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Farid ud-Din Attar (~1157 – ~1220), renowned Persian Sufi poet and mystic, left a legacy of masterpieces exploring spirituality and the search for truth. His most famous work, The Conference of the Birds, is a poetic allegory about the spiritual journey. A man of deep faith and devotion, Attar dedicated his life to seeking union with the divine, inspiring generations with his writings filled with spiritual depth and poetic beauty.
The Valley of Bewilderment
Next comes the Valley of Bewilderment,
A place of pain and gnawing discontent –
Each second you will sigh, and every breath
Will be a sword to make you long for death;
Blinded by grief, you will not recognize
The days and nights that pass before your eyes.
Blood drips from every hair and writes “Alas”
Beside the highway where the pilgrims pass;
In ice you fry, in fire you freeze – the Way
Is lost, with indecisive steps you stray –
The Unity you knew has gone; your soul
Is scattered and knows nothing of the Whole.
If someone asks: “What is your present state;
Is drunkenness or sober sense your fate,
And do you flourish now or fade away?”
The pilgrim will confess: “I cannot say;
I have no certain knowledge any more;
I doubt my doubt, doubt itself is unsure;
I love, but who is it for whom I sigh?
Not Moslem, yet not heathen; who am I?
My heart is empty, yet with love is full;
My own love is to me incredible.
*ʻAṭṭār, Farīd al-Dīn. The Conference of the Birds. Translated by Dick Davis and Afkham Darbandi. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England: Penguin Books, 1984. Translated by Said Garby. El libro de bolsillo Literatura 105. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 2015.
