Following is a selection of books on Sufi life by authors whom I admire. Many of the authors are ancient Sufi saints whose teachings continue to inspire us. Some of the writers are contemporary teachers whose books opened my eyes to the hidden richness of my faith.
In this list I have also included books that I have written.
- Sufi Light: The Secret of Meditation by Ahmed Javid. This book is my personal favorite. It is a practitioner’s handbook written by a Sufi who has himself experienced everything he writes about. I have written a review about this book in my blogpost, Journeying with Sufi Writers: My Path to Rediscovering Faith.
- Nur-ul-Huda – The Light of Guidance by Sultan Bahoo. Available on sultanbahoo.net
- The Sufi Path of Knowledge, Ibn Al-Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination translated by William C. Chittick
- Journey to the Lord of Power, A Sufi Manual on Retreat by Ibn Arabi
- Alone with the Alone, Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn Arabi translated by Henry Corbin, Ralph Manheim
- Mystical Dimensions of Islam by Annemarie Schimmel
- Al-Ghazali’s Path to Sufism: His Deliverance from Error (al-Munqidh min al-Dalal)
- The Masnavi, by Mevlana Jalal al-Din Rumi (masnavi.net)
- The Poems of Hafez by Shamseddin Hafez
- The Risalah: Principles of Sufism Paperback by Abul Qasim Abd al-Karim bin Hawazin al-Qushayri
- Kashf Al-Mahjub: The Revelation of the Veiled, An Early Persian Treatise on Sufism translated by Reynold A. Nicholson
- Me and Rumi The Autobiography of Shams-i Tabrizi Shams-i Tabrizi, translated by William C. Chittick and Annemarie Schimmel
- The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism by Henry Corbin. This is an analysis of the writings of the great Persian mystics such as Suhrawradi, Semnani, Najm alDin Kubra on the quest for enlightenment in their spiritual journeys.
- The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
- Sirr al-Asrar by Hadrat Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1077-1166AD)
- Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom Including What the Seeker Needs and The One Alone Ibn Arabi, al-Jerrahi al-Halveti
- I Am Wind, You Are Fire, The Life and Work of Rumi by Annemarie Schimmel
- Sufism: Veil and Quintessence A New Translation with Selected Letters: Veil and Quintessence – A New Transformation with Selected Letters (The Writings of Frithjof Schuon)
- Daughter of Fire, A Diary of a Spiritual Training with a Sufi Master by Irina Tweedie
- Miftah al-falah, a thirteenth century Sufi text, written by Ibn Ata Allah. This book offers a glimpse into the Sufi world of the 7th Islamic century, allowing readers to witness firsthand the guidance provided by Sufi masters to novices.
- Signs on the Horizons: Meetings with Men of Knowledge and Illumination by Michael Sugich.
- When You Hear Hoofbeats Think of a Zebra by Shems Friedlander. Shems Friedlander has studied with Sufi Shaykhs throughout the Middle East – in Makkah, Madinah, Cairo and Istanbul and this book is a curation of his knowledge.
- What is Sufism? by Martin Lings
- Early Islamic Mysticism: Sufi, Quran, Miraj, Poetic and Theological Writings by Michael Anthony Sells
- The Ecstasy Beyond Knowing: A Manual of Meditation Kindle Edition by Pir Vilayat inayat Khan.
- The Oblivion Seekers Paperback – Jan. 11 2001 by Isabelle Eberhardt. Stories and journal notes by an extraordinary young woman—adventurer and traveler, Arabic scholar, Sufi mystic and adept of the Djillala cult.
- Memorial of God’s Friends: Lives and Sayings of Sufis Kindle Edition by Farid Al-Din Attar, translated by Paul Losensky.
- The Conference of the Birds, by Farid Ud-Din Attar
- Sufis of Andalusia by Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi. A delightful 12th-century spiritual travel book.
- The Book of Strangers, by Ian Dallas. Ian seeks and finds wisdom and solace in the deserts of Sahara under the guidance of a Sufi master to whom he dedicates his short but powerful book.
- Beauty and Light by Cemalnur Sargut. I have not yet read this book, but one reviewer states that reading this beautiful book reminds us that the “gates to heaven are still open.”
- Journey Through Ten Thousand Veils by Maryam Kabeer Faye
- The Lamps that Illuminated the World: Mystical Journeys of Three Sufi Masters: Sheikh al-Junaid, Hazrat Bayazid Bistami and Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani by SagaTeller.
- Sufi Stories of Wisdom, Calm and Wondrous Mystique by SagaTeller. Through a skillful weaving of anecdotes from tradition and history, this book contains several stories which have been carefully researched for authenticity.
- Essential Muslim Prayers & Living a Devotional Life: A Beginner’s Guide to Salah, Prayers from Quran and Spiritualism in Islam by SagaTeller.
Mevlana Rumi Books
I have extensively studied Mevlana Rumi, and have shared below a collection of Mevlana Rumi books.
I have only included titles and/or author names of Rumi books. I have not included URLs/links to these books or their translations, as a quick Google search with the titles and/or author name will provide all necessary information, including availability and the most convenient online or physical store for purchase.
I have not included books which are universally acknowledged as incorrect translations of Mevlana Rumi’s works or misrepresentations of his life. I have also left out those books which are written by those modern writers whose sole purpose is to capitalize on Mevlana’s name and these writers have not made a serious study of his life and works.
Books by Mevlana Rumi
- Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi: Mevlana Rumi penned the Divan after the disappearance of his friend and teacher Hazrat Shams, and it is Divan dedicated to Hazrat Shams. Th contains many verses praising him and lamenting his disappearance.
