The Means of Theology in the Conversation of Birds by Attar of Neishabouri

Transcription

1 International Journal of Basic Sciences & Applied Research. Vol., 3 (SP), 40-46, 2014 Available online at ISSN The Means of Theology in the Conversation of Birds by Attar of Neishabouri Jalil Mohammad Parang 1 *, MohammadAli Khaledian 2 1 Department of Persian Language and Literature, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran 2 Department of Persian Language and Literature, Gorgan Branch, Islamic Azad University, Iran * Corresponding Author j.parang1340@gmail.com Abstract The current study investigates the means of theology in the book The Conversation of Birds created by Attar of Neishabour. Endeavors in the course of theology are the basis and root of Attar s thought. This work which is of the most important books on theosophy in the world history has used very exquisite language and artistic talent of the author in theological thoughts. Attar is of the opinion that to be free of the limitations, the seven course of divine purity must be taken one by one so that the beginner can arrive at the truth and reach the beloved. He has created the work as an articulation of truth and believes and has written that they way to know the god is to know oneself. He thinks that self-knowledge is the crucial factor in theology and this sense is felt everywhere in the Conversation of Birds. From this perspective, the reasons that he has provided and his thoughts in theology are pronounced as the importance of knowing the god and the belief question is a major challenge in the east and the west. Attar has also spoken ion the Self and has mentioned it as the self of a dog. He has considered it the center of immorality and the committed sins and indecencies as an obstacle to perfection. He addresses the disciples to encounter the Self. In this article, the attempt has been made to become familiar first with the means and ways of gaining knowledge about the God and then approach the ways of knowing the God through the messages in the Book of the Birds. Keywords: Means, Self, Self-knowledge, Theology, Attar, Conversation of Birds. Introduction In Islamic theology many ways of arriving at the truth of God have been discussed. Since god is the beginning of existence and the presentation of perfect qualities, the knowledge about god is most precious. As Imam Sadegh has said, if people knew what pleasure there is in knowing the God Almighty, never would they tend to enjoy the pleasures of the material things which have been given to the enemies' of the God so that the value of the world in their eyes would be less than what it appears, in the pleasure of knowledge of the God resembling someone coupled with the Holy Men in the gardens of Heaven. In the Conversation of the Birds or the place of the birds, as is also known, through the language of the birds the seven courses (the seven cities of love) of the knowledge of God has been discussed. The topic is the conversation among the birds about a legendary bird known as the Phoenix by which the poet is transferring the image of the creator through the power of imagination and figments and theological hints. In this valuable piece of work, features for the divine knowledge have been proposed, of which we can mention the self-knowledge, the five senses, revelation, reason, heart, allegories, and intuitions. As one might know from reading the book, the author has been skilled in literary techniques, wisdom, theology, astronomy and religious branches of textual hermeneutics and interpretation and also the author seems to have had knowledge of plants. The meaning of the means Dehkhoda s dictionary (1988): the means and instruments, utensils, tools, everything not edible. All the means and these ways The crowned maids with the face of the Moon Mo in Persian dictionary: (A), (Ai), cause, causes, reasons, tools, instruments, the assets, leaves, the goods and stuffs. The meaning of theology 40

2 Theology means that man would arrive at a level at which he feels certain that God is his creator as in Koran it says, O men, you are all dependent on God, only he is needless and worthy of your praise. Dehkhoda dictionary(1988): theology, knowledge of God, a hint of religiosity and virtuousness, a part of philosophy that deals with a description of the universe. The naturality of theology Humans have been created in a way that deep inside they feel an attachment to the idea of creator. One of these natural tendencies is seen in the interest in the beginning and cause of everything as man wants to discover them at any cost. Men often ask for a superior protection from the God when they are in danger or hopeless. This is known as the theological nature of man. Hence, redirecting one s attention towards oneself is advised and is one way of forming a connection between the man and the Divine and the Man and the universe. However, we must know that there is a difference between the potential and the actual knowledge and what is known for certain and the Quran texts also confirm is that humans at birth are devoid of any actual knowledge and furthermore what is meant by the natural knowledge and awareness is the actual one and there is no connection here as there might be something as potential but not actual. Thus, the original sense of the natural awareness is that of potentials laid among the humans (Shirazi, 2004). Theology in Koran In Koran, God has cited examples for theology and says: we will soon our signs around the world and in their souls to make evident to them that