The eleventh and twelfth centuries comprised a period of great significance in Islamic history. The Great Saljuqs, a Turkish-speaking tribe hailing from central Asia, ruled the eastern half of the Islamic world for a great portion of that time. In a far-r

The mystery of the Sufis, in the ancient usage of the word, is the experience of self-realization taught by traditional schools of "mysticism." In English, too, the word "mystery" also stands for an art or craft, a skill; and this sense is also preserved in the Sufic usage of the word "Work," or science of the Sufi: "Knowledge without action is like wax without honey." The Sufi Mystery brings together writings by Ameer Ali, the Islamic historian; Professor E. G. Browne, the Orientalist; Sir Richard Burton; Robert Graves; Idries Shah; and many others. It deals with authentic and mutated schools and orders and their literature over a very wide area of geography and belief. Sufi theories and practices are examined, visits to Sufi centers are described, the relationships of master and disciple investigated, and links with other systems noted.

Ghazali, Sanai, and Jami, authors of the four Sufi classics presented here, are among the very greatest names in the Sufi tradition. These four classical expositions of Sufi thought and experience give a cross-section of traditional instruction materials studied in dervish schools-but which are also a part of the literature of the Middle East. The dates of these translations range from the famous Salaman, published in 1856, to Pendlebury's rendering from The Way of the Seeker, com-pleted in 1979. The introduction to this volume provides informative background as to the intent of the various works and observations on the translations, from a Sufi point of view.