The 'Excuses of the Birds' (عذر مرغان) is a major section within Farid al-Din Attar's epic poem The Conference of the Birds. In this part of the narrative, various birds step forward to present their reasons, fears, and worldly attachments as excuses for not embarking on the difficult spiritual journey to find the Simurgh. The Hoopoe (Hudhud), acting as their wise spiritual guide, refutes each excuse by reciting illuminating parables and didactic tales. Many of these tales feature 'madmen' (divanegan) or wandering ascetics who, despite their apparent worldly insanity, possess profound spiritual insight and divine love.

عذر مرغان / The Excuses of the Birds

In Farid al-Din Attar's *The Conference of the Birds*, the owl represents the seeker who is obsessed with material wealth, symbolized by its preference for ruins (which are traditionally believed to contain hidden treasures in Persian folklore). The owl refuses to join the journey to the Simorgh, claiming that love for the Simorgh is a mere fable and that its own search for the hidden treasure in the ruins is sufficient. The Hoopoe refutes this by explaining that attachment to earthly gold is a spiritual trap that degrades the human soul, as illustrated by the subsequent tale of the man whose love of gold turned his soul into a mouse after death.

The Symbolism of the Owl and the Obsession with Treasure in Attar's Allegory

In Attar's 'The Conference of the Birds', the peacock represents the seeker who is obsessed with the memory of lost paradise (heavenly rewards) rather than seeking the ultimate divine source (the Simorgh). Having been cast out of paradise due to its association with the serpent, the peacock's spiritual ambition is limited to regaining its former status. Through this figure, Attar critiques those who prioritize the rewards of the afterlife (paradise) over direct union with the Divine.

The Symbolism of the Peacock and the Yearning for Paradise in Attar's Allegory

In Farid al-Din Attar's *The Conference of the Birds*, the heron (Bootimar) represents the seeker whose spiritual progress is halted by an obsessive, anxious attachment to a worldly or limited source of emotional or spiritual satisfaction, symbolized by the sea. The heron sits on the shore, thirsty but refusing to drink out of a possessive fear of depleting the water. The Hoopoe refutes this stance, explaining that the sea is not the ultimate destination and that true love requires moving beyond such limiting attachments to seek the Simorgh (the Divine).

The Symbolism of the Heron and the Attachment to the Sea in Attar's Allegory

In Farid al-Din Attar's *The Conference of the Birds*, the parrot represents the seeker who is obsessed with achieving personal immortality and spiritual longevity, symbolized by the search for the Water of Life (آب خضر). The parrot rejects the challenging journey to the Simorgh, claiming that obtaining a drop from the spring of Khidr is sufficient. The Hoopoe refutes this, explaining that seeking eternal individual survival is a limitation of the ego. True spiritual completion requires *fana* (self-annihilation) in the Divine, rather than preserving the self through the Water of Life.

The Symbolism of the Parrot and the Search for the Water of Life in Attar's Allegory

In 'The Conference of the Birds', the 'Question of the Birds' introduces the collective hesitation of the flock. Before individual birds offer specific justifications, this section establishes the concept that these excuses (ozr) stem from 'ignorance' (jehl) and 'lack of news' (bi-khabar). It serves as a structural transition from the initial assembly to the specific narrative rebuttals, framing the upcoming excuses as spiritual obstacles that reflect a lack of 'capacity' (howseleh) and 'courage' (tab) to face the Simorgh.

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## Original content
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بعد از آن مرغان دیگر سر به سر 
عذرها گفتند، مشتی بی خبر
هر یکی از جهل عذری نیز گفت 
گر نگفت از صدر، کز دهلیز گفت
گر بگویم عذر یک یک با تو باز 
دار معذورم که می گردد دراز
هر کسی را بود عذری تنگ و لنگ 
این چنین کس کی کند عنقا به چنگ؟
هرک عنقا راست از جان خواستار 
چنگ از جان باز دارد مردوار
هر که را در آشیان سی دانه نیست 
شاید از سیمرغ اگر دیوانه نیست
چون نداری دانه ای را حوصله 
چون تو با سیمرغ باشی هم چله؟
چون تهی کردی به یک می پهلوان 
دوستکانی چون خوری با پهلوان؟
چون نداری ذره ای را گنج و تاب 
چون توانی جست گنج از آفتاب؟
چون شدی در قطره ای ناچیز غرق 
چون روی از پای دریا تا به فرق؟
زآنچ آن خود هست بویی نیست این 
کار هر ناشسته رویی نیست این
جملهٔ مرغان چو بشنیدند حال 
سر به سر کردند از هدهد سؤال
کای سبق برده ز ما در ره بری 
ختم کرده بهتری و مهتری
ما همه مشتی ضعیف و ناتوان 
بی پر و بی بال، نه تن، نه توان
کی رسیم آخر به سیمرغ رفیع؟ 
گر رسد از ما کسی، باشد بدیع
نسبت ما چیست با او؟ بازگوی 
زآنک نتوان شد به عمیا رازجوی
گر میان ما و او نسبت بدی 
هر یکی را سوی او رغبت بدی
او سلیمان ست و ما موری گدا 
درنگر کو از کجا، ما از کجا
کرده موری را میان چاه بند 
کی رسد در گرد سیمرغ بلند؟
خسروی کار گدایی کی بود؟ 
این به بازوی چو مایی کی بود؟
هدهد آن گه گفت: کای بی حاصلان! 
عشق کی نیکو بود از بددلان؟
ای گدایان! چند ازین بی حاصلی؟ 
راست ناید عاشقی و بددلی
هر که را در عشق چشمی باز شد 
پای کوبان آمد و جانباز شد
تو بدان کآن گه که سیمرغ از نقاب 
آشکارا کرد رخ چون آفتاب
صد هزاران سایه بر خاک او فکند 
پس نظر بر سایهٔ پاک او فکند
سایهٔ خود کرد بر عالم نثار 
گشت چندین مرغ هر دم آشکار
صورت مرغان عالم سر به سر 
سایهٔ اوست، این بدان ای بی هنر!
این بدان چون این بدانستی نخست 
سوی آن حضرت نسب کردی درست
حق بدانستی ببین آن گه بباش 
چون بدانستی مکن این راز فاش
هرک او از کسب مستغرق بود 
حاش لله، گر تو گویی حق بود
گر تو گشتی آنچ گفتم نه حقی 
لیک در حق دائما مستغرقی
مرد مستغرق حلولی کی بود؟ 
این سخن کار فضولی کی بود؟
چون بدانستی که ظل کیستی 
فارغی گر مردی و گر زیستی
گر نگشتی هیچ سیمرغ آشکار 
نیستی سیمرغ هرگز سایه دار
باز اگر سیمرغ می گشتی نهان 
سایه ای هرگز نماندی در جهان
هرچ این جا سایه ای پیدا شود 
اول آن چیز آشکار آن جا شود
دیدهٔ سیمرغ بین گر نیستت 
دل چو آیینه منور نیستت
چون کسی را نیست چشم آن جمال 
وز جمالش هست صبر لامحال
با جمالش عشق نتوانست باخت 
از کمال لطف خود آیینه ساخت
هست از آیینه دل،در در دل نگر 
تا ببینی روی او در دل نگر

