INTERPRETATION OF SUFI VIEWS IN ALISHER NAVOIY'S "LISON UT-TAYR"

This article examines the interpretation of Sufi philosophical views in Alisher Navoiy's allegorical masnavi "Lison ut-Tayr" ("The Language of the Birds"), composed in 1499 as a creative reworking of Farid ud-Din Attar's celebrated "Mantiq ut-Tayr." The study analyzes the poem's narrative framework — the journey of thirty birds guided by the Hoopoe (Hudhud) toward the mythical Simurgh — as an extended metaphor for the Sufi path (tariqat) of spiritual purification, self-annihilation (fano), and divine union (visal). Through close textual analysis, the article investigates how Navoiy synthesized the doctrinal traditions of the Naqshbandiyya order, particularly the teachings of his spiritual mentor Abdurahmon Jomiy, with the broader literary heritage of Persian Sufi allegory. Special attention is given to the seven valleys (vodiylar) — Talab (Seeking), Ishq (Love), Ma'rifat (Gnosis), Istig'no (Detachment), Tavhid (Unity), Hayrat (Bewilderment), and Faqr-u Fano (Poverty and Annihilation) — as stages of mystical ascent reflecting the Sufi concept of suluk (spiritual wayfaring). The article further explores Navoiy's original contributions, including his emphasis on ethical refinement, social responsibility, and the role of reason ('aql) alongside mystical intuition (kashf), which distinguish his Sufi poetics from those of his predecessors. The findings demonstrate that "Lison ut-Tayr" represents not merely a literary adaptation but a sophisticated philosophical treatise that reconciles orthodox Islamic theology with experiential Sufi epistemology within the intellectual milieu of Timurid Herat.