File:Kamalolmolk & Attar Neyshabur - panoramio.jpg

Kamalolmolk & Attar Neyshabur

Abū Hamīd bin Abū Bakr Ibrāhīm (Persian: ابو حمید ابن ابوبکر ابراهیم) (born 1145-46 in Nishapur Iran – died c. 1221), much better known by his pen-names Farīd ud-Dīn (فریدالدین) and ‘Attār (عطار - the pharmacist), was a Persian Muslim poet, theoretician of Sufism, and hagiographer from Nīshāpūr who left an everlasting influence on Persian poetry and Sufism. Information about Attar's life is rare. He is mentioned by only two of his contemporaries, Awfi and Tusi. However, all sources confirm that he was from Nishapur, a major city of medieval Khorasan (now located in the northeast of Iran), and according toAwfi, he was a poet of the Seljuq period. It seems that he was not well known as a poet in his own lifetime, except at his home town, and his greatness as a mystic, a poet, and a master of narrative was not discovered until the 15th century Attar was probably the son of a prosperous chemist, receiving an excellent education in various fields. While his works say little else about his life, they tell us that he practiced the profession of pharmacy and personally attended to a very large number of customers.[1] The people he helped in the pharmacy used to confide their troubles in `Attar and this affected him deeply. Eventually, he abandoned his pharmacy store and traveled widely - to Baghdad, Basra, Kufa, Mecca, Medina, Damascus, Khwarizm, Turkistan, and India, meeting with Sufi Shaykhs - and returned promoting Sufi ideas.[2] Attar's initiation into Sufi practices is subject to much speculation and fabrication. Of all the famous Sufi Shaykhs supposed to have been his teachers, only one - Majd ud-Din Baghdadi - comes within the bounds of possibility. The only certainty in this regard isAttar's own statement that he once met him.[3] In any case it can be taken for granted that from childhood onward `Attar, encouraged by his father, was interested in the Sufis and their sayings and way of life, and regarded their saints as his spiritual guides.[4] `Attar reached an age of over 70 and died a violent death in the massacre which the Mongols inflicted on Nishabur in April 1221.[1] Today, his mausoleum is located in Nishapur. It was built by Ali-Shir Nava'i in the 16th century. The thought-world depicted in Attar's works reflects the whole evolution of the Sufi movement. The starting point is the idea that the body-bound soul's awaited release and return to its source in the other world can be experienced during the present life in mystic union attainable through inward purification.[5] In explaining his thoughts, 'Attar uses material not only from specifically Sufi sources but also from older ascetic legacies. Although his heroes are for the most part Sufis and ascetics, he also introduces stories from historical chronicles, collections of anecdotes, and all types of high-esteemed literature.[1] His talent for perception of deeper meanings behind outward appearances enables him to turn details of everyday life into illustrations of his thoughts. The idiosyncrasy ofAttar's presentations invalidates his works as sources for study of the historical persons whom he introduces. As sources on the hagiology and phenomenology of Sufism, however, his works have immense value. Judging from `Attar's writings, he viewed the ancient Aristotelian heritage with skepticism and dislike.[6][7] Interestingly, he did not want to uncover the secrets of nature. This is particularly remarkable in the case of medicine, which fell within the scope of his profession. He obviously had no motive for showing off his secular knowledge in the manner customary among court panegyrists, whose type of poetry he despised and never practiced. Such knowledge is only brought into his works in contexts where the theme of a story touches on a branch of natural science. `Attar speaks of his own poetry in various contexts including the epilogues of his long narrative poems. He confirms the guess likely to be made by every reader that he possessed an inexhaustible fund of thematic and verbal inspiration. He writes that when he composed his poems, more ideas came into his mind than he could possibly use.[8] He also states that the effort of poetical composition threw him into a state of trance in which he could not sleep.