Introduction, translated from the Persian of the first 120 bytes and comments.

The readers are offered a philological translation of the first 120 beits (couplets) of the Masnavi poem "The Language of Birds" by the great Persian poet of the XI-XI centuries. Farid ad-Din ' Attar, one of the most prominent representatives of the Iranian branch of Sufism, a mystical movement that originated in the Muslim East in the eighth century and still exists today.

The significance of 'Attar for the Persian poetic tradition cannot be overemphasized. His poems devoted to the metaphorical description of the spiritual path of a mystic "became normative works of Sufi literature, from which whole generations of mystics and poets drew inspiration" (Schimmsl, 1999, p. 238). The most famous of his works is "Mantik at-tair "("The Language of Birds").

The characters in this book, as the title suggests , are birds. Only a few of them are listed (turtledove, parrot, partridge, etc.), but the whole set of birds of the world is meant. They get together and talk about how they need a king. Then their spiritual leader, the hoopoe, steps forward. He tells them about the Simurgh, the great king who dwells on the other side of Mount Kaf, which separates the earthly world from the spiritual world. The Simurgh is surrounded by hundreds of thousands of veils of darkness and light, and the path to it is difficult. He is the "absolute king", incomprehensible to the mind. Hoopoe encourages birds to go to Mount Kaf in search of the Simurgh. However, the birds take turns giving excuses-apologies, referring to the circumstances of their lives. Each of the birds has a good reason to avoid the difficult journey. But the wise hoopoe consistently resolves their doubts, and now they are already beginning to ask him about the path that they have to go. The hoopoe tells of seven valleys awaiting the traveler: the valley of punishment (talab), the valley of love ('isq), the valley of knowledge (ma'rifat), the valley of non-alienation (istigna), the valley of unity (tawhid), the valley of confusion (hayrat), and the valley of poverty and nothingness (fakr-ufana). These valleys are fraught with innumerable dangers, but there can be no other way to the king. The birds are on their way...

Of course, this story is not about birds at all. Each of them symbolizes a certain type of human soul or its certain properties and states. The poem covers various variants of the soul's response to the call from above. The valleys that the birds have to cross correspond to certain stages of the Sufi path. The main theme of the book is God, man and the world in their relationship.

The poem is preceded by an extensive introduction, where this topic is revealed in a figurative form; it contains the most important thoughts of 'Attar, his philosophical and religious positions: the idea of the nature of man and his place in the universe, the unity of being, reflections on the possibility of knowing God, comprehending the essence and attributes of God. The introduction, which occupies 264 bytes out of the 4,724 bytes of the poem, is a compressed, super-dense text that will unfold throughout the rest of the story. In addition to the introduction, the introductory part of the poem includes chapters dedicated to the Prophet Muhammad and the righteous caliphs Abu Bakr, 'Umar,' Uthman and ' Ali, and the narrative itself begins with Bayt 617.

In addition to the main characters and the main plot, the poem has about 180 insert stories with its own characters: with their help, the hoopoe answers the doubts and questions of birds. These stories are good in themselves, even if you evaluate them regardless of the super-task that they carry. But being embedded in the main plot, they do not just illustrate certain statements of the bird mentor, but supplement them with new meanings.

Thus, all three blocks - introduction, main story, and insert stories-interact in a complex way, confirming and enriching each other.

Here's an example. In one of the stories "Mantik at-tair" it is said about Iskandar (Alexander the Great): the ruler of the world used to appear in a foreign city under the guise of his own ambassador. The interlocutor thought that he was talking to the messenger, but in reality he was talking to the messenger.

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there was the tsar himself. He could come to any country, and no one would recognize him, and no one would believe that he was a king. "The king," comments 'Attar unexpectedly," has a way to any heart, / but there is no way for the heart of the erring. " 2
History allows for various interpretations. But here the reader is helped by referring to the introduction, especially to verses 62-64:

Look closely: this world and that world are all of It,
there is nothing but It, and if there is, it is also It.
Everything is one entity, but it has properties,
Everything is one word, and the forms are different.
A person should be able to recognize the King,
No matter which of His hundreds of clothes He saw Him in.

These words, in this context, leave no doubt as to the true meaning of the story being told.

In the translation notes, we have tried to make the picture of the world that lies behind the lines of 'Attar' more clear to the reader. In general, this picture is common to the entire Muslim Middle Ages, but each thinker places accents in his own way.

The first two verses of the poem are dedicated to man and reflect the idea that man was created from the earth, or "dust of the earth". Just make a reservation that the Russian word "land" corresponds to two Persian words: zamin and hak. 1) zamin - the surface of the earth, a ball formed from hak; 2) hak - the substance of the earth, the dust of the earth. A hack can mean real earth or dust. But haq is also an important concept of Muslim metaphysics: one of the four primary elements (earth, water, air, fire), from the interaction of which the entire universe was created, cf.below Bayts 21 and 89-92. The universe was created for the man Adam, who is called the vicar of God on earth. The famous Sufi philosopher ibn 'Arabi called the earth" the patrimony of man " (Ibn Arabi, 1995, p. 103). It is also very important that the earth is both the substance from which, according to the Muslim tradition, man is created, and as a trope - man. A person is also often called a "handful of dust" (cf. Beit 11). This image probably goes back to the tradition reflected in Ibn 'Arabi that the angel 'Azra'il brought the earth in handfuls to create the "image of the human body" (Ibn ' Arabi, 1995, p. 164). In ' Attar, all these meanings of the word are realizedhack: this is both road dust, dust of the earth, and one of the primary elements, and a person.

