The World of the Sufi [Hardcover]

Peter Brent (Editor), Idries Shah (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1979

This collection of essays addresses the impact of Sufism in the modern world. Among the topics discussed are Sufism in Eastern Religion, Therapy and the Sufi, The Practice of the Sufi, Current Study Materials and Humor and the Sufi.

Editorial Reviews

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

"According to the Sufis, human beings are ordinarily cut off from Objective Reality, which is the origin of everything. Human faculties, although perceptive, are limited: like a radio set, which can receive only certain electromagnetic waves...

The perceived world, again according to this assertion, is therefore a distortion. The inability to transcend the barrier of limited senses explains human subjectivity...

-- From the Introduction by Idries Shah

Excerpted from The World of the Sufi edited by Peter Brent: Octagon Press, London, p. 1. Copyright © 1979 by Octagon Press. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 307 pages
• Publisher: Ishk Book Service; First Edition edition (June 1979)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0900860669
• ISBN-13: 978-0900860669
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.7 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,806,183 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A World Worth Taking A Look At, August 3, 2001

By 

JonArno Lawson (Toronto, Ontario) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The World of the Sufi (Hardcover)

This is a fascinating book, with contributions by many outstanding thinkers including Peter Brent and Doris Lessing. Starting with an instructive introduction by Idries Shah, it's a real smorgasbord of unusual and entertaining information, with everything from humorous Mulla Nasrudin tales, to an essay on the Sufi influence on the formation of Sikhism. Sections deal with the Classical Tradition of the Sufi, Humour and the Sufi, Sufism in Eastern Religion, Therapy and the Sufi, The Practice of the Sufi, and Current Study Materials. A must read for anyone interested in the Sufis.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Recently Re-issued Sufi Material, January 12, 2005

By 

Roger L. Schultz "Seeker" (Loveland, CO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The World of the Sufi: An Anthology of Writings about Sufis and Their Work (Paperback)

I'm glad Octagon Press has re-issued THE WORLD OF THE SUFI, because my copy is the original 1979 hardback, and it is disintigrating from overuse.

I heard one of the authors, the late Peter Brent, when he lectured once at Arizona State University. And I have become personally acquainted here in Colorado with another contributer, Leonard Lewin, whose essay is actually a review of another fasinating book, SUFI STUDIES: EAST AND WEST. Brent and others have their own books on the market, and I've read two of his, plus some by other essayists in THE WORLD OF THE SUFI: David Penlebury, Doris Lessing, and Arthur Deikman, all intensely interesting.

That's the way many Sufi books work. One is led into labirynths of people, ideas and practices. Reading THE WORLD OF THE SUFI is intrinsically a spiritual exercise and more. One becomes more informed about this world and the "other" and with a piqued curiosity.