he is the truth. Is it not enough that your God is aware and witness to everything? (Fasalt, Surrah 41, verse, 53). The factors in the perfection of the essence and the means of theology Humans have to know god in order to be in alignment with him and must also be obedient. There are numerous ways for gaining knowledge about God as we enumerate some of them below: 1-through the sense and knowledge (in the nature) We have three ways to know the God Almighty that are passed through stages. The first is knowledge from the Afaghi and Anfasi verses. Through the signs he has left behind in nature and through empirical methods. Of course knowing God through the Anfassi verses is more appropriate (as one who knows himself also knows the God). This is usually coupled with the self-correction. Thus, thinking in these topics will lead one to the knowledge about god. 2-Reasoning- The second way of knowing the god is through the reason and reasoning. This is mostly done in calculations and the discernment of the creatures. Having studied the nature and the signs of the presence of the God, through reasoning his presence can also be indicated and inferred. 3-Thought and argumentation- God says in Koran: and God made you out of your mothers wombs while you had known nothing and made your eyes and ears and intellect so that you would thank him for these gifts. (Nahl, Surah 16, verse, 78). Here, it says that humans have no knowledge at birth and god has bestowed upon them the senses through which they can make sense of the world and has also provided the power of argumentation so that the following steps would be the analysis of the sense information and the laws of nature (Motahari, 2005). 4-The purity of the self- As most explicitly the senses and intellect have been identified as the means for the knowledge of God, the purity and purification of the heart is also another way for gaining this divine knowledge (ibid, 2-232). It says in the Koran: O those who have believed, if you stop opposing the words of God, there will be means of distinguishing good and evil for you (a special enlightenment through which you will know good from evil) and he will cover your sins and God has greatness and is forgiving. (Anfal, verse, 29). 5-Self-knwoeldge as the way to know God- As you know, in Islamic teachings, self-knowledge is the first step towards the God knowledge. To know the connection between them, we will point to a matter. Theology has two stages: theoretical and practical. Self-knowledge is the way to practically know the creator other than being the introduction to god in theory. The holy Koran says explicitly, we will show them the wonders of the god s creation in the big world and the existence of man to make obvious that God is right. Yea! Whoever knows oneself, would know God as well since self-knowledge is a way to the confidence in God s presence and is of the most important means of self-purification from the unclean stains. His clean nature is the source of all perfections and good features and here it is clear that the knowledge of self is as important in the process of gaining insight about the creator (Majlessi, 1924). If man knows himself, he will both believe in the possibility of the world and the afterlife and will see the eternal life before anything apart from the beginning and the end but if man does not know himself he will forget both the god and the eternal life and the afterlife. In fact, forgetting oneself prevents all kinds of knowledge. 6-The way to the heart- Another means of the knowledge about god is through the intuition and the heart which is the habit of the prophets. This means that through the nature and analysis and the study of the intellectual methods one goes to the love and insight and vision in God. Three ways are important in gaining knowledge about the God for humans: first, it is the imitation of the senses and the sensibles. The second, research and argumentation through wich the god is known by reasoning and the vision and insight through revelations and intuitions. 41

3 The birth and the birthplace of Attar of Neishabour Sheikh Faridoddin Mohammad Attar of Neishabour is of the great sheikhs and Sufis in Khorasan in the sixth century and early 7 th century. He was born in Kadkan area in Neishabour; as he was selling medicine and perfume in that area he was known as the Attar (the perfume-seller). Often, the historians and researchers think that his first name was Mohamamd and his pseudonym was Farid-uddin and Abuhamed with the Attar as his literary name. What the Sufi calls by name Was ended by the Muhammad and this is the end I am called Muhammad and this way too Was ended as Mohammad, o darling. His father was called Ebrahim and his nickname was Abubakr. Some have written other things by mistake. His mother has also been a wise and spiritual woman. Though Rabe e was a hundred Tohamtans But was a second a lioness She raised me so strongly That a King makes a Caliph She was not a woman as a man of the spirit At dawn, her prayers were strong (Attar, 2003). In his store, Attar cured the patients and learned the discourse of the Sheikhs and the great men of Sufism like Sheikh Najm oddin Kobra and others. In this way, he moves so far that he became one of the pioneers. Attar is much more experienced in storytelling than Sana ee. In Attar s work, a kind of evolutionary intellect can be observed which is rare among the other poets. In the pharmacy there were 500 men Each day I took their pulse (Attar, 2003). Apparently, being a doctor in a drug store with about 