Originally published in 1964, this volume gathers together extracts from many of Arberry's best-known works and supplements them with a selection of previously unpublished translations. The material therefore presents a vivid picture of the richness and variety of Islamic civilization from its origins to the late twentieth century.

Despite being revered as the Holy Book by Muslims throughout the world, the Koran is the least known and least understood in the West of all the great religious books. In this volume A J Arberry examines this paradox and explains the qualities of the Koran which have made it acceptable to so many people. The selections have been chosen and arranged to illustrate the religious and ethical message of the Koran.

Originally published in 1950. Thinkers such as Ghazali and Ibn `Arabi, poets such as Ibn al-Farid, Rumi, Hafiz and Jami were greatly inspired by the lives and sayings of the early Sufis. This book was the first short history of Sufism to be published in any language, illustrating the development of its doctrines with numerous quotations from literature.

The "Scholastic Problem" was the focus of much debate in Islam for some centuries before it became the chief crux of learned discussion in medieval Christianity. When originally published in 1957 this volume was the first survey of the subject to appear in English. It reviews the conflict within Islam between Revelation and Reason and examines the attempts made by theology, philosophy, mysticism and authoritarianism to resolve the dilemma.

Originally published in 1969. This volume was composed by an eminent Sufi mystic whilst in prison in Baghdad, awaiting execution, in a vain attempt to overthrow his sentence; he was put to death in AD 1311 at the age of 33. This apologia is a document of great poignancy, composed in most elegant Arabic and translated with the customary skill and elegance for which A J Arberry became so well-known.

First published in 1960, this work describes the lives and labours of six great scholars - Simon Ockley, Sir William Jones, E. W. Lane, E. H. Palmer, E.G. Browne and R. A Nicholson. These men were devoted to building a bridge between the peoples and cultures of Europe and Asia. To these biographical essays, Arberry has added a short autobiography and an eloquent plea for the further encouragement of Oriental studies. This book will be of interest to those studying Middle-Eastern studies and the history of Orientalist study.

This is a major work of Islamic mysticism by the great thirteenth-century Persian poet, Farid al-Din Attar. Translated by A J Arberry, Attar's work and thought is set in perspective in a substantial introduction.

First published in 1958, this work by one of Britain's most celebrated Orientalist scholars, tells the story of the rebirth of national literature in Persia after the fall of the S s nian empire in the seventh century. It traces the course of this literature's development and full maturity from the ninth century to the end of the fifteenth century and looks at a number of important writers including the Salj q poets, R m , fiz and J m . This work will be of interest to those studying Persian and Middle-Eastern literature and history.

These seven poems, translated by A. J. Arberry in 1957, are the most famous survivors of a vast mass of poetry produced in the Arabian Desert in the sixth century. Arberry's introduction explains to the reader what was known about the poems and how they came to be preserved and distributed over time. The epilogue particularly interrogates the authenticity of the poems and tracks how they have been transmitted over time. This work will be of interest to those studying Persian and Middle-Eastern literature and history.

Reprint of the 1961 classic study of the discourses of the founder of the order of Whirling Dervishes.

Translation of a selection of poems from one of the world's greatest lyric poets. First published 1947.

Reprint of a classic text.

Available for the first time in paperback, this work translates a selection of discourses by Persia's great mystic and poet, Jalal-al-Din Rumi. Rumi was the principal inspiration behind the Sufi order, the Mawlawiyya, which many claim he founded. Born in Balkh, Jalal-al-Din later came to Konya, where he formed his famous relationship with the itinerant Sufi Shams al-Din Muhammad Tabrizi.

The essential poems of the inspirational thirteenth-century Persian philosopher, scholar and mystic The founder of the order of the Whirling Dervishes, Rumi was also a poet of transcendental power. His verse speaks with the universal voice of the human soul and brims with exuberant energy and passion. Rich in natural imagery, from flowers to birds and rivers to stars, the poems have an elemental force that has remained undiminished through the centuries. Their themes - tolerance, goodness, the experience of God, charity and awareness through love - still resonate with millions of readers around the world. Translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne

Originally published in 1957. The "Scholastic Problem" was the focus of much debate in Islam for some centuries before it became the chief crux of learned discussion in medieval Christianity. When originally published this volume was the first survey of the subject to appear in English. It reviews the conflict within Islam between Revelation and Reason and examines the attempts made by theology, philosophy, mysticism and authoritarianism to resolve the dilemma.

