Attar of Nishapur Commemoration Day

Born c. 1145 C.E. Nishapur                                                                        Died c. 1220 C.E. Nishapur

Commemorating one of Iran’s most renowned mystic poets; a group of university lecturers and scholars of Persian literature gathered in the culture art and communications research center of the Iranian culture ministry to mark the world Attar Day.Fariduddin Attar Neishabouri or the Attar of Nishapur was a Persian Muslim poet, theoretician of Sufism and hagiographer of the 11th and 12th century, who left an everlasting influence on Persian poetry and Sufism.He was also a skillful doctor. Attar was a pen-name which he took for his occupation. Attar means herbalist or perfumist and during his lifetime in Persia, much of 1220 Attar was killed at the age of 70 in a brutal attack by the Mongols during the invasion of Iran.He was buried near Neishabour, in north east Iran.Every year numerous ceremonies are held by Attar lovers across Iran on his birthday. Their aim is to preserve Attar’s legacy by discussing his life and works. Throughout his life Attar became a source of inspiration for many scholars and mystic poets.Medicine and drugs were based on herbs. Therefore, by profession he was similar to a modern-day town doctor and pharmacist.InThere are dozens of books attributed to Attar Neishabouri but the question whether all the works that have been ascribed to him are really from his pen has not been solved. In his writings Attar has only mentioned the names of seven books which he had written including his most outstanding book Manteq-o-Tayr in which he refers to seven valleys of love that a mystic will have to travel in order to reach to reach perfection. Perhaps the most imminent figure inspired by Attar’s school of thought was the world renowned Iranian poet Rumi who praised Attar.Rumi quoted:” Attar has roamed through the seven cities of love while we have barely turned down the first street.”For several centuries the works of Attar have affected the literature of a wide region of Persian speaking countries.

Born c. 1145 C.E. Nishapur
Died c. 1220 C.E. Nishapur
Honored in Islam
Influences Ferdowsi, Sanai, Khwaja Abdullah Ansari, Hallaj, Abusa'id Abolkhayr, Bayazid Bastami

Influenced Rumi, Hafiz, Jami, Nava'i and many other later Sufi Poets
Tradition/Genre Mystic poetry
Major work(s):
Memorial of the Saints
The Conference of the Birds
Biography
Information about Attar's life is rare. He is mentioned by only two of his contemporaries, `Awfi and Tusi. However, all sources confirm that he was from Nishapur, a major city of medieval Khorasan (now located in the northeast of Iran), and according to `Awfi, he was a poet of the Seljuq period. It seems that he was not well known as a poet in his own lifetime, except at his home town, and his greatness as a mystic, a poet, and a master of narrative was not discovered until the 15th century.
`Attar was probably the son of a prosperous chemist, receiving an excellent education in various fields. While his works say little else about his life, they tell us that he practiced 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. Eventually, he abandoned his pharmacy store and traveled widely - to Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Khwarizm, Turkistan, and India, meeting with Sufi Shaykhs - and returned promoting Sufi ideas.
`Attar's initiation into Sufi practices is subject to much speculation and fabrication. Of all the famous Sufi Shaykhs supposed to have been his teachers, only one - Majd ud-Din Baghdadi - comes within the bounds of possibility. The only certainty in this regard is `Attar's own statement that he once met him.
In any case it can be taken for granted that from childhood onward `Attar, encouraged by his father, was interested in the Sufis and their sayings and way of life, and regarded their saints as his spiritual guides.
`Attar reached an age of over 70 and died a violent death in the massacre which the Mongols inflicted on Nishapur in April 1221. Today, his mausoleum is located in Nishapur. It was built by Ali-Shir Nava'i in the 16th century.
Like many aspects of his life, his death, too, is blended with legends and speculation.
Influence on Rumi
`Attar is one of the most famous mystic poets of Iran. His works were the inspiration of Rumi and many other mystic poets. `Attar, along with Sanai were two of the greatest influences on Rumi in his Sufi views. Rumi has mentioned both of them with the highest esteem several times in his poetry. Rumi praises `Attar as follows:
Attar has roamed through the seven cities of love while we have barely turned down the first street.
As a pharmacist
`Attar was a pen-name which he took for his occupation. `Attar means herbalist, druggist, perfumist or alchemist, and during his lifetime in Persia, much of medicine and drugs were based on herbs. Therefore, by profession he was similar to a modern-day town doctor and pharmacist.
In popular culture
Several musical artists have albums or songs which share the name of his most famous work, Conference of the Birds, as well as the themes of enlightenment contained therein. Notably, jazz bassist David Holland's album, which was written as a metaphor for his own enlightenment, and Om's Conference of the Birds, which deals with extremely esoteric themes often connected with metaphors of flight, inward vision, destruction of self, and oneness with the cosmos.

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