Sufism

by A.J. Arberry

This book looks at the origins of Sufism, its historical development, its branching into various brotherhoods, its importance in Islamic history as well as the various aspects of sufi methodology and worship.

Genres: Religion, History, Nonfiction, Islam, Spirituality, Middle East

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Arthur John Arberry (Portsmouth, May 12, 1905 – Cambridge, October 2, 1969) FBA was a respected British orientalist. A prolific scholar of Arabic, Persian, and Islamic studies, he was educated at Portsmouth Grammar School and Pembroke College, Cambridge. His translation of the Qur'an into English, The Koran Interpreted, is one of the most prominent written by a non-Muslim scholar, and widely respected amongst academics.

Formerly Head of the Department of Classics at Cairo University in Egypt, Arberry returned home to become the Assistant Librarian at the Library of the India Office. During the war he was a Postal Censor in Liverpool[citation needed] and was then seconded to the Ministry of Information, London which was housed in the newly constructed Senate House of the University of London. Arberry was appointed to the Chair of Persian at the School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS, University of London 1944–47. He subsequently became the Sir Thomas Adams's Professor of Arabic at Cambridge University and a Fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge, his alma mater, from 1947 until his death in 1969. He is buried in Ascension Parish, Cambridge, together with his (by provenance Romanian) wife Sarina Simons/Arberry (1900-1973) whom he had first met in Cairo and then married at Cambridge in 1932.

Arberry is also notable for introducing Rumi's works to the west through his selective translations and for translating the important anthology of medieval Andalucian Arabic poetry The Pennants of the Champions and the Standards of the Distinguished. His interpretation of Muhammad Iqbal's writings, edited by Badiozzaman Forouzanfar, is similarly distinguished.

Reviews

[Carrie A · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a first introduction (written) that I have read and it was a concise exploration of history, thought and early proponents. I learned quite a bit but feel a definite need to learn more.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This slim volume is the briefest possible useful high-level overview of the entire history of Sufism from underpinnings to publication, and as such is just barely skims the surface of each relevant topic. Nevertheless, it does so with many quotes from the "saints" of the movement, mostly translated by the author, and the pace is kept rather lively. I can think of no better means of introducing the subject to a Westerner possessing little familiarity with Islam.

My only real gripe—hopefully fixed in later editions—is that the endnotes are so sparse as to be essentially useless for follow-up, and make use of notations such as "op. cit." that make them difficult to use even internally. Even the simple addition of a proper bibliography would have vastly improved that section.

[B · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very solid introduction to the topic of Sufism in a very general way. It did not go into nearly any depth on any of the topics, but definitely a quick and fun to read introduction. Some of the language and concepts may have been slightly outdated, but this wasn't your standard "orientalist" text, at least not in my opinion. So in spite of its age, I would recommend this as an intro to Sufism.

[Greg · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a very dated book by an eminent orientalist. The biggest drawback of the book is its brevity. It is mainly a survey of early Sufi texts from across the spectrum, rather than a discussion of sufism as a religious phenomenon and a detailed typology of brotherhoods.