500 patients each day made him rich and he did not need anyone so his poetry is not smeared with eulogies for the kinds and his poems remained gentle and independent. No doubt, now we speak of the price Eulogies are obsolete and wisdom is the cause My heart is heavy with the obsolete and the admired ones The darkness of admiration conquered my soul For good, my admired one is the sagacity In my head only this life s enough (ibid: 50) Knowing the Conversation of Birds It is an anthology of poems in Persian and in the Masnavi form and rhyme. In 1777 or the sixth century the composition of the book ended. The verses are between 4300 and 4600 by different counts. The stages and the stops in seeking the truth and the mysteries of being are summarized in seven steps in the book. They are called the seven region or houses (Forozanfar, 1974: 68). The beginning of the Conversation of the birds In the story, a group of birds start a journey to find their king (the Phoenix) and in each stage a group of the birds stop and cannot go any further until after the seventh stage only thirty birds remain and looking into the divine mirror they find that the phoenix is actually present in them as a whole. At the end of the book he also says: As to sun, the light came to an end The conversation of the birds and the story of them (Attar: 2003). Attar in naming his book had wanted to use the meaning of the seekers of the truth and he himself reveals this secret: My word is the discourse of the birds I spoke to you as you would know Among the lovers the birds escape From a cage in hurry they leap The word has another expression As the birds speak other words For the Phoenix the one made an elixir Who knew the words of all the birds (ibid: 145) The book begins with the praise of god. Then the praise of Muhammad and the four Caliphs is heard. The first verse of the Masnavi: Well done the well done creator The one that gave life and soul to earth (ibid: 36) After praising the God and his prophet, the words of the story of the birds begin and the book ends with the same thing. The basis of the stories is that a group of birds in a coming together decide to choose their kings. After much talk, they choose the Phoenix and set out a journey to find him. But on the way some birds lose their life and only thirty birds make it and they ultimately discern the truth in themselves. The beginning of the book describes 13 birds each presenting a quality of man using colloquial stories and information. Here is how it begins: Well done, you messenger hoopoe In truth the messenger of each place 42

4 O your journey as pleasant as the dawn With Solomon your birds words as pleasant (ibid: 69) The whip of the Attar s Conversation of the Birds Faridoddin Attar of Neishabour spent all his literary genius in theosophy and in comparison with the poets who had their head into the kings chambers and for the smallest affairs composed poems in their praise, he avoided this abuse of poetry. Attar along with Sana ee and Molavi are considered the three angles of Persian divine literature. What the others have said later can be only a repetition of they had said. In truth, it was Attar who saved the Persian literature from the narrow chambers of the kings and all have called his words and language the whips of the path. In Persian, there are few books as simple and sweet as the Conversation of the birds. As you cannot reach his nature and being Make do with beholding the beauty Be right and pure of heart You are not natural be a man of God As there is only one god in each world What have you to do with the four columns? One ask, one read, and one seek One see, one know, and one alone speak of See bit by bit the seekers are In praise and speech they try (ibid, 69) Attar was enslaved in the dominant literary tradition of his own age and has some weaknesses in this way and some of the openings of the (as flower and candle) show these flaws. In his mind when one defeats the body not only his spirit becomes bright but this brightness is also transferred to the face and appearance. He points to the clean body of the prophet of Islam and says: the body of the prophet was clean and transparent and with the features of the supernatural qualities. That is the reason why his spirit was able to ascend the heavens. Mohammad as his body was his soul and vice versa He went to heaven with this and that (ibid: 125) Attempts and endeavors in the way of theology is the basis of Attar s though and all his works indicate this truth. Especially the Masnavi of Divine letters and mysteries and the conversation of the birds obviously and clearly show a path for a religious and visionary disciple through guides. In the end, it must be said that in his belief the human thought should always be making an effort and struggle like that of a disciple before death so one s soul can be cleaned. The work of your thought in one hour Is better than a lifetime of prayer (Attar, 2003) The seven countries of love in the conversation of birds We mentioned that Attar has created the Conversation of Birds to know the God and in this story has only one word which is the self-knowledge as the path to gaining the knowledge of God. In the form of allegories and beautiful images and fables, Attar conveys this thought. However, what we need to mention at this time is the seven lands of love as reflected in Attar s poetry which has also been given emphasis in the Islamic thought. The seven lands that the birds must go through are the following: 1-The land of demand and desire: at any