Author Guide · Persian Sufi Poetry
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Thirty birds reach the end of a long journey in search of a king called the Simorgh, and find that the name in Persian means “thirty birds”. That is the ending of The Conference of the Birds, written around 1177 by Farid al-Din Attar, a pharmacist in Nishapur, in north-eastern Iran. Almost nothing about his life is certain: he was born around 1145, and he is said to have died in the Mongol sack of his city in 1221. Rumi wrote that “Attar travelled through all the seven cities of love.” This guide covers his 7 key works and translations, in order, and where to begin.
By Lisanne Swart · 7 key works and translations · 1177–2017 · Updated October 2026
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Quick answer
Attar’s best-known book is The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-Tayr, around 1177), a long Sufi poem; his only known prose work is Tadhkirat al-Awliya, the Memorial of God’s Friends. Key English translations run from A. J. Arberry’s Muslim Saints and Mystics (1966) and Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis’s Conference of the Birds (1984) to Sholeh Wolpé’s (2017). Start with Darbandi and Davis. Read on for which translation suits you.
Where to Start with Attar
If you want the best place to begin
→ The Conference of the Birds (1984) — the Penguin Classics translation.
If you want the newest translation
→ The Conference of the Birds (2017) — Sholeh Wolpé, 2017.
If you want the lives of the Sufi saints
→ Memorial of God’s Friends (2009) — his prose Memorial.
If you want another of his long poems
→ The Ilahi-nama or Book of God (1976).
7 Attar Works and Translations, in Order
Mantiq al-Tayr
Written around 1177 and also called Maqamat al-Tuyur. The birds of the world gather to choose a king, and the hoopoe, the wisest of them, leads them in search of the Simorgh; each bird stands for a human fault. They must cross seven valleys: Quest, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity, Wonderment, and Poverty and Annihilation. Only thirty survive, and they find that they themselves are the Simorgh, “thirty birds” in Persian.
A. J. Arberry: Muslim Saints and Mystics
An abridged English translation of Attar’s only surviving prose work, the Tadhkirat al-Awliya (“Memorial of the Saints”), by Arthur J. Arberry. It was published by Routledge & Kegan Paul in London in 1966 in the Persian Heritage Series, and later by Penguin. The Tadhkirat tells of Sufi saints and their miracles, beginning with the life of Ja’far al-Sadiq and ending with the martyr Mansur al-Hallaj.
John Andrew Boyle: The Ilahi-nama or Book of God
A poem of around 6,500 verses. A caliph asks his six sons for their heart’s desire; each names a worldly wish, such as the ring of Solomon, and the father answers with stories that give each wish a spiritual meaning. Its theme, in Wikipedia’s words, is “that whatever one seeks is ultimately within oneself.” Boyle’s translation was published by Manchester University Press in 1976, with a foreword by Annemarie Schimmel.
Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis: The Conference of the Birds
A translation by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis, published in Penguin Classics in 1984. In 2013 it was re-edited as The Canticle of the Birds by Diane de Sellier Éditeur.
Peter Avery: The Speech of the Birds
A translation of the Mantiq al-Tayr by Peter Avery, published by the Islamic Texts Society in 1998. The title translates Mantiq al-Tayr, which alludes to Qur’an 27:16, where Solomon and David are said to have been taught “the speech of the birds”.
Paul Losensky: Farid ad-Din ‘Attar’s Memorial of God’s Friends
A newer translation of the Tadhkirat al-Awliya, introduced and translated by Paul Losensky and published by Paulist Press in 2009. As its subtitle says, it presents the lives and sayings of Sufis.
Sholeh Wolpé: The Conference of the Birds
Translated by Sholeh Wolpé and published by W. W. Norton in 2017. Wolpé also adapted the poem for the stage; her version premiered in Oakland, California, in November 2018.
In What Order to Read Attar
Begin with The Conference of the Birds: it is the book Attar is known for. The choice is between translations: Darbandi and Davis (1984) in Penguin Classics, Avery (1998) from the Islamic Texts Society, and Wolpé (2017), the most recent.
Then go to the prose Memorial of God’s Friends, which gives the lives and sayings of Sufis, in Arberry’s abridged selection or Losensky’s newer version. The Ilahi-nama comes last: another frame story of stories.
A reading path
1. The Conference of the Birds (1984), Darbandi and Davis
2. The Conference of the Birds (2017), Sholeh Wolpé
3. Muslim Saints and Mystics (1966), A. J. Arberry
4. Memorial of God’s Friends (2009), Paul Losensky
5. The Ilahi-nama or Book of God (1976), J. A. Boyle
Other English Versions of The Conference of the Birds
Beyond the 7 key works and translations: 5 more, grouped by kind.
Open a group with the + to see every book in it.
Earlier and later versions
4
4 books · 1889–2013
- 1889Bird ParliamentEdward FitzGerald’s version, published by Macmillan
- 1954The Conference of the Birds: Mantiq Ut-TairJanus Press, London; reissued by Routledge in 1961
- 2001Conference of the Birds: A Seeker’s Journey to GodWeiser Books
- 2013The Canticle of the Birdsthe Darbandi and Davis translation, re-edited by Diane de Sellier Éditeur
Inspired by Attar
1
1 book · 1979
- 1979La Conférence des oiseauxstage adaptation, first toured in Africa in 1972–73
The years · 1145–2017
Quick facts about Attar of Nishapur
- Known for
- Attar is known as the Persian Sufi poet who turned the soul’s journey towards God into a story of birds, and as a poet Rumi praised.
