Farid-ud-din-Attar was one of the earliest Sufi poets of Persia, and there is no doubt that the work of Attar was the inspiration of Rumi and of many other spiritual souls and poets of Persia. He showed the way to the ultimate aim of life by making a sort of picture in a poetic form. Almost all the great teachers of the world, when they have pointed out the right way to seeking souls, have had to adopt a symbolical form of expression, such as a story or legend which could give a key to the one who is ready to understand and at the same time interest the one who is not yet ready. Thus both may rejoice, the one who sleeps and the one who is already awakened. This method has been followed by the poets of Persia and India, especially the Hindustani poets, and they have told their stories in a form which would be acceptable, not only to the seekers after truth, but to those in all the different stages of evolution.