What is Conference of the Birds?
The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq ut-Tayr, literally “The Speech of the Birds”) was composed around 1177 CE by the Persian Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar. At approximately 4,500 couplets, it is one of the longest and most elaborate allegorical poems in world literature, and it is widely considered the supreme poetic expression of the Sufi path. The title is taken directly from the Qur’an, 27:16, where Sulayman (Solomon) and Dāwūd (David) are said to have been taught the language, or speech, of the birds (manṭiq al-ṭayr).
The poem’s frame is deceptively simple: the birds of the world gather to choose a king. The hoopoe, the wisest among them, announces that they already have a king, the Simurgh, a mythical bird of incomparable beauty and power who dwells on Mount Qaf, the mountain at the edge of the world. The birds must journey to Mount Qaf to find their sovereign. Most of the poem consists of the birds’ objections (each bird has a reason not to go), the hoopoe’s responses (each objection is answered with stories and arguments), and the journey through seven valleys of progressive spiritual purification.
The journey kills most—thousands of birds start; only thirty (si murgh in Persian) complete it. Arriving exhausted at the Simorgh’s court, they discover the stunning truth: they themselves are the Simorgh. The Persian word “simurgh” can be read as “si murgh,” which means “thirty birds.” The king they sought was their own collective essence, purified by the journey.
Origins & Lineage
Farid ud-Din Attar (c. 1145-1221) was born in Nishapur, in present-day northeastern Iran. His pen name, “Attar,” means “pharmacist” or “perfumer,” and he may have worked as a pharmacist in Nishapur (though some scholars question this biographical tradition). While his works say little else about his life, they tell us that he practised the profession of pharmacy and personally attended to a very large number of customers. The people he helped in the pharmacy used to confide their troubles in Attar and this affected him deeply.
Attar spent much of his childhood being educated at the theological school attached to the shrine of Imam Reza at Mashhad (the largest town in north-eastern Iran and a major centre of pilgrimage). Later, he travelled to Rey (the ancient Raghes, near modern Tehran), Egypt, Damascus, Mecca, Turkistan (southern Russia) and India. He was a prolific writer, producing at least thirty works of poetry and prose, including The Conference of the Birds, The Book of God (Ilahi-nama), and The Memorial of the Saints (Tazkirat al-Awliya). Tradition claims Attar was martyred during Mongol invasions—killed at age 70+ while defending his city.
The influential Iranian theologian Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali (1058-1111) also wrote a “Treatise of the Birds,” which seems to have been Attar’s model. Since its completion in February of 1188, The Conference of the Birds has been considered Attar’s masterpiece. Attar was a generation older than Rumi (1207-1273) and is considered one of his primary influences. Rumi praised Attar lavishly and considered him one of the greatest spiritual poets. The Conference of the Birds and the Masnavi (Rumi’s masterwork) are often studied together as the twin peaks of Sufi literature.
How It’s Practiced
The Conference of the Birds is not a “practice” in the conventional sense—it is a literary and spiritual text that serves as a roadmap for the Sufi path. Since its publication, the work has achieved the status of a handbook of mystical knowledge. For many Sufis it is the work that most clearly and concisely captures the essence of the mystical quest. Practitioners engage with it through:
Study and contemplation: Sufis read the text repeatedly, often with a spiritual teacher, to decode its layers of symbolism. Embedded within the journey narrative are hundreds of short stories, parables, and anecdotes that Attar uses to illustrate the spiritual principles of each valley. These stories are drawn from Sufi tradition, Islamic history, Persian folklore, and Attar’s own imagination. They are among the poem’s greatest literary achievements: compressed narratives that combine wisdom, humour, pathos, and surprise in a few lines or a few pages.
The seven valleys as lived stages: The poem describes the seeker’s passage through seven valleys—Quest, Love, Knowledge (or Insight into Mystery), Detachment, Unity, Bewilderment (or Wonderment), and Poverty and Annihilation. The valleys are not geographical locations but states of consciousness, and the journey through them is the Sufi path (tariqa) from the human to the divine. The first valley demands the desire for truth: the burning need to know the divine that motivates the seeker to leave everything familiar behind. Seekers use these valleys as a framework for self-examination, shadow work, and spiritual purification.