[9] Like his contemporary Khaqani, `Attar was not only convinced that his poetry had far surpassed all previous poetry, but that it was to be intrinsically unsurpassable at any time in the future, seeing himself as the "seal of the poets" and his poetry as the "seal of speech. The question whether all the works that have been ascribed to him are really from his pen, has not been solved. This is due to two facts that have been observed in his works:[1] There are considerable differences of style among these works. Some of them indicate a Sunnite, and others a Shia, allegiance of the author. Classification of the various works by these two criteria yields virtually identical results. The German orientalist Hellmut Ritter at first thought that the problem could be explained by a spiritual evolution of the poet. He distinguished three phases of `Attar's creativity: Works in which mysticism is in perfect balance with a finished, story-teller's art. Works in which a pantheistic zeal gains the upper hand over literary interest. Works in which the aging poet idolizes Imam Ali ibn Abu Talib while there is no trace of ordered thoughts and descriptive skills.[2] Ritter surmised that the last phase, that of old age, was coincidental with a conversion to Shi'ism.[11] However, in 1941, the Persian scholar Nafisi was able to prove that the works of the third phase in Ritter's classification were written by another Attar who lived about two hundred and fifty years later at Mashhad and was a native of Tun.[1] Ritter accepted this finding in the main, but doubted whether Nafisi was right in attributing the works of the second group also to thisAttar of Tun. One of Ritter's arguments is that the principal figure in the second group is not Ali, as in the third group, but Hallaj, and that there is nothing in the explicit content of the second group to indicate a Shia allegiance of the author. Another is the important chronological point that a manuscript of the Jawhar al-Dāt, the chief work in the second group, bears the date 735 A.H. (= 1334-35 AD). While `Attar of Tun's authorship of the second group is untenable, Nafisi was certainly right in concluding that the style difference (already observed by Ritter) between the works in the first group and those in the second group is too great to be explained by a spiritual evolution of the author. The authorship of the second group remains an unsolved problem.[1] According to Edward G. Browne, Attar as well as Rumi and Sana'i were all Sunni Muslims and their poetry abound with praise for the first two caliphs Abu Bakr and Umar ibn al-Khattāb[12]. According to Annemarie Schimmel, the tendency among Shia authors to include leading mystical poets such as Rumi and Attar among their own ranks, became stronger after the introduction of Twelver Shia as the state religion in the Safavid Empire in 1501[13]. In the introductions of Mokhtār-Nāma (مختارنامه) and Khosrow-Nāma (خسرونامه), `Attar lists the titles of further products of his pen: "Manteq at-Ṭayr" ("Conference of the Birds") Dīvān (دیوان) Asrār-Nāma (اسرار نامه) Maqāmāt-e Toyūr (= Manteq aṭ-Ṭayr; مقامات الطیور or منطق الطیر) Moṣībat-Nāma (مصیب نامه) Elāhī-Nāma (الهی نامه) Jawāher-Nāma (جواهر نامه) Šarḥ al-Qalb[14] (شرح القلب) He also states, in the introduction of the Mokhtār-Nāma, that he destroyed the Jawāher-Nāma' and the Šarḥ al-Qalb with his own hand. Although the contemporary sources confirm only Attar's authorship of the Dīvān and the Manteq al-Ṭayr, there are no grounds for doubting the authenticity of the Mokhtār-Nāma and Khosrow-Nāma and their prefaces.[1] One work is missing from these lists, namely the Tadhkerat al-Awlīya, which was probably omitted because it is a prose work; its attribution toAttar is scarcely open to question. In its introduction `Attar mentions three other works of his, including one entitled Šarḥ al-Qalb, presumably the same that he destroyed. The nature of the other two, entitled Kašf al-Asrār and Ma'refat al-Nafs, remains unknown. Led by the hoopoe, the birds of the world set forth in search of their king, Simurgh. Their quest takes them through seven valleys in the first of which a hundred difficulties assail them. They undergo many trials as they try to free themselves of what is precious to them and change their state. Once successful and filled with longing, they ask for wine to dull the effects of dogma, belief, and unbelief on their lives. In the second valley, the birds give up reason for love and, with a thousand hearts to sacrifice, continue their quest for discovering the Simurgh. The third valley confounds the birds, especially when they discover that their worldly knowledge has become completely useless and their understanding has become ambivalent. There are different ways of crossing this Valley, and all birds do not fly alike. Understanding can be arrived at variously—some have found the Mihrab, others the idol. The fourth valley is introduced as the valley of detachment, i.e., detachment from desire to possess and the wish to discover. The birds begin to feel that they have become part of a universe that is detached from their physical recognizable reality. In their new world, the planets are as