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Sufi Thought and Action: An Anthology of Important Papers
This book is an anthology of the extraordinary diversity of Sufi ideas and activities in many countries and cultures today. Nothing approaching this kind of survey has ever been assembled. In addition to first-hand accounts of Sufi learning methods, subjects covered include the Sufi meeting place, avoiding imitators, Sufi work enterprises, the idea of organic enterprises, entry into a Sufi group, the Sufi adept and the projection of mind, extra-sensory perception, what the Sufis do not want us to know, and more.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1990
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About the author
Idries Shah
457 books422 followersIdries Shah (Persian: ادریس شاه), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي), was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen critically acclaimed books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His most seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.
In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Emphasising that Sufism was not static but always adapted itself to the current time, place and people, he framed his teaching in Western psychological terms. Shah made extensive use of traditional teaching stories and parables, texts that contained multiple layers of meaning designed to trigger insight and self-reflection in the reader. He is perhaps best known for his collections of humorous Mulla Nasrudin stories.
Shah was at times criticised by orientalists who questioned his credentials and background. His role in the controversy surrounding a new translation of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, published by his friend Robert Graves and his older brother Omar Ali-Shah, came in for particular scrutiny. However, he also had many notable defenders, chief among them the novelist Doris Lessing. Shah came to be recognised as a spokesman for Sufism in the West and lectured as a visiting professor at a number of Western universities. His works have played a significant part in presenting Sufism as a secular, individualistic form of spiritual wisdom.
Idries Shah's books on Sufism achieved considerable critical acclaim. He was the subject of a BBC documentary ("One Pair of Eyes") in 1969, and two of his works (The Way of the Sufi and Reflections) were chosen as "Outstanding Book of the Year" by the BBC's "The Critics" programme. Among other honours, Shah won six first prizes at the UNESCO World Book Year in 1973, and the Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, commenting on Shah's Tales of the Dervishes, said that it was "beautifully translated".
The reception of Shah's movement was also marked by much controversy. Some orientalists were hostile, in part because Shah presented classical Sufi writings as tools for self-development to be used by contemporary people, rather than as objects of historical study. L. P. Elwell-Sutton from Edinburgh University, Shah's fiercest critic, described his books as "trivial", replete with errors of fact, slovenly and inaccurate translations and even misspellings of Oriental names and words – "a muddle of platitudes, irrelevancies and plain mumbo-jumbo", adding for good measure that Shah had "a remarkable opinion of his own importance". Expressing amusement and amazement at the "sycophantic manner" of Shah's interlocutors in a BBC radio interview, Elwell-Sutton concluded that some Western intellectuals were "so desperate to find answers to the questions that baffle them, that, confronted with wisdom from 'the mysterious East,' they abandon their critical faculties and submit to brainwashing of the crudest kind". To Elwell-Sutton, Shah's Sufism belonged to the realm of "Pseudo-Sufism", "centred not on God but on man."
Doris Lessing, one of Shah's greatest defenders,stated in a 1981 interview: "I found Sufism as taught by Idries Shah, which claim
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
April 16, 2019
This collection of monographs comes together well into one of the clearest and most detailed surveys of Sufism available. Fasten your seat belts.
May 7, 2017
As a long-term reader of Idries Shah's books and someone who has been helped by the wisdom in them I couldn't help but wonder, is there anyone else out there who thinks or writes like this author or was he one of a kind, never to be repeated? This book answers that question, in spades. There are others thinkers and writers like Idries Shah, people whose words bear that same unmistakable but hard-to-define stamp: a combination of immense practicality, advice and observations so insightful they seems to come from someone who has lived many lifetimes and seen all the human mind and heart is capable of, and a quiet, calm, non-sanctimonious, non-
"this is oh so spiritual" approach to human development that calms the suspicious radar of those of us who once put ourselves on the spirituality merry-go-round. This answer is also a great relief to someone who finds hero-worship (and the dependency on the parental-figure "hero" that tends to accompany it) a growth-retardant.
