Path of God's Bondsmen: From Origin to Return

By Najm Razi

As unusally comprehensive survey of the main concerns of Sufism, The Path of God's Bondsmen from Origin to Return is a summation of the Sufi tradition as it had developed by the seventh/thirteenth... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1889999334
• ISBN13: 9781889999333
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Islamic Pubns Intl
• Length: 544 Pages
• Weight: 1.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.8" x 1.5" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Joy from the East

Algar is to be thanked for this superb translation of the best of the medieval sufi prose in Persian. Algar is a master writer of the English language. His translations of works from Islamic languages are, therefore, my favorite books on my Islam shelf! An added bonus is that Algar is the first scholar I know in English who gives references for all the hadith used by Razi the author. Sufism came from the religion of Islam and the first sufi was the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him. They come as a package. Razi's book puts it all together, ties it up with stories, advice, and warnings against the ego and here we have it. Not all Islam is Arab. Not all Sufism is non-Arab. Here is a tremendous scholar of Arabic, writing an accessible and brilliant sufi book in his mother tongue of Persian. Arab Muslims are surprised when they find out how many of their greatest scholars are from Persian-speaking lands (think of al-Bukhari). The Arabs poured int o Persian lands; they either fled because they felt so odd or they jumped right in and learned their Persian poetry. And the Persian speakers took one breath and suddenly, here come subtle breezes moving the religion forward. And in new flavors, too. But it is all still Islam. For people who turn from Islam in disgust, put off by today's terrible Muslim terrorrists, here's a book for you. Give it a try.