The Book of Secrets by Attar of Nishapur is not a book to be studied so much as a fire to be entered. Its parables resist neat interpretation because their purpose is to short-circuit the rational mind. The secret at its heart is both simple and terrifying: you are not who you think you are, and the path to truth lies through the bonfire of your own identity. To read Attar is to receive an invitation—not to a library, but to a funeral. And in that immolation, he promises, is the only resurrection that matters.
If you are looking for a specific PDF for academic or personal reading, I recommend checking trusted digital repositories such as:
I am happy to help you locate a legitimate translation (e.g., by John O’Kane or Dick Davis) or analyze a specific passage if you provide the text directly.
There is hope. In 2020–2023, several small presses (like Mazda Publishers and Ibex Publishers) hinted at new translations of Attar’s minor works. Furthermore, the Persian Digital Library project (run by the University of Tehran) is systematically uploading high-quality Persian texts as open-access PDFs.
By 2026 (the year after this article is written), it is likely that a crowd-sourced English translation of the Asrar-Nama will appear on platforms like Wikisource or Gutenberg. book of secrets attar of nishapur pdf
Action Step: Set a Google Alert for "Asrar-Nama translation release." Join the r/Sufism and r/Prose_Poetry subreddits, where users often share newly discovered PDF links.
Let us say you only find a 30-page PDF excerpt. Is it worth it? Absolutely.
Attar’s Asrar-Nama is not a narrative novel; it is a collection of spiritual detonators. One single secret from the book – for instance, "The Secret of the Dog at the Door" or "The Secret of the Broken Idol" – can fuel weeks of meditation.
Unlike modern self-help, Attar does not comfort you. He writes: The Book of Secrets by Attar of Nishapur
"Do not seek the secret to avoid pain. The secret is the pain."
Reading the Book of Secrets (even the Persian original with a dictionary) forces you to slow down. You cannot skim Attar. He writes in dense, diamond-like metaphors. A PDF that allows you to zoom, highlight, and search for the word "heart" (dil) is far more useful than a dusty hardcover in a library you cannot mark.
In the vast ocean of Persian Sufi literature, few names shine as luminously as Farid ud-Din Attar of Nishapur. While Western readers are often familiar with his masterpiece The Conference of the Birds, a lesser-known but equally profound gem exists: The Book of Secrets (Mokhtar-Nama) . For spiritual seekers, scholars, and lovers of esoteric poetry, the quest for an authentic "Book of Secrets Attar of Nishapur PDF" is more than a search for a digital file—it is a pilgrimage into the heart of Islamic mysticism.
This article serves as a comprehensive guide to Attar’s Book of Secrets, exploring its themes, historical context, structure, and where to find reliable PDF versions for study. If you are looking for a specific PDF
Attar was a fierce critic of fake sheikhs, legalistic clerics, and those who wear the wool cloak of Sufism for status. The Book of Secrets exposes the gap between outer ritual and inner reality.
In the vast constellation of Persian Sufi poetry, the 12th-century poet Farid ud-Din Attar of Nishapur occupies a singular, blazing star. While his epic The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq al-Tayr) is celebrated as a grand allegorical journey, his lesser-known but equally profound Asrar-Nama (The Book of Secrets) offers a more intimate, urgent, and psychologically penetrating map of the spiritual path. Unlike the linear narrative of the Conference, The Book of Secrets is a mosaic of parables, direct exhortations, and lyrical meditations—a manual for the soul that seeks to dismantle the ego’s fortress and unveil the divine secret hidden within every human heart.
The Internet Archive holds several digitized lithographs of the Asrar-Nama in the original Persian. Search for: "Asrar Nama Attar" (use the Persian spelling). You will find 19th-century Tehran editions. While not an English PDF, having the original poetry is a goldmine for Persian readers.