Idries Shah

Idries Shah

Idries Abutahir Shah (also Idris Shah ; born June 16, 1924 in Shimla , † November 23, 1996 in London ) was an author who made the teachings of Sufism known and popularized in the West.

Life

Idries Shah was born in India to an Afghan father and a Scottish mother and grew up in England.

He lived and worked in London and Tunbridge Wells and wrote books on Sufism and philosophy .

Idries Shah expanded western knowledge of the teachings of Sufism. He was a major influence on a number of authors, including Doris Lessing . His definition of Sufism was liberal in the way that Sufism belongs to Islam , but is not dependent on the Koran , but is free in origin, scope and meaning.

Idries Shah had a son and two daughters. His son Tahir Shah is a successful travel book author and filmmaker. One of his daughters is the filmmaker Saira Shah , who is known among other things for her documentation of the life of women in Afghanistan.

Literary works

• Sufism:
  • The Sufis ISBN 0-385-07966-4
  • The Way of the Sufi ISBN 0-900860-80-4
  • Tales of the Dervishes ISBN 0-900860-47-2
  • The Book of the Book ISBN 0-900860-12-X
  • Neglected Aspects of Sufi Study ISBN 0-900860-56-1
  • Sufi Thought and Action ISBN 0-86304-051-9

• Philosophy:
  • Knowing how to know ISBN 0-86304-072-1
  • The Commanding Self ISBN 0-86304-066-7
  • Learning How to Learn - Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way ISBN 0-900860-59-6
  • The Elephant in the Dark - Christianity, Islam and The Sufis ISBN 0-900860-36-7
  • Thinkers of the East - Studies in Experientialism ISBN 0-900860-46-4
  • Reflections ISBN 0-900860-07-3
  • A Veiled Gazelle - Seeing How to See ISBN 0-900860-58-8
  • Seeker After Truth - A Handbook ISBN 0-900860-91-X

• Stories about Mulla Nasrudin :
  • The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin
  • The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin
  • The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin
  • The World of Nasrudin

Web links

• Literature by and about Idries Shah in the catalog of the German National Library
• Complete list of Idries Shah's books
• Critical article by Gurdjieff biographer James Moore ( Memento from November 17, 2007 in the Internet Archive )