Farid-ud-Din Attar "left to posterity a great many epic poems most of which are stories within a story, a frame story with small tales in it. Many of the heroes of these small tales belong to the poorest and lowest social class: beggars, fools, and sufis, who mostly also belong to a low social stratum. In the poems of Attar, these poor people are allowed to speak for the first time in Persian poetry. Before the time of Attar, poetry was centered in the courts of the kings; it reflected the world and the interests of the emirs and sultans. There is no doubt that it is sufism that gave the lower classes a new self-consciousness, which allowed them to open their mouths and to speak, whereas before they were condemned to be silent. These characters of Attars also express their opinion about creation, about the distribution of goods and food, and the manner in which they are treated by God. They express their opinion in a strange way, pessimistic and bold, even insolent."
--Helmutt Ritter, "Muslim Mystics Strife With God."
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