Summary of Themes

In Poem 7 of Farid al-Din Attar's Mokhtar Nameh, the poet contrasts the ultimate limitation of the cosmic intellect with the extraordinary spiritual elevation experienced by even the smallest particle through divine yearning.

The Limitation of Intellect

Attar characterizes the intellect ('aql) as a powerful force of which the entire physical universe is merely the least capital (kamineh sarmayeh). Yet, in trying to comprehend or describe the Divine, the intellect reaches its absolute limit, finding that helplessness ('ajz) is its highest and most noble station.

The Elevation of the Yearning Particle

In contrast to the grand but ultimately limited intellect, a minuscule particle (zarreh) that turns its yearning (hava) toward the Divine for even a single moment is granted supreme spiritual elevation. Through this sacred connection, the particle is so magnified that a hundred suns (sad aftab) are cast in its shadow, illustrating how divine ...