minute as sparks of dust and elephants are not distinguishable from ants. It is not until they enter the fifth valley that they realize that unity and multiplicity are the same. And as they have become entities in a vacuum with no sense of eternity. More importantly, they realize that God is beyond unity, multiplicity, and eternity. Stepping into the sixth valley, the birds become astonished at the beauty of the Beloved. Experiencing extreme sadness and dejection, they feel that they know nothing, understand nothing. They are not even aware of themselves. Only thirty birds reach the abode of the Simurgh. But there is no Simurgh anywhere to see. Simurgh's chamberlain keeps them waiting for Simurgh long enough for the birds to figure out that they themselves are the si (thirty) murgh (bird). The seventh valley is the valley of deprivation, forgetfulness, dumbness, deafness, and death. The present and future lives of the thirty successful birds become shadows chased by the celestial Sun. And themselves, lost in the Sea of His existence, are the Simurgh

Fariduddin Attar (persisch ‏فرید الدین عطار‎ Farīdo d-Dīn ʿAttār [færiːdoˈdːiːn æˈtːɔːr]; * ca. 1136 in Nischapur (Persien); † ca. 1220 oder 3. November 1221) war ein islamischer Mystiker (siehe auch Sufismus) und persischer Poet während der mongolischen Invasion in Persien. Er ist unter den großen klassischen Dichtern Persiens der in Europa am wenigsten bekannte. Seinem radikalen Gottesbild widmet deshalb 2005 der deutsch-iranische Schriftsteller und Islamwissenschaftler Navid Kermani sein Buch Der Schrecken Gottes und vergleicht dessen Revolte gegen das Leid mit dem biblischen Ijob. Bevor er zum Sufismus findet, ist er Besitzer einer Drogerie, daher sein Rufname Attar („der Drogist“). Eine ähnliche oder ergänzende Deutung seines Namens ist, dass er als Arzt tätig war. Auch wenn seine Werke im Westen nicht sehr bekannt sind, so nimmt Attars Dichtung über Jahrhunderte hinweg Einfluss auf einige Mystiker sowohl östlicher als auch westlicher Herkunft. Außerdem gilt er als einer der wichtigsten Figuren des Sufismus. Er wirft ein neues Licht auf die Lehre, indem er wie niemand vor ihm den Pfad (Tariqa) mit der Kunst eines Geschichtenerzählers beschreibt. Eines der berühmtesten seiner 114 Werke ist das Mantiq ut-tair („Die Vogelgespräche“). Dieses Epos berichtet von tausend Vögeln, die eine Reise durch sieben Täler zum Vogelkönig, dem Simurgh, unternehmen. Eine gefährliche und schwere Reise, bei der lediglich nur dreißig der Vögel es ins letzte Tal schaffen. Dort erkennen die Vögel im König ihre eigene Identität; Attar benutzt hier ein Wortspiel, denn der Name des Vogelkönigs bedeutet simurgh, dies ist eine Sagengestalt, vermutlich der Phönix. Wenn man den Namen aber si murgh schreibt, wird hieraus „dreißig Vögel“. Eine französische Teilübersetzung dieses Werks wird im Jahr 1653 in Lüttich veröffentlicht. 1678 wird es ins Lateinische übertragen. Hadayatullah Hübsch hat aus dem Stoff ein Hörspiel gemacht. Jorge Luis Borges verwies in seinen Schriften gelegentlich auf das Werk, insbesondere in seiner vermeintlichen Besprechung des fiktiven Buches Der Weg zu Al-Mutasim. Attars Werk Tadhkirat al-auliya ist eine Sammlung von Heiligenlegenden, deren Erzählungen alle späteren Generationen an Sufis tief beeinflusst. Sie beinhaltet auch eine Biographie des berühmten Mystikers al-Halladsch, die das Bild dieses Märtyrers in der späteren persischen, türkischen und indischen Poesie stark prägt.[1] Weitere bekannte Werke Attars sind Ilahiname, in dem ein König seine sechs Söhne von weltlichen Begierden abzuhalten versucht, und Musibatname („Das Buch der Leiden“), das von Erlebnissen in einer vierzig Tage dauernden Klausur (siehe auch Tekke) berichtet. Der berühmte Sufi Dschalal ad-Din Rumi, der Attar in jungen Jahren begegnet, wird von diesem in seine Lehren eingeweiht. Dabei bezeichnet er später Attar als seine eigene Seele; und er bekennt, dass er alles, was er über die Wahrheit sagt, von Attar gelernt hat. Außerdem urteilt er über ihn: „Attar durchquerte die sieben Städte der Liebe, wir sind nur bis zur nächsten Straßenecke gekommen.“[2] Selbst der Tod Attars klingt wie eine Lehrgeschichte des Sufismus, weswegen eher vermutet wird, dass es sich dabei um eine Legende handelt: Als er während des Mongolensturms im 13. Jahrhundert gefangengenommen wird, bietet jemand 1000 Silberstücke für ihn. Attar rät aber seinem mongolischen „Besitzer“, nicht auf den Handel einzugehen, da der Preis nicht stimme. Der Mongole beherzigt dies und verkauft ihn nicht. Später kommt ein weiterer Mann und bietet einen Sack Stroh für Attar, der diesmal sagt, dass das genau sein Preis sei, denn mehr sei er nicht wert. Als der Mongole dies hört, gerät er in Wut und schlägt ihm den Kopf ab.

