The Little Book of Sufi Stories

Ancient Wisdom to Nourish the Heart

$15.95

646 in stock

Imprint: Hampton Roads Publishing
Availability: In stock
"Douglas-Klotz, director of the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning, compiles an entertaining booklet of Sufi stories. These practical, ghostly, and often very funny tales come from a variety of Sufi works, including those by saints like Rumi as well as lay storytellers from Turkey and Persia. Some stories are religious allegories, such as those from the life of Jesus or Jonah as told by Muslim storytellers, and will be of interest to comparative religion aficionados. Other stories are twisted fairy tales such as "The Lady and the Golden Lampstand," in which the prince is unable to save anyone and the Cinderella-like heroine must be her own fairy godmother. In addition to sharing serious lessons, Douglas-Klotz includes a host of popular, humorous characters that many readers will recognize--particularly Mullah Nasruddin, whose capers are well-known throughout the Muslim world. At the end of the volume is a large list of books containing these and other Sufi accounts. This sampler of Sufi wisdom is a must-read for anyone interested in non-Western folktales." --Publishers Weekly (June 2018)
Show more

Book Details

Pages

240 Pages

Size

5 x 7

Format

Trade Paperback

Pub. Date

06/01/2018

ISBN

978-1-57174-829-4

Publisher

Hampton Roads Publishing

The stories in this book are drawn from the dozens that Douglas-Klotz has enjoyed telling in his seminars over the past 20 years. Most of them appear in works of the classical Sufis, such as Rumi, Attar, or S’adi. To preserve some of the in-person feeling and bring the language up to date, he has given them his own improvised turns.

“If you want to hear a good story but prefer to read it instead, then read Douglas-Klotz! He writes as if he’s sitting in your living room, invited over for afternoon tea to entertain you with some heart-pleasing, often humorous, yet soul-searching Sufi stories. His modernization of these old texts is gentle and mindful, yet unapologetic.” –Maryam Mafi from the Foreword

Show more Show less
"Douglas-Klotz, director of the Edinburgh Institute for Advanced Learning, compiles an entertaining booklet of Sufi stories. These practical, ghostly, and often very funny tales come from a variety of Sufi works, including those by saints like Rumi as well as lay storytellers from Turkey and Persia. Some stories are religious allegories, such as those from the life of Jesus or Jonah as told by Muslim storytellers, and will be of interest to comparative religion aficionados. Other stories are twisted fairy tales such as "The Lady and the Golden Lampstand," in which the prince is unable to save anyone and the Cinderella-like heroine must be her own fairy godmother. In addition to sharing serious lessons, Douglas-Klotz includes a host of popular, humorous characters that many readers will recognize--particularly Mullah Nasruddin, whose capers are well-known throughout the Muslim world. At the end of the volume is a large list of books containing these and other Sufi accounts. This sampler of Sufi wisdom is a must-read for anyone interested in non-Western folktales." --Publishers Weekly (June 2018)