Customer Reviews

Alchemy in Middle-Earth: The Significance of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

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J.R.R. Tolkien's magisterial opus, "The Lord Of The Rings" has been examined by many scholars and students, but this book is unique. Mr. Shelton dives deep below the surface of the text attempting to draw out hitherto obscure and veiled connections between this "Most Important Book of The Twentieth Century" the great religious and symbolic traditions of mankind. Much has been made by other reviewers of the "Islamic" character of this book; in fact, the title, "Alchemy In Middle Earth" points to the real essentials of its singular approach. The book attempts to highlight the realities and transcendent truths at the heart of Tolkien's vision. To my understanding, there is no other study of Tolkien that brings the searching light of the perennial philosophical tradition to bear upon the obviously profound hidden depths of "The Lord Of The Rings".... Highly recommended for those with a heart and imagination!

"Alchemy in Middle Earth" illustrates how the great J. R. R. Tolkien wove Islamic and Judeo-Christian mystical symbology throughout the Lord of the Rings. I found myself re-reading this book several times.

I am a Muslim and I made gifts of this book to some Imams (Islamic "ministers") of my aquaintance. They were all impressed with the content of the book and of the brilliant scholarship of both Tolkien and Shelton.

Undoubtedly the novel of the century, 'Lord of The Rings' is cloaked in multiple layers of meaning. Shelton skilfully uncovers the Sufi/Islamic perspective. A reader's experience of the J.R.R. novel is informed by the variety and depth of his/her knowledge.

Shelton brings in an eschatological aspect to the work and includes actual historical figures, past, present and those awaited by the three major religions of the world. In this way Shelton makes J.R.R. Tolkein's novel even more relevant to the future!

I loved the insight, provided by Shelton about the Lord of The Rings trilogy, and the neat tie in with Persian, Greek myth and Alchemy. He has researched ancient cultures and at times references Chinese and Indian cultures as well. The common aspects of the Abrahamic faiths also weave in and out of Shelton's narrative.

The works of both J.R.R. Tolkein and C.S. Luis, who were contemporaries and friends, draw upon common themes and Christian/Islamic symbolism. Is this the only influence though? Not at all - the answer depends on how well informed the reader is and how many layers can (s)he uncover? Shelton's work armed me with an unusual and surprising perspective on the Lord of The Ring.

I cannot overstate how unhappy I am with this book.

First, it was a nasty surprise to receive an amateurish, self-published, print-on-demand book when I thought I was paying for a real book from a real publisher. I do sometimes order vanity press (self-published by the author) books, but it's nearly always the case that authors self-publish only after being rejected by all potential "real" publishers, so the quality level of self-published books is typically awful. I expect at least a warning. No wonder the price is so expensive for only 100 pages!

I love LOTR and enjoy learning which sources Tolkien drew his ideas from. Tolkien did unambiguously get a few ideas from Islamic tradition, like the "tree of the sun" and the "tree of the moon" in the Silmarillion (borrowed from Alexander romances). Tolkien also famously translated a version of 'Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,' a 14th century story which does seem to have been intentionally built using some symbolism from alchemy, so when I saw this title listed, I thought perhaps Tolkien had really borrowed that symbolic model from 'Green Knight' and used it in LOTR, and this book would explain how, where, and why and provide support for each claim.

Although inaccurately titled 'Alchemy in Middle Earth,' this book is really focused mostly on Islam and the Qur'an.

Presumably in common with all readers of this book, my most important question is: "Is the author claiming that (1) Tolkien based LOTR *primarily* on Islamic symbols, (2) *partially* on Islamic symbols, or (3) is the author claiming only that there are similarities (perhaps coincidental) between Islam and LOTR? The subtitle "The Significance of J.R.R. Tolkien's LOTR," strongly implies that the author believes that LOTR is based *primarily* on Islam, and this book can prove it. To my great surprise and disappointment, author Mahoud Shelton never gives the reader a straight answer! Instead, he constantly *implies* that LOTR was intentionally meant by Tolkien to be primarily about Islam, but this idea is always couched in slippery "weasel words."

For instance, here is the sentence from the introduction which the author seems to regard as his thesis: "For indeed LOTR is an essentially 'alchemical' work, with it's imagery of fire and metallurgy, and more importantly, 'transmutation' from one state to another." Is the author claiming that LOTR is *based* on alchemy, or has *coincidental similarities* to alchemy? In real life the latter seems true, but Shelton makes constant slippery implications that the former is true. Does Shelton imagine that every story with any kind of change ('transmutation') in it is really about alchemy? Doesn't that include every story ever told?

Shelton very occasionally brushes up against genuine Tolkien influences, like Solomon and other Old Testament characters, but even on well-trod ground, he is wrong more often than not. For instance, Shelton suggests that "Middle Earth" is Tolkien's translation of an Arabic word, when even casual Tolkien scholars know "Middle Earth" is simply the English for "Midgard," the Old Germanic name for the realms of men.

This book might be more accurately titled: 'Let's pretend LOTR is about Islam; a long list of vague, coincidental similarities between LOTR and Islam, which are misrepresented as significant.' Shelton seems sincere in his intentions, but unfortunately this book is almost completely misinformation and should be avoided.

I am sure Mahmoud means well but this is typical perennialist writing. He throws a whole range of cultural and religious symbols together in a bag, shakes them and then makes out there is some reality more than conicidence in the fact some of them stick together. This commentary lacks rigor but has tons of imagination, in other words. Of course, Shelton's basic thesis, that Tolkien's work owes much to Middle Eastern religious thought and symbolism (whether Islamic or not) is true, but that doesn't make Tolkien a saint, a spiritual teacher or even a 'mystic'. He's just a story-teller. Believe it or not, most sagas in the history of world literature are about 'the conflict between good and evil'. Come to that so is the Terminator series of films. So is LOTR. But reading LOTR will not make you a Sufi. It won't even make you a better person. Neither will this book, I'm afraid. The writing lacks discipline, and discipline (in the sense of being a disciple with a master) is precisely what you need to become a better person according to Sufism/Islam. Stories help but they are not the whole deal. Verdict: not what it wants to be, this book. If you want to know Islam, read the Qur'an, not Tolkien.

This was a very interesting and thoughtful book. It casts a new light on Mr. Tolkiens masterful work.