Attar naskiĝis ĉe Nejŝaburo en Ĥorasano, kaj verŝajne lia patro estis farmaciisto. La nomo "Attar" mem signifas "farmaciisto", kaj Attar laboris en tiu profesio. Multaj homoj petis liajn konsilojn, kaj konfidis al li siajn problemojn, kaj tio profunde tuŝis lin. Fine li forlasis sian apotekon kaj vojaĝis al aliajn landojn, kie li renkontis sufismajn ŝejkojn. Reveninte, li forte subtenis sufismajn konceptojn. Li mortis aprile de 1221 dum masakro fare de mongoloj. Dum la 16-a jarcento memore al li konstruiĝis maŭzoleo en Nejŝaburo. Attar mem diris ke li estas flua poeto en kies menson alvenas pli da ideoj ol li povus uzi. Tamen ne tute certas ke Attar fakte verkis ĉiujn el la multaj verkoj atribuataj al li. Eble lia plej fama verko estas la longa poemo Manteq aṭ-Ṭayr (konata kiel La Konferenco de Birdoj). La upupo estras serĉon fare de diversaj specoj de birdoj por sia reĝo la simurgo (mita birdo), kaj la birdoj spertas multajn aventurojn kaj testojn. Ne ĉiuj finas la serĉon, sed tiuj kiuj sukcesas perdas sian propran identecon kaj iĝas ili mem la simurgo - metaforo de la unuiĝo de la homo spirito kaj Dio. La poemo plenplenas da sufismaj konceptoj.

Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār (en persan : فَریدالدّین ابوحامِد محمّد عطّار نِیشابوری, farīd ad-dīn abū ḥāmid moḥammed ʿaṭṭār nīšābūrī) fut un poète persan, (v. 1142-mort entre 1190 et 1229), né à Nichapur dans le Khorassan, où se trouve son tombeau. Attar a écrit plusieurs poèmes moraux et mystiques, dont les plus célèbres sont : le Pend-namèh, ou le Livre des conseils[1], le Manṭiq al-ṭayr ou La conférence des oiseaux, poème de philosophie religieuse[2], éd. Albin Michel (1996, épuisé) - rééd. Le Seuil, 2010 Il met en scène des oiseaux, qui se mettent à la recherche de leur roi. A lire également La conférence des oiseaux, adaptation pour la scène par Jean-Claude Carrière

Farid al-Din ʿAttār, per esteso Farīd al-Dīn Muhammad ibn Ibrāhīm al-ʿAttār (in persiano:فرید الدین ﺍﻟﻌﻄﺎﺭ) (Nīshāpūr, 1142 – Nīshāpūr, 1220), è stato un mistico e poeta persiano. Era figlio di un ricco speziale (la parola ʿattār significa per l'appunto in arabo e persiano "speziale", "preparatore di rimedi medici, erbe medicamentose o profumi", "profumiere", ma di fatto equivaleva quasi alla professione del medico) e ricevette un'eccellente educazione. Studiò l'arabo, la medicina e le scienze religiose. Da giovane aiutò il padre in bottega e alla sua morte la ereditò. Da speziale, i clienti che si rivolgevano a lui gli confidavano tutti i loro problemi ed egli ne era profondamente toccato. Infine decise di abbandonare la sua attività e viaggiò moltissimo. Durante la sua permanenza a Kufa, a Mecca, a Damasco, in Turkestan ed in India, ebbe l'occasione di incontrare numerosi maestri (shaykh) sufi. Al suo ritorno promosse il Sufismo[1]. Alcuni studiosi ritengono che ʿAttār fu ucciso durante la distruzione della città da parte degli invasori Mongoli. Sulla sua morte si narra il seguente aneddoto: Un soldato mongolo lo catturò e, avendo scoperto chi egli