Concept

Intellectual Inadequacy and Cosmic Insignificance in Attar's Mokhtar Nameh (Poem 24)

In Poem 24 of Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the poet emphasizes the absolute transcendence of the Divine through two primary metaphors. First, human intellect and knowledge are portrayed as utterly inadequate for comprehending God, likened to a single drop striving to encompass the 'seven seas.' Second, the sheer scale of the cosmos—traditionally quantified in Islamic cosmology as the 'eighteen thousand worlds'—is rendered completely insignificant in the Divine presence, compared merely to the wing of a fly. Together, these elements illustrate the impossibility of fully reaching or understanding the Divine essence.

0

1

Updated 2026-07-03

Contributors are:

Who are from:

References


Tags

Humanities

Literature

Persian Literature Prerequisite Course