To separate the concepts of zamin and hak in translation, we write here " Earth "as the earth sphere (zamin) with a capital letter, and" earth " as the substance of the earth (hak) - with a lowercase letter.

The text often contains references to the traditions about the creation of the world contained in the Koran and in the near-Koranic traditions, which color the stingy lines of the Koran with colorful details. Thus, Bayts 45 and 55 speak of fish, mentioned, for example, in the book of the tenth-century Arab historian Mu'tahhar ibn Tahir al-Muqaddasi (maqdisi) "Kitab al-bad' wa-t-ta'rih "("The Book of Creation and History"): "... The earth is on the water, and the water is on the rock, and the rock is on the horns of the Bull, and the Bull is on the sand, and that sand is on the back of the Fish, and that Fish is on the clear wind, but the wind is above the veil of darkness, and the darkness is on the wet earth, and when it reaches this land, the knowledge of the created world ends, and what is on the other side of it, no one knows except the Lord."1. The Persian version of the stories of the prophets gives a simpler version, with sand replaced by earth (haq): "The Lord, the Most High and Glorious, < ... > created the Fish on the water. After seventy years, He created a land (haq)on the back of the Fish and filled it up with a height of forty cubits. And that land is wet land. Then, at the end of seventy years, He created a great Bull on the back of this Fish, put its feet in the ground and ordered the Earth to be placed on it, and gave it daily food, and keeps it in peace so that it never moves until the earthquake of the Day of Judgment begins " [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 4] 2.

The published translation is the result of a seminar on reading the texts of 'Attar, held at the Institute of Oriental Studies of the Russian Academy of Sciences under the supervision of L. G. Lahuti, a researcher at the Department of Written Monuments of the Peoples of the East. Translated from the Persian by L. G. Lahuti and T. A. Metchikova with the participation of M. A. Shakarbekova in: Mantik at-tair / Ed., introduction, note. Muhammad Riza Shafi'i Sh. Kadkani. Tehran, 1383/2004.

1 Cit. according to the Persian translation by Sh. Kadkani (see note to b. 45 in ['Attar Mantik..., 2004]). 2 Translated by T. Metchikova.

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L. G. LAHUTI
ON THE UNITY OF THE GREAT GOD 1
1. Glory to the pure Creator of the soul,
Who gave the earth soul and faith!2
He set up a throne on the water,
Created from the earth, He founded life on the wind 3,
the sky keeps in height and power,
[And] the earth keeps in extreme humility 4.
To the first, He granted unceasing movement,
The second is constant calm 5.
5. He raised up the heavens like a tent
, without pillars, and made the earth its foundation. 6
In six days he revealed seven stars,
and out of two letters he revealed nine arches. 7,
He has collected in a golden box [precious] stones of the stars,
[And] plays them every night [on the board] of the firmament 8.
To the snares of the body He gave mutable states,
to the Bird of the soul He poured earth on its tail.,
He made the Sea spread out in obedience to Himself,
[A] Mountains-freeze in fear of yourself,
10. He dried up the lips of the sea with thirst,
made the stone a yakhont, and made the blood musk 10,
He revealed the Spirit in pure form.
All this He did for the sake of a handful of dust 11.
He humbled the rebellious mind with the law,
revived the body with the soul, and the soul with faith,
And gave grief a sword and a belt,
That [she] may lift up the head that is His voivode 12,
I grew flowers in the middle of the flames,
Laid a bridge in the middle of the sea 13,
15. Sent a mosquito on the head of the enemy
And he left it there for four hundred years 14.
To the spider [By his own wisdom, he gave a net,
and gave refuge to the head of the world in it.15
He tied a belt around the ant, which was as big as a hair,
and placed it before Sulaiman. 16
He gave it the robe of the descendants of Abbas,
"Ta" and " Sin "granted him without torment 17.
When he saw the igloo at' Psa,
Immediately revealed this secret 18.
20. The sword of the mountain was stained with the blood of tulips,
The Azure flower garden was created from smoke 19.
Every grain of earth was soaked in blood,
20.
Worshiping Him, day and night, the Sun and the moon
Prostrate head to the dust of the path 21.
Signs on their faces - from worship,
How can there be a sign without worship?!22

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[Palm] will open-the day shines white,
Squeeze-and the night is burned to black 23.
25. Parrot made a golden necklace,
Hoopoe made messenger of the way 24.
The bird of the firmament flaps its wings on the way to Him,
Bangs against his door like a [door] ring 25.
He gives the firmament a whirl day and night,
takes away the night, brings the day [and] gives daily bread 26.
Breathing his breath into clay, He creates Adam,
From foam and smoke creates the whole world 27.
That opens the way for the dog to the Throne,
He sends the cat to instruct [people]28.
30. She makes a dog the husband of Her intimacy,
L equates a hero to a dog.
He lays it down for the inhabitants of heaven
On the tablecloth of the sky a cake of the sun 29.
That gives the staff the power of Sulaiman 30,
31. From the staff reveals the serpent
,
32.
He makes the firmament a dashing colt
; out of the moon he makes him a horseshoe thrown into the fire.33
Shows a camel made of stone,
Shows a golden calf moaning mournfully 34.
In winter it throws a nisar made of silver,
In autumn, gold is scattered from the crowns of trees 35.
If someone hides a spear in blood,
He fills bud's spear with blood 36.
Jasminu puts on a four-clined hat,
On the head of the tulip crown [color] of blood.
Then he will put a golden crown on the crown of the daffodil,
Then decorate it with dew gems.
40. The mind is exhausted, the soul has lost its heart because of Him,
the firmament turns, and the earth stands still because of Him.
The mountain froze like a stone before His predestination,
37. The earth's head is covered with dust
,
And the sky was like a door ring.
Eight paradises are just a threshold [His palace],
The seven hells are but a tongue of flame 38.
All are steeped in Its oneness,
Why are they submerged-completely gone!
45. Everything from the back of a Fish to the moon,
Every particle bears witness to His essence 39.
The earth below and the sky above
are two unmistakable evidences of Him.
Wind, earth, fire, and blood He reveals,
but removes His secret from all 40.

