Reading list

Sufism

Theology, metaphysics and poetry of the Sufi path, from Rābiʿa to Ibn ʿArabī.

Intermediate. 7 steps

Orientation

Text
The Mystics of Islam
Reynold A. Nicholson, 1914
A short, clear introduction to the Sufi path by a great scholar of it.

Text
Rābiʿa the Mystic and Her Fellow-Saints in Islam
Margaret Smith, 1928
The sayings and stories of Rābiʿa, and the love of God for God’s own sake.

Text
The Confessions of Al Ghazzali
al-Ghazālī, tr. Claud Field, 1909
Why a great theologian left his post to follow the Sufis.
Concept
Fanāʾ
Passing away and subsistence, the two poles of the Sufi goal.

Text
Masnavi i Ma’navi
Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, tr. E. H. Whinfield, 1887
Rūmī’s teaching through story; begin with the song of the reed.
Text
Selected Poems from the Divani Shamsi Tabriz
Jalāl al-Dīn Rūmī, tr. Reynold A. Nicholson, 1898
Rūmī’s lyric poems of love and longing, with Nicholson’s notes.

Text
Ibn al’Arabi: The Bezels of Wisdom
Ibn ʿArabī, tr. R. W. J. Austin, 1980
Ibn ʿArabī’s metaphysics; read the translator’s introductions first, and slowly.

Cite this entry

Chicago (bibliography): “Sufism.” Reading list. The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society. Last modified November 7, 2026. https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/sufism-reading-list.
Chicago (note): “Sufism,” reading list, The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, last modified November 7, 2026, https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/sufism-reading-list.
MLA: “Sufism.” The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society, 7 Nov. 2026, www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/sufism-reading-list.
BibTeX: @misc{reading-lists-sufism-reading-list, title = {{Sufism}}, howpublished = {The Library, Unitive Knowledge Society}, note = {Reading list. Last modified November 7, 2026}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.unitiveknowledge.org/reading-lists/sufism-reading-list} }