- 1145
- Born in Nishapur (date uncertain)
- 1889
- FitzGerald’s Bird Parliament
- 2017
- Sholeh Wolpé’s translation
- Name
- Farid al-Din Attar of Nishapur
- Born
- Around 1145, Nishapur
- Died
- Around 1221, Nishapur
- Language
- Persian
- Pen name
- Attar: herbalist, druggist or perfumer
- Trade
- Pharmacist, attending personally to many customers
- Tomb
- Nishapur; built by Ali-Shir Nava’i in the 16th century, renovated in 1940
The red mark is around 1177, when Attar wrote The Conference of the Birds.
How Attar Wrote: Stories Inside a Story
Attar’s long poems are built as frame stories. In The Conference of the Birds the hoopoe leads the birds on their journey; in the Ilahi-nama a caliph answers each of his six sons with stories, some about three verses long, others around four hundred.
His subject is the soul’s return to its source, which, as Wikipedia puts it, “can be experienced during the present life in mystic union attainable through inward purification.” This is his link to non-duality: in the Valley of Unity and the Valley of Poverty and Annihilation the self disappears, and the thirty birds find that the Simorgh they sought is themselves. The seeker and the sought turn out to be one.
In prose, the Tadhkirat al-Awliya collects what the early Sufis said and did, opening with Ja’far al-Sadiq and closing with al-Hallaj. Rumi called Attar “the spirit” and Sana’i “his eyes twain”; readers who come to Attar often come by way of Rumi, who came after him and praised him.
Frequently asked questions about Attar’s books
How many books has Attar written?
The works attributed to him include a Divan, the Asrar-nama, Mantiq al-Tayr, Musibat-nama, Ilahi-nama and Mukhtar-nama, and the prose Tadhkirat al-Awliya; two others, the Jawahir-nama and the Sharh al-Qalb, he destroyed himself. Contemporary sources confirm only the Divan and the Mantiq al-Tayr. This page lists the Mantiq al-Tayr and six key English translations, 7 in all.
What are Attar’s books in order?
No exact dates survive for most of his works; The Conference of the Birds is dated to around 1177. The key English translations in order are Arberry (1966), Boyle (1976), Darbandi and Davis (1984), Avery (1998), Losensky (2009) and Wolpé (2017).
Where should I start with Attar?
With The Conference of the Birds in the Penguin Classics translation by Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis (1984). Then read the Memorial of God’s Friends in Paul Losensky’s translation (2009).
What is Attar’s most famous book?
The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-Tayr), around 1177, in which thirty birds discover that the Simorgh they sought is themselves. It became an influential text in Persian Sufi literature.
What do we actually know about Attar’s life?
Very little. His life is scarce in the records and has been mythologised over the centuries; only two writers of his own time, Aufi and Tusi, mention him. He was an apothecary in Nishapur, born around 1145, and he is said to have been killed when the Mongols sacked Nishapur in April 1221. Even his age at death varies between accounts.
What are the seven valleys in The Conference of the Birds?
Quest, Love, Knowledge, Detachment, Unity, Wonderment, and Poverty and Annihilation. Only thirty birds reach the Simorgh.
Which translation of The Conference of the Birds is best?
It depends on what you want. Darbandi and Davis (1984) is in Penguin Classics; Peter Avery’s The Speech of the Birds (1998) comes from the Islamic Texts Society; Sholeh Wolpé’s (2017) is the most recent.
What was Attar’s connection to Rumi?
Rumi, who came after him, praised him. He wrote that “Attar was the spirit, Sanai his eyes twain,” and that “Attar travelled through all the seven cities of love.”
Has The Conference of the Birds been adapted?
Yes. Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière made it into the play La Conférence des oiseaux, published in 1979, after Brook toured early versions through rural Africa in 1972–73; John Heilpern told that story in his 1977 book. Sholeh Wolpé’s own stage adaptation premiered in Oakland in 2018.
Where is Attar buried?
In Nishapur, in north-eastern Iran. His mausoleum was built by Ali-Shir Nava’i in the 16th century and completely renovated in 1940.
Footnotes
- Attar of Nishapur — Wikipedia
- The Conference of the Birds — Wikipedia
- Tazkirat al-Awliya — Wikipedia
- Ilāhī-Nāma — Wikipedia
- Peter Avery — Wikipedia
- Muslim Saints and Mystics (1966) — Texas A&M University Libraries
Bibliography last verified 9 October 2026. Where sources give different first-publication years, this page uses the year in library catalogues or the publisher’s own record.
This list was not put together by a machine.
The notes are all mine,
and the poems are all his.
Lisanne x
Written by Lisanne Swart, who has curated reading lists and author guides at lisanneswart.com since 2021.
See more on her personal bookshelf.
“The shadow and its maker are one and the same.”
— Attar of Nishapur, The Conference of the Birds (c. 1177), translated by Sholeh Wolpé (W. W. Norton, 2017)
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