Rumi's Masnavi is widely recognized as the greatest Sufi poem ever written, and has been called the Koran in Persian. The thirteenth-century Muslim mystic Rumi composed his work for the benefit of his disciples in the Sufi order named after him, better known as the whirling dervishes. In order to convey his message of divine love and unity he threaded together entertaining stories and penetrating homilies. Drawing from folk tales as well as sacred history, Rumi's poem is often funny as well as spiritually profound.

Jawid Mojaddedi's sparkling new verse translation of Book One is consistent with the aims of the original work in presenting Rumi's most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The path to self-discovery and inner and outer peace... Divine Names is a unique contribution to understanding life and oneself on a deeper level: by learning to open to the Divine. It draws on original Arabic literature--often not available in European languages--and on the author's many years of personal practice, teaching, and guiding others on their spiritual paths to healing, to becoming whole. It focuses on the use of the Divine Names in dhikr, individual meditations and healing practices. Whether we admit it or not, human beings are searchers: we want to understand; we want to know; we want to be known. Our quest may take many forms, yet ultimately it ends in nothing but pure praising of the Divine, even if this comes after our last breath. The outside always furthers the inside because the task and the meaning of life is always about reuniting--about connecting everything on the outside to its inner truth. It is the knowledge of the heart which is always capable of uniting. Such is the path of the Sufis. The Sufi tradition centers on the opening of the heart and nothing touches the heart as much as beauty. In this book, the author's unique style of writing, which combines clarity and poetic inspiration, is coupled with distinctive and ornamental Arabic calligraphy of each of the 99 Divine Names to make it a visually stunning tribute to this tradition. It will be enjoyed regardless of a person's religious beliefs.

Composed in the twelfth century in north-eastern Iran, Attar's great mystical poem is among the most significant of all works of Persian literature. A marvellous, allegorical rendering of the Islamic doctrine of Sufism - an esoteric system concerned with the search for truth through God - it describes the consequences of the conference of the birds of the world when they meet to begin the search for their ideal king, the Simorgh bird. On hearing that to find him they must undertake an arduous journey, the birds soon express their reservations to their leader, the hoopoe. With eloquence and insight, however, the hoopoe calms their fears, using a series of riddling parables to provide guidance in the search for spiritual truth. By turns witty and profound, The Conference of the Birds transforms deep belief into magnificent poetry.

There are many books in English that present Sufi doctrine, but few that can be used as practical travel guides along the Path. Originally written in classical Arabic, this volume is in widespread use among Sufi teachers in Arabia, Indonesia, and East Africa; its devotions, prayers, and practical ethics are invaluable as a guide along the Sufi Way.

A year with the sensual, mysterious, and deeply spiritual poetry of Rumi, in a translation featuring 15 poems never before published

The poetry feels like it belongs to all. When Rumi died in 1273, members of all religions came to the funeral. Wherever you stand, his words deepen your connection to the mystery of being alive.

Through Coleman Barks's translations, Rumi is the world's most popular poet. The newest addition to HarperSanFrancisco's A Year With series, A Year with Rumi brings together 365 of Coleman's mystical, elegant, and beautiful translations of Rumi's poetry, for reading, reflection, and embarking upon your own journey inward.

Philip Pullman, author of 'His Dark Materials' trilogy, has remarked that after nourishment, shelter, and companionship, stories are the thing we need most in the world. This new collection of Rumi stories fills that need.

This fresh prose translation of 105 short teaching stories by Rumi, which form the core of the six-volume Masnavi, explores the hidden spiritual aspects of everyday experience. Rumi transforms the seemingly mundane events of daily life into profound Sufi teaching moments. These prose gems open the mystical portal to the world of the ancient mystic.

These stories include well-known and popular tales such as Angel of Death, The Sufi and His Cheating Wife, Moses and the Shepherd, Chickpeas, and The Greek and Chinese Painters as well as the less commonly quoted parables: The Basket Weaver, The Mud Eater, and A Sackful of Pebbles.

Rumi's voice alternates between playful and authoritative, whether he is telling stories of ordinary lives or inviting the discerning reader to higher levels of introspection and attainment of transcendent values. Mafi's translations delicately reflect the nuances of Rumi's poetry while retaining the positive tone of all of Rumi's writings, as well as the sense of suspense and drama that mark the essence of the Masnavi.

