There are almost no authoratative books readily available for the general reader that provide, in clear and accessible language, an introduction to the spiritual perspective illuminating Rumi's magical poetry. In this beautifully illustrated work, William C. Chittick, a leading scholar of Sufism and Rumi, opens doors that give us access to the inner sanctum of Rummi's thought.

This is the most accessible work in English on the greatest mystical poet of Islam, providing a survey of the basic Sufi and Islamic doctrines concerning God and the world, the role of man in the cosmos, the need for religion, man's ultimate becoming, the states and stations of the mystical ascent to God, and the means whereby literature employs symbols to express "unseen" realities. William Chittick translates into English for the first time certain aspects of Rumi's work. He selects and rearranges Rumi's poetry and prose in order to leave aside unnecessary complications characteristic of other English translations and to present Rumi's ideas in an orderly fashion, yet in his own words. Thorough, nontechnical introductions to each chapter, and selections that gradually present a greater variety of terms and images, make this work easily accessible to those interested in the spirituality of any tradition.

Titus Burckhardt's masterpiece, Introduction to Sufi Doctrine, explores the essence of Islamic mysticism, or Sufism, presenting its central doctrines and methods to a Western audience in a highly intelligible form.

'To express in the language of Sufism, that is, Islamic mysticism, some of the universal truths which lie at the heart of all religions'--this is the book's avowed purpose. It came into being because the author was asked by a friend to set down in writing what he considered to be the most important things that a human being can know. He was also asked to make it very easy, and despite the depth of all that it contains, it has in fact a remarkable simplicity and clarity, due no doubt to the constant use of traditional imagery which awakens and penetrates the imagination.

Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-73), founder of the Mevlevi Sufi order of “Whirling Dervishes,” is the best-selling poet in America today. The wide-ranging appeal of his work is such that UNESCO declared 2007 to be “International Rumi Year.” However, his writings represent much more than love poetry. Rumi was one of the preeminent thinkers of Sufism, the esoteric form of Islam. In this groundbreaking collection of 13 essays on Rumi, many of the world’s leading authorities in the field of Islamic Studies and Persian Literature discuss the major religious themes in his poetry and teachings. In addition to discussing the ideas of love, ecstasy, and music in Rumi’s Sufi poetry, the essays offer new historical and theological perspectives on his work. The immortality of the soul, freewill, the nature of punishment and reward, and the relationship of Islam to Christianity are all covered, in order to bring Rumi’s poetry properly into the context of the Sufi tradition to which he belonged.

The Repose of the Spirits is a translation of one of the earliest and most comprehensive treatises on Sufism in the Persian language. Written by Aḥmad Sam'ānī, an expert in Islamic law from a famous Central Asian scholarly family in about the year 1135, it is one of the handful of early Sufi texts available in English and is by far the most accessible. It also may well be the longest and the most accurately translated. Ostensibly a commentary on the divine names, it avoids the abstract discourse of theological nitpicking and explains the human significance of the names with a delightful mix of Quranic verses and sayings of the Prophet and various past teachers, interspersed with original interpretations of the received wisdom. Unlike the usual books on the divine names (such as that of al-Ghazali), The Repose of the Spirits reminds the reader of the later poetical tradition, especially the work of Rumi. The prose is richly embroidered with imagery and interspersed with a great variety of Arabic and Persian poetry. What is especially remarkable is the manner in which the author speaks to his readers about their own personal situations, explaining why they are driven by a love affair with God, a God who is full of compassion and good humor, whether they know it or not. William C. Chittick's masterful new translation brings this work to an English-language audience for the first time.

Nonfiction. Rumi is one of the great mystics of Islam. He founded in the XIIIth century a brotherhood in the Turkish city of Konya, famous for the use of music in the context of spiritual experience. To understand Rumi is to enter the world of Islam in its true sense: known as a "Sufi," Rumi is on par with the spiritual Masters of all great religious traditions. Written by Eva de Vitray-Meyerovitch, a French scholar who became a believer in Islam through her works on Sufism, this book is the best initiation not only to Rumi, but to Islamic thought: it is clear, elegant, scholarly, beautiful. It is an excellent tool for serious students of Islam as well as for the general public who wants to approach Islamic civilization with the respect and competence it requires. It should be on the program of any studies dealing with Islam, comparative studies of religions, the values and politics of the Islamic world. It is a key to the underlying world-view which it is impossible to understand without comprehending its spiritual roots. But this book is also about the life and writings of one of the great poets of the world.

A salient feature of Iranian (Persian) mysticism, known as Sufism, is the notion of a union between an individual and the Divine Being. This union, which is an antithesis of alienation, is the most critical problem of humanity. This book explores the concept of mystical union and other major teachings of the great Iranian (Persian) mystic poet, Mowlana Jalaluddin Mohammad, known in the west as "Rumi." In addition to offering a translation of his most representative poems, this book examines the view that many rituals and the basic doctrine of Sufism originate from the ancient, pre-Islamic Indo-Iranian traditions as well as from Hellenistic philosophy and culture.

A collection of essays on Sufism, written by such contemporary contributors as Seyyed Hossein Nasr, William Chittick, and Frithjof Schuon, demystifies its language, philosophies, and history, in a volume that also provides interpretations of classic and modern essays. Original.

The first study in English of Islamic thought in China, this book shows that this tradition was informed by both Sufism and Neo-Confucianism; translations of two classic works are included.