Books like A year with Rumi by Coleman Barks

Candide: A Tale of Conviviality and Optimism in a Wretched World

A year of daily reflections, each page offering a translated passage from Rainer Maria Rilke’s poetry, prose, letters, and journals, exploring themes of spirituality, impermanence, solitude, and the divine.

A captivating exploration of Christianity's growth and spread across the Roman Empire through quantitative data and groundbreaking insights from prominent historian Rodney Stark.

A comprehensive guide to the beliefs, traditions, and observance of Judaism, suitable for those new to the religion or those seeking to deepen their understanding.

The Prayer is a drawing of the curtain, an invitation to a secret place that is discovered and explored. . . .According to tradition and the testimony of Sufi mystics, The Prayer--or Salat--was first taught by the angels, who themselves practiced it in celestial adoration. The Prayer is God's gift to all humankind, and in this gorgeously illustrated volume, its simple, archetypal practice unfolds like a fragrant, many-petaled flower, joining words and movements into a single luminous event that engages our entire being.These ancient rituals are presented here as a gift for anyone with a heartfelt desire to set aside for a moment the concerns of every day and enter a sacred time and space in which to explore the beckonings of the spirit. The authors take us through the words, movements, and hidden meanings of the Call to Prayer, the Ablutions, The Prayer itself, and the Peaceful Embrace afterwards. Faithful practice lends a sacred rhythm to each day and creates a psychological force that helps us nurture and express a profound inner harmony.This first, marvelously accessible interpretation of The Prayer also offers a compelling introductin to the wisdom and teachings of the beloved contemporary Sufi master Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, who brought new life to this mystical tradition by opening a passage to its deepest, universal realities. It is the loving handiwork of two of Bawa's best-known students, Coleman Barks and Michael Green, who also created The Illuminated Rumi.Like a jewel given extra brilliance by its setting, The Prayer is surrounded by the wisdom and understanding of the thirteenth-century Sufi master Rumi, whose generous poetry has become an essential canon for modern-day seekers in the West. The final gift is the Primeval Kalima, the core practice and most profound teaching of the Sufi, the "open secret" that leads to Divine Luminous Wisdom.From the Hardcover edition.

A curated collection of Rumi’s most celebrated Persian Sufi verses, translated into English for contemporary readers.

Exploring the origins and spread of world religions from the Stone Age to the Axial Age.

E-book extra: "Civilizational Dialogue and the Islamic World" by Seyyed Hossein Nasr.As the specter of religious extremism has become a fact of life today, the temptation is great to allow the evil actions and perspectives of a minority to represent an entire tradition. In the case of Islam, there has been much recent confusion in the Western world centered on distorted portrayals of its core values. Born of ignorance, such confusion feeds the very problem at hand.