- Fihi Ma Fihi (In It What’s in It): This is a record of seventy-one lectures given by Mevlana Rumi on various occasions to his students. Mevlana Rumi did not author the work directly, it was curated from the notes of his various students.
- Masnavi: Mevlana Rumi’s most famous work in six volumes, spread over nearly 27000 lines. These are devotional, spiritual poems.
- Majales-e Saba: Contains sermons by Mevlana Rumi given on 7 different occasions, especially on request of notable people in the realm.
- Maktubat (aka Makatib): A collection of letters written by Mevlana Rumi to his students, family members, nobles, and kings.
Books by Sultan Valad (Bahauddin Walad), Mevlana Rumi’s Son
- Ibtida Nama (The book of the beginning): Written in 1291, the work has over 9000 lines of poetry. It contains biographies of Mevlana Bahauddin (Mevlana Rumi’s father), Mevlana Rumi, Mevlana Rumi’s ancestors and descendants. This is also an important information source about many people such as his teachers (Hazrat Shams and Hazrat Borhan) and his students (Salah al-Din Zarkub, Hosam al-din) and about Sultan Walad (author) himself. This book also contains many mystical anecdotes from Mevlana’s life.
- Rabab-nama: This book of poetry by Sultan Valad was written at the request of a dervish who met Mevlana’s son. In the book Sultan Valad explains many of the principles of Rumi’s thought in a simpler and more understandable language. This book has been compared to the shining moon that receives its light and radiance from the sun of Rumi’s Masnavi, and illuminates the path in the darkness for the travelers.
- Intiha-nama: A book of devotional poetry. It has about 8300 lines. In this book Sultan Valad has summarized and distilled his two other books (Ibtida Nama and Rabab-nama).
- Divan (aka Diwan-i Walad): This is a collection of spiritual and devotional poetry that Sultan Valad termed as his first literary work. However, he continued to revise it till his death.
- Maarif-i Waladi (The Waladi Gnosis): A collection of 56 of sermons and lectures by Sultan Valad in simple, easily understandable language.
Books by Mevlana Rumi’s Father & Teachers
- Maarif of Mevlana Bahauddin Walad, the father of Mawlana Rumi: The Maarif (“Mystical Knowings”) is a diary of the mystical experiences Mawlana Rumi’s father, Mevlana Bahauddin Walad. This was published after Mevlana Bahauddin’s death as he in his humility, was reluctant to publish his work. Mevlana Rumi revered his father’s written works. After the death of his father, Mevlana Rumi would carry his works in his cloak pocket and frequently read them again and again.
- Maqalat (Conversations) of Shams of Tabriz: This book, by Mevlana Rumi’s students contains a collections of words and conversations of the Mevlana Shamsuddin Tabrizi (Hazrat Shams, Mevlana Rumi’s teacher and friend).
- Burhan al-Din Muḥaqqiq’s Maarif: Mevlana Burhan (aka Borhan) was a student of Mevlana Rumi’s father, and teacher of Mevlana Rumi.
Biographies of Mevlana Rumi (Earliest Sources)
- Shams al-Din al-Aflaki: Manaqib al-Arifin: For a spiritual seeker, Ahmad Aflaki’s work stands out as one of the most authentic sources of information about Mevlana Rumi. A devoted follower of Rumi’s grandson, Aflaki’s book encompasses anecdotes of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, detailing his family, including his father, wife, sons, and daughter. Moreover, Aflaki provides insights into Hazrat Shams of Tabriz, along with other close companions and students, offering inspiring stories that illuminate the path of a dervish. Ahmad Aflaki himself did not write poetry but he included beautiful verses of poetry by Mevlana Rumi and his father.
- Faridun bin Ahmad Sepahsalar’s Risala: Faridun bin Ahmad Sepahsalar spent 40 years in Mevlana Rumi’s presence. Among his students, he alone undertook the task of writing a biogrpaphy of Mevlana Rumi. For anyone interested in the life and wisdom of Mevlana Rumi, this is a must read.
Books On Mevlana Rumi by Modern Authors/Translators
- Following are some authors and translators who have invested in understanding Mevlana Rumi’s life and works. Some of these authors/translators provide an objective and accurate translation while others weave in their skepticism and cynicism. However most of them have done significant amount of original work.
- Afzal Iqbal
- Seyed Gahreman Safavi
- Simon Weightman
- Annmarie Schimmel: Very objective and learned perspectives on Sufi literature.
- Franklin Lewis
- Hulya Kucuk
- William C. Chittick
- Sefik Can
- Gholamreza Aavani
- Khalifa Abdul Hakim
- Fritz Meier
- Badi al-Zaman Foruzanfar
- Ibrahim Gamard: Ibrahim Gamard dedicated a large part of his life to learning Persian so he can read Mevlana’s works in its original form.
- Reynold Nicholson: Nicholson’s translations are universally considered to be very accurate except for one caveat that some poems in his translations were later found to be written by other people, not Mevlana Rumi.
- I have left out all those biographers and translators who have tried to capitalize on Mevlana Rumi’s work as a commercial venture and whose works are factually incorrect and often purposefully misleading. Some of these writers have gone to the extent of claiming that they spent time in Turkey and learned Persian – but it’s all superficial for marketing purposes only. These other authors whom we are not listing here have done great disservice to Mevlana.
I hope you find these books useful in understanding Sufis and Tasawwuf, and I hope that reading these may bring you peace.
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