ISLAMIC MYSTICAL POETRY

New to Penguin Classics-a transcendent selection of poetry from the early Islamic era.

Poetry has been the most powerful vehicle for conveying Sufism-the mystical dimension of Islam-from the early flowering of mystical Islam in Baghdad to the later heights it reached through Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273) and Jami (d. 1492). Starting with the writings of eighth-century mystics, this anthology moves through the twelfth century with Ibn Arabi in Spain and Ibn Farid of Cairo, then onto the Maghrib prayer of Abul Ala Al Maari, Aynul quddat Hamddhani of Persia, Yunus Emre of Turkey in the fourteenth century, and many others, culminating in the early twentieth century. The result is a soaring collection of verse from across the Islamic world and over centuries of inspiration.