafo kalną, kur gyvena Simorgh,
Kafo kalnas nustebęs, jokių skrydžių neužsakinėjo,
ir toliau.

Nusipirkau "Eurekoj", rekomendavo Benas, esu be galo dėkinga - tokia sukoncentruota knyginė laimė. Visiems rekomenduoju, ir ypač - gyvą knygą, tą popierių, kuris imituoja papirusą (nes taigi senovinė poema!). Ir paukščius, kurie ne ezopiškai mums aiškina, kaip geriau daryti, o tiesiog skrenda ir skrenda tą savo kelionę knygoj. Ypač dabar, kai kur tik išeini, visur toks paukščių ermyderis!

[Neva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Бисери! В тази книга има думи, образи и идеи, които са скъпоценни и кротко бляскави като бисери, открити случайно и пазени завинаги. Разкошна е.

[Osama Siddique · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Mantiq-al-Tayr’ or The Conference of the Birds - The foundational epic twelfth century Sufi poem - has immense doctrinal as well as literary value. The best way to read it is aloud, alone, at night, savoring every syllable and syntax, and absorbing every inflection and nuance. For this is after all a work of passion and an output of devotion. Not only has this outstanding work of spiritual introspection and sublime allegorical poetry influenced mystical thought in the centuries that followed but indeed it has left a lasting imprint as an allegory, due to its underlying quest and message and in terms of its symbolism on multiple cultures and literatures. This translation works quite well and while using this I intend to read the Persian original which because of what Urdu owes to it, become resonant and intelligible to fluent Urdu speakers and readers.

I must confess that I have always had trouble reading longer verse but The Conference of the Birds flows lyrically and is a wonderful exception. The initial part where the hoopoe is persuading the various birds to join in the pursuit for the mythical Simorgh in order to achieve true happiness is particularly delightful. The birds depict various facets and archetypes of human character and personality; this makes their doubts and reservations and their various ruses to evade the perilous journey appear so familiar and relatable. However, the hoopoe adroitly takes apart these excuses and explains that the ultimate truth and pursuit of the same is what really matters; that everything else is transient and ephemeral. The examples from Islamic beliefs, history and lore are frequent:

'Khezr sought companionship with one whose mind
Was set on God alone. The man declined
And said to Khezr: "We two could not be friends,
For our existences have different ends.
The waters of immortal life are yours,
And you must always live; life is your cause
And death is mine - you wish to live, whilst I
Impatiently prepare myself to die;
I leave you as quick birds avoid a snare,
To soar up in the free, untrammeled air."

Allegorically explaining and elaborating upon sufism, its pursuit, its trials and tribulations, its various stages and their toll, and of course its ultimate rapture, the great mystical poem abounds in parables, tales, sayings, and episodes from the lives of famous Islamic mystics and sufis. It is, therefore, also a veritable Who is Who of illustrious spiritual figures who have followed the same path and Attar's additional works on their lives and quests reflect here as well. I read this pencil in hand as time and again the profundity and beauty of the lines captured me. A major preoccupation of course is the spiritual quest itself which is akin to all-consuming love, and arduous, often painful and rather esoteric in nature:

“You could not know
The hidden ways by which we lovers go;”

And also:

"Love thrives on inextinguishable pain,
Which tears the soul, then knits the threads again."

Attar is often passionate so that he breaks free of the confines of doctrine, dogma and ritual and exhorts for one to follow the message from the heart. It is unsurprising that there were objections to and consequences of some of his more irreverent lines:

"Begin the journey without fear; be calm;
Forget what is and what is not Islam"

Another theme that emerges frequently is that of the importance of divine grace without which it is not possible to find the right course:

"The man on whom that quickening glance alights
Is raised to heaven's unsuspected heights;
Indeed this glance discovers you;
Your life's a mystery without a clue"

And then there is the all-important need for a spiritual guide:

"You need a skillful guide; you cannot start
This ocean voyage with blindness in your heart."

There are those whose pride will always be an impediment in their way and others who while seemingly mired in sin will be fortunate to be rescued; hence finding the right path and success appears not just an outcome of endeavor but also mercy.

"A sinner died, and, as his coffin passed,
A man who practiced every prayer and fast
Turned ostentatiously aside - how could
He pray for one of whom he knew no good?
He saw the sinner in his dreams that night,
His face transfigured with celestial light.
'How did you enter heaven's gate," he said,
"A sinner stained with faith from foot to head?"
"God saw your merciless, disdainful pride,
And spited my poor soul," the man replied.

Self-love brings one to a dead-end and overcoming the self is what allows one to transcend all obstacles:

"My study is to reach Truth's inmost shrine -
And I am not my Self's ass, he is mine;
Now since the beast I ride on rides on you.
That I am your better is quite plainly true.
You love the Self- it's lit in you a fire
Of nagging lust, insatiable desire,"

Equally corrosive and harmful is greed and love for worldly goods. The famous female saint Rabia of Basra is quoted to say:

"...I fear the harm
That follows from the clink of coin on coin,
The sleepless nights when sums of money join."

