Sufism in Conference of Birds
She encourages them to find what they always longed for, a king who will help organize their kingdom. Instantly, all the birds see the ornament on her breast, the "symbol that she had entered the way of spiritual knowledge" (Attar, The Conference of the Birds, 234). The importance of this ornament runs rampant throughout the poem. Just as it is a symbol of spiritual knowledge, it is an ornament of her holy soul. The Hoopoe found her inner soul and became one with God, the King of the universe. All the birds looked upon this with reverence, they too want to organize their chaos and unite themselves to become one with God. The Hoopoe began to prepare them for the journey to find their own inner holy ornaments. Attar directly ties the way to find the ornament with Sufism. By using birds to symbolize human souls, Attar prep
Again, this ties in with the ornament on the Hoopoe's breast and the crescent crown. Because of human nature, it is difficult for people to set foot upon this acetic itinerary. "The first valley is the Valley of Quest, the second is the Valley of Poverty and Nothingness, beyond which one can go no farther" (Attar, The Conference of the Birds, 236). Because of the materiality part of the achievement, many birds get excited. Here, Attar also wants the readers to see that journey for the human inward is difficult. Very few, however, will look beyond this 'materialistic loss' concept and will accept it as a spiritual enrichment. One would have to give up ego and wealth, become submissive to the spirit of Islam, and vanquish into poverty, in order to find the final destination. This, again ties into the part where only thirty birds survive because they were able to look beyond the physical wealth. Attar even uses the images of birds to illustrate this point, "some went mad and killed each other for a grain of barley, others, enfeebled by suffering and weariness, dropped on the road, unable to go farther" (Attar, The Conference of the Birds, 237). The "Crest of truth" can also be viewed in metaphorical light. Both of these valleys help the soul reach its ultimate truth in two lights. " The crest shape is the sign of Islam. Very few, however, were able to look beyond the materiality into the spiritual, and survived the journey. ares the readers for the journey of Sufism.
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Acceptance Essays
