This dissertation delineates the intersections of transgression, law, inclusion and exclusion, self and Other, in Farid al-Din `Attar Nishapuri's (1145-1221) treatment of class, gender, sexuality, and religion. I examine four sets of love stories that `Attar used in his writings to comment on issues of law, transgression, human diversity and inclusiveness. From literature to modern theory, this dissertation explores the reasons for `Attar's inclusion of peripheral individuals in his works, and it integrates literary theory and a comparative medieval European perspective. Applying modern theoretical notions to medieval society, which produced its own perspectives on life, religion, society, and culture, might appear anachronistic; however, it is essential to inquire whether modern insights about these notions can help us better understand medieval works, or whether these ideas are exclusive to early modern and modern relations.

Without such an analysis, we are left with an inadequate understanding of medieval culture and literature. Previous scholarship has investigated similar comparative notions in works such as Ibn al- `Arabi's and Rumi's. However, research on `Attar's works from a modern theoretical perspective in a comparative context has been limited. My study remedies this gap in the literature by examining the ways through which `Attar engages with these modern notions. It shows that whereas members of minority populations are not fully integrated in modern Iranian society, inclusiveness was thinkable in the medieval period by extraordinary Sufi writers such as `Attar. Throughout, I argue that `Attar portrays his submission to the divine by accepting and embracing human diversity through Sufism and love of the divine.

His works, Tadhkirat al-Awliya, Ilahi-nama, Musibat-nama and Mantiq al-Tayr, are precious for they show that inclusiveness was thinkable in the medieval period. This project illustrates that `Attar's explorations of medieval inter-subjectivity are significant for our understanding of subjectivity in a modern world. It introduces new readings of `Attar's works and encourages explorations of new possibilities, which can dismantle established narratives of our present experience and (mis)perceptions about human diversity and minorities.