The Mystics of Islam, first published in l914, 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.

Reynold A. Nicholson: English Orientalist, lecturer in Persian and Sir Thomas Adams professor of Arabic at Cambridge university, Reynold A. Nicholson was a foremost scholar in the field of Islamic literature and mysticism. He was born at Keighley, Yorkshire in 1868. He was a renowned author and recognized authority on Islam. His Literary History of the Arabs (1907) remains a standard work on the subject in English, while his many text editions and translations of Sufi writings, culminating in his eight-volume Mathnawi of Jalalu’ddin Rumi, advanced the study of Muslim mystics to an eminent degree. He combined exact scholarship with notable literary gifts; some of his versions of Arabic and Persian poetry qualify him as a poet himself.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1:    The Path

Chapter 2:    Illumination and Ecstasy

Chapter 3:    The Gnosis

Chapter 4:    Divine Love

Chapter 5:    Saints and Miracles

Chapter 6:    The Unitive State

Bibliography

Index

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