"The Conference of the Birds" or "Speech of the Birds"
by Sheikh Farid ud-Din Attar of Nishapur
"The Conference of the Birds" (original Persian title: "Mantiq al-Tayr" or "Maqamat al-Tuyur") is a classical Persian poetic masterpiece by Sheikh Farid ud-Din Attar of Nishapur. The story begins with a gathering of all the birds of the world who come together in search of a king they've never had. The wisest among them, the hoopoe (hudhud), proposes that they seek out the mythical bird Simurgh.
Each bird in the story symbolizes a human weakness-traits that prevent mankind from reaching enlightenment and truth. The hoopoe guides the birds and tells them that in order to reach the Simurgh, they must cross seven valleys, each representing a profound spiritual transformation.
The first valley, the Valley of the Quest, requires the seeker to abandon all preconceptions, beliefs, and doubts. In the Valley of Love, reason is cast aside in favor of the consuming fire of love. The Valley of Knowledge renders worldly wisdom meaningless, and in the Valley of Detachment, all desires and earthly attachments are relinquished. The Valley of Unity teaches the birds that the Beloved is beyond all duality, multiplicity, and time. In the Valley of Bewilderment, the seeker is overwhelmed by the beauty of the Beloved and realizes the depth of their own ignorance. The final valley, the Valley of Poverty and Annihilation, leads to the dissolution of the self.
When the birds hear of these arduous valleys, many hang their heads in sorrow, and some even die on the spot from fear. Yet others, despite their terror, embark on the perilous journey. Along the way, many perish from thirst, heat, or illness, while others fall victim to beasts, fear, or violence.
In the end, only thirty birds survive the journey and reach the Simurgh-only to discover a profound truth: the Simurgh is not an external being, but the reflection of their own collective essence. Like the sun mirrored in a surface, the majesty of the Beloved reflects back their own image-revealing that the divine truth they sought was within them all along.
