The Language of the Birds

Abstract

The “language of the birds” is mentioned in the text of the Qur’an as a gift received by Kings David and Solomon from Allah as a reward for their righteousness. Along the history of the Sufi mystical theology, the language of the birds will be invoked as a symbol of the theandric language, susceptible to enable the human being to speak the language of God, and God to speak the language of the sanctified human being. The language of the birds epitomizes the mystical meeting of man and God within language, the crossroad of the human language and divine language. The primary qur’anic theme was brilliantly developed by Farid-ud-din Attar, in Manteq al-tair, Jalal-ud-din Rumi, in Mathnawi , and Shihab-ud-din Yahya Suhrawardi, in Risalah.