In a tradition which started with Ahmad Ghazali (11th–12th century) brother of the more famous Mohammad al-Ghazali, and which continued in the Sufi poets Attar (12th century) and Iraqi (13th century), mystical doctrines were often expressed using the idioms of love poetry, in accordance with Ghazali's teaching that the contemplation of a beautiful youth was a way to contemplate the beauty of God.