`Attar, Farid al-Din

Title:

Alternate names/spellings: Farīd al-Dīn ʻAṭṭār, Farid Ud-Din Attar

Dates: 1145 - 1221 (Dates are approximate. ) 

Farid ud-Din ‘Attar (c. 1145-1221) was an influential Sufi (Muslim mystic) poet, hagiographer and philosopher from Nishapur, Persia. ‘Attar was born to a wealthy chemist and as an adult owned a successful pharmacy. Much about his transition from secular, financial success to prominence as a mystic is unclear. His most famous work, the Conference of the Birds, is an allegorical Sufi poem, using the story of birds seeking a king to illustrate Sufi principles.