In _Sufi Thought and Action_ I not only saw that there are other thinkers and writers much like Shah in the world but observed with surprise that their writings are so similar to this favorite author of mine (in terms of approach and attitude, not content) that, if I were a mad conspiracy theorist, I might suspect many of the essays in the book book were written by the same person. It can be dangerous saying anything like this about a book one highly esteems, because certain types of people will always take such an idea and run with it, so let me state here: they got the idea that every author in _Sufi Thought and Action_ is Shah from me and I think the possibility of this actually being true is far less likely than the planet Jupiter turning into a giant yellow Pacman next week and scarfing up all of the other planets in the solar system (after it gets over the bad case of indigestion, its closest munchie, Saturn, will inevitably give it).
In short, if you like Shah's work, this book will give you more of the same: from differing perspectives but that unusual flavor is still very recognizable. I'm afraid there's also some of that "exciting thriller boggle your mind" stuff that so many people claiming interest in improving themselves are actually after. It's a volume that straddles two worlds: definitely In Sufism (look at the lessons in the essay on Trust, for example) but it also has, in some places, that "thrills, chills, and spills" intellectually overcooked "Of Sufism" sort of flavor that fascinate some, usually those new to such material who assume it's just like the stuff other cults or spiritual movements have fed them. A fascination with the seemingly exciting stuff, as I know from having gone through this myself for many years, is, like the proverbial donkey: it's what gets you to the door. Eventually, when one dismounts and actually enters the house, however, one may find, as I did, that unimagined but subtle wonders await you that make your earlier perceptions of Sufism seem as cartoonishly banal as a planet-munching Pacman.
"this is oh so spiritual" approach to human development that calms the suspicious radar of those of us who once put ourselves on the spirituality merry-go-round. This answer is also a great relief to someone who finds hero-worship (and the dependency on the parental-figure "hero" that tends to accompany it) a growth-retardant.
In _Sufi Thought and Action_ I not only saw that there are other thinkers and writers much like Shah in the world but observed with surprise that their writings are so similar to this favorite author of mine (in terms of approach and attitude, not content) that, if I were a mad conspiracy theorist, I might suspect many of the essays in the book book were written by the same person. It can be dangerous saying anything like this about a book one highly esteems, because certain types of people will always take such an idea and run with it, so let me state here: they got the idea that every author in _Sufi Thought and Action_ is Shah from me and I think the possibility of this actually being true is far less likely than the planet Jupiter turning into a giant yellow Pacman next week and scarfing up all of the other planets in the solar system (after it gets over the bad case of indigestion, its closest munchie, Saturn, will inevitably give it).
In short, if you like Shah's work, this book will give you more of the same: from differing perspectives but that unusual flavor is still very recognizable. I'm afraid there's also some of that "exciting thriller boggle your mind" stuff that so many people claiming interest in improving themselves are actually after. It's a volume that straddles two worlds: definitely In Sufism (look at the lessons in the essay on Trust, for example) but it also has, in some places, that "thrills, chills, and spills" intellectually overcooked "Of Sufism" sort of flavor that fascinate some, usually those new to such material who assume it's just like the stuff other cults or spiritual movements have fed them. A fascination with the seemingly exciting stuff, as I know from having gone through this myself for many years, is, like the proverbial donkey: it's what gets you to the door. Eventually, when one dismounts and actually enters the house, however, one may find, as I did, that unimagined but subtle wonders await you that make your earlier perceptions of Sufism seem as cartoonishly banal as a planet-munching Pacman.
April 3, 2019
A fascinating compendium of essays by various writers on Sufi methods and ideas across the ages, with a focus on the modern day. This is one of Shah’s more straightforward and literal works – to which he contributes – and that’s part of the larger patchwork of books that form one cohesive body of writing.
February 1, 2021
A quote from this most helpful book. 'Constant reformulation repeatedly bringing the teaching back to its centre of gravity, is so consistent a pattern that those who have overcome greed and narcissism enough, have learned from the patterns existence that this is central.'