moment hundreds of troubles and sufferings come about 2-The land of love: anyone who enters will be in fire 3-The land of knowledge: anyone takes a path according to his talents 4-The land of adequacy: there are seven seas, marshes and swamps and the seven stars are but a glitter 5-Theland of monotheism: everyone comes of one source 6-the land of amazement: each one is a blade and each moment is regret 7-The land of poverty and richness: words are not allowed and that is the same as forgetting The cosmology of theology Sheikh Attar is of the greatest men of knowledge in the 6 th century and many of the theologians have taken him as a divine man who spent his whole life guiding the people. Then, the title of the Sufi giving advice is a good one for him (Bagheri, 2010) In cosmology and ideology, he as with the others of his kind thinks that the universe is a revelation of god s presence and world is a shadow of God. Then, he thinks the shadow is the second and the actual existence is the first. His shadow he has bestowed on existence Many appearances were created at once The face of the birds in the world Are the shadows of the Phoenix, you must know! (Attar, 2003) In his thought, the sensible world is but foam on the waves of a sea, we think the foams are the sea while that is a figment of imagination (Attar, 2004: 31). Attar confirms that the world does not come to our mind as it really is, as the greatness of the world is beyond our perception and any bit of existence is not precisely as what is known by us. He likens the world of being to a sea deep inside which there is the god and the perception of the men and women on the sea shore cannot grasp the idea of god unless they are drowned in the sea are reach the bottom but stepping into the sea with the bodily whirlpools is not easy (Shajiee, 2004: 201). Theology in the Conversation of the Birds by Attar Except for the Molana s Masnavis perhaps no other book in the whole Islamic history can be an equivalent and a match for the masterpiece created by Attar. The book has an astonishing tone but it requires a certain degree of faith and patience to enter this 43

5 garden. It is the only book by Attar that has created so many interpretations and collations. It consists of three parts which are the introduction, the main body and the end. The introduction begins with the praise of god: Well done the well done creator The one who bestowed faith to earth He placed the heaven on water His blow gave life to everything He put the heaven in the hand Made the soil deep low Made a change forever The other made a calming for good He set up the heaven as a tent With no columns on earth cradle (ibid: 10) After the god praise, he speaks about the miracles of the existence and the prophets and the creation of man and the gifts that god has given man: Our earth was made into soil Afterwards he set calm life into it The life went inside the body and body was alive The reason he gave him to see The reason was given before the sight Later he gave knowledge to know (ibid: 11) Then he advises us to know ourselves as we might get to know the god in this way by developing self-knowledge and he also advises to be united by nothingness to grasp everything What you say and what you know is you Know thyself, a hundred times more than you You must know by him not yours The way to him is his not that of reason The describers no description can give you He is not to be open to any man Bit by bit in the two worlds you gather knowledge What you know is not god only your understanding (ibid: 20) The opening words of the Conversation of the Birds are among the most beautiful introductions ever spoken in Persian. Anyone who is not happy with your pain He is but pain as he is not your man Give me some pain as you are the cure And my life might die without your pain The belief of the priest and the infidel Make a bit of you pain in Attar s heart The people are afraid of you and I of me As I have seen good of you and bad of mine Anyone who keeps a place in your neighborhood Your pain was lost and self-loathe came (ibid: 12) Attar has used short stories and fables in the conversation of the birds just as the Elahi Nameh. As mentioned earlier, the main feature of his writing is the use of fables in his works and yet another miracle he has done is the pronunciation of the deepest theological concepts in the simplest words in these short and long fables. Whenever he has something to say he conveys it directly and indirectly in the form of the stories from the birds. Keeping the Amareh Self in control in order to gain the God knowledge In his opinion, humans are a combination of body and soul and the soul could take humans to the one world through the plural worlds and thus perfection. Therefore, one must be very persistent in educating the soul. Attar does not give much to the boy and bodily values and pictures the soul and the life of man as copper in a bird s cage. Man seeks perfection and his perfection is where he has been formerly. To face redemption, in Attar s words, these are not attained only through arguments and reasoning by through rejoice and passion in a way that one gains secret knowledge through self-knowledge and the saints will be of the same (Shajiee, 2004: 34). In Attar s opinion, the guilty souls will see their punishment in the afterlife. About the self, Attar believes that it is the source of all evil and is the change of all the committed guilt and indecencies and recognizes it as an important hurdle in reaching perfection: Kill the infidel self and be a believer Be safe as you kill the self (Attar, 2003) He points to the Amareh and Motma eneh self and sees the perfection of a man in arriving at the stage of the confidence and being purified and moderated with the good morals. Based on this The fairy said if we were Amareh Better than the pigs and dogs I will be a hundred times more But when I become Motmaeneh 44