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He made our ashes clay
in forty mornings,
L then gave refuge to the soul in it 41.
When the soul entered the body, and the body was revived by it,
[The Lord] gave him understanding, and through him [the mind] became
sighted people.
50. To the mind when it has acquired spiritual sight,
[The Lord] has given him knowledge so that he may become Knowledgeable.
When [the mind] became aware of [It], [it] confessed
its weakness,
Plunged into confusion and humbled 42.
Take here at least an enemy, even a friend,
Each man's neck is under His weight.
His wisdom places its burden on everyone,
And He Himself - oh wonder! "he keeps everyone safe.
First He made the mountain a nail of the earth,
And then he washed the face of the earth with the water of the sea 43.55.
And now, the Earth is standing on the Bull's back,
The Bull is on the Fish, and the Fish is in the air,
And the air on what? "Nothing, that's all,
Nothing is nothing, everything is nothing, and that's it.
Think of the art of that King,
Which keeps it all on "nothing"!
Since everything is on "nothing" thanks to One,
Then all this is nothing, without a doubt.
Part and whole-proof of Its pure essence,
Heaven and earth are given to Them as a handful of dust 44.
60. The throne is on the water, and the world is in the air,
Forget the water and the air, all is the Lord 45.
Both the Throne and the world are talismans, nothing more,
There is only One, everything else is nothing more than a name..
Look closely: this world and that world are all of It,
there is nothing but It, and if there is, it is also It.
All are one entity, but with properties,
All are one word, and the forms are different 47.
A person should be able to recognize the King,
No matter which of His hundreds of clothes He saw Him in.
65. He will not make a mistake, because he knows who it is.
If it's all Him, why make mistakes!?
Falling into mistakes is inherent in cross-eyed people,
This is how people see slowdowns 48.
O woe! No one has the fervor,
The eyes are blind, and the world is full of sun!49
If you see this, leave your mind,
See Him in everything and lose yourself!
All about divo! - having picked up the hem,
They make excuses and try to escape 50.
70. O, completely hidden in Their appearance,
The whole world is You, no one else is visible.
The soul is hidden in the body, and You are hidden in the soul,
Oh, hidden in the hidden! O soul of the soul!
O One who precedes everything and all,
who sees everything through Himself, and Himself through all 51.

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There are a lot of guards on your roof,
How can a person get to You?
Mind and soul have no path to Your essence,

75. You and the treasure hidden in your soul,
You and the Manifest One in body and soul 52.
No soul knows what You are,
The prophets lay their lives on the dust of the way to You 53.
Even though the mind knows of Your existence,
how can it comprehend Your essence?!
Because You are eternally perfect in being,
You've completely tied everyone's hands.
O Thou who art both within the soul and without the soul,
Whatever I say [about You], it is both untrue and
true 54.
80. The mind is exhausted before Your threshold,
The thread of understanding disappears on the way to You.
Through You I see the whole world firsthand,
But I don't see any sign of You.
Everyone carries the signs of You,
But You have no signs, O Knower of secrets!
Although the firmament has opened many eyes,
I didn't see a speck of dust in Your path.
And the Earth never saw the dust of Your [path],
Though I covered my head with dust, suffering for You.
85. The sun, longing for You, went mad:
He smears mud on his face every night.
The moon is melting because of You,
Every month, he casts his shield in confusion.
The sea is seething with longing for You
[And] comes back with a wet hem and dry lips.
The mountain is blocked by hundreds of gorges,
It's stuck in clay up to your waist 56.
The fire, longing for You, ignited,
Raised his head, stepping on the fire 57.
90. Wind without You came to confusion,
The wind is in his hands and the wind is under his feet 58.
The water has dried up its liver without You,
And her radiance has completely faded from longing for You 59.
The dust of the earth is at your doorstep
He fell to the ground with dust on his head 60.
What should I say?! - You don't come in properties.
What should I do?! I don't have the Knowledge.
If you, O heart, seek [the Way], go!
Look back and forth, and walk meaningfully 61.
95. See the travelers who have come to the Palace.
They all came together one after the other.
In each particle - a new palace,
From each particle to It a new road.

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How do I know which way to go?,
And what path leads to that palace?!
When you seek It in the manifest, It is hidden,
When you seek Him in the hidden, He is revealed.
If you seek Him in the hidden, He is revealed
; If you seek Him in the revealed, He is hidden.
100. You look for it in both, but It is out of the categories 62,
Neither of them has It.
You haven't lost anything, so don't look for anything,
Whatever you say is all wrong, so don't say anything.
What you say and what you know is you.
Recognize yourself, it is you a hundredfold.
Know Him through Him, not through yourself,
The path to It comes from It, not from the mind.
Its properties are indescribable,
Beyond the power of either the brave or the timid.
105. Weakness therefore became the foster brother of knowledge,
That It is neither in its interpretation nor in its properties.
The creature's fate is speculation about It, no more,
Stories about Him are empty talk, no more than 63.
No matter how much they say good or bad
, whatever they say about Him, they say about themselves.
It is beyond knowledge and beyond the visible,
Because in His holiness He has no marks.
No one has found a sign of It other than the absence of signs,
No one found any other way out but to give up their soul..
2. Neither those who have preserved themselves nor those who have rejected them -
No one has a share from them " except those who..."65
Every particle in the two worlds is just your imagination,
Everything you know is not God. Here it is, your understanding!
No matter where He is, He is nobody's,
Will the soul of a person reach the place where He is!?
By a hundred thousand frets He is higher than the soul,
No matter what I say, He's above it.
The mind is in turmoil from longing for Him,
The Soul bites its fingers from helplessness.
115. There is no way for the mind to enter the treasury of connecting with It,
Knowledge also has no knowledge of Its secret.
What is the soul that is weary in its labors?
[What is] a heart that suffers and bleeds?
No more analogies, O knower of Truth!
After all, analogies are not suitable for someone Who is out of categories 66.
Before His splendor, the mind and soul are like decrepit old men:
The mind is in turmoil, the soul in a daze.
Because none of the messengers and prophets have
There is no trace of [Him who is] "All in all",
120. Everyone was exhausted and fell on their faces in the dust,
Exclaiming,"We never knew You!" 67

