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The acclaimed Persian poet and mystic, Farid od-Din Attar Neyshapouri
Compiled by: Syed Ali Shahbaz
On 10th of the Islamic month of Jamadi as-Sani in 618 AH, the acclaimed Persian poet and mystic, Farid od-Din Attar Neyshapouri, was killed during the Mongol invasion of Khorasan at the age of 78 years. The son of a pharmacist, he followed his father's profession and led a prosperous life before experiencing an inner revolution that made him turn to mysticism and frequent travels that took him to Iraq and Arabia including holy Mecca, as well as to the different cities of Iran and Transoxiana.
One of his valuable prose works is Tazkerat al-Awlia on the status of mystics. His poetical masterpieces manifest the power of imagination as is evident by the versified book “Manteq ot-Tair†or Discourse of the Birds. Attar, who in some of his poems also pays tribute to the peerless personality of Imam Ali (AS), had a profound influence on the great Persian poet, Mowlana Jalal od-Din Balkhi Rumi.
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