Sufism

The Valley of the Quest, where the seeker must abandon all comfort

The first valley strips away the seeker's assumption that spiritual progress can be pursued while comfort and certainty stay intact.

In Attar's Mantiq al-Tayr, the Valley of the Quest is the entry point of the seven-valley journey the birds must cross to reach the Simorgh, and Attar describes it as demanding total abandonment of prior attachments — possessions, reputation, settled belief, ease — before real travel can begin. The valley's difficulty is not physical terrain but willingness: many birds who set out with the flock turn back here, unable to trade the security of their known life for a path with no guaranteed outcome. Attar frames this as necessary rather than harsh, since a seeker who tries to carry old comforts into the later, harder valleys will find they only weigh the journey down. Structurally, the Quest establishes the pattern for all seven valleys — each strips away a specific faculty or attachment the seeker mistakenly thought was needed for the journey.

Mantiq al-Tayr (Conference of the Birds)

Written about in

• What Sufism says about longing and separation

  Attar's first valley asks for possessions, reputation, ease and settled belief to be given up before the journey begins. He is honest that the cost falls at the start.