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comments

1 This title is found in most manuscripts.

2 3emlya (hack) - see: Introduction.

3 The throne, or 'Arsh, is the highest sphere of heaven surrounding the Earth, the throne of God mentioned in the Qur'an: "... and His throne was on the water to test you, which of you is better in business" (Qur'an 11: 7) (see also: [Ibn ' Arabi, 1995, p. 92]). In the second half-verse, Kazem Desfoulian, the publisher of ['Attar, 1381/2002], sees a hint of the fragility and transience of human life.

4 In height and power - in the original one word zabardasti, i.e. "power, greatness", as well as" higher position " in the literal and figurative sense. Humility-pasti, "humble, lowly position" in the literal and figurative sense.

5 To the first, he granted unceasing motion - the firmament appeared to be in constant rotation.

6 Allusion to the Qur'an: "He created the heavens without any support for you to see, and threw them on the earth that stood firm, so that it would not shake with you..." (Qur'an 31:9 (10)).

7 The creation of six days is repeatedly mentioned in the Qur'an. For example, in the following verse: "Verily, your Lord is Allah, who created the heavens and the earth in six days, and then established Himself on the Throne. It shuts out the day at night, which is constantly moving behind it... And the sun, and the moon, and the stars, subject to His authority " (Qur'an 7: 52 (54); see also: Qur'an 57:4; 10:3; 11:9(7); 32:3(4); 50:37(38); 50: 7(4)).

According to medieval Muslim cosmogony, the Earth is surrounded by nine arches - the heavenly spheres. The first seven of them contain the orbits of seven stars( or seven planets): the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. On the eighth sphere, the "sphere of the fixed stars," are the zodiacal constellations. The last ninth sphere is the sky of heavens (falak al-aflak) or ' Arsh (see note 2).

The two letters (du harf) are the letters "kaf" and "nun", which make up the word kip ("be"), with which the universe was created: "His command when He wants something is only to say to him "Be" and it happens " (Quran 36: 82).

8 The golden box - a metaphor for the Sun: the stars disappear in the glare of the Sun, as if in a golden box (huqqa) shaped like a bowl. Star stones are a primitive comparison: stars are like"pebbles" -checkers for playing backgammon or for gambling, similar to a game of thimble, when the pebbles appear and disappear under the bowl. This image appears repeatedly in 'Attar.

9 To the bird of the soul he put earth on its tail. In beit, metaphors are actualized: "soul is a bird", "body is a trap for the soul bird" and at the same time"body is earth". The meaning of Beit: the soul-bird languishes in the trap of the body; the body created from the earth is subject to change, it does not allow the soul to fly to its spiritual homeland.

10 Lips (lab) - the image is based on the double meaning of the word lab: "shore" and "lips".

Yakhont-according to legend, the gem is born from a simple stone under the influence of the sun; blood musk was extracted from the blood located in the" navel " (nafa) of the musk deer, i.e. the sac located near the pancreas.

"The spirit in its pure form, as directed by the commentator of the text, M. R. S. Kadkani, refers here to Gibreel (Bibl. the Archangel Gabriel), who appeared to Miriam (Mary, the Mother of Jesus) in human form. "... We sent Our spirit to her, and he took the form of a perfect man before her " (Quran 19:17).

He did all this for the sake of a handful of dust - the tradition that the material world was created for the sake of man will be reflected in Ibn 'Arabi:" This world became a fiefdom prepared for man, which ensured the existence of the foundations [of his being] "[Ibn ' Arabi, 1995, p. 103].

12 To the mountain he gave both the sword and the girdle, for the mountain is like a warrior girded up and holding the sword high. In the original, the second meanings of the words tig (sword) and katag (belt) are played out - respectively, "top" and" girth " of the mountain.

13 He planted flowers in the midst of the flames , an allusion to the story of the Prophet Ibrahim. According to legend, the wicked King Namrud ordered Ibrahim to be thrown into the fire for refusing to worship idols, but God not only ordered the fire to "become coolness and peace for Ibrahim" (Qur'an 21:69), but also erected a throne for him in the middle of the flames, and around the throne grew daffodils and fragrant herbs [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 52].

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He built a bridge in the middle of the sea an allusion to the Qur'anic story of the Jews crossing the Red Sea (Qur'an, Sura 26).

14 He sent a gnat on the head of the enemy-an allusion to the near-Koranic tradition about how God punished King Namrud, who refused to recognize the most high God, being sure of his great power. The Lord sent an army of mosquitoes against him, and gradually they became so numerous that Namrud ordered a copper house to be built for himself with a single tiny hole for breathing. A mosquito entered through this hole and entered Namrood's brain. Unable to withstand the torment, he ordered to beat himself on the head with maces to drown out the pain. In the end, Namrud's hated subjects struck him so hard that his head split in half and he died (see [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 58]).