Recitation and oral transmission: In Persian-speaking Sufi circles, passages are recited aloud, often in gatherings, to invoke their transformative power. The Persian rhyming couplets carry a musicality that deepens meditative states.
Conference of the Birds Today
Modern seekers encounter the Conference of the Birds through:
Literary translations: Penguin Classics (Darbandi/Davis, ISBN 0140444343) is the standard. Sholeh Wolpé’s 2017 translation is praised for accessibility. Translations by Peter Avery and Edward FitzGerald remain influential.
Theater and adaptation: Peter Brook and Jean-Claude Carrière adapted the poem into a play titled La Conférence des oiseaux (The Conference of the Birds), which they published in 1979. Brook toured embryonic versions of the play around rural Africa during the visit of his International Centre for Theatre Research to that continent in 1972–73, before presenting two extremely successful productions to Western audiences—one in New York City at La MaMa E.T.C., and one in Paris. John Heilpern gives an account of the events surrounding the early development of the play in his 1977 book Conference of the Birds: The Story of Peter Brook in Africa.
Sufi study circles: Traditional Sufi orders (tariqas) use the text as curriculum for murid (students) under the guidance of a sheikh. The poem is taught alongside other classics like Rumi’s Masnavi.
Interfaith and secular spirituality: Non-Muslim seekers explore the text as a universal map of transformation, resonant with Joseph Campbell’s hero’s journey and depth psychology’s individuation process.
Academic scholarship: The poem is central to Persian literature, Islamic mysticism, and comparative religion courses worldwide.
Common Misconceptions
It is not a literal ornithology text. While Attar describes specific birds—hoopoe, nightingale, parrot, peacock, hawk—each represents a human archetype or spiritual obstacle. The hoopoe leads the birds, each of whom represents a human fault which prevents humanity from attaining enlightenment.
It is not a “feel-good” self-help book. The journey is harrowing. Sholeh Wolpé writes, “When the birds hear the description of these valleys, they bow their heads in distress; some even die of fright right then and there.” Thousands perish; only thirty survive.
The Simurgh is not an external deity. The poem’s climax reveals non-dual realization: the seekers are the sought. The Simurgh is them. The seeker is the sought. The drop is the ocean. This challenges dualistic theologies and echoes Advaita Vedanta’s “Tat Tvam Asi” (Thou Art That).
It is not exclusive to Islam. While rooted in Quranic symbolism and Sufi lineages, the poem’s themes resonate across mystical traditions. Since Attar, says Safi, the two traditions of poetry and love-based mysticism have always been intertwined in the Persian tradition — in modern-day Iran, Afghanistan, Central Asia, and South Asia. “Virtually every mystic worth her or his salt would write poetry,” he said. “And 90 per cent of their poetry has a mystical orientation as well.”
Attar did not invent the seven-valley structure. Kaveh Bassiri, a writer, translator and PhD student at the University of Arkansas, points out that the story of birds on a journey to enlightenment is not a new one. He says the story itself predates Islam’s arrival in Persia and was also used by much earlier Muslim philosophers like Ibn Sina and Al-Ghazali in their work on spirituality.
How to Begin
Read a translation: Start with the Darbandi/Davis Penguin Classics edition for balance of accuracy and readability, or Sholeh Wolpé’s Norton edition for contemporary clarity.
Approach it slowly: Read one parable per sitting. Journal on how the bird’s excuse reflects your own resistance to change.
Find a guide: If Sufi-curious, seek out a local Sufi order (Naqshbandi, Chishti, Qadiri, Mevlevi) for contextualized study. Many offer open circles.
Cross-reference: Pair it with Rumi’s Masnavi, Rumi’s Diwan-e Shams, Ibn Arabi’s Fusus al-Hikam, or Bahá’u’lláh’s The Seven Valleys (which explicitly adapts Attar’s structure).
Watch Peter Brook’s film: His 1979 theatrical adaptation captures the poem’s essence for visual learners.
Identify your bird: Which bird are you? The nightingale (attached to beauty)? The hawk (power)? The peacock (vanity)? Use the text diagnostically.