A LIBRARIAN’S ORIENTATION
What this book explores
A major historical survey of Sufi ideas, practices, poetry, orders, and regional expressions.
EDITORIAL NOTE
Why it’s in the Library
It gives travelers historical and Islamic context for mystical material often encountered only in fragments. The survey makes Sufism's diversity more visible without detaching it from Muslim life.
Good starting place if…
You want a wide historical introduction to Sufi figures, practices, poetry, symbols, communities, and regional developments across the Islamic world.
Know before you begin…
Schimmel's learned survey covers an enormous field and reflects the scholarship and terminology of its publication era. Breadth can compress differences, and the book is better used as a map toward particular traditions than as one definition of Sufism.