The Sufis

Until 1964, when “The Sufis” was published, Sufism was mostly the preserve of scholars, at least in the West. “The Sufis” began a new era, opening a window on Sufi activity, history and influence. Shah presents new information in an accessible way, and many readers feel that it’s a book they’ve been looking for. Stories, history, unusually lucid perspectives on human nature and spirituality, and challenges to assumptions and established ways of thinking, are intertwined throughout, eventually combining to produce a special kind of reading experience. “The Sufis” begins with the story of “The Islanders.” This is a “teaching story;” Shah’s name for a form of literature whose internal structure and dynamics can support and provoke experience in the reader (a Sufi speciality). Sometimes the learning happens at the time of reading, when the story helps us make sense of perceptions and experiences. Often, as Desmond Morris, author of “The Naked Ape” and ”The Human Zoo” observed, it’s a delayed effect that happens when we encounter situations in life that evoke a story. Morris is one of the leading observers of human nature who has commented on Shah’s work; others include author Doris Lessing, psychiatrist and author Arthur Deikman, and psychologist and author Robert Ornstein. After “The Islanders” sets the stage, “The Travelers and the Grapes”—another teaching story—opens a discussion of the contextual background. Here we start to look at the history of interaction of cultures; often concealed because spiritual practices not sanctioned by the authorities could have brought severe penalties over the last thousand years or so. Here we also begin to see the Sufi approach to spiritual development; which I’ve found to be unparalleled in lucidity about human nature. The chapter on “The Elephant in the Dark,” based on Rumi’s story, continues the intertwining of narrative, perspectives on human nature, and intercultural history. Then we meet the joke-figure Mulla Nasrudin, “one of the strangest achievements in the history of metaphysics,” whose antics illustrate “situations in which certain states of mind are made clear;” usually when he’s acting the idiot. Subsequent chapters introduce classical Sufis, including Rumi, Attar, Omar Khayyam, ibn el-Arabi, and el-Ghazzali, and trace the influence of Sufi thought and action on Western figures (such as Chaucer and St. Francis) and groups. We also meet the work of Western Sufis, such as Richard Burton (whose “Kasidah,” a remarkable poem of great depth, is reviewed), and are introduced to The Dervish Orders, The Creed of Love, Magic and Miracles, and more. Of course, over the five decades since its publication, some things have changed. In his discussion of Sufi orders, which do not need traditional buildings and grounds except as required by local economic and political conditions, Shah mentions that “one Arabic publishing company is a Sufi organization. In some areas all the industrial and agricultural workers are Sufis.” This might have changed in the political, economic and military upheavals of the past fifty years, but the principle remains the same; the “order” is in the hearts and networks of people. The “beautiful tomb,” of the great teacher Data Ganj Bakhsh (Ali el-Hujwiri), in Lahore, “venerated by people of all creeds,” was bombed by terrorists in 2010. The Idries Shah Foundation print and Kindle editions of “The Sufis” omit the original Introduction by Robert Graves (I like Grave’s commentary but “The Sufis” is complete without it). Still, five decades after its publication, “The Sufis” continues to be relevant. At first reading, and later re-readings after intervals, “The Sufis” continues to pack advanced spiritual psychology, eye-opening history, and impacts that both confirm and extend perceptions, and highlight and disconfirm prejudices and assumptions, into a special reading experience. posted by Jay Einhorn, PhD, LCPC, www.psychatlarge.com

