Austin O’Malley

In response to a question about the route to the Simorgh, the hoopoe explains that they will have to pass through seven valleys: desirous seeking (talab), love (‘eshq), gnosis (ma‘refat), detachment (esteghna), unification (towhid), bewilderment (hayrat) and, finally, spiritual poverty and effacement (faqr o fana’). For each valley, the hoopoe delivers an introductory homily in which he explains the spiritual state associated with it, followed by anecdotes and further exhortations on related themes.

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From The Poetics of Spiritual Instruction: Farid al-Din Attar and Persian Sufi Didacticism, by Austin O’Malley. Edinburgh University Press, 2023. Republished here with thanks.