Many books are written by academics from a technical standpoint; this one however is different. It is written by a mystic who has been inspired since a boy by his love of poetry which have made his life a search beauty; this search culminating in his long study of Sufi mysticism, considered by him to be the acme of all mystic poetry.

This book has in it many inspiring passages both poetry and prose. Short biographies are in included with examples of the work of the main Sufi mystics, as well as brief commentaries for the reader, who will also gain an overall knowledge of Sufi Liferature. Three main Sufi traditions have been included:

1. The Sunnite, with the greatest of all Sufi poets, Rumi, at the head, followed by Sana I and Ibn'l Farid. For the sake of convenience, Attar's work has been included in this category because, although a Shi'ite, he was a preceptor of Rumi;
    
2. The Shi'ite Ishraqians whose work, though lovely, is less well known than the Sunnite; the Ishraqian tradition was started by Avicenna and brought to its utmost beauty and glory by the Shaykh al-Ishraq (Mast of Light) Yahya Suhrawardi.
    
3. Work of the greatest philosopher of Islam, Shaykh al-Akbar-Ibn'Arabi, who was also a supreme poet; examples of his work and a fairly fully discussion of his philosophy as well as a number of his poems, with commentaries, are included.

Though the book is replete with innumerable poems and aphorisms which can inspire readers with a sense of joy, underlying the whole work is the main purpose of Ancient Wisdom: the Journey to Immortality. This theme is to be found throughout the book and at the end of it is a chapter on Immortality from other religious sources, so that readers will be able to gain further insights into this, the most important aim of all Seers and Mystics.

0-9510924-1-3 £9.95

04/02/2005