The Invisible Sun: A Guide for

Longlisted for the PEN Translation Award

Best Spiritual Books of 2025 - Spirituality and Practice

The first comprehensive English collection from one of the world’s most influential mystics—Attar—the twelfth-century poet Rumi called his master.

Twelfth-century Persian poet Attar (1145–1221) was revered by Rumi and though his work is beloved around the world, he is mostly unknown to English readers. Translated in simple, elegant language by award-winning poet Sholeh Wolpé—one among generations of poets influenced by Attar's poetry—The Invisible Sun is a beautiful treasury of Attar’s most prescient poetry, offering comfort and inspiration.

Attar was one of the most important mystic Sufi poets in the East, comparable in stature and influence to John Milton in the West. In Western thought there is a sharp separation between day-to-day human experience and the transcendence of religion and spirituality. But Sufi philosophy teaches that while the soul awaits its release from the confines of the body, it can experience the other world through mystic union achieved by an inward journey to purify the self.

The Invisible Sun widely introduces the work of Attar—the master Rumi called “the spirit” and himself “its shadow”—to English-speaking readers as never before. Profound yet exquisite in its simplicity, bringing comfort and wisdom, Attar’s poetry continues to resonate today:

Everything, large and small, honors your existence,

don’t look at yourself with contempt.

There is nothing greater than you.

Attar (also known as Shaikh Farid-Ud-Din, and Attar of Nishapur,) was born in 1145 in Nišapur, a city in the northeast region of Iran. Reliable information on Attar’s life is scarce, but what we do know for certain is that he was a pharmacist, a dispenser of remedies and interpreter of illnesses. Indeed, the name “Attar” means herbalist and perfume maker. Although information about his life and death is opaque and has been mythologized over the intervening centuries, at some point Attar traveled widely and met with several Sufi Masters. Legend has it that Rumi met Attar when he was child. Rumi who later became a beloved poet, repeatedly acknowledged Attar as his master, and the influence of Attar’s wisdom and style of writing is evident in his work. Attar lived for over seventy years and died a violent death in the massacre inflicted by the Mongols in 1221.

Sholeh Wolpé is an Iranian-born poet, playwright, and librettist. Her literary work includes seven collections of poetry, several plays, five books of translations and three anthologies, as well as texts and librettos for choir and opera. Her performances, solo or in collaboration with musicians and artists, have been hailed by audiences as mesmerizing. She has lived in Iran, Trinidad, and United Kingdom and presently divides her time between California and Barcelona.