The Sufi Path

THE SUFI PATH Metaphysics & Stages of the Way in Poetry by Mansur al-Hallaj, Nizami, Ibn al-Farid and others Translation & Introduction Paul Smith CONTENTS: The Tawasin. Mansur al-Hallaj was executed for declaring: "I am the Truth (Anal Haq)." Much has been written about his famous (and in¬famous) statement and his masterpiece The Tawasin in which he makes it. 'Written in rhymed Arabic prose... it sets forth a doctrine of saintship-a doctrine founded on personal experience and clothed in the form of a subtle yet passionate dialectic.' R.A. Nicholson. Treasury of Mysteries by Nizami..: "... the most beautiful mystic poem in the Persian language, has both perfection of language and grandeur of thought. Every line of his Treasury of Mysteries is a living witness to his absolute certainty that piety, devotion, humility and self-forgetfulness are the corner stones of total annihilation, which in turn is necessary for unification with God and the foundation of the edifice of eternal life." G. H. Darab. Senior lecturer in Persian. University of London. Rose Garden of Mystery by Shabistari... is regarded as one of the finest books on Sufism. E.G. Browne: "On the whole, one of the best manuals of Sufi theosophy that exists." Rev. John A. Subhan: "Important... because it is a compendium of Sufi terminology in the form of question and answer." R.A. Nicholson, "A versified exposition of the chief Sufi Doctrines. It should be read by every one seriously interested in the subject." The Sufi's Progress by Ibn al-Farid who is considered to be the undisputed master of Islamic mystical (Sufi) poetry into Arabic. He is considered not only to be a poet but a Perfect Master (Qutub) a God-realised soul... it is his journey to unity with God that he reveals in probably the longest qasida (ode) in Arabic. Book of Ecstasy or Ball & Polo-Stick by 'Arifi... 'allegory of the human soul and also a rendition of the analogy of that soul and the macrocosmic soul... goes further than many mystical treatises in that it not only deals with the matter of spiritual ecstasy, but also emphasises that when attunement with the macrocosmic element is attained, even mystical experience is dwarfed... a most important and still valuable part of the scriptures of the Sufis.' Al Faqir Hafiz Amir Barakawi-Khajawi. Poems Composed while Reading 'God Speaks' of Meher Baba... Meher Baba's metaphysical views are most notably described in God Speaks. He upheld the concept of non-duality, the view that diverse creation, or duality, is an illusion and that the goal of life is conscious realization of the absolute Oneness of God inherent in all animate and inanimate beings and things. These free-form and rhyming poems by Paul Smith were composed during studying this masterpiece. The correct rhyme-structures have been kept in all forms of all the poems. Large Format Paperback 7"x 10" 572 pages. Paul Smith (b. 1945) is a poet, author and translator of many books of Sufi poets of the Persian, Arabic, Urdu, Turkish, Pashtu and other languages... including Hafiz, Sadi, Nizami, Rumi, 'Attar, Sana'i, Jahan Khatun, Obeyd Zakani, Nesimi, Yunus Emre and many others, and his own poetry, fiction, plays, biographies, children's books and screenplays. amazon.com/author/smithpa