Reading list

Persian Mystical Poetry

ʿAṭṭār, Rūmī and Ḥāfiẓ: the journey, the reed-flute and the tavern, three masters of the Sufi poetry of love.

Beginning. 5 steps

Orientation

Concept
ʿIshq
Passionate love, the central theme of Persian Sufi poetry, and its meaning.

Text
The Conference of the Birds
Farīd al-Dīn ʿAṭṭār, tr. Afkham Darbandi, Dick Davis, 1984
The birds’ journey to the Sīmurgh; read the seven valleys slowly, near the end.

Text
Masnavi i Ma’navi
Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, tr. E. H. Whinfield, 1887
Begin with the song of the reed, which opens the poem with the theme of separation.
Text
Selected Poems from the Divani Shamsi Tabriz
Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson, 1898
The lyric Rūmī, ecstatic poems written in the name of his friend Shams.

Text
Poems from the Divan of Hafiz
Ḥāfiẓ, tr. Gertrude Lowthian Bell, 1897
Ḥāfiẓ’s ghazals, where worldly and divine love are never quite told apart.

Cite this entry

Chicago (bibliography): “Persian Mystical Poetry.” Reading list. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/persian-mystical-poetry.
Chicago (note): “Persian Mystical Poetry,” reading list, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/persian-mystical-poetry.
MLA: “Persian Mystical Poetry.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/persian-mystical-poetry.
BibTeX: @misc{reading-lists-persian-mystical-poetry, title = {{Persian Mystical Poetry}}, howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society}, note = {Reading list. Last modified November 7, 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/persian-mystical-poetry} }