The Speech of the Birds

by Faridu'd-Din Attar, Peter Avery

Overview

Mantiqu't-Tair is one of the masterpieces of Persian literature of which a complete and annotated translation into English is here presented for the first time as The Speech of the Birds. The text revolves around the decision of the birds of the world to seek out a king. Their debilitating doubts and fears, the knowing counsel of their leader Hoopoe, and their choice of the Simurgh as a king, is in reality an allegory of the spiritual path of Sufism with its demands, its hazards and its infinite rewards. The poem contains many admonitory anecdotes and exemplary stories, including numerous references to some of the early Muslim mystics such as Rabi'a al-'Adawiyya, Abu Sa'id ibn Abi'l-Khair, Mansur al-Hallaj and Shibli, among others.

In The Speech of the Birds, Peter Avery has not only given us a precise and moving translation, but also ample annotation providing much information to fill in what Attar would have expected his readers to know. The result is a fascinating insight into a remarkable aspect of Islam: the world of ecstatic love of the Persian mystics. The Speech of the Birds will be of interest to everyone who values great literature, as well as to all students of Persian and Sufism.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780946621705
Publisher:	Islamic Texts Society
Publication date:	06/01/1998
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	582
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.25(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Mantiqu't-Tair.

Read an Excerpt

Greetings, Hoopoe, the guide become,
In truth the courier of every valley become,


You, to the Sabaean frontier your journey a success,
To Solomon your bird-talk a joy,


You became the master of Solomon's secret.
Of boasting of being crown-adorned you became.


Restrain the devil in fetters and in prison,
That Solomon's confidant you might be:


The devil when you in prison put,
Accompanying Solomon you might attempt the great carpet.


Bravo, well-done O Dove of the quality of Moses!
Arise cooing away in knowledge of the Divine,


Turned for the soul's sake man recognitive of music:
The musical notes, the Creation's thanksgiving,


Like Moses seeing the fire from afar,
Inevitably, the Ring-Dove on the mountain of Sinai,


Be distant from the brutish Pharaoh:
Come to the trysting place and be the bird of the Blessed Mountain.


Then the tongue-less language and the noiseless
Comprehend without reason's intervention; listen, but not
   with the ear.


Welcome, O Rose-ringed Parakeet Tuba-tree perching,
Attired in a verdant robe, a fiery collar.


The collar of fire is on account of the hell-bound;
The robe is for the heaven-bound and generous.


Like Khalil, the one who escapes from Nimrod
Can happily nest in fire.


Slit the head Nimrod has, like a pen-tip:
Like the Friend of God, step into the fire.


Once you've been rid of the terror of Nimrod,
Don your satin robe—what fear of your fiery collar?

Table of Contents

Acknowledgement
Preface
Introduction
Part One: Prologue
Part Two: The Book
Notes Part One
Notes Part Two
Appendix I
Appendix II

Editorial Reviews

"Avery’s The Speech of the Birds is the first complete translation in prose of Attar’s Mantiqu’t-Tair. More important, Avery’s copious notes...are invaluable - a real mini-encyclopaedia of mysticism in general and of Sufism in particular, which enhances the understanding and the pleasure of poetry."

The Times Higher Education Supplement

The first complete and annotated English translation of the Persian poem by `Attar (1145-1221), an apothecary who became one of the most famous Sufi poets in history, best known for this work. It revolves around the decision of the birds of the world to seek out a king; their doubts and actions provide an allegory of the spiritual path of Sufism with its demands, hazards, and rewards. Appendices list the stories, referenced to lines, and the text of al-Ghazali's prose The Birds' Story. No index. Paper edition (unseen), $32.95. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

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