Like all great sufic literature Attar sublime poem also drives home the ephemeral nature of human existence and its insignificance given the grand scheme of things:

"As you are reared to live, so from your birth
You're also reared to one day leave this earth.
Which sunset fills with blood from pole to pole -
The sun seems then an executioner,
Beheading thousands with his scimitar.
If you are profligate, if you are pure,
You are but water mixed with dirt, no more -
A drop of trembling instability,
And can a drop resist the surging sea?
Though in the world you are a king, you must
In sorrow and despair return to dust."

More on the same theme - no matter how mighty, they all come to nothingness:

"King Solomon, whose seal subdued all lands,
I dust compounded with the desert sands,
And tyrants whose decrees spelled bloody dooms
Decay to nothing the narrow tomb:"

The hoopoe's persistent exhortation to all the birds is to not be bound by cold reason but to seek out the truth through love:

"Give up the intellect for love and see
In one brief moment all eternity"

The lovingly referred to Simorgh who lives far away is steeped in mystique:

"We have a King; beyond Kaf's mountain peak
The Simorgh lives, the sovereign whom you seek
And He is always near to us, though we
Live far from his transcendent majesty
A hundred thousand veils of dark and light
Withdrew his presence from our mortal sight
And in both worlds no being shares the throne
That marks the Simorgh's power and His alone -
He reigns in undisturbed omnipotence
Bathed in the light of His magnificence
No mind, no intellect can penetrate
The mystery of His unending state:"

The invitation is to explore an insight and a state of knowledge and existence that far exceeds the life and experience that the birds are reconciled to:

"The Truth we seek is like a shoreless sea,
Of which your paradise is but a drop.
This ocean can be yours; why should you stop
Beguiled by dreams of evanescent dew?
The secret of the sun are yours, but you
Content yourselves with motes trapped in its beams"

The poem abounds in beautiful lines employing wonderful metaphors that draw a contrast between worldly existence and a much more elevated consciousness:

"The unseen world and that which we can see
Are like a water-drop which instantly
Is and is not. A water-drop was formed
When time began, and on its surface swarmed
The world's appearances. If they were made
Of all-resting iron they would fade;
Hard iron is mere water, after all -
Dispersing like a dream, impalpable."

In an honest quest, in self-abnegation, in passionate contemplation, and in modesty lies the escape and the remedy:

"How many years I wandered far and wide
Until I found the fortress that you seek -
It is the knee, bend it, accept, be meek;
I found no other way - this remedy,
And only this, will cure your misery."

But once more, the right guidance is essential:

"Whoever will be guided finds relief
From Fate's adversity, from inward grief;
One hour of guidance benefits you more
Than all your mortal life, however pure."

And indeed honest and steadfast intent:

"The heart that does not strive can never gain
The endless kingdom's gates and lives in vain;"

And once the heart is maddened by ecstasy the one in love finds himself moving beyond the world of ordinary perceptions:

"As Egypt's noble maids swooned to see
Dear Joseph's radiant face, so ecstasy
Is mirrored in the sufi's maddened heart -
Then he has lost himself and moves apart
From all that we perceive - the world grows dim
As all the world resolves to follow him."

Attar cautions that those in love or in spiritual ecstasy endure much in their journey and hence ought to be left alone, unmolested and unjudged. The drawing of parallels between true love for a person and love of God (Ishq-e-Majazi and Ishq-e-Haqeeqi) is common in eastern spiritual poetry in Persian, Urdu and other regional languages and contributes greatly to choice of common metaphors.

"Don't meddle with their conduct, don't reprove
Those given up to madness and to love.
You would excuse them - nothing is more sure -
If you could share the darkness they endure."

It is the 'I' that has to be suppressed if one is to transcend to a higher plane of consciousness and spirituality and draw closer to the divine:

" If you put all your trust in "I" and "Me"
You've chosen both worlds as your enemy -
But if you kill the Self, the darkest night
Will be illuminated with your light.
If you would flee from evil and its pain
Swear never to repeat this "I" again!"

Those who find fault with others are neglectful of their own state, which is what really ought to be what they should be focusing on. Also, one so sanctimonious and critical is incapable of loving. And if you cannot love fellow-humans how can you have the capacity to love the divine:

"He saw the other's state but not his own,
And in his blindness he is not alone;
You cannot love, and this is why you seek
To find men vicious, or depraved, or weak -
If you could search for love and persevere
The sins of other men would disappear."

Attar's poem also offers philosophical questions about the very meaning of existence as well as the impermanence of everything:

"Where are the earth, the mountains and the sea?
Where are the angels and humanity?
Where are the bodies buried underground?
Where are their minds so subtle and profound?
Where is the pain of death? Where is the soul?
Where are the sundered parts? Where is the whole?
Sift through the universe, and it will seem
An airy maze, an insubstantial dream."