fosse, lo voleva condurre dal suo ufficiale superiore quando si presentò un uomo, offrendo denaro per comprare il prigioniero. Il soldato stava per accettare ma ʿAttār disse al soldato che valeva molto di più di quanto pattuito. Continuarono il tragitto e poco dopo si presentò un altro uomo che offriva una somma maggiore per comprarlo, ma egli convinse il soldato a rifiutare poiché valeva molto di più anche della cifra proposta. Poco dopo un vecchio si presentò offrendo, in cambio di ʿAttār, un fascio di legna. Il poeta, in genuino spirito sufi, disse al soldato di accettare l'offerta poiché Non c'è nulla che valga più di questo. Il soldato s'infuriò e uccise ʿAttār all'istante. ʿAttār è uno dei più famosi poeti mistici iraniani. Le sue opere furono d'ispirazione per Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī e per molti altri poeti mistici. ʿAttār, insieme a Sana'i di Ghazna, fu colui che influenzò maggiormente Rūmī nelle sue concezioni sul sufismo. Rūmī li cita entrambi numerose volte nelle sue opere e con la più alta stima. Rūmī lodò ʿAttār nel seguente modo: « ʿAttār percorse errante le sette città dell'amore - Siamo ancora nella stessa Via. » Fu uno degli autori più prolifici della letteratura persiana. Scrisse più di un centinaio di opere di varia lunghezza: si va da poche pagine a grossi tomi. Solo una trentina delle sue opere è giunta fino ai giorni nostri. Nello stile caratteristico dei poeti sufi, ʿAttār esalta l'amore terreno come metafora e preludio dell'amore divino: sebbene quello umano fosse una forma d'amore lontana dalla perfezione, esso ha comunque un riflesso spirituale, poiché l' "amato" diventa l' Essere supremo. Una delle sue parabole metaforiche preferite è l'amore tra il sultano Maḥmūd di Ghazna per il suo schiavo Malik Ayaz. Nella sua opera Ilāhī-Nāme (Il poema Celeste) troviamo otto storie riguardanti il loro amore e la loro devozione reciproca. La sua opera più conosciuta è tuttavia il Manṭiq al-ṭayr (Il Verbo degli uccelli). Oltre opere importanti sono l' Asrār-Nāme (Il libro dei segreti), il Musibat-name (Libro delle avversità) e la Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ, (Memoriale degli Intimi di Allāh che contiene le biografie di molti maestri sufi e di uomini santi); compose inoltre un ampio Canzoniere (divan) formato da ghazal e quartine. In generale, la maggior parte dei suoi libri è alla portata di tutti e relativamente facile da leggere. Il suo Mantiq al-tayr è certamente uno dei capolavori dell'intera letteratura persiana. Si tratta di un poema allegorico narrante la vicenda degli uccelli del mondo che, guidati dall'upupa, si sono messi alla ricerca del loro re, Simurgh, la cui reggia sorge oltre la montagna di Qaf ai confini del mondo. Tipico poema a cornice di circa 4.500 versi, in cui la storia-cornice del viaggio degli uccelli inquadra una fitta rete di dialoghi e aneddoti, il testo rivela in modo trasparente il suo contenuto mistico e le sue finalità didattico-iniziatiche: dietro l'upupa è facile scorgere il maestro sufi che