The 15th head of the world was given refuge in it-an allusion to the well-known legend about how Muhammad and Abu Bakr took refuge in a cave from their pursuers and, by the will of Allah, a spider covered the entrance to the cave with a web, so that the pursuers did not look for them there [Ibnhisham, 2003, p.210].

16 He set it before Sulaiman , an allusion to the Qur'anic story of the ant and Sulaiman: "And when they came to the valley of the ants, one of the ants said,' O ants, enter your dwelling, and do not let Sulaiman and his troops trample you down without noticing it.' He smiled, laughing at her words, and said: "O my Lord, make me grateful for Your mercy that You have sent down upon me and my parents, and that I may do the good that pleases You, and make me by Your mercy one of Your righteous servants" (Quran 27:18-19). In the near-Koranic traditions, this scene is developed into a long dialogue "on equal terms" [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 288 et seq.]. 'Attar often refers to this image (see, for example, in Ilakhinam, Conversation 2, story 3: "About Sulaiman and the Ant" [Lahuti, 2006, p. 22]).

17 Dress of the descendants of Abbas-Black was the official color of the Abbasids of the Second Dynasty of Arab Caliphs (750-1258).

"Ta " and" Sin "are the letters that begin Surah "Ants" (Qur'an 27), and these same letters form the word N as "bowl", "pit". Here, as Shafi'i Kadkani points out, nas means Nas-i lagzanda - a slippery pit-crater that the ant lion, or rather its larva, digs while hunting ants. Thus, the second half-verse can be translated as "without torment in the pit" and at the same time "without difficulty [of studying Surah "Ants" beginning with the letters] "ta sin"".

18 When Jesus and g o l k u saw it, this is an allusion to the well - known tradition that when Jesus ascended to heaven, an earthly object was found in his possession - a needle. This did not allow him to go higher, and since then he has been in the fourth heaven.

19 The sword of the mountain is stained with the blood of tulips-a continuation of the comparison of the mountain with the warrior (see Beit 13): the top of the mountain covered with scarlet tulips is compared with a bloody sword (the double meaning of the word tig is played out - "mountain top" and "sword").

Azure flower garden created from smoke. Azure flower garden-a metaphor for the firmament. According to the Qur'an, the heavens are made of smoke: "Then He ascended to the heavens ( which were smoke) and said to them and to the earth:' Come willingly or unwillingly!" And they said, 'We come willingly '" (Quran 41: 11).

20 External plan of comparison: scarlet rubies - blood of the earth. The inner one is based on the metaphor "man - earth": blood symbolizes suffering, after passing through which a person obtains spiritual treasures ("rubies and yakhonts"). This image is developed by Jalal al-Din Rumi in the fourth daftar of the "Spiritual Masnavi" [Rumi Jalal al-Din, 2010, b. 1007 et seq.]. "The earth is filled with the blood of innocent victims, "Attar writes in another Masnavi, Ilahi - nam, which refers to Siavush, a young prince who suffered innocently at the hands of slanderers. "Look closely, if you have a mind, / and you will see in every grain of the earth a hundredfold the blood of Siavush" ['Attar, 1339/1960, ch. 16, story 2].

21 Allusion to the Qur'an: "Have you not seen that Allah is worshipped by all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth: the sun, the moon, the stars, the mountains, the trees, the animals, and many people..." (Qur'an 22:18).

22 Signs on their faces. In Orig. simayi-approximately "marked with a sign" (from sima - "sign, sign visible on the face"). An allusion to the Qur'an, where the word sima is used in this sense: "Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, and those who are with him are fierce against the disbelievers, merciful among themselves. You see them kneeling, prostrating. They seek mercy and favor from Allah. Their signs are on their faces from the prostration marks " (Qur'an

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48:29). Signs here mean marks on the forehead of a righteous person who constantly falls to the ground or to a special piece of clay during prayer: "spots" or "signs" on the faces of the Sun and Moon are explained as traces of worship. Kadkani refers to the saying "The mark of Islam disappears from the face of one who ignores the common prayer." Kazem Desfoulian means by the" marking " of the Moon and Sun their radiance (oral report) ['Attar, 1381/2002].

23 Will open, squeeze-literally, "from its opening" and "from its compression". In Beit, important Sufi concepts are played out that denote the constantly changing inner states of a mystic: when "opening" (bast), the human heart receives spiritual joy, and "compression" (kabz) is a state of fear and tightness of the heart [Sadjadi, 1373/1994, cf. art.qabz].

24 He made a golden necklace for the parrot - the bright plumage on the parrot's neck is compared to a golden necklace. The hoopoe was made a messenger of the way, referring to the Qur'anic account of how the hoopoe brought the Prophet Sulaiman news of the kingdom of Saba, which is ruled by a certain woman: "She and her people worship the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has decorated their deeds for them and turned them away from the path, and they do not go straight" (Qur'an 27:20-45). In the near-Koranic traditions (see, for example, [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, pp. 294-308]), the name of the queen is Bilkis or Balkis (Bibl. the Queen of Sheba). At the same time, there is a hint of a future story about the birds ' journey to Simurg under the leadership of hoopoe.

25 The bird of the firmament (murg-i gardun ) is a traditional metaphor for the sun. But it is also possible to compare the rotating ("flying") firmament with a bird (cf. b. 35, where the firmament is compared with a foal). The meaning of Bayt is the infinite striving of all things to know God.