This text has long been recognized as not only an Islamic classic, but also as a great spiritual autobiography of one of the world's greatest religious thinkers. It is the narrative of how one dedicated seeker of true knowledge and salvation, having probed various systems of thought and differing paths of learning and enlightenment, discovered the peace of the inner life and discipline of mystical spirituality.

Dissolving into Being is an introduction to Sufi philosophy, a tradition based on the

teachings of Ibn 'Arabi (d.1240), Sufism's most influential master. His voluminous

writings offer a treasury of wisdom, yet their vintage and complexity can limit their

purview to experts. To help bridge the gap between specialized studies of Sufi

philosophy and a broader readership, Dissolving into Being offers a modern

commentary on key passages of Ibn 'Arabi's foremost work, The Gemstones of

Wisdom, drawing out its profound insights on the unity of life, the reality of love

and the mysterious nature of destiny, death and what follows. In the process of

doing so, the book explores key elements of the Islamic Sufi-tradition and offers

an overview of the Sufi path of spiritual transformation, all the while pointing to the

deep resonance of Sufi philosophy with other religions and philosophies.

Although such works are much more widely available for other (what we might call) mystical

philosophical traditions, there is little available on Sufi philosophy that is not

explicitly oriented towards a strictly academic readership.

The astounding autobiography of the man who transformed Rumi from a learned religious teacher into the world's greatest poet of mystical love.

A beautiful collector's hardcover of never-before-translated poems by the widely beloved medieval Persian poet Rumi. AN EVERYMAN'S LIBRARY POCKET POET.

Rumi (1207-1273) was trained in Sufism--a mystic tradition within Islam--and founded the Sufi order known to us as the Whirling Dervishes, who use dance and music as part of their spiritual devotion. Rumi's poetry has long been popular with contemporary Western audiences because of the way it combines the sacred and the sensual, describing divine love in rapturously human terms.

However, a number of Rumi's English translators over the past century were not speakers of Persian and they based their sometimes very free interpretations on earlier translations. With Western audiences in mind, translators also tended to tone down or leave out elements of Persian culture and of Islam in Rumi's work, and hundreds of the prolific poet's works were never made available to English speakers at all.

In this new translation--composed almost entirely of untranslated gems from Rumi's vast ouevre--Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz aim to achieve greater fidelity to the originals while still allowing Rumi's lyric exuberance to shine.

Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket.

Thought-provoking, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary conversations on Sufism with one of the world's foremost scholars of Islamic, religion, and comparative studies.

Return to the Eternal Abode is a series of in-depth discussions between Amira El-Zein and Seyyed Hossein Nasr, one of the world's foremost scholars of Islamic, religious, and comparative studies. Each of the six chapters addresses a central theme at the heart of Sufism: creativity, cosmology, the environment, poetry, art, and modernity. Nasr's answers to El-Zein's probing questions offer thought-provoking, comprehensive, and interdisciplinary approaches to these aspects of the Sufi tradition, reflecting a lifetime of scholarship and comfortably synthesizing various sources, philosophies, and traditions, both Islamic and otherwise. The book also sheds light on Nasr's relations to eminent thinkers of the twentieth century, such as Titus Burckhardt, Mircea Eliade, Louis Massignon, and Henry Corbin and provides, in many ways, an accessible synopsis or overview of his entire oeuvre.

Silver Winner, Focused Topic-Translation, Nautilus Book Awards

Delicate and tough, a crafted danger, full of wit as well as abandon, Hafiz's lyric is one of the rare mysteries of world literature.
--Coleman Barks, author and translator of The Essential Rumi

I have this gem and it's looking for a beholder

Hafiz of Shiraz (also known as Hafez) remains the most beloved name in all of Persian literature. Indeed, his mystic, lyric poetry is cherished as one of the great achievements of world literature, on a par with Dante, Goethe, and Shakespeare.

Hafiz's Little Book of Life is a lush collection of more than 250 selections from his lifework. Also included is a vivid portrait of his life and times, translators' notes, an extensive glossary, a bibliography, and an appendix on Hafiz as an oracle. Here are classic soaring flights of fancy and solid life lessons--made new by two award-winning translators.

This is the perfect introduction to Hafiz for all lovers of poetry and seekers of love, spirituality, and wisdom. Let the unforgettable words of Hafiz shine through you with their love, profundity, wit, and celebration of life.

