This book contains English translation of about 270 poems and quatrains derived from the 8 books of Urdu poetry that Faiz Ahmed Faiz published from 1941 to 1984, over a tumultuous period of 4 decades. For helping him and his poetry put in context, the book includes a ‘Preface’, how other writers viewed his poetry, including his own views on his poetry and how it sought social justice and freedom of speech and action, through his own incarcerations. This is another effort to bring to Englis...

Championed by the likes of Madonna, Donna Karan, and Deepak Chopra, Rumi has won such a following in this country that a few years ago he was proclaimed our bestselling poet. But translations that have popularized the work of this thirteenth-century Sufi mystic have also strayed from its essence. In this new translation, Farrukh Dhondy seeks to recover both the lyrical beauty and the spiritual essence of the original verse. In poems of love and devotion, rapture and suffering, loss and yea...

Get drunk on Love, for Love is all that exists. Unless you make Love your business, you will not be admitted to the Beloved.' (Divan-i Shams-i Tabriz 455:A1:54)The thirteenth-century saint Jalaluddin Rumi has been called the greatest mystical poet of any age, and his work compared to that of Dante and Shakespeare. Over a period of 25 years he composed over 70,000 verses of poetry on the subjects of divine love, mystic passion and ecstatic illumination.Rumi was also a master...

Arabic Stories for Language Learners—a language learning experience for beginner to intermediate students of the Arabic language.The traditional stories of a country are invaluable at providing insight into understanding the culture, history and language of a people. A great way to learn Arabic, the sixty-six stories found in Arabic Stories for Language Learners present the vocabulary and grammar used every day in Arabic-speaking countries...

A biography of the Sufi poet that's "a dazzling feat of scholarship . . . the book restores Rumi to the glories and hardships of his momentous age" ( The Washington Post).Ecstatic love poems of Rumi, a Persian poet and Sufi mystic born over eight centuries ago, are beloved by millions of readers in America as well as around the world. He has been compared to Shakespeare for his outpouring of creativity and to Saint Francis of Assisi for his spiritual wisdom...

In Idries Shah's Wisdom of the Idiots, the 'idiots' are Sufis, called this because their wisdom penetrates to a depth which renders it inaccessible to the merely intelligent or academically-knowledgeable. The exercise-stories of the Sufis are tools prepared for a specific purpose.On this level the movements of the characters in a story portray psychological processes, and the story becomes a working blueprint of those processes.Wisdom of the Idiots has been awarded many prize...

A Words Without Borders Anthology"Remarkable . . . a triumph . . . connects us at the level of our humanity, no matter where we may be from."— Los Angeles TimesThe countries that stretch along the broad horizons of the Middle East—from Morocco to Iran, from Turkey to Pakistan—boast different cultures, different languages, and different religions. Yet the literary landscape of this dynamic part of the world has been bound together not by borders and ...

One of our most acclaimed poets brings the work of the great Persian mystic and poet, Hafez, to a new audience.There is no poet in our tradition who carries the amount of admiration and devotion that the Persians have for Hafez. Children learn to sing Hafez poems in the third grade, and almost every family has a copy of the collected Hafez on the dining room table. Robert Bly and the great Islamic scholar Leonard Lewisohn have worked for 15 years on this book of Ha...

Love is the Wine presents an intoxicating mix of essays to satisfy the spiritual thirst of those with long experience in Islam, as well as those encountering Sufism and the meaning of spiritual love for the first time. Themes including generosity, faith, self-knowledge, patience, and love are developed with stories and teachings by Turkish Sufi master Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak. A mesmerizing storyteller, master teacher, and prolific author in his native country, he was ideally suited to bring the ...

A beautifully presented volume that draws from the breadth of the great Persian poet’s workTimeless and eternal, the poetry of Jalal al-Din Rumi is loved the world over. The best-selling poet from America to Afghanistan, his words are as relevant today as ever, still resonating with contemporary concerns of both East and West alike. Commemorating the 800th anniversary of Rumi's birth, this beautifully presented volume draws from the breadth of Rumi's work, spanning...

This collection of Sufi poetry and songs is “an inspiring source to deepen our knowledge of Sufism by the examples and teachings of . . . beautiful and wise Sufi women” (Sufism)The luminous presence of women who follow the Sufi Way—the mystical path of Islam—is brought to life here through their sacred songs and poetry, their dreams and visions, and stories of their efforts as they witness the Truth in many realms. These writings reflect the honor and resp...

It is often said that two-thirds of the religion of Islam was handed down by women and one-third was shaped by women. "Of worldly things," the Prophet Muhammad said, "women and fragrance are made dear to me and the comfort of my eyes is made in prayer."Muhammad was born to a widowed mother, tended by a female slave, and fostered by a Bedouin woman. Throughout his life, women were among his closest friends and companions, and they fought by his side for Islam. His marriage to Khadij...