Mostly I am responding to the review by Wrightson, who sounds like an anti-Shah crusader, perhaps jealous that his pitiful and venomous self-published book does not sell – I could not persuade any of my local libraries to buy it while all of them, both public and academic ones, carry MANY books by Idries Shah. I think he confuses Sufism with some systems with which Sufism does not share much, and then he expresses his disappointment that he did not get what he wanted but what is actually there. It is like expecting some intoxicant but discovering that you get nutritious substance but without the expected kick. So, he actually fights his own demons but why he involves the book The Sufis and the most remarkable teacher Idries Shah is incomprehensible to an objective observer. The real Sufism is not some kind of either intellectual speculation or religious emotion. It is a pragmatic system which can lead the honest to self-development, to transcending ordinary confusion, from being as it were blind to Reality. Non-Sufis and fake Sufis are AT BEST people who (to continue the analogy) are blind but through frequent bumping into objects (our ordinary trial and error existence) memorized what is located where in order to avoid future painful collisions. Such a system can be used as an ersatz of real perceptions but in the fluid world the ‘memorized location of objects’ is constantly changes. Therefore this method of living is far from being efficient, as we can see in our daily lives (full of painful mistakes and misunderstanding) and by watching/reading the news, usually about bad things. We ALL use such a system because we do not know how to develop ‘sight’. Thus comparing Sufism to anything else but itself, as Wrightson does, is a misunderstanding. All these other systems are not capable of leading the seeker to developing “the sixth sense”. And they are NOT a source of Sufi inspiration, Sufism does not owe anything to them whatever the superficial similarities. These other systems are fossils of what once might have been a living school, as contemporary Sufism is. Nowadays, they have only mostly cultural, anthropological, historical, quasi-religious or other significance, but they have nothing to do with what Shah describes and what Wrightson does is worse than comparing apples and oranges. The Sufi books do not function as a source of secrets how to go to heaven or to live heavenly life here and now. I remember talking to a manager of an ‘esoteric’ bookstore who said that Idries Shah just teases but never openly says how things are. This eager would-be ‘esotericist’ craves to be told what to memorize and use, as in a secret society or something. He barks up the wrong tree. The secret is that there is no secret of THIS type. The books, plus guidance and HONEST effort may lead to the ability of seeing this secret by developing the skill, the ability, the organ of seeing. How could you explain to a country bumpkin an intricate scientific concept? He needs to go to appropriate schools first, to build a foundation. There is a wonderful analogy to that in the tale of The Algonquin Cinderella in another book by Idries Shah World Tales. Only the honest youngest sister can see the Invisible One. The only reviewer here who gave the book only one star (and he also did it with other books by Idries Shah) is perhaps angry that he is like the older sisters of Cinderella: they may desire to see the Invisible One but have not developed the prerequisite ‘sixth sense’, they did not have what it takes. The hopeful thing is, that the older sisters, at one level of interpretation, can be seen as older selves, can be transcended, can actually morph into the youngest sister, capable of seeing the Invisible One. Can the angry crusader undergo such a metamorphosis? Of course. Epiphanies on the road to Damascus happen more often than we think. Here is your chance Wrightson. Are you a sincere seeker after truth or just a desperate peddler of your own claptrap? But I should not confront your ghoul so directly, as you can read in The Riddles, one of stories in Shah’s World Tales. It can help. It did help me. I was perhaps as full of air as you are. What a relief it was when my ghoul collapsed under its own weight like the Soviet Union. Unless the reader becomes like Cinderella, they have no chance of success and there musings lead nowhere, which may cause eruptions of anger, depression, disbelief and many other emotions except the only result that matters: seeing. A good method of increasing one's suitability for the Teaching is by being generous. It helps to eliminate anger, greed and self-esteem which are major stumbling blocks on the road to develop new perceptions. These perceptions are not esoteric in the sense that everyone has them to some degree in his own area of expertise, either his profession or hobby. The Way of the Sufi (yet another book by Idries Shah) is a specific methodology which helps one find higher perceptions in all areas of life, going beyond one’s forte. Good luck to the honest seekers. Of course honesty is not necessarily inborn, so do not despair, you can develop it. Start by choosing the title which is in the format which you already like, otherwise you will start with an additional handicap, on top of all the other ones which we already have with all our fascination-cum-worries of the phenomenal world. With time and practice you can transcend your ordinary anxieties and your linear thinking. But not if you are greedy for quick results, even disguised (dishonestly) as search for truth (Seeker After Truth may disabuse you of such ideas). I just discovered on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sufis) more specific information about The Sufis new edition made available for the 50th anniversary of the original publication. This is Shah's first and fundamental presentation of Sufism in the West where in the last century only scarce authentic knowledge was available (like his father's books) or one could find only uninformed and superficial accounts of a scholarly "orientalist" type. Here, one can find out how Sufism has been invisibly influencing the world affairs for millenia, perhaps starting with antiquity, including the Greek ancient philosophers of our own tradition. Shah was attacked by entrenched interests but he has proven by his own life and publications that real Sufism is alive and that any other form is just imitation, whether piously religious or academic. One can read about Sufism or in Sufism, but a historian of, say, medicine is usually not capable of purforming a surgery on you. To whom would you rather go for consultation? Probably a surgeon rather than a historian, however bright and entertaining. Same in the most important area of your own development, your own understanding of where you came from and where will you go. Ordinarily, we in the West have had a choice of believing the religious myths or, seeing their inadequacy, becoming atheists or agnostics. Shah provides the better, and the only real, alternative: knowledge which may come if the intended receiver has become capable of receiving. Sufism is a miracle as if teaching my dog how to read, talk and reason. If I can admit that I am relatively as stuipid vis-a-vis the real mechanisms of life as my dog is relative to reading - then I can start from this posture of humility, having emptied myself of dirty water to admit the clean one. Enjoy. Perhaps at first only at the level of clearing the underbrush and admitting new information.

