Tales from the Land of the Sufis (Paperback)

~ (Author), Mohammad Ali Jamnia (Author) "SUFISM is a spiritual system that has had a tremendous impact on world literature and has affected many cultures, from southern and eastern Europe to..." (more)
Key Phrases: Abu Said, Abu Sa'id, Sweet Tongue (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Aesop and Jesus both knew that the best way to get a point across was through stories. In Tales from the Land of the Sufis, we find that same approach applied in Sufism, the mystical heart of Islam. Mojdeh Bayat and Mohammad Ali Jamnia retell in exquisite style some of the great tales from the likes of Attar and Rumi. Their emphasis is on the authors of the tales and how the exemplary lives of the master Sufi storytellers have also become material ripe for stories. Sufi story collections tend to be enchanting or humorously provocative and stand detached from the tradition. By including classic Sufi storytellers as subject matter, Bayat and Jamnia present these tales in their full spiritual glory. With themes such as self-sacrifice, humility, service, simplicity, faith in God, and, ultimately, union with God, the stories show both the outrageous iconoclasm of Sufism and its highest fundamentals. So, from dark tales, like the one about a mystic blasphemer who was executed by having his limbs and sense organs removed, to lighter stories, like those about a bald parrot and Alexander's big ears, Bayat and Jamnia strike a balance in this informative and eloquent storybook. --Brian Bruya --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From Publishers Weekly

Spiritual instruction takes on entirely new dimensions when one considers the wisdom of the Sufi tradition; and here Bayat and Jamnia have dramatically increased our knowledge of and access to the teaching stories of the great Persian Sufi masters. To the magical and almost familiar names of Rumi and Kabir, we now can add Hallaj, Abu Sa'id, Fariduddin Attar, Hakim Nazami and Abdul-Raham Jami. We knew Attar, of course, from his Conference of the Birds , but set in this new context of other Sufi voices, his narratives become all the more potent. And while we should be especially grateful for the light flashing from the pages of Nazami's love stories, the authors' translation of the Attar story, "Sakyh San'an," would alone be justification for the entire volume. In short, the brilliance of these Persian teachers is exposed by the authors of this superb text.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Shambhala Publications (December 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1570626235
• ISBN-13: 978-1570626234
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #7,267,655 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Could not put this book down, November 28, 2007

By	Kalid Aslamy "kjaan" (CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Tales from the Land of the Sufis (Paperback)

This book is so well written that I could not put the book down. The tales from different sufis are great. You will learn the hidden meaning behind great stories like Liala Majnun and Shrin and Farhad.
The only complaint that I have since the authors are from Iran, they claim that Maulana Rumi and Jami are Persian(Iranian). These two giants were born in Afghanistan ( Balkh and Herat) and afghanistan (formerly known as khurasan) speak in classical form of persian as they do now.