The Illuminated Prayer: The Five-Times Prayer of the Sufis
With only a few exceptions, the mystical tradition of Sufism has received little attention outside Muslim countries. Ernst's carefully constructed anthology and Barks and Green's entertaining volume are among the best recent examples of new interest in--and improved publications about--the subject. Ernst (religious studies, Univ. of North Carolina) uses translations from primary sources and his own fine connecting material to shed crucial light on topics such as ethics, music, the mystical understanding of the Qur'an, and saints. (He is especially good on the lives of Sufism's women saints.) This book, which does not dilute or Westernize the originals, should become an essential introduction. Barks and Green's work is more popular in approach and limited in scope, but it is a delightful, skillfully written, and imaginatively illustrated book; it too seems indispensable for a beginner in the mystical traditions of Islam. For most collections.Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.