26 The night takes away, the day brings [and] gives daily bread allusion to the Qur'an (Qur'an 3: 26 (27)): "You bring night into day, and You bring day into night, and You bring the living out of the dead, and you bring the dead out of the living, and you feed whomever you will, without counting!"

27 When he breathes his breath into the clay, he creates Adam - see note to b. 1. " And, behold, your Lord said to the angels: "I will create man out of sounding clay clothed in form. And when I level you up and breathe in My spirit, then fall down and worship him" (Qur'an 28: 29). According to near-Koranic traditions, by the command of Allah, the earth was mixed with rainwater, "and then He created Adam as He wanted and knew. By His omnipotence, He shaped it and left it without a soul for forty years between Makkah and Ta'if...> After forty years, He commanded that a soul should enter Adam" [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 8]. From foam and smoke creates the whole world-about the creation of the heavens from smoke, see also note to b. 20. In "Qisas al-Anbiyya" instead of smoke (dud), steam (buxar) is mentioned: "When the Supreme True God wanted to create the Earth and the sky, He created substance( jawhar), and it remained it is 70 thousand years old, until the Most High Lord looked at it with a look of terror, and it became water, and for 70 thousand years it shook in fear of the Most High Sovereign and never calmed down, and it will not rest until the Day of Judgment. And at the end of seventy thousand years He sent fire upon the water, and the water boiled and foamed. From this foam [He] created the Earth, and from the vapor above this water He created the sky" [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 3].

28 Then the dog opens the way to the Throne-an allusion to the Koranic story of the" seven young men of Ephesus", Christians who took refuge in a cave from the persecution of the emperor Decius (Daqiyanus; Decius) (249-251), who fancied himself a God and demanded to be worshipped. According to the Christian tradition, which has become Muslim, they fell asleep and woke up three hundred years later, when Christianity had already won. According to the Qur'an, a dog was sleeping with them in the cave, which "stretched its paws on the threshold" (Qur'an 18: 18). According to near-koranic legends, this dog was turned into a human upon awakening.

Tho sends a cat to instruct [people] - according to Kadkani's commentary, this is a reference to the near-koranic story of a cat that attacked the Emperor Decius and scratched him, thus proving that he is not a God. According to P. Avery, this is either an indication of one of the close associates of the Prophet - 'Abd Allah, or' Abd ar-Rahman, nicknamed Abu Hurayrah (lit. "Father of kittens"), who used to sit in the presence of the Prophet with a kitten on his shoulder or on his head, or an allusion to the cats of Sufi sheikhs (Avery, 1998, p.426). According to oral tradition, this dog and cat are one of the few animals that have entered paradise.

29 Tablecloth of the sky (xwan-i falak) - the sky is compared to a tablecloth or a low table on which a treat is placed.

30 Then gives the staff [power] Sulaiman - an allusion to the story of how Sulaiman, after his death, remained sitting, leaning on his staff. During the year, no one reported his death

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He did not know, except for the wise minister Assaf, who continued to rule in his name. Within a year, the worm ate out the core of the staff, Sulaiman fell, and the truth was revealed [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 309]. "But when We condemned him to death, only the animal of the earth that ate the staff pointed out his death. And when he fell, the jinn realized that if they had known what was hidden, they would not have been in a humiliating punishment " (Quran 34: 14).

31 That gives the ant the knowledge of the ells - see note to b. 18.

32 From the staff reveals a serpent-an allusion to one of the two miraculous signs that the Prophet Musa (Bybl. Moses) proved the truth of the belief in the One God: "And he threw down his rod, and, behold, it was clearly a serpent" (Qur'an 7: 107).

And from the furnace comes the deluge, a reference to the Quranic version of the story of the Deluge: "And when Our command came and the furnace began to boil, We said,' Bring into it two or two of all, and your family, except those who were preceded by the word, and those who believed.' But they disbelieved with him, except for a few " (Qur'an 11:40). According to the near-Koranic tradition, God informed Nuh in advance (Bibl. Noah), that the sign of the beginning of the flood will be water gushing out of the furnace (Nishapuri, 1340/1961, p. 36).

33 Horseshoe, [abandoned] into the fire-the visual image is combined with a metaphor: the shining moon resembles a horseshoe thrown into the fire; and the phraseology "horseshoe in the fire" means an extreme degree of fervor and impatience in achieving the goal [Dikhkhuda, 1993-1994, el. art. "pa'l"]. Thus, the incessant rotation of the firmament is likened to the running of a dashing colt.

34 Shows a camel made of stone , a reference to the Qur'anic account of the camel of Salih ("The Thamudites denied the messengers. When their brother Salih spoke to them, : "Will you not fear God?" < ... > They said: "You're only one of the charmed ones. You are only a human being, like us; so bring a sign, if you are truthful." He said, "This is a she-camel; for her is a drink, and for you is a drink on a certain day" (Quran 26: 141, 142, 153-155). According to an apocryphal legend, this sign was supposed to be "a camel covered with wool, with a 10-month-old fetus in her womb." Looking at a nearby mountain, the Thamudites "saw that it seemed to move and had a camel in its belly. The mountain shook and split, and a camel came out of it - just as they wanted" ['Attar, 1383/2004, resp. However, they did not believe Salih and killed the camel: "And they denied him and cut her off, and their Lord destroyed them for their transgression and equalized it, not fearing the consequences of it" (Quran 91: 14-15).

