Sheikh San'Aan

This article is about the Persian mystical poem. For Verse play written by Azerbaijani poet and playwright Huseyn Javid, see Sheikh Sanan.

"Sheikh San'Aan" or "San'Aan"^[1] is the title of a Persian mystical poem written by the Persian Sufi poet Farid ud-Din Attar. "Sheikh San'Aan" is the longest story in the book The Conference of the Birds.^[2][3]

An illustration from "Sheikh San'Aan"

Synopsis

Sheikh San'Aan, an old man, is highly devout and the leader of his people. He has lived in Kaaba for about fifty years, accepting disciples and praying and fasting continuously.^[4][5] He has performed the Hajj fifty times and discovered many spiritual secrets.^[4]

One day, he has a dream that he is settled in Rûm and bowing to an idol. This dream repeats over several consecutive nights. He travels to Rûm with his disciples, where he meets a Christian woman and falls in love with her, spending over a month begging for her acceptance. The woman comes up with four conditions for the sheikh:^[6][7][8] bow to the idol, burn the Quran, start drinking wine and abandon the faith.^[9][10][11]

In addition to fulfilling these conditions, San'Aan shepherds her pigs for a year to pay the mahr. His disciples are disappointed and return to their homeland. A disciple who was not with him on the first trip travels to Rûm, hoping to restore San'Aan, and spends 40 days praying for him. Finally, the disciple sees the Prophet of Islam in a dream and receives the good news of San'Aan's return.^[12][13]

San'Aan is finally freed from the bondage of love. The woman also has a dream; she sees the sun fall beside her and it tells her to go with the sheikh.^[14][9] She travels to his homeland with him and becomes a Muslim.

About poetry

Attar composed this story in an ordered form of 409 verses.^[15][7][16]

Sample poem

These are verses from the story translated to English:^{[17][18][19][20]}

عشق دختر کرد غارت جان او

The girl's love robbed him of his life.

کفر ریخت از زلف بر ایمان او

Unbelief poured down from girl's hair on his faith.

...

عاشق آشفته فرمان کی برد

The troubled lover never accepts advice.

درد درمان سوز درمان کی برد

The pain that burns the treatment, how is it treated?

...

گفت این آتش چو حق درمن فکند

The sheikh said, this fire makes me sick.

من به خود نتوانم از گردن فکند

I can not get rid of it by myself.

See also

• Karnameye Balkh
• Maghrebi Tabrizi
• Tariq ut-tahqiq

References

1. "متن کامل داستان شیخ صنعان از منطق الطیر عطار _ سخن" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
2. "تحلیل داستان "شیخ صنعان" منطق الطّیر عطار براساس نظریه کنشی گرماس" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
3. "حکایت شیخ صنعان - تبیان" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
4. "شیخ صنعان - تبیان" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
5. "جادوی عروسک_ها در روایتی از منطق_الطیر عطار نیشابوری" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
6. "صنعان - یمنا" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
7. "روزنامه ایران سپید مورخ یکشنبه 25 فروردین 1398" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
8. "فریدالدین عطار نیشابوری (شاعر) - تقویم تاریخ صبور - مستند سازی ابنیه تاریخی" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
9. "Magiran _ روزنامه جام جم (1399_01_25)_ عشق آن است که عطار بگوید" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
10. "فانوس زاگرس _ افسانه شیخ صنعان و معلم ما نجفی" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
11. "عشق آن است که عطار بگوید - مشرق نیوز" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
12. "دانلود کتاب شیخ صنعان و دختر ترسا (صوتی) _ کتابخانه فانوس" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
13. "حکایت شیخ صنعان و دختر ترسا و نکته هایی در باره این داستان" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
14. "دانلود کتاب شیخ صنعان _ کتاب" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
15. "مد و مه - جایگاه زن در مثنوی سلامان ابسال مولانا جامی و شیخ صنعان عطار نیشابوری" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
16. "ﻣﻘﺪﻣﻪ - ادبیات عرفانی و اسطوره شناختی" (PDF) (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
17. "گنجور » عطار » منطق_الطیر » جواب هدهد » حکایت شیخ سمعان" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
18. "منطق الطير عطار - جواب هدهد - حکايت شيخ سمعان - قسمت اول" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
19. "منطق الطير عطار - جواب هدهد - حکايت شيخ سمعان - قسمت دوم" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.
20. "Ahmad Sharabiani's review of شیخ صنعان یا پیر سمعان" (in Persian). Retrieved 20 October 2020.

External links

• Puppets to recount Sheikh San'Aan tragedy from “Conference of the Birds”
• Attar (1984, trans. Davis) - Conference of the Birds
• “SULUK” IN THE STORY OF SHEIKH SANAN AND SIDDHARTHA: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS
• Sheikh Sanan and the Christian Maiden
• Shaikh San'an beneath the Window of the Christian Maiden