May 16, 2017
‘Sufi Thought and Action’ is a typical straightforward Western-style book containing over fifty essays, written by almost as many experts in disciplines like psychology, sociology, anthropology, oriental studies, and religion. These experts have names which suggest they come from Asia and South America as well as from Europe. With the exception of W H T Gardiner and Sirdar Iqbal Ali Shah (Idries Shah’s father) the names were unfamiliar to me. I was to discover that these experts, unheard of by most people, wrote in a style which bore a remarkable resemblance to Shah’s precise, lucid, authoritative prose. Was Shah playing a practical joke, or was there more to it?
People, like me, who were brought up in the West, are fixated with history and personalities. These are held by the Sufis to be barriers to understanding. They stress the importance of distinguishing between container and content. Understanding depends on developing and exercising a capacity to tell apart inner reality and external appearances. We must try to ‘perceive inwardly the essence, the reality, the truth and the inner being of the teacher and the teaching.’ This book invites us to do that – to distinguish between what is essential in ‘Sufism’, what was relevant to people at another time and in another place and is no longer relevant, and what, while not being essential, is still relevant to us. There is even one essay which struck me as being complete gobbledygook.
Beside our obsession with personalities, what else can people from the East tell us about ourselves? We are addicted to either/or thinking and we applaud constant, unthinking service to beliefs – in medicine and politics as well as in religion. We follow precepts, while people in the East have developed an understanding which guides them in determining what is the right thing to do. This understanding, Shah tells us, is suppressed in most Western thought familiar to the Sufis.
In this book we are told about Sufi organisation, about their work enterprises and dinner meetings, and about their meeting places which are designed to attract and concentrate the subtle force, ‘baraka’. Teaching is an essential part of Sufi action. ‘Sufi teaching techniques in their true form,’ Shah reveals, ‘depend very much upon an interrelation between master and disciple, and between these two and the whole community of mystics’ The ‘current’ which flows between these, according to the Sufis, is the most important element in their being and progress.
Sufi teaching goes beyond that in other institutions in that it recognises that, what are generally considered optional virtues –patience, humility, generosity – are essential to the development of understanding. A whole essay is devoted to Vanity. This, Shah tells us, is ‘such a powerful thing, that those who try to overcome it without the technical knowledge, themselves thereby become victims of vanity.’ To rely on somebody to enable you to develop patience and to overcome your vanity, requires Trust. A whole essay early in the book is devoted to Trust. Trust, for the Sufis, has a specific meaning. It implies an activity and a posture which develops a capacity in an individual. Demonstrated by the Idries Shah Foundation, it encourages ordinary people, like me, to write reviews of Shah’s incomparable books.
People, like me, who were brought up in the West, are fixated with history and personalities. These are held by the Sufis to be barriers to understanding. They stress the importance of distinguishing between container and content. Understanding depends on developing and exercising a capacity to tell apart inner reality and external appearances. We must try to ‘perceive inwardly the essence, the reality, the truth and the inner being of the teacher and the teaching.’ This book invites us to do that – to distinguish between what is essential in ‘Sufism’, what was relevant to people at another time and in another place and is no longer relevant, and what, while not being essential, is still relevant to us. There is even one essay which struck me as being complete gobbledygook.
Beside our obsession with personalities, what else can people from the East tell us about ourselves? We are addicted to either/or thinking and we applaud constant, unthinking service to beliefs – in medicine and politics as well as in religion. We follow precepts, while people in the East have developed an understanding which guides them in determining what is the right thing to do. This understanding, Shah tells us, is suppressed in most Western thought familiar to the Sufis.
In this book we are told about Sufi organisation, about their work enterprises and dinner meetings, and about their meeting places which are designed to attract and concentrate the subtle force, ‘baraka’. Teaching is an essential part of Sufi action. ‘Sufi teaching techniques in their true form,’ Shah reveals, ‘depend very much upon an interrelation between master and disciple, and between these two and the whole community of mystics’ The ‘current’ which flows between these, according to the Sufis, is the most important element in their being and progress.