guida attraverso Sette Valli (le mistiche dimore spirituali) i suoi inquieti discepoli (gli uccelli) verso l'illuminazione finale, ovvero la scoperta di Dio (Simurgh) nel proprio sé profondo. "Malik Ayaz in ginocchio davanti a Maḥmūd di Ghazna" Dai Sei Poemi, Iran meridionale, 1472 Il poeta e mistico Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī da giovane incontrò sicuramente ʿAttār quando la famiglia di Rūmī abbandonò la città di Balkh. Durante il loro viaggio, infatti, il padre di Rūmī si recò in visita ad ʿAttār. Fonti attestano che ʿAttār donò una copia di uno dei suoi libri di poesia mistica al giovane Jalāl al-Dīn. L' incontro è riportato da varie fonti, compreso il figlio di Rūmī, Ḥusām al-Dīn. Altra importante opera è la Tadhkirat al-Awliyāʾ, un manuale in cui descrive la personalità e gli stadi di realizzazione mistica di molti maestri sufi, narrando la loro vita, degli aneddoti e i loro detti. 'Attār aderiva al madhhab hanafita, la più antica scuola giuridica del Sunnismo. In Italia molti artisti si sono ispirati ad ʿAttār e alle sue opere. I Radiodervish si sono ispirati al Mantiq al-tayr nel loro album In search of Simurgh del 2004. Sono state fatte anche trasposizioni teatrali come ad esempio quella di "Ali Di Polvere In Search Of Simurgh" di Teresa Lodovico e "II Verbo Degli Uccelli - Anno I: II Viaggio Analogo" di Domenico Castaldo. In altre letterature si trovano citazioni 'attariane in: W. Beckford (Watek), in Jorge Luis Borges (L'Aleph e nei versi di The unending rose); in varie opere di A. De Mello; in R. Musil (L'uomo senza qualità); in Salman Rushdie (Grimus) e nel messicano A. Ruy Sanchez (Los nombres del aire). Opere di riferimento sulla letteratura persiana medievale: E.G. Browne, A Literary History of Persia, 4 voll., Cambridge 1951-53 (più volte ristampato) Jan Rypka, A History of Iranian Literature, Reidel Publishing Company, London 1968 A.J. Arberry, Classical Persian Literature, London 1958 A. Pagliaro-A. Bausani, La letteratura persiana, Sansoni-Accademia, Firenze-Milano 1968 A. M. Piemontese, Storia della letteratura persiana, 2 voll., Fratelli Fabbri, Milano 1970 C. Saccone, Storia tematica della letteratura persiana classica vol. I: Viaggi e visioni di re sufi profeti, Luni, Milano-Trento 1999; vol. II: Il maestro sufi e la bella cristiana. Poetica della perversione nella Persia medievale, Carocci, Roma 2005 Articoli e contributi in italiano su 'Attar si trovano in: AA. VV., Colloquio italo-iraniano sul poeta mistico Fariduddin 'Attar, Ed. Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Roma 1978 A. Bausani, Il pazzo sacro nell'islam, Luni, Milano-Trento 2000 H. Ritter, Il mare dell'anima. Uomo, mondo e Dio in Fariduddin 'Attar, Milano, Ariele, 2004 C. Saccone, Viaggi e visioni di re sufi profeti, Luni, Milano-Trento 1999