The moth and the flame are ancient metaphors for the lover and the beloved as well as for the all-consuming and annihilating nature of love; for the quest on part of the true lover to become one with the beloved even if it means that he loses his own identity and existence. Attar carries on the tradition in his own glorious way:

"Another moth flew out - his dizzy flight
Turned to an ardent wooing of the light;
He dipped and soared, and in his frenzied trance
Both Self and fire were mingled by his dance -
The flame engulfed his wing-tips, body, head;
His being glowed a fierce translucent red;
And when the mentor saw that sudden blaze,
The moth's form lost within the glowing rays,
He said: "He knows, he knows the truth we seek,
The hidden truth of which we cannot speak."

Quite apart from the quality of the verse the various parables, sayings, moral stories and shorter allegories are painstakingly weaved together and display great harmony. Amongst others we find mention of great sufis, mystics, philosophers, scholars and ascetics such as Bayazid Bastami, Mansoor Al-Hallaj, Ibrahim Ibn Adham, Ayaz Ibn Aymaq, Ahmad Ibn Hanbal, Junaid Baghdadi, Abul Qasim Nasrabadi, Abu al-Husain al-Nouri, Rabia Al-Basri, Abu Ali Roudbar, Abu Bakr Al-Shibli, Abu Abdullah Tirmazi, Abu Ali Tousi, Abu-Bakr Al-Wasiti, Yousef of Hamadan, Abul Faiz Zulnoon, and others, thus showing how The Conference of the Birds is an important link in an older spiritual tradition and one that then inspired the guided the likes of Rumi.

The beautiful hoopoe (In Urdu Hud Hud ہدُہدُُ) is of course a bird of mystical significance. A messenger of Prophet Solomon, the hoopoe is central to the poem as it acts as the motivator, guide & leader of the birds, who set off in pursuit of the celestial Simorgh. The way is arduous and the great Simorgh dwells far away beyond the mythical Mountain of Qaf and harsh and forbidding landscapes comprising of seven valleys - the Valleys of Quest, Love, Insight into Mystery, Detachment and Serenity, Unity, Awe, and finally, Poverty and Nothingness. The ultimate insight of what we seek actually existing within ourselves; of the Divine being present everywhere including us; and the answers to our questions lying in what we choose and who we become and want to be and how honestly and passionately we strive for them; are the essential and central insights of Sufism that also characterize this classic poem. The Simorgh here symbolizing not just the mythical and ethereal bird but also literally meaning thirty birds (which is the paltry number which exhausted and spent finally manages to complete the arduous journey from amongst the thousands that set off but failed). Time and again the perilousness nature of the spiritual pursuit is highlighted and the necessity of self-abnegation and bidding farewell to bonds and aspirations material and worldly. As Attar says:

"Your heart is not a mirror bright and clear
If there the Simorgh's form does not appear;
No one can bear His beauty face to face,
And for this reason, of His perfect grace,
He makes a mirror in our hearts - look there
To see Him, search your hearts with anxious care."

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Стара персийска легенда от златната епоха на персийската поезия (преди монголите да я съсипят чак до днес, унищожавайки основите на нейния просветен свят) е синтезирана в кратък модерен прочит през картини от мандали, кръгове, лабиринти, клетки под микроскоп, Космос, цветове, птичи абстракции и птичи портрети.


Картинка


Картинка

Интересни илюстрации, подканящи към съзерцателен размисъл или просто към съзерцание, с умело вплетен текст. Символика на цветовете и смяна на перспективите. Чудесно издание-бижу на Жанет-45.

Адски бих се радвала да издадат и пълната персийска версия! Интерпретацията на Сис е само нежно въведение и обостря апетита за оригинала.

***
🦉 “Долината на знанието - тук всички си избираме различен път и различни правила, на които да не се подчиняваме.”

[giso0 · Rating 4 out of 5]

این که بزرگان ادبیات ما همگی به آیات و روایات دینی هم مسلط بودن و همین طور تفاوت دانسته های زمان قدیم و حال و همچنین زیبایی ها و فنون شاعرانه ایجاب می کنه چنین کتاب هایی رو با شرح و تفسیرشون بخونیم.
اگرچه هر جایی که برام ناآشنا بود به دنبال مقصود شاعر گشتم ولی اگر حوصله ی کافی داشتم بهتر بود شرحش رو هم می خوندم.
..
خیلی از حکایت هایی رو که در سال های کودکی و اوایل نوجوونی شنیده بودم و حتی یادم نمونده بود از چه کتابی هستن اینجا پیدا کردم.

[Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I ever had a reason to ban ereaders for all of eternity, it would be this book. Peter Sis' adaptation of Farid ud-Din Attar's epic, 4500 plus line poem, The Conference of Birds, uses some of the most gorgeous images I've ever had the privilege to behold. The images some in simple hues, others in sumptuous colors, leap off the page and tell the story more than the words.

I was not familiar with the poem before this, and what little of it I have experienced by reading this adaptation, makes me want to read the entire poem. It tells the story of a hoopoe bird that gathers all of his kin from around the world in a quest to find their true king, Simorgh. All the birds from around the globe meet together and the hoopoe convince them to take part in the journey. Many of them fall away through despair of cowardice along the way, many of them die, and only a few of them make it to the mountain of Kar where Simorgh is said to reside.

Along the way the birds must travel through seven valleys that test their emotional, intellectual, and spiritual levels. The Valleys of Quest, Love, Understanding, Detachment, Unity, Amazement, and Death all have their own perils but it's only through making that journey that the remaining birds are prepared to accept the final outcome. Simorgh, the true king, has already been found. He resides in each one of the birds, it's their better, noble nature that they discover, but only through a journey of self discovery first.

The few poetic words that Peter Sis uses in this book are really just their to accent the richness of the illustrations. It's in the tea stained pages, or the labyrinths in each of the valleys that really tell the story. The book is full of symbols and other visual storytelling techniques that keep the eye on the beauty of it all as each page is turned. The tactile nature of the pages, the texture and thickness of it just helped the process along.

This will be a book that stays around my house for a very long time to come. It's one that is truly a honor to own and one that I can't wait to share with others.

[Aurelia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Conference f Birds is an allegory of a spiritual journey written by XIIth century Persian poet Farid Din Attar. He is not the household name when it comes to Sufism and Islamic mysticism, yet his work is such a complete representation of the peculiarities of Sufi writings, with a striking and powerful imagery, elaborated paradoxes, and excellently thought-provoking similes.

The spiritual journey being itself a mystery which cannot be clearly related, it is only through this allegory that the poet tries to convey what cannot be analytically described. Most of times he is only making signs, never fully giving an answer, since any answer have to be realized and understood by the seeker himself, no one can stand for him in walking this journey, which for the majority, seems quit an obscure and absurd endeavor.

Perhaps one of the first questions that comes to mind, is the motivation of those who intend to embark on a spiritual journey and turn their backs on the world. For most of us this seems quite distant and unlikely. After all we spend most of our lives striving after worldly belongings, status and success, and conformity to social expectations. The spiritual path is for those who have seen the futility of these attempts, who realized the fickleness of the world, the despair that comes up from seeking praise and avoiding blame, the wasting of efforts in trying to get this only to want otherwise in the next moment. The quest is in a sort a way out of all this turmoil of life that we are born to. In walking the path of detachment, one can find a refuge, and maybe the stillness of peace.

It is a calling for seekers to leave worldly concerns behind, it is described by Attar in the form of a longing, the imagery of a longing lover is abundant throughout the poem. This intense attraction that pushes one away from all other distractions, and absorbs all his efforts to direct them towards one goal. It also strips every thing else from value, so that the object of love remains the sole matter of concern.

Yet not all experience this intense longing nor do they hold on to it until the end of the journey. Distractions are real and do have a powerful hold on the will of seekers. They come in the form of excuses, like cowardice, fear and laziness, but also ignorance of the real value of things. Our attachment to what we believe a real source of happiness, and our fear of losing it and inability to gave it up for this unknown goal that is the fulfillment of spiritual life, stops prematurely all attempts. In Attar’s Poem, greed for acquiring possessions, attachment to what is fickle and changing, to the sense of selfhood and the pride found in it, are all obstacles to even the conceptual understanding of the spiritual path, let along embarking on it.

In the spirit of Islam which upholds the absolute oneness of God, this is portrayed by Sufis as a form of Idolatry. It is indeed the most sophisticated and intimate idolatry that exists. Because next to God, one places another object of worship, glorifying it without being aware of the extend of his delusion. Although the objects of delusion are diverse, and the analytic mind roams around endlessly to justify this or that, the core of the delusion remains one and only, and that is the notion of the Self.

The Self occupies a pivotal role in Attar’s poem, it is that which pulls us away from the path, the master who enslaves us and drives us to despair. It is the source of greed and pride, of forgetfulness and neglect. The spiritual quest from beginning to the end is about the abandoning of the symptoms of this slavery but also the total annihilation of the source of the disease. God’s chosen ones, through the power of his calling, the intensity of their longing, are pulled away from the idolatry of the Self towards coming back to the original Oneness with God.

Even if one is fortuned enough to see beyond these illusions, there are still many dangers that lay ahead. The path is plagued with difficulties such as doubt, weakness and many abundant distractions. Even if one leaves behind greed and pride in worldly affair, more intimate and subtler forms of these defilements arise within himself, like greed in the reward in the next life, and conceit arising because of spiritual achievement. The aim of the spiritual life is the total abandoning of even the slightest traces of the Self, the letting go of all this whirlpool of greed and conceit, and the realization of the purity of Nothingness, the dwelling in God’s glory and in the Peace of his Bliss.

