The Muslim Jesus: Sayings and Stories in Islamic Literature

This work presents in English translation the largest collection ever assembled of the sayings and stories of Jesus in Arabic Islamic literature. In doing so, it traces a tradition of love and reverence for Jesus that has characterized Islamic thought for more than a thousand years. An invaluable resource for the history of religions, the [...]

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Rumi–Past and Present, East and West: The Life, Teachings, and Poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi

Drawing on a vast array of sources, from writings of the poet himself to the latest scholarly literature, this new anniversary edition of the award-winning work examines the background, the legacy, and the continuing significance of Jalal al-Din Rumi, today’s bestselling poet in the United States. With new translations of over fifty of Rumi’s poems [...]

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The Subject Tonight Is Love: Sixty Wild and Sweet Poems of Hafiz

To Persians, the fourteenth-century poems of Hafiz are not classical literature from a remote past, but cherished love, wisdom, and humor from a dear and intimate friend. Perhaps, more than any other Persian poet, it is Hafiz who most fully accesses the mystical, healing dimensions of poetry. Daniel Ladinsky has made it his life’s work [...]

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The Garden of Truth: The Vision and Promise of Sufism, Islam’s Mystical Tradition

Despite the popularity of Sufism, few books provide an overview of this mystical branch of Islam— a void Nasr, professor of Islamic Studies at George Washington University, fills nicely, albeit briefly, with this concise primer. Sufism teaches that all aspects of life—from nature to other people—are signs of God, and yet the grandeur of God [...]

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Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Qur’an, Mi’raj, Poetic and Theological Writings

This volume, compiled and translated by Michael Sells, is really an excellent resource for those of us who are interested in early Sufism. Sells has compiled a very useful collection of extracts from early Sufi writings. I was surprised to know that writings of Junaid apparently even still exist (and this book includes some of [...]

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