The Sufis | 
 enlarge | Author: Idries Shah
Publisher: Anchor
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
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Rating:  35 reviews
Sales Rank: 162409
Media: Paperback
Pages: 480
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.2 x 1.1
ISBN: 0385079664
Dewey Decimal Number: 297.4
EAN: 9780385079662
ASIN: 0385079664
Publication Date: February 5, 1971
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Product Description
First published in 1964, Idries Shah's definitive work, 'The Sufis', completely overturned Western misconceptions of Sufism, revealing a great spiritual and psychological tradition encompassing many of the world's greatest thinkers: Rumi, Omar Khayyam, Ibn El-Arabi, Al-Ghazzali, Sadi, Attar, Francis of Assisi and many others. The spiritual and psychological tradition of Sufism was regarded, before this pioneering book was published, as the preserve of ecstatic religionists and a small number of Oriental scholars, who treated it in the main as a minority cult. 'The Sufis' is the pivotal work which heralded the revelation of the astonishing richness and variety of Sufi thought and its contribution to human culture contained in Idries Shah's many books on the subject. The astonishing impact of Sufism on the development of Western civilization from the seventh century is traced through the work of Roger Bacon, John of the Cross, Raymond Lully, and Chaucer. Many of the greatest traditions, ideas and discoveries of the West are traced to the teachings and writings of Sufi masters working centuries ago. But 'The Sufis' is far more than an historical account. In the tradition of the great Sufi classics, the deeper appeal of this remarkable book is in its ability to function as an active instrument of instruction, in a way that is so clearly relevant to our time and culture. Today, studies in Sufism, notably through Shah's research and publication, are pursued in centers of higher learning throughout the world, in the fields of psychology, sociology, anthropology, and many other areas of current human concern.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 30 more reviews...
 The City of Delightful Nonsense November 28, 2008
Lawrence Wilcox (Christchurch NZ)
Idries Shah published a series of books on Sufi subjects beginning in the late 60's. Many of them, like "Tales of the Dervishes" and "Thinkers of the East", are entirely delightful, collections of Islamic stories and wisdom very difficult to find elsewhere.
This book was central, setting out his version of Sufism in overview. It is a ton of fun, intriguing and thought-provoking. It shines a fascinating light on little-known corners of history. It is also completely and utterly bogus. If you want to learn about real Sufism, this is not the book for you. It bears the same relation to Sufism that "The Da Vinci Code" does to Gospel scholarship or "Ancient Astronaut" books to archaeology.
Shah's Sufism was uncannily calculated to appeal to intelligent Westerners, but he was not all he seemed. He was born in Bristol; though he claimed to be a Master of the Naqshbandiyya Sufi Order, no-one else in the order had ever heard of him. In her authoritative "Mystical Dimensions of Islam" Annemarie Schimmel devotes a footnote to warning the reader to avoid Shah's works.
I wouldn't be so snitchy. This book at least introduced people to some of the great names of Sufism. Read it for fun, read it for interest, but don't take it seriously. I give three stars for entertainment value; zero stars for authenticity.
 Practical spirituality for those who really want it ... October 6, 2008
Forrest A. Smith
I read The Sufis long ago, and thought "Now I can see what everybody's doing wrong!"
Then I read more of Shah's books and The Sufis again, and thought "Well, I should apply it to myself, too!"
Then I read more of his books, and The Sufis again, and thought "So that's what he means!" I then saw some reviews on Amazon, saying that Shah was a charlatan, or that he had certain off-color connections and motivations - and I thought, "Ooh, what does this mean about my guy?"
Then it occurred to me to wonder how they would know about those connections etc. if they didn't even know Shah or his family ... And then I stopped worrying about that, and anyway, I noticed that "my guy" idea of mine, and realized that it was an unfounded yet revealing presupposition that were best set aside without further delay.
More recently, I also realized that the Sufis would be trying to help interested people make progress without worrying about all the extraneous stuff. So if they are real, and if what they talk about is also real, then they would do whatever it takes to achieve the goal without hurting anyone's prospects of progress, whether people understood it or not.
My latest thought is "So are they real, and is it real? Some will deny it and others will support it, saying 'Decide for yourself,' and they themselves will calmly say that they wish for you that you may find what you're looking for." And I'll undoubtedly have further thoughts in the future.
Understanding Sufism September 3, 2007
Joan C. Scott (New Mexico and Oregon)
0 out of 2 found this review helpful
This book is a stellar presentation about Sufism. It has really given me a comprehensive understanding of a topic that has long interested me as an aspect of mysticism without my feeling that I know much about it -- despite reading a fair amount. Most presentations are rather nonspecific, but Idries Shah makes a chapter of each of many specific issues to create a whole that gives me a really consistent picture of sufism. His analysis would, I think, appeal to someone with an analytic approach to things as well as to someone with a more "spiritual" approach as he shows how a person who truly understands sufism would use both at appropriate stages in his growth.
Excellent introduction to Sufism January 14, 2007
Srinivasan Nenmeli Krishna (Palo Alto CA USA)
4 out of 6 found this review helpful
This is an insightful book on Sufism, not an academic analysis of Sufism as in the case of many books by University professors..Whatever may be the authenticity of Shah as a Sufi master[about which several articles have been written] his book is great...it leads you into an appreciation of Sufi methods which are not easy to understand....Since it is a mystical path,words and literary accounts and books can provide only an indirect approach to it.Much depends on one's practice...I had been influenced by a Sufi master in India who is not alive....I can relate better to Shah's book because this master used similar methods and inspired others....Therefore, commenting on this book purely from the aspect of information and literary style is not correct....I wish we have more Sufi masters who can write like Shah ,whatever may be the tradition or linealogy [Silsila] of such a master.
Life Changing November 20, 2006
B. B. Bridenbaugh
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I was one time last year doing some cleaning. This book fell off the shelf and bumped me on the head. I put it in my pack and when I finished, I read it for hours in a coffeshop. Then I read everything by Shah I could find, Tales of the Dervishes, etc. They say you can't be a sufi by reading about it. To a point, I agree with that, unless it triggers something inside you that you 'remember' or 'discover' that you are one perhaps.
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