Analysis of Rumi and Suhrawardi’s pictorial reading of the concept of captivity of the bird of the soul (birds' stories in Masnavi and allegorical treatises)

In mysticism and philosophy, the proposition of the descent of the soul has always been reflected in the image of the bird. Rumi and Suhrawardi used this allegory many times to express their intentions. By examining the story of birds in Masnavi and Suhrawardi's allegorical treatises such as "Red Wisdom, Safir Simorgh, Song of Gabriel, Moran's Word and the Story of Western Exile", this article shows that two factors determine the difference between these allegorical images. First, various situations are identified; that the cognitive perception of a phenomenon will be different because of the particular conditions in which it is placed. Therefore, symbols and comparisons used in the symbolic stories might differ regarding the poet's spiritual states. The second is the phenomenon and its manifestation at the level of consciousness; that consciousness causes the phenomenon to manifest in a certain form. In this way, a single proposition or a fixed and ancient meaning such as "captivity of the soul" can appear in connection with the three cognitive factors, phenomenon and language in the form of various cryptic images.