“One of the great privileges of my life has been to know Dr. Martin Lings. He saw beneath the surface of things and helped us penetrate the veil behind which lies the sacred meaning to so many of life’s mysteries.”
Description
This collection of the essential writings of Martin Lings brings together some of the most outstanding chapters from his wide range of works. In addition to selections dealing with the perennial philosophy, such as “Do the Religions Contradict One Another?”, the anthology includes sections from Lings' writings on Islam and Sufism, notably his magisterial account of the life of the Prophet Muhammad; his acclaimed biography of the Algerian Sufi master Ahmad al-ʿAlawi; his pioneering work on the Quranic art of calligraphy and illumination; and his celebrated translations (from the Arabic) of classics from the field of Sufi mystical poetry. Also featured are selections on the spiritual dimensions to be found in the mature plays of Shakespeare, such as Hamlet.
Reviews
“Martin Lings has been a role model for me. . . . Like everyone else who knew him intimately, I revered him for being the saint he was.”
“This marvelous anthology draws on Lings’ masterly exegeses of sacred texts and doctrines, his peerless lives of the Prophet and Shaykh Ahmad al-?Alawi, his elucidations of Shakespeare and the Sufi poets, his acute diagnosis of our contemporary spiritual malaise, and his reaffirmations of the perennial wisdom. A veritable treasure-house!”
“After the three founding figures of the Traditionalist school, that is, Guénon, Coomaraswamy, and Schuon, Lings is without doubt one of the most significant voices. . . . In him piety and intelligence, knowledge and love were combined. . . . He left behind many works of unusual light and beauty combined with scholarly and intellectual rigor.”