Shows the golden calf moaning in sorrow - the biblical story of the golden calf, which the people of Israel began to worship in the desert, until Musa (Bib. Moses) Conversed with God on Mount Sinai, reflected in the Koran: "[Remember,] How We took an oath from you and raised up Mount Sinai before you and said, " Hold fast to what We have given you, and listen." They answered: "We have heard and we refuse to obey." Because of their disbelief, their hearts were filled with love for the calf " [Quran, 1995, 2: 93]. In the near-Koranic traditions, its gaps are filled, as always, with bizarre details: a Samaritan, a relative and disciple of Musa, in his absence, seduced the Israelites with the promise of showing them the Lord; he persuaded the people to give up all their gold ornaments, extracted precious stones from them, and melted the gold and mixed it with the earth (haq), which he collected from"under the hooves of Gibreel's horse." From this mixture, he made a calf, hollow inside, which made a sound like the lowing of a cow. When the people saw this, they took him for their deity and worshipped the calf. When Musa returned and saw all this, he broke in anger the tablets that he had brought from Mount Sinai, drove the Samaritan into the desert, and split the calf and threw its fragments into the sea [Nishapuri, 1340/1961, pp. 213-221].

35 Nisar-coins or precious stones thrown as a sign of greeting to a high-ranking person, as well as at celebrations - weddings, etc.

36 If someone hides a spear in blood, / He fills the bud's spear with blood-a possible interpretation: every secret murder will be revealed. If a person sheds blood, then in the spring this blood will become apparent when the spear-shaped buds open. There may be an allusion to the flower that grew on the spot where the blood of the innocently killed Siavush was shed (Firdousi, 1994, p. 250). Desfoulian interpretation: if people "hide" the spear by covering it with blood, then God, on the contrary, "hides" the blood inside the bud of a red flower ['Attar, 1381/2002].

37 Predestination (taqdir) - " there is a measure and determination (ta'uin) of the fate and predestination of a thing.<...> People do not affect the predestined in any way, but the predestined is in everything.-

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It is said that the Lord predestined the nature and properties of all things and knew their measure from the beginning, and this is the meaning of the Lord's Predestination; and it is said that the Lord knew and willed all things from the beginning, and this is the meaning of the Lord's Predestination "[Sadjadi, 1373/1994, cf. taqdir]. Blue is the color of mourning.

38 Eight raswas (hast xuld) and seven hells - that is how many designations for heaven and hell, respectively, are found in the Qur'an. Hence the idea of the eight paradises, or gardens of paradise, and the seven hells, or rather, the seven gates of hell.

39 Particle - in orig.zarra - also "atom","speck of dust".

40 Wind, earth, fire, and blood In Beit, four primary elements are listed, with water replaced by another liquid - blood.

41 He made our dust clay in forty mornings - an allusion to a well-known saying: "Forty mornings I made Adam's clay with my own hands," which some consider a hadith. k b. 28.

42 Spiritual vision - in the original did-i bipaui. In ' Attarapaui - insight, the ability to see the divine world of spiritual truths. Kadkani sees here a reference to the saying of the Khorasan Sheikh Abu'l-Hasan Nuri (d. 295/917): "When God created the mind, He placed it before his throne and asked: My mind was in turmoil. Then God put the antimony of the light of His oneness into the eyes of the mind and asked, " Who am I?" Then the mind said: "You are God, and there is no god but You." So there was no way for the mind to [know] God, except through Him."

43 He made the mountain the nail of the earth-cf.: "Then the Lord, the Most High and Glorious, made the mountains with His might to hold the earth."...> As it is written: "And the mountains are pillars" (Qur'an 78: 7) " [And He] said: "I made mountains with the nails of the earth."

44 Heaven and earth dictionary meaning of the phrase ' ars-u-fars. 'Ars-' Arsh, the Throne [of God] (see note. k b. 2), fars-carpet [of land].

45 Throne on water-a reference to (Qur'an 11: 7) " ... and His throne was on water...".

46 Talisman-in Orig. tilism, a word borrowed from the Greek: talisman (it can sometimes be a ghostly image), guarding the treasure.

47 Having properties (muttasif) - a reflection of disputes about the essence and attributes of God.

48 Cross-eyed (ahval) 'Attar calls people who are not able to see everything in unity. The people of deceleration (mard-i mu'attal) are deists.

49 Fervor (tab) - other values: "radiance", "diligence".

50 All < ... > give excuses and try to escape - this idea will be developed later in the chapters about the "apologies of birds" who do not dare to fly in search of the Simurgh and refer to various reasons.

51 Wed. beit 49.

52 You and the treasure hidden in the soul-a reference to the famous hadith "I was a hidden treasure and I wanted to be known, so I created the world."

53 Omens - in the original, nisan - "sign", "sign", "sign".

54 This is both untrue and true-literally. "You are not this, and You are this."

55 Metaphor of remoteness, unreachability.

56 Getting stuck in clay-the literal meaning of the phraseological unit dar gil mandan is updated - "to get into a difficult situation", "to be at a loss and confused".

57 Verses 89-90 list the four primary elements that make up the material world: fire, wind (air), water, and earth, and play around with the direct and figurative meanings of these words.

Stepping on the fire-in the original pay bar atas (literally, "feet on fire") - a phraseological unit denoting extreme haste and impatience.

58 In his hand is the wind, and under his feet is the wind - in the original phraseological units bad dar kaf ("wind in the hand") - "left with nothing" and bad-payma ("measuring wind") "engaged in an impossible task", as well as"fleet-footed".

59 The liver has dried up-in the original: "there is no water left in the liver" - a phraseological unit with the meaning "to be a beggar", "to need something". Radiance -in the original: ab ("water"), as well as "shine", "radiance", "glory".

60 In Beit, the word haq is repeated three times: in the direct meaning of "earth", "dust", in the metaphysical meaning of "earth" as the primary element; in the adjective xaksar letters. "zapy-

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lenny", in the figurative meaning of "humble", as well as in the phraseology hak bar sar "[sprinkled] the head with dust" with the meaning of "unhappy", "sorrowful".

