This book is the best introduction to Islam available. It is a large format book containing an excellent glimpse into this living faith and is filled with beautiful photography. I have read countless books on the subject and "The Wisdom of Islam" is, without doubt, the best book of its kind. Chapters include: The Five Pillars of Islam, The Messenger of God, What is the Qur'an?, The History of Islam, Sufism: The Path of Islamic Mysticism, The Mind of Islam, Women in Islam, and Islam Today. Anyone desiring an honest look into what Islam is really about should not hesitate to get this visually stunning and spiritually moving book. I highly recommend this exquisite introduction (get a copy and you'll see why I give this book such high marks).

This book is beautifully written and illustrated. I was moved by the first person accounts of Islamic practices like prayer, fasting, etc.

We all HAVE to learn more about Islam, and this book is one of the best ways to begin

This book is great place to begin to really understand what Islam is about. Many authors have written about the the history of Islam, the beliefs of Islam, the politics of Islam....etc.
Dr. Frager captures a deep personal sense of what it feels like to follow this faith. The beautiful presentation enhances the obvious love and care reflected in the words of the author. This is a "must" read for anyone trying to understand what keeps drawing westerners to this faith in spite of the negative portrayals in the current press. The 1st hand accounts are deeply touching.

Sheikh Muzaffer must have been a good Guru for initiating this author into sufism. Dr. Frager's understanding and contribution to sufism is valuable. His writing is easy to understand and practice [though page 173-174 is acceptable for those who are not yet Muslim; Muslim should refer to more valid intruction and guide].

What he shared at times touches my heart. Sufism/tasawwuf, or the spiritual component of Islam is the beautiful aspect of Islam; the right path to God as long as practiced according or within the syariah, the physical component.

Dr. Frager, being a clinical psychologist was able to show how sufism could be incoporated into healing. This aspect of healing should be within the capacity of all muslim doctors.

This book is suitable for lay person as well as specialist in medical or psychological field. It should be a must for psychiatrists in training, who probably have been exposed only to Fruedian or neofreudian thinking.

When one thinks of Sufism in the West, most often it is related to Rumi, or it is a very general apprehension of Sufism in a starkness that fails to convey it's heart and reality. This book is, as of yet still not very well known, but it will soon be very well known- because Robert Frager exposits the teaching, and psychology of Sufism in the most complete manner that has ever been done in the West. He is a scholar, but he is also a Sufi Shaykh, in the lineage al-Jerrahi al-Halveti. Shaykh Frager has had incredible, and powerful teachers in Shaykh Muzafer Ozak, and Shaykh Tosun Bayrak. This book contains the essence of what Shaykh Frager has benn teaching over the years. It is all here, finally put down in book, and is fantastic. The language of the book is intuitive, clear, and precise. It draws one to examine the one's self. The teachings on the nafs and the lower self are very serious and important. This is a path of Love in action. It teaches of the Eye of the Heart, or Intellect of the Heart as the reigning wisdom that subdues all ignorance, and obscuration of being-It shows you how. The spirit of true prayer is also conveyed by this book. It is a rich treasure that once ingested will remain in the soul for the rest of one's life. This book will prove to be vey hard to improve on. All praise to Allah!

I first read this book a few years ago and still find myself going back for the wisdom found in the teaching-stories. This is MUCH BETTER than any of Idries Shah's stuff. These stories helped me find a real spiritual path after many years as a wayward seeker. Muslims as well Christians, Jews, Buddhists, etc., could find much in this treasure of stories.

Personally, I was drawn to this book for a number of reasons. I am a follower of Islam and was interested in sampling an alternative "emotional" and mystical approach to the cultivation and maintainence of spirituality. The book seemed to be brief yet captivating, so I checked it out from my local library. After having read the book, I can honestly say that I wish that it had lasted longer! I have read and even enjoyed many books written by Sufi mystics, but this book seemed to me to be a well into which I was further and further drawn, not only by Ozak's style and charisma, but the inherent logic that I personally percieved in his approach to Islam and for that matter any type of spirituality. His didactic, story- based teaching style reflects thousands of years of a tradition that was available to only a few. I feel fortunate that Ozak was one of the few Sufi Masters who shared his reasoning and humanity with us. This book was sublime (as it draws upon the Wise teachings of the Quran and our Prophet Mohammed), yet oriented for less than perfect humans who are struggling daily to maintain sprituality. I highly reccommend it to anyone interested in logic, philosophy, etc., as brainfood. Happy Digestion.