Sufi teaching goes beyond that in other institutions in that it recognises that, what are generally considered optional virtues –patience, humility, generosity – are essential to the development of understanding. A whole essay is devoted to Vanity. This, Shah tells us, is ‘such a powerful thing, that those who try to overcome it without the technical knowledge, themselves thereby become victims of vanity.’ To rely on somebody to enable you to develop patience and to overcome your vanity, requires Trust. A whole essay early in the book is devoted to Trust. Trust, for the Sufis, has a specific meaning. It implies an activity and a posture which develops a capacity in an individual. Demonstrated by the Idries Shah Foundation, it encourages ordinary people, like me, to write reviews of Shah’s incomparable books.
August 9, 2018
These remarkable essays reflect 1000 years of research & experience in understanding man & his perceptions of extra dimensional reality. Unlike most spiritual books, this one is peppered with practical information & gritty common sense. It includes how Sufis view us & our world, what they do & why; & the pitfalls of Sufi study. Assembled & introduced by Idries Shah, it covers an enormous range of Sufi ideas & activities around the world, viewed through religious, psychological , esoteric & cultural lenses. Often shocking, it triggers fresh insights with each reading. Highly recommended!
January 26, 2019
If you are eager for the Truth and sufficiently open-minded to accept that which comes your way, Sufi Thought and Action, by Idries Shah, is for you. The various essays assembled therein are remarkable for their insight and clarity. They shed light on subjects one would have thought reserved for a privileged few. This book is such a treasure, you may well feel yourself compelled to prove yourself worthy of the trust.
January 23, 2021
Helps with basic thoughts - 4 10 2019.
12 May 20 2017.
A collection of essays assembled by Idries Shah. I love this book, full of information, helps one to distinguish one thing from another, climb out of pit falls of thought that have not (in my mind at least) been properly clarified - some of the information is startling.
12 May 20 2017.
A collection of essays assembled by Idries Shah. I love this book, full of information, helps one to distinguish one thing from another, climb out of pit falls of thought that have not (in my mind at least) been properly clarified - some of the information is startling.
April 1, 2019
The difficulty of understanding the complexity of the Sufi enterprise is often represented by the story of The Blind Men and the Elephant, where each man comes back with a different description of what the elephant must look like depending on which part of its anatomy he has felt. The one who touched a leg describes the animal as being like a mighty pillar, the one feeling the trunk imagines a snake-like creature and so forth.
For me Sufi Thought and Action, a compendium of writings by many different authors, gives the reader a marvelous opportunity to 'feel many parts of the elephant'.
In the process of the 'elephant palpation' the reader is also given many chances to experience what might attract him or her to Sufism, and to examine the biases and motivations underlying that attraction, as well as to see what might cause discouragement or be taken as a rebuff. In this way the reader can begin to look at their sincerity in approaching the subject and start to orientate themselves to get the best benefit from the material.
I found this book to be a hugely helpful read and I think it would represent a good starting point for anybody with a serious interest in exploring Idries Shah's work.
For me Sufi Thought and Action, a compendium of writings by many different authors, gives the reader a marvelous opportunity to 'feel many parts of the elephant'.
In the process of the 'elephant palpation' the reader is also given many chances to experience what might attract him or her to Sufism, and to examine the biases and motivations underlying that attraction, as well as to see what might cause discouragement or be taken as a rebuff. In this way the reader can begin to look at their sincerity in approaching the subject and start to orientate themselves to get the best benefit from the material.
I found this book to be a hugely helpful read and I think it would represent a good starting point for anybody with a serious interest in exploring Idries Shah's work.
January 29, 2020
Helps with basic thoughts - 4 10 2019.
A collection of essays assembled by Idries Shah. I love this book, full of information; helps one to distinguish one thing from another, climb out of pit falls of thought that have not (in my mind at least) been properly clarified - some of the information is startling.
A collection of essays assembled by Idries Shah. I love this book, full of information; helps one to distinguish one thing from another, climb out of pit falls of thought that have not (in my mind at least) been properly clarified - some of the information is startling.
November 11, 2023
Mostly frustrating. Circumvents any clarity on what the Sufi do and believe, extensively elaborates on how most real Sufi will obfuscate in this manner on purpose. That being said, some remarks definitely point to important ideas.
