The Conference of the Birds

Farid ud-Din Attar's twelfth-century Persian poem tells of birds who undertake a journey to find their king, the Simorgh, guided by the hoopoe. Through stories and dialogues, it presents the Sufi path and its stages. Afkham Darbandi and Dick Davis's translation is noted for its poetic quality. It is one of the great works of Sufi literature and a central text for understanding mystical Islam.