61 Look back and forth, and walk meaningfully - the need for caution when traversing the spiritual path is repeatedly emphasized by the ' Attar. See, for example, ch. 2, story 4, b. 1089 et seq. (for translation, see [Lahuti, 2006, p. 22]).

62 Out of categories - in orig. bi sip-letters. "without " how": dictionary meaning "peerless"," incomparable", philosophical meaning: "outside the category of quality", the one to whom we do not apply the question "how?". Commenting on this bayt, Kazem Dezfulian refers to the hadith "The people of analogies sought knowledge through analogies, but did not grow in the truth until the faith of God guided them" ['Attar, 1381/2002, p. 277]. Cf. also b.117.

63 Assumptions. In orig. xiyal - representation, imagination, fantasy, dream.

64 Give your soul-jan fisani, same turn as in beit 76.

65 Neither self-preserving nor self-renouncing in the original "dar xudi "and" [dar] bixudi": this refers to the two spiritual states of the traveler: one that retains some of its properties, its own self, and one that has completely renounced itself, having reached the state of fana - annihilation in God.

"Except for those who" - Arabic. - commentators interpret it differently. Dezfoulian points out that such a phrase is often found in the Qur'an, and Kadkani believes that the interpretation here is deliberately left to the discretion of the reader.

66 Analogies-in the original qiyas - judgment by analogy, the leading principle of realistic research of legal issues, one of the sources of Fiqh (usul al-fikh). Outside of categories-see note to b. 100.

67 We have never known You (Arab, ma ' arafnaka) - according to Kadkani's commentary, a reference to a well-known Arabic saying (and according to the Shiite tradition, the words of the Prophet Muhammad) (see: [Majlisi, 1409, p. 292]). "Ma' arafnaka haqq ma'rifatika " (Arabic."We have not known You with true knowledge." According to the biography of Jalal al-Din Rumi, it was to these words of the prophet that Shams Tabrizi appealed at their famous meeting: "It happened that Rumi, accompanied by mullahs and disciples, was passing by the inn where Shamsaddin was staying. When Shams saw him, he went out to meet him, took his mule by the bridle, and asked: "O Imam of the Muslims! Rumi was struck by the audacity of this question and, as he later recalled, it seemed to him:" All the seven heavens collapsed one by one to the ground, and the fire that flared up inside me burned my brain from the inside, and it smoked, and the seven heavens fell to the ground, and the seven heavens fell to the ground, and the seven heavens fell to the ground, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth, and the seven heavens fell to the earth." this smoke has gone up to the throne of God." However, Rumi overcame himself and answered the impudent dervish: "The Messenger of Allah-Muhammad - is the Most Holy, above all creatures of the earth. Abu Yazid is out of the question here." Shams continued: "Then why did the Messenger say that he did not know God in a proper way, while Abu Yazid said:' I praise myself, O how great I am! I am a sultan over sultans' "" (cit. by: [Averyanov, 2001]).

list of literature

'Attar Mantik at-tair / Ed., input., note. Muhammad Riza Shafi'i Kadkani. Tehran, 1383/2004.

'Attar F. Ilahi-nama-i Shaikh Farid ad-Din ' Attar-i Nishapuri / Ed., introduction, note. Fu'ad Rouhani. Tehran, 1339/1960.

'Attar F. Mantik al-tayr / Ed., preface, commentary by K. Dezfulian. Tehran, 1381/2002.

Avery P. The Speech of the Birds, concerning Migrration to the Real, The Mantiqu't Tair. Cambridge, 1998.

Averyanov Yu. "The Sun of Faith" by Jslalddin Rumi / / Eastern collection. 2000. № 1 (4).

Dikhuda ' Ali Akbar. Lugat-nama. In 14 vols. / Ed. by M. Mu'in and J. Shahidi. Tehran, 1993-1994.

Ibn Arabi. Meccan Revelations (al Futuhat al-Makkiyah) / Introduction, translated from Arabic, notes and bibliography by A.D. Knysh. St. Petersburg: Center for "Petersburg Oriental Studies", 1995.

Ibn Hisham. Life of the Prophet Muhammad / Translated by N. A. Gainullina, Moscow: Publishing House "Umma", 2003.

Koran / Translated and commented by I. Y. Krachkovsky, Moscow, 1986.

Lahuti L. G. Ilakhi-nams - "The Divine Book" by Farid al-Din Attar (XII-XIII centuries). 2006. № 1(9)

Majlisi Muhammad Bakir. Bihar al-anwar, vol. 66. Beirut: Muassasa al-wafa, 1409 AD.

Nishapuri Abu Ishaq. Kisas al-anbiyya (Dastanha-i paigambaran) / Ed. by X. Yagmai. Tehran, 1340/1961.

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Rumi Jalal ad-Din Muhammad. Masnavi-yi Ma'navi (A poem about the hidden meaning). The Fourth Daftar / Translated from Persian, and commented by L. G. Lahuti, N. I. Prigarina, M. A. Rusanov, N. Yu. Chalisova; Nauch. Eshots, St. Petersburg: Peterburgskoe vostokovedenie, 2010.

Sadjadi S. J. Farhang-e ma'arif-e islami. Tehran, 1373/1994.

Ferdowsi. Shahname, vol. 3 / Translated by Ts. B. Banu-Lahuti, Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1994.

Schimmsl, A. The World of Islamic Mysticism. Translated from English by N. I. Prigarina and A. S. Rapoport, Moscow: Alstsya; Enigma, 1999.

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