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Aug 21, 2024
Religion of Love
Sufism and Self-Transformation in the Poetic Imagination of ʿaṭṭār
Summary
Farid al-Din ‘Attar’s writings have greatly influenced Persian Sufism, but what do we know of him as a thinker? Engaging his diverse writings from poetry to stories, Cyrus Ali Zargar’s Religion of Love: Sufism and Self-Transformation in the Poetic Imagination of ‘Attar (SUNY Press, 2024) captures for us some of ‘Attar’s worldviews, especially as it is rooted in a Persian and Muslim historical context. The book gives us insights to ‘Attar’s take on moral psychology, ethics, and intellectual debates he was responding to, such as with philosophers and legal scholars. Zargar captures ‘Attar’s religion of love, which takes us to the edge of infidelity and at times even crosses its threshold only to better understand the experience of union with the Beloved (Divine) that mystics have discussed across traditions. This book will be of interest to listeners who are curious about Persian literature, Sufism, Islamic philosophy and mysticism generally.
Your Host
Shobhana Xavier
Shobhana Xavier is an Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Queen’s University. More details about her research and scholarship may be found here. She may be reached at shobhana.xavier@queensu.ca. You can follow her on Twitter via @shobhanaxavier.
