featuring humans, told by the Hoopoe. It combines elements of earlier
theological prose, including the anonymousEpistle of the Birds(contro-
versially attributed to Abu Hamid al-Ghazali), derived from ibn Sina’s
Epistle of the Birds, based on a fable inKalila and Dimna, as well as
Suhrawardi’s treatiseThe Simurgh’s Shrill Cry.^36
A story inKalila and Dimnatells of aflock of birds ensnared in a
hunter’s net, liberated by the gnawing of a humble mouse. Developing
the story into a parable about the human condition, ibn Sina locates
himself among the birds who, once trapped, become so consumed with
their personal suffering that they adjust to their fetters and forget to
attempt escape. He notices a group of birdsflying by with traces of snares
on their feet, indicating that they had escaped capture but were nonetheless
not free. He calls for their assistance, and they liberate him. He asks them to
remove the traces of the snares, and they say,“Were it in our power, we
should have begun by removing those that encumber our own feet. How
should the sick cure the sick?”^37 They thenfly together on a long journey
past several mountains,finally gliding to a verdant seventh summit of
delightful music, sweet scents, flowing rivers, and gardens with fruit
trees. Recognizing the plenitude as a trap, they travel further, until they
come to a city beyond the mountains with an expansive court. When the
last veil hiding the king is drawn, the birds are stupefied by his splendor.
Initially dumbfounded, theyfinally articulate their problem. The king
responds that they can only be released by those who trapped them.
They thus return with a message of salvation. Like Aristotle, ibn Sina
recognizes the utility of parable to communicate with the uninitiated.
However, as Rabbi Moses ben Maimon (Maimonides, 1138–1204) would
also advocate in hisGuide for the Perplexed, ibn Sina emphasizes the
importance of publicly hiding a story’s educational nature.^38
TheEpistle of the Birdssimilarly insinuates esoteric philosophies within
popular forms. In contrast to ibn Sina’s implication that man works out his
own salvation through physical and intellectual effort, the anonymous tale
emphasizes salvation through faith.^39 It begins with the birds assembling to
select a king and agreeing upon the Simurgh, who lives on a western island.
Interjecting poetry about Layla (from the romance of Layla and Majnun) to
describe the quest for the beloved, the narrative shifts toward the trope of
the divine beloved as it moves beyonderos/‘ishqtoward the more essential
longing conceived in ancient Greek asagapé.^40 The birds’inexorable love(^36) Titley and Waley, 1975. (^37) Corbin, 2014 : 189. (^38) Stroumsa, 1992 : 191–193.
(^39) Faris, 1944 :46–47. (^40) El-Bizri, 2001 : 763.
90 The Insufficient Image