What is Sufism?

My husband loves this book.

Um livro essencial para quem só conhece os clichés comuns notificados sobre o assunto.

Probably the best book on Sufism I have read. Other books I encountered are not so good. I started to read books by Martin Lings (I had heard of him before) after reading Kristiana Bakar's book " From MTV to Islam" which is an excellent book, detailing her spiritual journey to Islam. She was blessed to have friends like Martin Lings and Gai Eaton. Her book opened many doors of exploration for me, and I started reading Martin Ling's books. This book is not an easy read and deep with fascinating perspectives, and there are some profound quotes which touches one's heart. As in any book, there may be aspects which one may not quite agree with, but there are more positives here for me. This has made me understand the importance of the spiritual connection with God, and Martin Lings is a very credible author to write on this subject.

I had done quite a bit of research on Sufism for a few courses and I have found Lings' little book to be absolutely remarkable.First, it is important to note that Lings writes from the perspective of Sufism, so he casually brushes aside orthodox readings in favor of spiritual or "vertical" readings of the Qur''n. This makes for quite easy comparison with other forms of Mysticism, but I feel at times this isn't a very true approach. To be more honest with the tradition, Sufism qua Islam would be more appropriate. But, due to my own biases, Sufism qua Mysticism makes for a far more universal, comparative study. Keep this bias in mind before reading.The book itself concisely covers all that one could ask for in a book this size. Lings' ability to be terse yet illuminating is legendary here. This seems to come from the power of his summations where he ties up his thoughts and makes very definite statements about the philosophy and implications of Sufism. These tend to come across as both inspirational and brilliant. Also, he splices citations into his reading effortlessly and poignantly which makes for great direction for further study.If you have a mystic bias this book will certainly deliver. Even if you do not, Lings' understanding of the material is still unmistakable.

The book is amazing and I would recommend it to everyone who is searching for a deeper meaning to Islam. Martin Lings is an excellent writer.