Islamic Poetry & Literature

Considered by Rumi to be "the master" of Sufi mystic poetry, Attar (who died, in 1220, when Rumi was 12 years old) is best known for his epic poem The Conference of the Birds, a magnificent allegorical tale about the soul's search for meaning.

Ferdowsis classic poem Shahnameh is part myth, part history?beginning with the legend of the birth of the Persian nation and its tumultuous history, it contains magical birds and superhuman heroes and centuries-long battles.

A work of staggering poetic beauty that has inspired the likes of John Ruskin, T. S. Eliot, and Robert Bly, the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam was written in eleventh-century Persia and was largely unknown in the West until it was translated into English by Edward FitzGerald in 1859.

Edward FitzGerald's much-loved, often-quoted, bestselling 1859 translation of the RUBAIYAT, with Attar's charming narrative poem, BIRD PARLIAMENT. Also featuring an extensive new introduction with notes and chronology.

Awake! for Morning in the Bowl of Night
Has flung the Stone that put the Stars to Flight:

For anyone interested in Sufism in particular, or mystical understanding in general, Attar’s works are indispensable. His influence on later giants, such as the mystic poet Jalaleddin Rumi, is well documented.