The author provides an interesting survey of Sufism, despite his repeated assertion that Sufism can never be understood from a book (which makes one wonder why this book exists in the first place). Nevertheless, it is well documented with a generous amount of passages from the giants of Sufi literature.

Absolutely one of the most interesting books I have ever read. I read the Sufis after I had experienced contact with Sufi teachers and experienced the impact on my consciousness of a form of what I suppose could be called "mysticism", which was developed through breathing meditation practices, sacred movements, and Zen koan-like teachings. The Sufis is a scholarly and historical work that traces sufi influence through many fields of human culture both eastern and western. Further studies of the works of Idris Shah will reveal what the reader suspects all along - one must actually seek and find the living human exemplar of the teachings. The Sufi literature is truly beautiful and wonderful. Tahir Shah, the son of Idris Shah, is continuing this marvelous tradition of sufi literature, which I highly recommend as well. If one can embrace the living teachings as well, one shall be truly fortunate. If one can't find the living sufi human exemplar and teachings, this genre of literature lacks nothing in the way of inspiration and thought provoking intelligence. In Arabian Nights: A Caravan of Moroccan Dreams

When this book was first published, fifty years ago, it was a game changer - and it is still just as important (if not even more so) today. In a comparable way to his predecessors - those great Sufi teachers whose work he discusses in the opening chapters - Shah has managed to re-introduce Sufism to a new audience in a way which is consistent with, and relevant to our own time and culture. Like his predecessors he as won widespread acclaim from the more insightful commentators, and outrage, and even opposition, from a very vocal minority who, for various reasons, have their own axes to grind. The reasons for this are not hard to see. In a unique and totally original way Idries Shah has written a book that functions on many different levels. It can be read as simply a very readable, insightful introduction into the lives and work of major Sufi teachers, or as a a groundbreaking compilation of previously overlooked historical material showing the presence of Sufi activity in the west for centuries. It contains a great deal of overlooked information, including codes and wordplay previously unsuspected by 'experts' in the field. It contains material of great value for those who can benefit from it, and material that will mystify, confuse or even outrage those who can't. In short this is a contemporary example of the sort of multi-layered, multiple impact book for which Sufi writers have been justifiably famous for for centuries.

Maashaa Allah..God bless ,Idries Shah for his work...This book motivates me to do QALBI ZIKR more, which is the base & foundation for sufism

Nice Book!

First published in 1964, Idries Shah's book about the Sufis, at that time widely regarded as "the mystical side of Islam," revealed and reinterpreted the historical significance of Sufi activity both in the East and in Europe. The literary editor of the Evening News (London) rated it as the most important book ever written, ahead of the Bible, the Koran and other masterpieces. It had a massive impact on thinkers in a wide range of intellectual fields, upon scientists, poets and artists, and anyone with an interest in the esoteric. It was, as later became apparent, the first in a series of 30+ books aimed at providing readers with a basic grounding in the principles of Sufi development. Among many key elements dealt with were the ancient origins of Sufi thinking, its relationship with Islam, its influence on many towering figures in Western history, major Sufi teachers, and the use of special "teaching stories" as a means of enabling the mind to operate in higher dimensions. Above all it is an introduction to a way of thinking radically different from both the intellectual and the emotion-based modes, making possible a higher level of objectivity. This is a new edition with larger and clearer print than previous versions. It cannot be more highly recommended.