Farīd al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār’s Mathnawī as Representation of Sufi Doctrine

Abstract

The Persian didactic poem (mathnawī) served among the Sufis of the classical period as a popular form of presenting their doctrine. The article outlines and analyzes the Sufi poet Farīd al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār’s four main poems belonging to the end of XII – beginning of XIII centuries: “Book of Mysteries” (Asrār-nāma), “Book of Sorrow” (Muṣ ībat-nāma), “Divine Book”(Ilāhī-nāma) and “The Language of the Birds”(Mantiq al-ṭayr). The author examines systematically the composition, the plot and the content of them, showing the principle of their construction, which is the combination the “explicit” (narrative) and “hidden” (Sufi) levels of meaning. Taking this into account the author offers an interpretation of the general Sufi theme, that is the search for and knowledge of God.