Originally published in 1969. This volume was composed by an eminent Sufi mystic whilst in prison in Baghdad, awaiting execution, in a vain attempt to overthrow his sentence; he was put to death in AD 1311 at the age of 33. This apologia is a document of great poignancy, composed in most elegant Arabic and translated with the customary skill and elegance for which A J Arberry became so well-known.

Seven hundred and fifty years ago, this anthology of small masterpieces of renowned Moorish poets from Muslim Spain, North Africa and Sicily was compiled by Ibn Sa'id al-Andalusi, a native of Southern Spain. The text has been translated into rhymed English verses with an Introduction explaining the conventions of Arabic literature within which these Moorish poets worked.

Seven hundred and fifty years ago, this anthology of small masterpieces of renowned Moorish poets from Muslim Spain, North Africa and Sicily was compiled by Ibn Sa'id al-Andalusi, a native of Southern Spain. The text has been translated into rhymed English verses with an Introduction explaining the conventions of Arabic literature within which these Moorish poets worked.

First published in 1963, this work puts into clear and rhythmical English one hundred stories and apologues of the Masnavi of Rumi. Composed over a period of many years during the thirteenth century, as a manual of instruction and initiation into spiritual life, the Masnavi has long been acclaimed the greatest mystical epic of Islam. The tales were designed to illustrate in human terms the often complex doctrine, and this they do with a wealth of beauty, honour and pathos, as appealing to the modern reader as to the medieval audience to which they were originally addressed. The volume, like its predecessor Tales of the Masnavi, is included in the UNESCO list of representative great works of world literature. This work will be of interest to those studying Islam and Middle Eastern literature.

First published in 1959, this reprint of the first edition of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the Rubaiyat is accompanied by an introduction and notes by A J Arberry, one of Britain's most distinguished Orientalist scholars. The Rubaiyat is a selection of poems written in Persian attributed to Omar Khayyam. The work will be of interest to those studying Middle Eastern Literature.

First published in 1960, this work describes the lives and labours of six great scholars - Simon Ockley, Sir William Jones, E. W. Lane, E. H. Palmer, E.G. Browne and R. A Nicholson. These men were devoted to building a bridge between the peoples and cultures of Europe and Asia. To these biographical essays, Arberry has added a short autobiography and an eloquent plea for the further encouragement of Oriental studies. This book will be of interest to those studying Middle-Eastern studies and the history of Orientalist study.

First published in 1953, this translation of part of the Arabian Nights by A. J. Arberry offers four famous stories in modern idiom: Aladdin, Judar, Aboukir and Abousir, and the Amorous Goldsmith. The introduction provides a brief analysis of earlier translations of the tales and explains their value as indicators of the society in which they were written. This work will be of interest to those studying Middle-Eastern literature and history.

Hafiz is one of the most famous writers of lyrical poetry, delighting in nature and enjoying life. As a young man he devoted himself to the study of poetry and theology, and also became learned in mystic philosophy. Hafiz went on to become a professor of Koranic exegesis in a college specially founded for him. The poems expertly translated here show his best features: the glowing imagery, the descriptions of natural beauties, and the fervent love passages.

This is a single volume account of the first rebirth of a national literature in the national language, tracing the course of its development and full maturity from the beginning of the 9th century to the end of the 15th century.

The Masnavi of Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273), a massive poem of some 25,000 rhyming couplets, by common consent ranks among the world's greatest masterpieces of religious literature. The material which makes up the Masnavi is divisible into two different categories: theoretical discussion of the principal themes of Sufi mystical life and doctrine, and stories of fables intended to illustrarte those themes as they arise. This selection of tales is the most accessible introduction to this giant epic for the non-perisan reader.