At the climax of the journey, Attar tries to convey the bewilderment of the seekers as they discover the Truth hidden for so long from there sight. To their great astonishment, the birds discover that what they were seeking once belonged to them, it was a part of them, but because of ignorance, ingratitude and pride they sold it, they sold it for what was way below its true value. Attar elaborates magnificent similes to describe the foolishness of the one who gives away the priceless for a cheap price, and therefore condemns himself to an existence of misery by his own hands. It is by this realization that the seeker comes back to God, retrieves what he has lost, becomes complete and not lacking anything in the Nothingness of the Annihilation in God. His painful separation from God was a sin that he committed with his own hand, but through God’s Grace and Mercy this fatal error was pardoned.

In his epilogue, Attar acknowledges the difficulty of this endeavor of describing something which is realized in silence and not by word. But he seems to be confident in the power of his poetry, and hopes that it will provide other seekers with signs which will help them on their path. But beyond our efforts to see our existence with insight, and Attar’s help to point the way, there remains only God’s Grace to hope for, He is the Ultimate Guide and the Ultimate Savor able to pull us from our ignorance. It is through His Mercy that we can hope to advance on this path, for as weak and deluded as we are, we have nothing to offer Him in return.

[Atheer Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

أخطأت عندما قرأت منطق الطير في جلسة واحدة بحجة السلوى عن المرض..
يفترض أن يقرأ مقسما على فترة طويلة...
كل يوم صفحة ربما..
والصدق أنني أسقطت ٣ صفحات عمدا ولن أقرأها أبدا..


أحسست بالخجل..
كانت لدي أعذار الطيور الواهية القبيحة ذاتها..
الأفكار الموجودة هنا لم تكن بالجديدة علي..
ولذلك فقد مللت وضقت ذرعا بالمقدمة والشرح..
وضقت ذرعا أكثر بمحاولة تصنيفه مذهبيا..
ولو أن لدي تكهني الصغير الخاص في هذا الموضوع.. :)
لكن ليس كل مايخطر في البال يقال...


منذ أن أغلقت الكتاب وحتى الآن..
يؤرقني صدى لشطر بيت
"إن المحب لمن أحب مطيع"
فأين طاعتي!؟

لكنك تعلم يالله.. أني أحسن من ذاك الطائر بقليل...
إذ أنني لاأخجل من طرق بابك مرارا وتكرارا...
فمن قد يحب صفيقا ناكث الوعد مثلي غيرك!؟
وأنك تعرف..
"لَئِنْ أَدْخَلْتَنِي النّار لاُخْبِرَنَّ أَهْلَ النّارِ بِحُبِّي لَكَ"..

وكنت أفكر...
هل بابك حقا لايُفتح إلا لكل واحد من ألف؟!
فأنقبضت... ونضب الدم من أطرافي...
إذا أنك أيضا تعرف ياالله..
أنني أُقبل وحدي على أمر جلل....
قد فر منه رجال كثيرون..

ولاأطلب سوى أن تكون ثالثنا يالله...


-آمين.

[Emiliya Bozhilova · Rating 5 out of 5]

Атар неслучайно е бил считан за еретик. Тази негова поема за душата - птица, устремена към първоизточника, към митичния владетел Симург, дава съвсем не онези отговори, които религиозният канон предвижда. Мистичният суфизъм, изчистен от понякога непонятната символика, всъщност е много близък до съвременността. Защото повдига воалите на собствената ни душа, за да посочи скритите в самата нея отговори и съкровища. Но пътят през заблудите е тежък, а изкушенията и извиненията изобщо да не поемем по него - безброй.

А посланието е от 12 век!

Единият от английските преводи (на Edward Fitzgerald) е доста поетичен, но на места и доста неразбираем и архаичен. Ключови моменти от съмненията на птиците за посочения път са с пожертвана яснота за сметка на рима. Губи се напълно и смисълът на притчите, вплетени в историята. Все пак има някои хубави моменти:

🦚”Who then this Travel to Result would bring
Needs both a Lion's Heart beneath the Wing,
And even more, a Spirit purified
Of Worldly Passion, Malice, Lust, and Pride:”

🦚”Thousands may knock for one that enters in.”

🦚”The Sun of my Perfection is a Glass
Wherein from Seeing into Being pass
All who, reflecting as reflected see
Themselves in Me, and Me in Them: not Me,
But all of Me that a contracted Eye
Is comprehensive of Infinity:
Nor yet Themselves: no Selves, but of The All
Fractions, from which they split and whither fall.”

