THE MEDIA ISSUE
REFLECTIONS
OF BIRDS AND MEN rabic literature, al-adab al-Arabi, is derived from the Arabic for etiquette, implying a means to enrichment and decorum. The Islamic literary canon is dominated by the Quran, at once dynamic and accessible, yet allusive. The Quran was a key determinant of later literary compositions. Early Arabic prose came of a need to decipher and understand the Quranic injunctions and grasp revelation, and extended across the growing Islamic world. After the Arab conquest of Persia in 7th century, knowledge of Arabic was essential since it was the dialect of the new rulers, and the new religion and learning they brought with them. However, with the later weakening of the central government, an assimilated Persian and Arabic structure emerged, that is the modern Persian in use today. While Arabic continued as the language of choice of Islamic writers; AlGhazzali for example, was of Persian birth and a foremost scholar of Arabic literature, Persian quickly emerged as the vehicle of a great literature.
The Nightingale declares that the journey is too strenuous, that her love of the rose is enough for her. But the Hoopoe issues warning; do not become a slave to a love that is fleeting and interfering of the quest for self-perfection: So long as we do not die to ourselves, and so long as we identify with someone or something, we shall never be free. The spiritual way is not for those wrapped up in exterior life.
The coy Duck is satisfied by the perfection the water she calls her home. The Hoopoe reminds her of its ephemeral nature: Your life is passed in vague aquatic dreams, which cannot last- A sudden wave and they are swept away.
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Farid ud-Din Attar was born in approximately 1136 in Neishapour, the birthplace of another great Persian poet Omar al-Khayyam. Attar subscribed to Sufism, the doctrine advocated by mystics of Islam, and exercised an influence on the likes of Rumi and Chaucer. The best celebrated of his works is the Mantiq at-Tair, the Conference of the Birds, an allegorical poem portraying the quest of a group of birds in search of a new king, an analogy for mans’ search for a spiritual focus. The framework of the poem follows the Hoopoe, who comes forth as the leader, and recommends the Simurgh as the King that they all seek. The birds are at once enthusiastic, but as they embark on their journey and realise the difficulties ahead, they begin to voice doubts and excuses.
THE BRIDGE: OMA NEWSLETTER ISSUE 08 AUTUMN 2011