6 Nobody will have this deal But when I become confident then The call for my return will come from the heaven (Attar, 2003). He believes in oppressing and controlling the Amareh or tempting self and thinks that the perfect being is seen in purification and refinement while he knows that human beings are willful and act willfully and the sinners will get punished in hell. The attar s love in the divine means Attar uses the love subject and the truth that everything is in the domain of the creator to invite men to obey the god and pay attention to some kind of determinism. They believe that the creatures are all the subjects of god and god can control the subjects as he wishes and nobody can have any act outside the Will of the creator. They attribute all that man does to God and think that humans have no share in actions and if we suppose otherwise we have not any faith and have slid to polytheism. Following this, they accuse the Motazeleh of being polytheists for they firmly believe in the will of the creatures and they say these are the nonbelievers of the prophet s Uma (Shafiee Kadkani, 1997). O inside my soul, and soul unaware of you The world is full of you and the world unaware How knows my heart of you That immortal you are in my heart and heart unaware The people know you only by signs In signs they are also unaware The seekers of your sea on the shores In certainty still the mind unaware As a fly is unaware of an angel s wing They show them to you and still unaware Attar, though he cries your love All the ones who cry are unaware of you (Attar, 2003) Attar thinks that true love is the only means of arriving at the perfection in theology. Therefore, the seeker reaches this level in self-reflection: If not a traveller you do not become a gem As you grey might not become you shall not know The first drop of rain traveled Then the sea bed received many treasures (ibid: 106) Attar even recognizes the earthly love as a human virtue and emphasizes that even of the sex appeal love can be brought forth. Although the sex appeal is not desirable for him, the same thing can be a gate to the human love if not under-controlled (Razmju, 1989). Of temptation there is no favor The one who does not know this is handicapped But when the temptation comes to an end Of the temptation love comes forth much But when love gets hard much Affection comes forth in it Affection when reaches the limit too Your life would become nothing in beloved Give up temptations as they are not favorable The main word is the beloved If you perish in his way Much better than being ruled by temptations (Attar, 2003) Theology is the result of theology The seven cities of love Attar saw And we are still in one corner of an alley (Molana, 1987) The seven cities of love are the stages that have to be passed by the disciple and seeker. In every way, the Attar s Conversation of the Birds has extraordinarily beautiful themes and deep theological meanings and each one drives a person mad. But the real enjoyment belongs to the one who thinks. Attar says: The ones who mind the forms only are absorbed in my words However, the men of sense know my secrets This book is dress for our days He has given gifts to the special and general (Attar, 2003) 45

7 Conclusion Of the most important problems of humanity and perhaps the most important one is gaining knowledge about oneself. One has to know oneself before coming to know the world and must recognize his own nature and human essence. In the same process, after the perfection of one s talents, one must moderate the temptations. In this case, the greatest happiness can be attainable. Otherwise, he would be drawn to animality. The encouragement of humanity in knowing oneself is of the greatest advices told by the prophets and ethicists and philosophers. In the masterpiece, Attar also advises self-knowledge and introduces it as the first step towards any truth about god. Therefore, an element such as love is usually taken as the spark in assisting humanity perfect their knowledge and understanding. In cosmology as well as the other men of theology Attar thinks that the universe is the shadow of God. He thinks highly of the creator as the main and the world as the secondary existence. He, with a burning heart and preoccupied mind tried to guide the pure hearts of men and went around for the Seven Lands of the Love and moved over while they all said his words were the whips of seeking. Hence, we can surely count his ideas in the book as the means for knowing about god and we take huge steps in being closer to god by setting as a model his magnum opus in theology and self-knowledge. References Attar FMIE, The Conversations of Birds, Reynold Allan Nicholson. Terhan: Asatir Nasher. Dehkhoda AA, 1998, The Dehkhoda Dictionary. University of Tehran Press. Majlessi MB, Bahar alanvar. Dar Alehya Alarabi, Beirut Molana J, Masnavi Molavi. Tehran: Homa Press. Motahari M, Collection of works. Qom, Iran. Razmju H, The perfect man and ideals in epic literature. Tehran: Amir Kanir Press. Shafiee Kadkani MR,1997. The whips of the path. Tehran: Agah press. Shirazi SMIB, The conversations of Birds. Introduction. Tehran: Nashr Sokhan Publication. 46