🦚”Come you lost Atoms to your Centre draw,
And be the Eternal Mirror that you saw:”

Другият превод е в проза - на Sholeh Wolpe, но доста по-ясен (преводачката е и наполовина иранка) и изданието е с детайлен коментар от преводача. Историята в тази и версия е прекрасна и дълбока, и за мен е очевидно, че римите в предния превод са били изцяло за сметка на посланието. Тази версия е точно историята, която ми стана любима и дано видя преведена на български:

🪶”If you have the Ocean, you have the drop.
Don’t settle for less, don’t seek anything but the Ocean.”

🪶”When a door is cracked open, sunlight pours in.
Shadows suddenly vanish.
What remains will be the Sun and you.”

🪶”Love is above heresy and faith.”

🪶”Heaven and Hell are of your own making.”

🪶”Body is not separate from the soul; it’s a part of it.
Soul is not separate from the universe; it’s a part of it.”

🪶”The devil said: “Know and remember only this:
To avoid becoming me, never say ‘I.’””

🪶”If you busy yourself with finding faults, when will you find the time to rejoice in the Beauty of the Unseen?”

🪶”Love is the business of the experienced.
Love is the business of the free.”

🪶”When the ocean tosses and breaks,
how can patterns that shimmer
on the surface endure?
Both worlds are reflected in those patterns
dancing on the sea.”

[Sheyda Heydari Shovir · Rating 2 out of 5]

منطق ‌الطیر اغلب کنار مثنوی و حدیقه الحقیقه میاد. همینکه مخزن الاسرار (لعنت الله علیه) درین سه‌گانه راه پیدا نکرده باعث خوشحالیه. اما بچشم من منطق الطیر ضعیفترین این سه‌گانه است؛ چون تقریبا هیچ نکته خاصی نداره و بدشانسیی که آورده کنار این دو اثر اومده که شاعرانش واقعا فیوز عقل رو سوزونده بودند و خل بودند. فکر نمیکنم منطق الطیر بتونه کنار مثنوی و حدیقه جلوه‌ای بکنه.
حال اینکه منطق الطیر بلحاظ دستوری درستتر ازین دوتای دیگه‌ست. تو این منظومه غلط فاحش دستوری دیده نمیشه و بنظرم اون چند تا غلط روتین هم که دیده میشه از نسخه میتونه باشه. زبان سالم و بسیار عادی داره و نهایتا چندجا کلمهایی از گویش کدکنی توش میاد. درحالیکه اون دو عزیز تو دستور براه دیگه‌ای رفته‌ند اما اون نحو زیبا رو مرتکب شده‌ند.
همینطور اینکه منطق الطیر بیشتر توصیف رابطه خدا و بنده و سختیهای راه رهروست. خشکه، خیلی میتونه آموزشی باشه و شاعرانگیی توش نیست. و متاسفانه جنبه تعلیمی‌ش کمرنگه. بیتهای امری و نهیی دنیاسوز خیلی کم داره و اگر داره چندان موثر نیستند. حداقل شخص من در طول کل این منظومه ۴۷۰۰ بیتی دوبار خیلی تحت تاثیر قرار گرفتم. در یک کلام منطق الطیر سوز نداره و بیک معنی عرفانی نیست بلکه بیشتر در مورد عرفانه؛ منظور اینکه تجربه عرفانی رو من نمیبینم ولی میبینم که ازش حرف میزنه.
این منظومه پر از حکایت و تمثیله اما فکر میکنم بجز مورد داستان شیخ صنعان سر و ته داستانها هم اومده و خیلی اصلا مطرح نبوده. داستانها صرفا مثالهای وسط حرفند و بعنوان داستان خام و ناپرداخته‌ند.
با این اوصاف ممکنه بنظر بیاد که من ازین مثنوی نفرت دارم و فکر میکنم خسته کننده ترین نوشته دنیاست اما ابدا اینجوری نیست. بنظرم اثر متوسط و قابل احترامیه، استانداردهارو داره و دستکم بد نیست. اما در نهایت نخودی اون دو بزرگواره.
در مورد این چاپ:
دست شفیعی درد نکنه برای تصحیح و تحقیقش. مقدمه جالبی نوشته‌ و توضیحاتی که راجع بافراد وارد شرحش کرده خیلی خوبه. اما من از شرح اصلا استفاده‌ای نتونستم بکنم. مثل همیشه دشواریهای اصلی متن مسکوت مونده اما توضیح واضحاتی که در مورد بقیه چیزها میده بندو آب میده. مواقعی هم که اینطور نیست نمیدونم چرا این مرد بزرگ این اخلاق پسندیده رو نداره که برای تاملاتش شاهد و قرینه‌ای بیاره. اجازه نمیده آدم احساس کنه داره کار علمی میخونه. خیلی وقتها وقتی معنی چیزی معلومش نیست مینویشه ظاهرا فلان است. فکر میکنم آدم اگه اون چهار هجای نازنین نمیدانم رو بگه خیلی بهتره تا معنایی که میشه از قراین متن حدس زد رو با ظاهرا و بدون هیچ توضیحی بیاره. بهرحال خدا حفظش کنه.

