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

Attar, Farid Ud-Din

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1566569354 ISBN 13: 9781566569354

Publisher: Interlink Books, 2013

Synopsis

RICHLY-ILLUSTRATED MYSTICAL CLASSIC
The Conference of the Birds is a twelfth-century Sufi allegorical poem. The story of the quest for a king undertaken by the birds of the world, it also describes the Sufi (or mystical Islamic) path to enlightenment. Though hugely popular and influential in the Islamic world, the poem is still relatively unfamiliar in the West. In this edition, the poet Raficq Abdulla has reinterpreted key extracts to make the wisdom of Sufism accessible to the contemporary reader.
Combining amusing anecdotes and satire with passages of great mystical beauty, the poem uses the birds journey to describe the stages of spiritual experience. From proud hawk to avaricious owl, the birds represent human archetypes with their own, very human, reasons for not setting out on the spiritual path. At the end of the tale, the birds discover that what they are seeking is nothing other than themselves: in Sufism, the way to God is inward and enlightenment is the passionate union of an individual soul with the Divine.
Richly illustrated with illuminations from Persian manuscripts, this is the only modern illustrated edition of The Conference of the Birds. Through his reworking of these important passages and his detailed introduction to the poem, Raficq Abdulla allows readers access to a mystical classic.

About this title

Review:

Like Rumi and Hafiz, the name Attar conjures up images of passionate attraction to the divine. Attar was a Persian Sufi of the 12th century and his masterpiece is The Conference of the Birds, an epic allegory of the seeker's journey to God. When all the birds of the world convene and determine that they lack a king, one bird steps forward and offers to lead them to a great and mighty monarch. Initially excited, each bird falters in turn, whereupon the leader admonishes them with well-targeted parables. These pithy tales are the delight of this 4,500-line poem, translated deftly into rhymed couplets. What is your excuse for not seeking God? Your life is fine already? You prefer material pleasure? You are holy enough? You have pride, lack courage, or are burdened with responsibility? Attar has an answer to encourage you on the path to the promised land. And when you get there, the king may not be what you'd expect, but you must make the journey to see. --Brian Bruya

About the Author:

Raficq Abdulla has written and presented numerous radio programs about Islam for the BBC, including a series of talks on the Prophet Muhammad and the Four Caliphs, and programs on the life and work of Jalaluddin Rumi. He has also written award-winning screenplays for Channel 4 in Britain, poetry and articles for a range of journals, and he is a frequent book reviewer. Raficq Abdulla describes himself as a secular Muslim and a lover of the arts, particularly music and poetry. He is the author of Words of Paradise, a collection of new interpretations of poems by Rumi and has gained popularity as an accomplished public speaker and performer of his own poetry.

About this edition

• Publisher: Interlink Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1566569354
• ISBN 13: 9781566569354
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 96