This is translation as a real 'carrying-across, ' as art, not artifact . . . this one drops the reader/listener directly into their own soul-struggle. Immerse yourself and be transformed! --Neil Douglas-Klotz, author of The Sufi Book of Life and A Little Book of Sufi Stories

From the first page, you are invited to settle into a sublime sanctuary and partake in enchantment until you feel the Beloved inside your beating heart and running through your veins. --Ari Honarvar, author of A Girl Called Rumi

A dervish guide to life and love for the twenty-first century

Part meditation book, part oracle, and part collection of Sufi lore, poetry, and stories, this handbook offers a fresh interpretation of the fundamental spiritual practice found in all ancient and modern Sufi schools--the meditations on the 99 Qualities of Unity.

Unlike most books on Sufism, which are primarily collections of translated Sufi texts, The Sufi Book of Life explains how to apply Sufi principles to modern life. Author Neil Douglas-Klotz expertly bridges the gap between the Sufi qualities and contemporary concerns such as love, work, and success, and punctuates this all with timeless wisdom from Sufi masters, both ancient and modern, such as Rumi, Hafiz, Shabistari, Rabia, Inayat Khan, Indries Shah, Irina Tweedie, Bawa Muhaiyadden, and more.

On the web: http: //sufibookoflife.com

The first accessible and broad-ranging sourcebook of key Sufi writings, Essential Sufism draws together more than 300 stories, fables, aphorisms, poems, and excerpts from the Koran that reveal the heart of Islamic mysticism. The poets and writers chosen here, including Ibn Arabi, Al-Ghazzali, Hafiz, Attar, and, of course, Rumi, will fascinate newcomers, delight old hands, and provide a matchless overview of a mystical tradition that has touched a dozen cultures and endured for more than 1,500 years.

Essential Sufism is a part of the Essential series, beautifully packaged works edited by leading authorities that feature the core texts of major religious traditions in definitive translations.

Robert Fager, Ph.D., is a psychologist, Sufi teacher, and author of two other books on Sufism, Love Is the Wine, and Heart, Self, and Soul: The Sufi Psychology of Growth, Balance, and Harmony.

James Fadiman, Ph.D., is an author, teacher, and student of Sufism. He lives in Menlo Park, California.

An awesome and eminently profound compendium of spiritual wisdom.

- Body Mind Spirit

Little did Irina Tweedie know that her trip to India in 1959, at the age of fifty-two, would mysteriously lead her to a Sufi Master, and set her upon a journey to the heart of hearts, the Sufi path of realization.Her teacher's first request of her was to keep a complete diary of her spiritual training--everything, all the difficult parts, even all the doubts. He predicted that one day it would become a book and would benefit people around the world.This diary spans five years, making up an amazing record of spiritual transformation ... the agonies, the resistance, the long and frightening bouts with the purifying forces of Kundalini, the perseverance, the movements towards surrender, the longing, and finally the all-consuming love.From a psychological viewpoint, the diary maps the process of ego dissolution, gradually unveiling the openness and love that reside beneath the surface of the personality.Mrs. Tweedie is the first Western woman to be trained in this ancient yogic lineage. Her story and experience testify that this teaching system can still be powerfully transformative today in our modern world.First published in its abridged form as Chasm of Fire (which has sold over 100,000 copies and has been translated into six languages), Daughter of Fire is a unique account of a spiritual training with a Sufi Master and is the most detailed account of the relationship between disciple and teacher that exists in Western Literature. Written in diary form, this title has already sold over 30,000 copies worldwide and is now being published through The Golden Sufi Center.

One of the distinguished schools of Islamic spiritual discipline, the Naqshbandi Sufi Order has a long and illustrious history from the first days of Islam. Led by the shaykhs of the Golden Chain-inheritors of spiritual knowledge from Prophet Muhammad-the Naqshbandi Order has always played a central, pivotal role in the life of people in the Muslim world and survived the turmoil and tribulations of the past century to remain one of the few authentic mystical traditions maintaining a living link with its ancient past. The extraordinary vision of the Naqshbandi Saints was manifest in their establishment of fixed devotions and daily practices firmly rooted in the Qur'an and Sunnah of the Prophet. These practices have enabled devout seekers to awaken certainty of belief and to attain stations of nearness to the Divine Presence. The renewed prominence of this order at the turn of the 21st century, due to the indefatigable striving of Mawlana Shaykh Muhammad Nazim al-Haqqani, signals an impending change to our society in which aspirants to Divine Service will be granted to transcend the bounds of the physical senses in order to fulfill the unexplored potential in each human heart. The Naqshbandi Devotions are a source of light and energy, an oasis in a worldly desert. Through the manifestations of Divine Blessings bestowed on the practitioners of these magnificent rites, they will be granted the power of magnanimous healing, by which they seek to cure the hearts of mankind darkened by the gloom of spiritual poverty and materialism. We pray that each person who picks up this book of devotions with sincere intention to observe any of its efficacious practices will receive a portion of the blessings and manifestations bestowed on the greatest saints of earlier times.

