The Speech of the Birds : Mantiqu't-Tair

 The Speech of the Birds - Mantiqu't-Tair,
*[A5+] Large Paperback - 582 pages,
by Farid 'ud-Din Attar [d.617h], Back in Stock April 2018,
English Translation by Peter Avery.
Published by: The Islamic Texts Society, Cambridge, UK.
 




Book Description :


Mantiq at-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 al-Shibli, may Allah be pleased with them all, 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, may Allah be pleased with him, 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.



Review quote :

'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.' ---Times Higher Education Supplement.







Table of Contents :

---Acknowledgement;
---Preface;
------ A Note on the Translation and Transliteration,

---Introduction;
------Notes.

Part [1]: Prologue;

---Concerning the Unity of God The Creator All, and the Light of His Prophet, Muhammad, ﷺ, and the Piety of the Prophet's Predecessors and Successors in Prophethood and the Caliphate,
---Concerning the Profession of the Oneness of God Most High and Glorified,
---In Praise of the Prophet, ﷺ,
---Concerning the Virtue of the Commander of the Faithful, Abu Bakr, may God be pleased with him,
---Concerning the Virtue of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Umar, may God be pleased with him,
---Concerning the Virtue of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Uthman, may God be pleased with him,
---Concerning the Virtue of the Commander of the Faithful, 'Ali, may God be pleased with him,
---Of Partisanship He Would Say,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Story,
---How Faith Overcomes Affliction,
---Rabi'a and the Thorn,
---How God Exempted Muhammad, ﷺ, from Responsibility,


Part [2]. The Conference of the Birds;

---The Beginning of the Book,
---The Hoopoe's Lead,
---The Story of the Simurgh,
---The Nightingales Story,
---Story,
---Story of the Parrot,
---Story and Exemplification,
---The Peacock's Tale,
---Paradise is not Enough,
---The Tale of the Duck,
---The Partridges Tale,
---Story,
---The Tale of the Huma,
---Borrowed Royalty's Bane,
---The Falcon's Tale,
---The Danger of a Kings Affection,
---The Heron's Tale,
---The Mourning of the Sea,
---The Owl's Tale,
---How the Miser was turned into a Mouse,
---The Tale of the Goldfinch,
---Jacob's Despair,
---The King and the Mirror,
---Alexander Incognito,
---Secret Ways between Lovers,
---Faith Lost Through Love is to Gain All the Story of Shaikh-i Sam'an,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Anecdote,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Explanation of the Vale of Seeking,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Explanation of the Vale of Love,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Explanation of the Valley of Gnosis,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Explanation of the Valley of Self-Sufficient Contentment,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Explanation of the Valley of Oneness,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Explanation of the Valley of Amazement,
---Story and Exemplification,
---Explanation of the Valley of Poverty and Annihilation,
---Story and Exemplification.


---Notes, Part [1]; Prologue,
---Notes, Part [2]; The Book,

Appendices:
---Appendix I:
------Stories in the 'Mantiqu't-Tair';
---Appendix II: "The Birds' Story" of Ahmad al-Ghazali.
------Notes.






About the Author :

Brought up in a Sufi ambiance, the author of this work, Shaykh Farid u'd-Din Attar (1145-1221 Common Era), was an apothecary who lived near Nishapur. Shaykh al-Attar, may Allah be pleased with him, whom history describes as having taken to the Sufi path in earnest after he witnessed a dervish surrender his soul outside his shop, went on to become one of the most famous Sufi poets in history, best known for his classical work the 'Mantiqu't-Tair'.



Peter Avery, the translator of this book, was Persian lecturer at Cambridge from 1958 until 1990.







Other works of Farid al-Din Attar,
Homepage of Sufism.




*Dimensions : 23 x 15 x 4cm.









  • Shipping Weight: 0.925 kgs
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  • Written by: Farid ud-Din al-Attar

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