Sufism: An Account of the Mystics of Islam

A. J. Arberry

This packed little book provides a ready introduction to
[Sufism's] history, its literature and its decline." – The Tablet

"A scholarly account of this difficult and intricate subject....A concise but authentic account of various sayings and teachings
of Muslim Sufis." – Islamic Review

Sufism, the mystical movement within Islam, in a thousand years of history has influenced powerfully the life, art and literature of the Muslim peoples. It has supplied the element of personal devotion and direct apprehension of Divine Realities which the more formal and practical character of orthodox ritual tended to overshadow. Thinkers like Ghazali and Ibn 'Arabi, such poets as Ibn al-Farid, Rumi, Hafiz and Jami were greatly inspired by the lives and sayings of the early Sufis. In this volume Professor Arberry has written the first short history of Sufism to appear in any language, illustrating the development of its doctrines with
copious quotations from its literature.

Sufism

1970

Harper & Row Publishers

English