Reviews for Sufism: The Transformation of the Heart

The average rating for Sufism: The Transformation of the Heart based on 2 reviews is 5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2017-09-25 00:00:00 Luc Alexandre "Sufism is a mystical path of love in which God, or Truth, is experienced as the Beloved...Through love the seeker is taken to God. The mystic seeks to realize Truth in this life and God reveals Himself within the hearts of those who love him. The mystical experience of God is a state of oneness with God." People have heard the word, they have heard of Rumi, but sometimes I think they wonder, what really is Sufism? This book gives a good explanation of the fundamentals of this mystical faith. I was born in Turkey, the home of Rumi, we call him Mevlana. I was raised in a spiritual type of Islam that was very much Sufism. I believe the Islam of Turkey is very much influenced by Sufism as our Ottoman rulers (both men and women) were Sufis, belonging to Rumi's order, and so were our soldiers, belonging to a Sufi order called Bektashi. I really believe that the Ottoman Empire was able to thrive for hundreds of years ruling half of Europe because of the Sufi faith. It is how Christians, Jews and Muslims all lived together. The Turks were so tolerant of their subjects and their respective religions and I believe this is because they followed the Sufi beliefs of tolerance and truth. Sufism comes from Islam and at its heart is the essence of the Qu'ran, but it is not religious in that it does not have dogma and preach Sharia law. Famous Sufis in the past have not even followed the five pillars of Islam. Some have been executed for their beliefs. This is a faith of the heart. The author is one of the foremost experts on Sufism and writes beautifully and intelligibly. This is a very readable book about Sufism, trust me, many are not! He also adds an interesting Jungian take, which makes it all quite compelling! For anyone smitten by Rumi and wanting to learn more about Sufism-- this is a wonderful place to start. Another book about Sufism that I love is called The Knowing Heart by Sufi expert Kabir Helminski.

Review # 2 was written on 2010-04-15 00:00:00 Jisang Kim an amazing book with amazing ramifications. It beautifully introduced me to Sufism - the most mysterious, at leats to me, of all the mystic paths. And it did it addictively!!! And he related it to Jung, the whole time, which, to me, is always a plus. Very good book.