A study of the various aspects of mysticism in Attar's Seven Cities of Love

Abstract:      In the post-Islamic centuries, especially after the Mongol invasion, a form of secular worship called Sufism and mysticism emerged, which affected other aspects of Iranian culture, including literature. Mysticism includes certain stages and degrees which the seeker of the path of truth must go through. Many writers, including Rumi, Sanai, Jami, and Attar, have devoted their literary works to recounting these stages and degrees. In the meantime, Attar, as the pioneer of mystical literature, was followed by many other poets and writers. The tradition of seclusion and the corner of monasteries was a refuge that many such people sought and this gradually led to the creation of mystical literature. Attar, as one of the most important poets and scholars in the field of mysticism, in Mantiq al-Tair, which reflects the essence of his mystical thought, has had a special concern for the stages and houses of conduct which we have undertaken to examine in this article.