Sheikh San'Aan explained

"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]}

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]}

......

See also

• Karnameye Balkh
• Maghrebi Tabrizi
• Tariq ut-tahqiq

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

Notes and References

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