The Tales of the Fish & the Moth

THE TALES OF THE FISH & THE MOTH Two Sufi Allegories by Shah Da'i & Kasim Anvar Translation & Introduction Paul Smith Sufi poet Shah Da'i (1406-1464) takes his clue from Farad ad-din 'Attar and his 'Conference of the Birds' and from Kasim Anvar's 'Tale of the Moth' 9see following) and tells the marvellous allegory of the fish who go in search of an answer to their problem from the Ancient Wise Fish or Perfect Master. Kasim Anvar (1356-1433) edited Hafiz's Divan and knew Shah Da'i in Shiraz. His 'Tale of the Moth', like the previous masnavi (rhyming couplets) poem of Shah Da'i contains much Sufi wisdom and is an allegory of the lover's search for the Divine Beloved. Introduction on the Masnavi, Lives, Times & Poetry of each poet. The correct rhymes and meaning are achieved. Illustrated. Large Format Paperback 7" x 10" 160 pages. COMMENTS ON PAUL SMITH'S TRANSLATION OF HAFIZ'S 'DIVAN'. "It is not a joke... the English version of ALL the ghazals of Hafiz is a great feat and of paramount importance. I am astonished." Dr. Mir Mohammad Taghavi (Dr. of Literature) Tehran. "Superb translations. 99% Hafiz 1% Paul Smith." Ali Akbar Shapurzman, translator of many mystical works in English into Persian. Paul Smith (b.1945) is an Australian poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Mu'in, Amir Khusrau, Nesimi, Kabir, Anvari, Ansari, Jami, Omar, Seemab, Jigar, Hali, Qutub Shah, Lalla Ded, Abu Nuwas, Ibn al-Farid, Ibn 'Arabi, Khushak Khan and others and his poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and a dozen screenplays.