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## English translation
After that, the other birds, one by one,
Offered excuses, a clueless bunch.
Each one also spoke an excuse out of ignorance;
If they did not speak from the hall, they spoke from the doorway.
If I recount to you every single excuse,
Hold me excused, for it would take too long.
Everyone had a feeble and lame excuse;
How could such a person catch the Anqa (Simorgh)?
Whoever seeks the Anqa from the soul,
Must manfully withdraw their hand from life.
Whoever lacks thirty seeds in their nest,
Is unworthy of the Simorgh, unless they are mad.
Since you do not have the capacity for a single seed,
How can you share a forty-day retreat with the Simorgh?
Since you are emptied by a single cup of wine,
How can you drink a toast with a champion?
Since you do not have the capacity and endurance for a speck,
How can you seek a treasure from the sun?
Since you drowned in a worthless drop,
How can you go from the bottom of the sea to the crest?
Since there is no scent of what it truly is,
This is not the work for every unwashed face.
When all the birds heard the situation,
They all asked the hoopoe:
"O you who have surpassed us in guiding the way,
Who have culminated excellence and leadership!
We are all a weak and feeble handful,
Without feather or wing, with neither body nor power.
When will we finally reach the exalted Simorgh?
If any of us reaches him, it would be a marvel.
What is our relation to him? Tell us again,
For one cannot seek secrets blindly.
If there were a relation between us and him,
Each one would have an inclination towards him.
He is Solomon, and we are beggar ants,
Look where he is from, and where we are from.
How can an ant bound in a well
Reach the dust of the lofty Simorgh?
When is kingship the work of a beggar?
When is this within the arm's reach of someone like us?"
The hoopoe then said: "O fruitless ones!
When is love becoming of the faint-hearted?
O beggars! How long this fruitlessness?
Being a lover and being faint-hearted do not align.
Whoever had their eye opened in love,
Came dancing and risked their life.
Know that when the Simorgh from the veil
Revealed his face like the sun,
He cast a hundred thousand shadows on his earth,
Then he cast a glance upon his pure shadow.
He scattered his own shadow over the world,
And so many birds appeared at every moment.
The form of the birds of the world, entirely,
Is his shadow, know this, O artless one!
Know this, because when you knew this first,
You correctly traced your relation to that presence.
You knew the Truth; see it, then exist!
When you knew, do not reveal this secret.
Whoever is submerged in acquiring the world,
God forbid, if you say he is the Truth.
If you became what I said, you are not the Truth,
But you are permanently submerged in the Truth.
When is a submerged man a believer in incarnation?
When is this talk the business of a meddler?
Since you knew whose shadow you are,
You are free whether you died or lived.
If the Simorgh never became manifest,
There would never be a shadow-casting Simorgh.
Again, if the Simorgh became hidden,
No shadow would ever remain in the world.
Whatever shadow appears here,
First that thing appears there.
If you do not have the eye to see the Simorgh,
Your heart is not illuminated like a mirror.
Since no one has the eye for that beauty,
And it is impossible to have patience from his beauty,
One could not play the game of love with his beauty,
Out of the perfection of his grace, he made a mirror.
The heart is that mirror, look within the heart,
So you may see his face, look within the heart."

پرسش مرغان / The Question of the Birds

Root URL: https://ganjoor.net/
Source URL: https://ganjoor.net/

This Reference node represents the source used by the Literature-to-1Cademy migration agent.

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