[Nazmi Yaakub · Rating 5 out of 5]

ii.

Bacaan kali kedua selesai dengan mengambil manfaat daripada pengangkutan awam MRT. Patut ada ulasan yang berasingan untuk terjemahan yang dibaca kali ini kerana ada perubahan metodologi penterjemahan yang mengasingkan puisi soal jawab para unggas daripada contoh yang dibawa oleh Attar terhadap isu yang dibincangkan.

i.

Perjalanan kerohanian atau kalau boleh disebut sebagai 'penerbangan' kerohanian hanya berlaku pada hujung Mantiq at-Tayr atau The Conference of the Birds atau dalam bahasa Melayu diterjemah kepada Sidang Burung sebenarnya. Pada awal-awal mathnawi yang panjang ini, berlaku perdebatan antara para unggas dengan burung hudhud yang dianggap paling bijaksana sehingga layak berada di balai kehormatan istana Nabi Sulaiman.

Burung hudhud ibarat guru murshid yang cuba mengajak para unggas untuk melakukan perjalanan yang panjang, perit dan pedih tetapi sangat mustahak untuk mengadap serta menyaksikan Simurgh. Bagaimanapun, sekalian burung memiliki alasan sendiri mengapa berasa ragu-ragu dan berat hati untuk menyahut seruan suci itu.

Setiap keluhan dan alasan para unggas yang ragu-ragu itu dijawab setiap satu oleh Sang Hudhud - dengan kisah para anbiya dan auliya serta fable yg menarik tetapi mendalam, sekaligus menunjukkan kearifannya. Selesai soal jawab, maka Sang Hudhud membentangkan pula tujuh lembah yang perlu direntasi mereka - tujuh maqamat yang memiliki cabaran yang setiap satu akan mengorbankan banyak diri.

Apa yang dikarang oleh Attar memperlihatkan beliau bukanlah penyair biasa atau tidak lebih perakam zaman, sebaliknya beliau sendiri ialah guru murshid yang setiap jawapan diberikan olehnya bukan hanya menewaskan keraguan para unggas, bahkan seolah-olah menempelak kita sebagai pembaca.

Perjalanan sebenar hanyalah pendek kerana memang dalam tasawuf, manisnya gula tidak mungkin dapat dibicarakan dengan lisan dan rasional, sebaliknya hanya dapat diketahui lewat rasa. Bagaimanapun, membaca buku ini adalah ibarat menepuk-nepuk kepala kita kerana masih enggan merasai manisnya gula meski sudah membaca sekian banyak kajian mengenai gula!

[Salma · Rating 3 out of 5]

تحديث:إضافة رابط مقال عن مقارنة بسيطة بين منطق الطير للعطار و رسالة الطير لكل من الغزالي و ابن سينا

الطير بين العطار و ابن سينا و الغزالي

---
أما بالنسبة لمنطق الطير للعطار
فهي منظومة شعرية قصصية فارسية صوفية رمزية من القرن الثاني عشر و الثالث عشر الميلادي، من أشهر المنظومات الصوفية...0
حيث اجتمعت الطيور يوما لتقوم برحلة صوب الطائر الأكمل و الأجمل و السلطان المطلق و المسمى "السيمرغ" و انتدبوا الهدهد ليكون رئيسا لهم و مرشدا... فطفقت الطيور تقدم التبريرات المختلفة حتى لا تتكبد مشاق الرحلة و بعضها راحت تسأل عن الطريق شتى الأسئلة... و الهدهد يجيب عن كل هذا و يفند كل الأوهام و يحثهم للتخلي عن كل العلائق و المضي نحو عشق الأكمل من خلال المواعظ و القصص المختلفة و يخبرهم عن الأودية التي سيمرون بها وادي الطلب ثم العشق ثم المعرفة ثم الاستغناء ثم التوحيد ثم الحيرة و أخيرا الفناء و البقاء... و هكذا انطلقوا جميعا و تكبدوا المشاق على أنواعها و مات من مات و فني من فني حتى وصل ثلاثون طائرا إلى الحضرة ليرفع الحجاب و يكتشفوا أن السيمرغ لم يكن إلا انعكاسا لصورتهم! 0

ربما لم أستمتع كثيرا كما كنت أرجو، بالنكهة الصوفية و ذلك بسبب الأسلوب
الوصفي المبالغ فيه بوفرة و هو أمر يقودني للجنون و لا أستطيع الصبر معه كثيرا و بسبب بعض الشطحات التي لم تعجبني و بعض الرمزية التي لم أفهمها، و لكن لا بأس بها فأسلوبها غريب و لا مألوف
كما أن الدراسة التي قدمهاالمترجم بديع محمد جمعة في بداية المنظومة قيمة للغاية
-

[♑︎♑︎♑︎ ♑︎♑︎♑︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a lovely thing to have this book in your hands. The paper is thick and textured and the pictures have a patterned rhythm that makes turning each page a joy. I really enjoy illustrations in books and reading this made me remember it. The poem is very secondary to the art in the book--just the barest thread of the story in the original poem, told in many fewer words, with the art taking on much of the burden of imparting meaning. Very enjoyable.

