The Ocean of the Soul: Men, the World and God in the Stories of Farīd al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār

The Ocean of the Soul is one of the great works of the German Orientalist Hellmut Ritter (1892-1971). It presents a comprehensive analysis of the writings of the mystical Persian poet Farīd al-Dīn ‘Aṭṭār who is thought to have died at an advanced age in April 1221 when the Mongols destroyed his home city of Nīshāpūr in the north-east of Iran. The book, which resulted from decades of investigation of literary and historical sources, was first published in 1955 and has since remained unsurpassed not only as the definitive study of ‘Aṭṭār's world of ideas but as an indispensable guide to understanding pre-modern Islamic literature in general. Quoting at length from ‘Aṭṭār and other Islamic sources, Ritter sketches an extraordinarily vivid portrait of the Islamic attitude toward life, characteristic developments in pious and ascetic circles, and, in conclusion, various dominant mystical currents of thought and feeling. Special attention is given to a wide range of views on love, love in all its manifestations, including homosexuality and the commonplace sūfī adoration of good-looking youths. Ritter's approach is throughout based onprecise philological interpretation of primary sources, several of which he has himself made available in critical editions. Title Page 3 Copyright Page 4 Table of Contents 5 Acknowledgements 7 Translator’s Preface 11 Introduction 27 Chapter One: Death and Transitoriness 60 Chapter Two: The World 72 Chapter Three: Distress, Suffering and Oppression: A Theodicy 81 Chapter Four: The Religious Situation 91 Chapter Five: The Unquenched Drive for Knowledge 103 Chapter Six: Worldly People 117 Chapter Seven: Men of Power 133 Chapter Eight: The Emotional Attitude of the Pious 159 Chapter Nine: The Poet on Himself 177 Chapter Ten: Strife with God: The Fool 191 Chapter Eleven: The Value of Life. This World and the Hereafter. Overcoming Fear of Death 214 Chapter Twelve: Renunciation of the World and Asceticism 224 Chapter Thirteen: Trust in God’s Providence 243 Chapter Fourteen: Contentedness and Poverty 253 Chapter Fifteen: The Interpretation of Suffering. Patience—Gratitude—Contentment 264 Chapter Sixteen: The Transformation and Conquest of Sorrow and Suffering 282 Chapter Seventeen: God’s Mercy and Kindness 290 Chapter Eighteen: The Means of Mercy 299 Chapter Nineteen: Works: Being God’s Slave 311 Chapter Twenty: Virtues of the Inner Attitude 339 Chapter Twenty-One: Social Virtues 350 Chapter Twenty-Two: The Relationship with Animals 363 Chapter Twenty-Three: Seeking Closeness to God 367 Chapter Twenty-Four: Earthly Love with Social and Legal Ties 386 Chapter Twenty-Five: Earthly Love as Free Emotion 408 Chapter Twenty-Six: Religious Love of a Beautiful Person 474 Chapter Twenty-Seven: Pure Love of God 546 Chapter Twenty-Eight: Extinction and Union with Divinity 619 Chapter Twenty-Nine: God, the World and the Universal Soul 641 Chapter Thirty: Travelling Within Oneself. Metaphysical Self-importance. Final Extinction 663 Abbreviated Titles 683 Bibliography 683 Analytic Index 729 Additional Notes 858