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The Conference of the Birds
The Conference of the Birds
Dec 25, 2024 8:35 AM

Author:Farid Attar,Afkham Darbandi,Dick Davis,Afkham Darbandi,Dick Davis

The Conference of the Birds

Composed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism - an esoteric system concerned with the search for truth through God - it describes the consequences of the conference of the birds of the world when they meet to begin the search for their ideal king, the Simorgh bird. On hearing that to find him they must undertake an arduous journey, the birds soon express their reservations to their leader, the hoopoe. With eloquence and insight, however, the hoopoe calms their fears, using a series of riddling parables to provide guidance in the search for spiritual truth. By turns witty and profound, The Conference of the Birds transforms deep belief into magnificent poetry.

Reviews

Brilliant! In this book, we are privileged to share the richness of Frankl's experience and the depth of his wisdom.

—— Elizabeth Kubler-Ross. MD

A truly important book

—— Rabbi Harold Kushner

...to be treasured by psychologists and theologians and by men and women who wrestle with ultimate questions and encounter God as often in the question as in the answer.

—— Michael Berenbaum

At the start of the twenty-first century, this book feels especially relevant

—— from the Foreword by Claudia Hammond, award-winning broadcaster, writer and lecturer in psychology

'Remarkable'

—— Choice

In this gloriously learned page-turner, both biography and intellectual history, Harvard Shakespearean scholar Greenblatt turns his attention to the front end of the Renaissance as the origin of Western culture's foundation: the free questioning of truth (starred review)

—— Publishers Weekly

Aslan offers an invaluable introduction to the forces that have shaped Islam [in this] eloquent, erudite paean to Islam in all of its complicated glory

—— Los Angeles Times Book Review

Wise and passionate . . . an incisive, scholarly primer in Muslim history and an engaging personal exploration

—— The New York Times Book Review

Acutely perceptive . . . For many troubled Muslims, this book will feel like a revelation, an opening up of knowledge too long buried

—— The Independent

Thoroughly engaging and excellently written . . . While [Aslan] might claim to be a mere scholar of the Islamic Reformation, he is also one of its most articulate advocates

—— The Oregonian

A revelation, an opening up of knowledge too long buried, denied and corrupted by generations of men ... Muslim keepers of the latter will rage against Reza Aslan as his careful scholarship and precise language dismantles their false claims and commands ... Aslan is acutely perceptive

—— The Independent

A rather beautiful account of the birth and evolution of Islam ... Lucid and illuminating ... Fascinating

—— Metro

Aslan is an engaging writer, his strength lies ... as an observer of contemporary challenges facing Islam ... Sensitive and generous

—— FT Magazine

Enthralling. A book of tremendous clarity and generosity of spirit

—— Jim Crace
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