March 24, 2019
This is a really good overview of Sufism, containing around two dozen essays that have never been gathered into a single volume. The result is a solid introduction to the ideas of Idries Shah, who assembled the diverse collection.
Shah's introductory essay runs a little over 30 pages and may be one of the most concise, most condensed overviews of his many writings on Sufism. The essays that follow are equally good and range in topic from ideas about how to learn, to observations of a Sufi school, to short interviews with dervishes and much more. For me, one of the most interesting entries - Theories, Practices and Training Systems - is over 100 years old and speaks eloquently about the stages of Sufi development. But the rest of the essays are of much more recent vintage.
As always in Shah's books, there is a gold mine of ideas, observations and quotes from Sufi masters of the past. (One my current favorites is, “A Sufi is alive to the value of time, and is given, every moment, to what that moment demands.") If you’re interested in developing a better understanding of Sufism, this anthology is a great place to start.
Shah's introductory essay runs a little over 30 pages and may be one of the most concise, most condensed overviews of his many writings on Sufism. The essays that follow are equally good and range in topic from ideas about how to learn, to observations of a Sufi school, to short interviews with dervishes and much more. For me, one of the most interesting entries - Theories, Practices and Training Systems - is over 100 years old and speaks eloquently about the stages of Sufi development. But the rest of the essays are of much more recent vintage.
As always in Shah's books, there is a gold mine of ideas, observations and quotes from Sufi masters of the past. (One my current favorites is, “A Sufi is alive to the value of time, and is given, every moment, to what that moment demands.") If you’re interested in developing a better understanding of Sufism, this anthology is a great place to start.
March 28, 2015
I have lived approximately 10 years in the Mideast (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Dubai, Afghanistan and Turkey). Only in Turkey and Iraq did I witness a Sufi presence, but it was not something I could get anyone to acknowledge. In Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto was one of a very few women to rule a Muslim country. Pakistan was a very conservative Shi'ia. However a woman was elected (and murdered soon after). How could this happen?
Sufism has a strong tradition in Pakistan, and is heavily represented among Barelvis. The Muslim Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting the millions of native people to Islam. It is amazing how Sufism was a missionary leader in the first 2 hundred years of Islam but now it is played down. I feel that Sufi is a very tolerant facet to Islam. At this time, Sufis are facing a lot of terrorism from conservative Islamists. Sufism is very tolerant toward humanity. They have more influence than the West can know or understand.
Sufism has a strong tradition in Pakistan, and is heavily represented among Barelvis. The Muslim Sufi missionaries played a pivotal role in converting the millions of native people to Islam. It is amazing how Sufism was a missionary leader in the first 2 hundred years of Islam but now it is played down. I feel that Sufi is a very tolerant facet to Islam. At this time, Sufis are facing a lot of terrorism from conservative Islamists. Sufism is very tolerant toward humanity. They have more influence than the West can know or understand.
February 28, 2019
This book is a collection of papers by a wide range of people, with an introduction by Idries Shah - which by itself is worth getting the book for. It served me as an overview of Sufi thought.
I had read a previous edition and with this very attractive new edition from ISF publishers I have re-read it. At each reading it seemed a different book. Well the text can't have changed but something must have for I noticed material that hadn't been there (or that I had noticed) before. As it covers so many topics I find it difficult to summarise; just say it's well worth the read.
I had read a previous edition and with this very attractive new edition from ISF publishers I have re-read it. At each reading it seemed a different book. Well the text can't have changed but something must have for I noticed material that hadn't been there (or that I had noticed) before. As it covers so many topics I find it difficult to summarise; just say it's well worth the read.
May 26, 2015
A remarkable anthology of papers on various aspects of Sufi study. Topics addressed include: Sufi Spiritual Rituals and Beliefs, Avoiding Imitators, Sufi groups, the Sufi adept, the Orders, Observations of a Sufi School, key concepts, visits to Sufi centres, and the Sufis of today -- and this is only a selection out of many subjects. The volume is well worthwhile for people interested in a serious introduction to the contemporary Sufi Way and its practice.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews