The story begins with the birds of the world gathering for a conference, during which they realize they must pick a leader/king. Since the birds are unable to reach consensus, they turn to the hoopoe bird, known to be the wisest bird of all. Not only can the hoopoe bird be seen as a symbol for a Sufi sheikh who leads his followers to enlightenment, but hoopoes also represent virtue in Persia. The hoopoe has also been depicted in other works of literature, such as Aristophanes’ Ancient Greek comedy The Birds, as the king of birds.
The Hoopoe lives up to his purported wise and virtuous nature by suggesting the mystical, never before seen Simorgh to be the king of birds. The Hoopoe warns the birds, however, that they must journey to find the Simorgh and that the endeavor would not be an easy one. The journey will take them through seven valleys that will test each bird’s strength.
The first valley is the Valley of the Quest, where one casts aside all belief and dogma. The second valley is the Valley of Love, where one is unable to reason or make sense of anything for the sake of love.The third valley is the Valley of Knowledge, where all knowledge attained in the world is rendered useless. The fourth valley is the Valley of Detachment, where all of one’s attachments and commitments in the world are left behind/removed. What we think of as “Reality” is eradicated. The fifth valley is the Valley of Unity, where one reaches the realization that everything in the earthly and heavenly worlds are connected. The sixth valley is the Valley of Wonderment, where one’s self is overcome by the wonder of his or her beloved, and thus in awe realizes that he/she has never truly known anything. Finally, the seventh and last valley is the Valley of Poverty and Annihilation, where one’s self is lost in the universe and becomes immortal and essentially timeless. At every valley some birds are left behind as they are unable to continue on to the next.
By the end of the seventh valley, 30 birds remain; they are taken to the home of the Simorgh, where they gaze into a lake. All 30 birds are able to see the Simorgh in their own reflections. Since these birds had been able to make it past all the tests put forth by the seven valleys, the Simorgh was now within all of them. Thus, their physical journey to the Simorgh’s dwelling allegorically represents for the journey to enlightenment that Sufis attempt to achieve, with each valley represents a fear or fault that can prevent one from achieving said enlightenment.
The ending of the poem is also connected with the Sufi teachings: according to Sufism God is formless and is not any type of entity, but instead exists within all of worldly creations.