فَریدالدّین ابوحامِد محمّد عطّار نِیشابوری (۵۴۰ - ۶۱۸ قمری) یکی از عارفان و شاعران ایرانی بلندنام ادبیات فارسی در پایان سدهٔ ششم و آغاز سدهٔ هفتم است. او در سال ۵۴۰ هجری برابر با ۱۱۴۶ میلادی در نیشابور زاده شد.[۱] نام او «محمّد»، لقبش «فرید الدّین» و کنیه‌اش «ابوحامد» بود و در شعرهایش بیشتر عطّار و گاهی نیز فرید تخلص کرده‌است. نام پدر عطّار ابراهیم (با کنیهٔ ابوبکر) و نام مادرش رابعه بود. او که داروسازی و عرفان را از شیخ مجدالدّین بغدادی فرا گرفته‌بود[نیازمند منبع]، به کار عطاری و درمان بیماران می‌پرداخت. او را از اهل سنت دانسته‌اند اما در دوران معاصر، شیعیان با استناد به برخی شعرهایش بر این باورند که وی پس از چندی به تشیع گرویده یا دوست‌دار اهل بیت بوده است.[۲][۳] و البته لازم به ذکر است که استناد این افراد به اشعاری از ایشان است که از نظر اکثر اساتید این حوزه و عطارشناسان به نام ، منسوب به ایشان هستند و توسط افرادی هم تخلص یا به نام ایشان سروده شده اند و این مهم را می توان به راحتی از ابیاتی در خسرونامه فهمید هر چند که ایشان در مقدمه منطق الطیر(مقامات طیور) به نکوهش متعصبین پرداخته اند و به این افراد توصیه کرده اند که هم محب اهل بیت باشند و هم دوستدار خلفای راشدین . مصیبت نامه که اندوه جهان است الهی نامه که اسرار عیان است به داروخانه کردم هر دو آغاز چگویم زود رستم زین و آن باز مصیبت نامه زاد رهروان است الهی نامه گنج خسروان است جهان معرفت اسرار نامه است بهشت اهل دل مختار نامه است مقامات طیور امّا چنان است که مرغ عشق را معراج جان است چو خسرونامه را طرزی عجیب است ز طرز او که مه را نصیب است به گفته بزرگ مرد عرفان ایران زمین ملت عشق از همه دینها جداست عاشقان را ملت و مذهب خداست درباره به پشت پا زدن عطار به اموال دنیوی و راه زهد، گوشه‌گیری و تقوا را پیش گرفتن وی داستان‌های زیادی گفته شده‌است. مشهورترین این داستان‌ها، آن‌ست که عطار در محل کسب خود مشغول به کار بود که درویشی از آنجا گذر کرد. درویش درخواست خود را با عطار در میان گذاشت، اما عطار همچنان به کار خود می‌پرداخت و درویش را نادیده گرفت. دل درویش از این رویداد چرکین شد و به عطار گفت: تو که تا این حد به زندگی دنیوی وابسته‌ای، چگونه می‌خواهی روزی جان بدهی؟ عطار به درویش گفت: مگر تو چگونه جان خواهی داد؟ درویش در همان حال کاسه چوبین خود را زیر سر نهاد و جان به جان آفرین تسلیم کرد. این رویداد اثری ژرف بر او نهاد که عطار دگرگون شد، کار خود را رها کرد و راه حق را پیش گرفت. چیزی که نمایان است این است که عطار پس از این جریان مرید شیخ رکن الدین اکاف نیشابوری می‌گردد و تا پایان عمر (حدود ۷۰ سال) با بسیاری از عارفان زمان خویش هم‌سخن گشته و به گردآوری داستان‌های صوفیه و اهل سلوک پرداخته‌است. و بنا بر داستانی وی بیش از ۱۸۰ اثر مختلف به جای گذاشته که حدود ۴۰ عدد از آنان به شعر و دیگر نثر است. عطار در سال ۶۱۸ یا ۶۱۹ و یا ۶۲۶ در حملهٔ مغولان، به شهادت رسید. وی یکی از پرکارترین شاعران ایرانی به شمار می‌رود و بنا به نظر عارفان در زمینه عرفانی از مرتبه‌ای بالا برخوردار بوده‌است؛ چنانکه مولوی درباره او می‌فرماید: هفت شهر عشق راعطار گشت ماهنوز اندر خم یک کوچه‌ایم ماجرای شهادت عطار ار غم‌انگیزترین رخدادهای روزگار است که در روان خواننده اثری دردناک به جای می‌گذارد. تذکره‌نویسان در این خصوص نگاشته‌اند که: پس از تسلط چنگیز خان مغول بر بلاد خراسان شیخ عطار نیز به دست لشگر مغول اسیر گشت. گویند مغولی می‌خواست او را بکشد، شخصی گفت: این پیر را مکش که به خون‌بهای او هزار درم بدهم. عطار گفت: مفروش که بهتر از این مرا خواهند خرید. پس از ساعتی شخص دیگری گفت: این پیر را مکش که به خون‌بهای او یک کیسه کاه ترا خواهم داد. شیخ فرمود: بفروش که بیش از این نمی‌ارزم. مغول از گفته او خشمناک شد و او را هلاک کرد