First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

First published in 1999. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

A re-issue in paperback of Nicholson's classic survey of the field of Islamic mysticism. Intended as reading for students of sufism, philosophy and literature, it also provides an introduction to the translations of both R.A. Nicholson and A.J. Arberry.

A re-issue in paperback of Nicholson's classic survey of the field of Islamic mysticism. Intended as reading for students of sufism, philosophy and literature, it also provides an introduction to the translations of both R.A. Nicholson and A.J. Arberry.

Selection of the lyrical poetry of Jalaluddin Rumi.

This book offers a classic general introduction to Arabic literary history, aiming to cover, in Nicholson's words, "what the Arabs thought, and to indicate as far as possible the influences which moulded their thought". The pages of almost every Arabic book abound in allusions to their names, events, movements and ideas which puzzle the Western reader. This work answers that need now as much as when it was first published.

This selection of the lyrical verse of the great mystical poet Jalal'uddin Rumi, first published in 1898, provides an introduction to the enigmatic and ambiguous style characteristic of Sufi doctrine. Nicholson gives both original text and translation, together with a lengthy introduction, extensive notes, appendices and indices.

First published in 2004. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Originally published in 1922, this book presents translations from about fifty authors of Arabic and Persian works. The selection is chiefly comprised of poetry and prose literature, but extracts are also included from biographers and historians. The extracts, which are mostly short and seldom run for longer than five pages, cover the period from the beginning of the sixth to the end of the fifteenth century AD. Illustrative figures and textual notes are also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in Arabic and Persian literature.

Reynold A. Nicholson (1868-1945) was a prominent English Orientalist who wrote extensively on both Islamic literature and Islamic mysticism. Originally published in 1923, this volume is based on a series of three lectures delivered by Nicholson at the School of Oriental Studies during the summer of 1922. The chief purpose of the text is to show that Sufism is not necessarily pantheistic, but often bears the marks of a genuine personal religion inspired by a personal God. This book will be of value to anyone interested in the development of Orientalism and interpretations of Islamic thought.

Edward Granville Browne (1862-1926), was a British Orientalist who produced numerous works of academic value, mainly relating to the areas of Persian history and literature. Originally published in 1932, this volume is based on the list of Browne's writings at the end of his Materials for the Study of the Babi Religion (1918), but differs from it in some respects. It comprises all his own books, editions, and translations; the articles which he contributed to the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society; his political pamphlets and his papers read to and published by the Persia Society. This is a well-organised and informative text that will provide a valuable resource for anyone interested Browne, and Persian culture in general.

Mysticism is such a vital element in Islam that without some understanding of its ideas and of the particular forms which they assume it is hard to penetrate below the surface of Muslim religious life. In this book, which was first published in 1921, Professor Nicholson examines the life, work and teaching of three of the most important of the early Sufis - the Persians Abu Sa'id (937-1049) and Al-Jili (1365-1406), and the Cairene Arab Ibnu l-Farid (1182-1235). These great mystics were almost legendary figures; possessors of occult and mysterious powers, whose tombs became holy shrines. They were regarded in effect as saints, but saints canonised by the people while still living, not posthumously by the church. Sufism, as Professor Nicholson suggests, lies at the heart both of the religious philosophy and the popular religion of Islam.

The Arabs during a thousand years or more produced one of the richest and most extensive literatures of the world, embracing fine poetry (of the fierce desert life equally with the sophistication of royal courts), belles lettres (learned essays, satires, de arte amoris), religious, mystical and philosophical writings, and huge compendia of history, biography and geography. For sixty years, the best account in English of this vast output has been, by universal consent, R. A. Nicholson's Literary History of the Arabs; its supremacy will long remain unchallenged. That it is a book full of erudition and high critical judgement goes without saying; its author is also a poet-translator of rare excellence.

Sufism is the heart of the Islamic tradition. Its teachings, which synthesize the ways of knowledge and love, are founded upon many of the most beautiful verses of the Quran and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. Through an unbroken succession of wise and ecstatic voices - many of whom were among the greatest poets of both the Arabic and Persian languages - the doctrine of Sufism has been a constant fountain of spiritual illumination throughout its long history for seekers both within and outside Islam. The Mystics Of Islam, first published in 1914, has long been recognized as a classic and definitive introduction to the message of Sufism. In this short but comprehensive work, R.A. Nicholson - who was one of the greatest Islamic scholars of the early 20th century - provides the general reader with an easy approach to the study of Islamic mysticism. He gives a broad outline of Sufism and describes the key principles, methods and characteristic features of the inner life as it has been lived by Muslims of every class and condition from the 8th century onwards. Many quotations are given, mainly in the author's own fine translations from the original Arabic and Persian