Marvels of the Heart is thought to be the key volume of the 40-book Ihya' 'Ulum-Al Din--Revival of the Religious Sciences--, the most read work in the Muslim world after the Qur'an, and considered by many to be the Summa Theologica of Islam. These traditional teaching stories, which use the theme of the heart as a mirror, illustrate key tenets of Islam on the requirements of religion, living in society, and the inner life of the soul.

For those who have reached a level of understanding of the illusory nature of the world around us and seek to discern the reality that lies behind it, Sufi meditation - muraqabah - is the doorwaye through which we can pass from this realm of delusion into the realm of realities. Through meditation the seeker has a means to return to his or her perfected original self. Muraqabah is the fastest and most direct method for advancing in spiritual degrees. It is in fact a migration from one's self to God. Through meditation higher states of consciousness are attained, and the connection to the seeker's true inner self is established, built-up and maintained, providing the practictioner with a lifeline to the Divine Presence. This book presents the spiritual background behind the practice of meditation, then takes the reader step-by-step, through the basics of spiritual connection based on the ancient teachings of the Naqshbandi Sufi masters of Central Asia.

Shaykh Ibrahim had unparalleled success in propagating the Tijaniyya, and those owing their initiation into the order to Shaykh Ibrahim currently number around one hundred million and make up more than half of all the Tijanis in the world. The distinguishing practice of Shaykh Ibrahim's movement was tarbiya, or spiritual training. Through tarbiya, aspirants transcended the confines of their ego-selves and tasted the directly-experienced knowledge, or gnosis (ma'rifa), of God. The Kashif al-Ilbas, written early on in the Shaykh's career in 1931-1932, is primarily a guide for the teaching and learning of the experiential knowledge (ma'rifa) of God on a widespread scale. Drawing on the concept of the spiritual flood, gnosis for all who desired it, Shaykh Ibrahim demonstrates in the Kashif that no believing man or woman should deprive him or herself of spiritual illumination. With an overview of the theory and practice of Sufism, this important reference provides insight into West African Islamic history.

The author of the Epistle on Sufism, Abu 'l-Qasim al-Qushayri (376/986-465/1074), was a famous Sunni scholar and mystic (Sufi) from Khurasan in Iran. His Epistle is probably the most popular Sufi manual ever .

Written in 437/1045, it has served as a primary textbook for many generations of Sufi novices down to the present. In it, Al-Qushayri gives us an illuminating insight into the everyday lives of Sufi devotees of the eighth to eleventh centuries C.E. and the moral and ethical dilemmas they were facing in trying to strike a delicate balance between their ascetic and mystical convictions and the exigencies of life in a society governed by rank, wealth, and military power.

In al-Qushayri's narrative, the Sufi 'friends of God' (awaliya') are depicted as the true, if uncrowned, 'kings' of this world, not those worldly rulers who appear to be lording it over the common herd of believers. Yet, even the most advanced Sufi masters should not take salvation for granted. Miracle-working, no matter how spectacular, cannot guarantee the Sufi a 'favourite outcome' in the afterlife, for it may be but a ruse on the part of God who wants to test the moral integrity of his servant. In the Epistle these and many other Sufi motifs are illustrated by the anecdotes and parables that show al-Qushayri's fellow Sufis in a wide variety of contexts: suffering from hunger and thirst in the desert, while performing pilgrimage to Mecca, participating in 'spiritual concerts', reciting the Qur'an, waging war against the 'infidel' enemy and their own desires, earning their livelihood, meditating in a retreat, praying, working miracles, interacting with the 'people of the market-place', their family members and peers, dreaming, and dying.

About The Author

Abul Qasim Al-Qushayri was the student of the Shaykh Abu Ali al-Daqqaq, He was a muhaddith who transmitted hadith to pupils by the thousands in Naysabur, in which he fought the Mu tazila until he flew to Makkah to protect his life, He was also a mufassir who wrote a complete commentary of the Qur'an entitled Lata'if al-isharat bi tafsir al-Qur'an (The subtleties and allusions in the commentary of the Qur'an).

This works is his most famous work, which is one of the early complete manuals of the science of tasawwuf.