[Qais Omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The premise of Farid ud-Din Attar's poems in The Conference of the Birds is simple: the birds gather to seek the king of the birds, the Simorgh. One of the birds, the hoopoe, tells them that the Simorgh lives far away and that the journey there is hazardous.

First, the birds are enthusiastic to begin their search for the Simorgh -- a metaphor for Almighty God in Sufi mysticism -- but when they realize how difficult the journey will be, they start to make excuses. For instance, the finch says that he is too weak and cowardly. The hawk says he is satisfied with his position at the court waiting on the kings. The nightingale says he cannot leave his beloved the rose, and so on. The birds are identified by their species, and each species indicates a human type, and their excuses for not going on the journey are given according to their kind.

The hoopoe, on the other hand, represents the birds’ guide, and he is the equivalent of a Sheikh in Sufism leading a group of Sufis. He answers each of the bird’s excuses with anecdotes, and each anecdote shows how their desires and fears are mistaken.

Finally, the group formally accepts the hoopoe as a leader. They fly a little, and then before proceeding further, they ask him a series of questions about the journey. Again, the hoopoe answers them with anecdotes. Each answer contains two or three stories, illustrating the particular point the hoopoe is making. All the stories are linked together by admonition and commentary.

The last questions are about the length of the journey, on which they must cross seven valleys. Why "seven" valleys? The number "seven" in Islam is significant because in the Koran it is the most repeated number after the number "One", which represents God. Seventh heaven, above which is the throne of God. Seven doorways to paradise, which are represented by the seven valleys in The Conference of the Birds, through which the birds must pass to finally reach God. The seventh day for ‘Aqeeqa’, one of the four stages in Sufism. Seven stages for the completion of man’s creation....

In The Conference of the Birds, Attar frequently stresses one doctrine: the soul is trapped within the cage of the body. It can reach God if it wishes, but to unite with God, the soul must look inward and make an internal journey to pass the seven valleys to reach God.

The journey is quickly completed. The birds reach the court of the Simorgh. But when they first arrive, they are turned back. Finally, they understand that the Simorgh they have sought is none other than themselves, and that they have completed their internal journey.

The Conference of the Birds is beautifully written, and I highly recommend it.

Qais Akbar Omar

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

My dad is currently reading this in Persian and I wanted to read it again but had none of the mental energy to do so. I went ahead and read Peter Sís's gorgeous rendition. I will dive into the Sholeh Wolpé translation soon, and maybe even attempt the original (attempt being the key word).


-----------------------------------------
[1st Review, 4 Stars, June 2020]

A rite of passage for many of Persian descent. Beautiful poetry and philosophy.

[Bidisha Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

A poem, a prayer, a trance, a philosophical treatise, a sojourn. everything is this, and this is everything, to describe this in Attar's poetics.
if there was only one text that I could read, it would be this.
he knows, he knows the truth we seek,
that hidden truth of which we cannot speak.

[Fahad Alqurain · Rating 5 out of 5]

يقول فريد الدين العطار

العشق نار هناك اما العقل فدخان ، فما ان يقبل العشق حتى يفر العقل مسرعاً

وانا عشقت كتابك يا عطار وفرَ عقلي

[Fantastiškų KŽL · Rating 4 out of 5]

Aš nieko nerašysiu, nes gražiau nei cypt nei pamatyt, nei parašyt, nei suprast nemoku.

[Hadi · Rating 5 out of 5]

اهل صورت غرق گفتار من‌اند / اهل معنی مرد اسرار من‌اند
...
تا قیامت نیز چون من بیخودی / در سخن ننهد قلم بر کاغذی
...
بس که خود را چون چراغی سوختم / تا جهانی را چو شمع افروختم
...
گر دمی بر راه او در کارمی / کی چنین مستغرق اشعارمی
گر مرا در راه او بودی مقام / شین شعرم شین شر گشتی مدام
شعر گفتن حجت بی‌حاصلی‌ست / خویشن وا دید کردن جاهلی‌ست.

[Edita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I doubt my doubt, doubt itself is unsure
I love, but who is it for whom I sigh?

[Aya Hatem · Rating 2 out of 5]

ترجمته سيئة جدا اللى جعل فى فهمه بعض الصعوبة
وكتفسير لفلسفة الصوفية بـ (أنا أنت وأنت أنا وأنت هو أنا) انهم روح الله وصفاته
وكمجمل كتاب مايفهموش غير قلب عاشق