After five years of personal growth work with books, seminars and therapy, I happened on Frager's book and found a summary of most of what I'd learned and more. This is a goldmine for anyone wanting a 360 degree understanding of yourself. Start anywhere -- body type, personality, astrological -- and be ready for a great adventure. I keep few books. This is one of them.

This is the first book which i read on Sufism and it taught me alot not just about this topic but as well as about life in general. The book teaches you how u can live a quality life. It defines sufism very well and then goes on with each chapter focusing on a different topic like love, prayer etc. Anyone interested in reading something quality rules of life must read this book.

The Sufi practitioner is a mystic. Sufi practices are the mystical practices of Islam. Many of those whom Islam heralds as saints and sages were Sufi masters. For nearly 1500 years, Sufi practices have co-existed with a diversity of other practices and cultures in which Islam has survived and thrived.

'According to many Sufis, the essential truths of Sufism exist in all religions. The foundation for all mysticism includes the outer forms of religious practice, plus a life based on moral and ethical principles. The roots of the tree of religion are founded in religious law.... The branches of the tree are mysticism.... The fruit of the tree is the Truth, or God.'

Edited by James Fadiman and Robert Frager, this book reaches from the very beginnings of Sufi practice to the present, and pulls together materials that are luminous and spirit-provoking, from prayers that have survived a millennium to contemporary poetry. Writers such as Ibn al-Arabi, Ahmad al-Ghazzali, Hafiz, Rumi and Attar fill this book with an enchanting sense of a divine presence in the curiously distant yet all-to-present reality.

Many of the teachings of Sufi are very basic and practical, much moreso than one would think a mystical framework would be. And yet, God is practical in many ways. God particularly expects those with wisdom to impart the wisdom, and this is best done practically for many hearers. Action is the final essential component of wisdom.

The task of the Sufi is to recognise the Truth, to learn and remember it, and secondly, to help others to the Truth as well. As the task evolves, it becomes one process, which infiltrates daily life, worship, and all of existence. Nothing is apart from God. The Sufi strives to recognise this wholeness.

'Oh heart, sit with someone
who knows the heart;
God under the tree
which has fresh blossoms.'
- Rumi

For many of the Sufi, the path to Truth is the path of Love. 'Whatever we wish to know well, we must love.' Yet, there is resistance and fear in this love. Love can transform us, make us unrecognisable even to ourselves, and this is worrisome. Yet God will always know who we are.

Sufi literature also has a humourous aspect to it; the Hodja stories of Turkish collections is illustrated here. These are interesting, because they always illumine more upon closer examination.

'I can see in the dark,' boasted Hodja one day while sitting in a tea shop.
'If that's true,' said his friends, 'why do we sometimes see you carrying a light at night?'
'Well,' he replied, 'I only use that lamp to prevent other people from bumping into me.'

Ultimately the goal of all mystical practice, and perhaps most especially the Sufi, is the experience of knowing God. The paths to God are as numerous as the seekers, the Sufi believe, which is why the path through other religious faith is not discounted. Through prayer, remembrance and service, the Sufi comes to know God, and join with God.

One day a man asked a sheikh how to reach God. 'The ways to God,' the sheikh replied, 'are as many as there are created beings. But the shortest and easiest is to serve others, not to bother others, and to make others happy.' - Abu Sa'id

The call of God is powerful, and Sufi practice is one of the most powerful responses to this call in the world. Sufi are an impatient lot, who long to see God now. May your journey be enlightened by walking some of their paths.

.....to Islamic Mysticism. I first became interested in Sufism when a friend told me she had been following the Sufi path for many years. She is a person who has faced very serious challenges in her life (which I greatly admire) and I wanted to know how she had done so with such poise and equanimity. The answer for her was Sufism.

This book does an excellent job of explaining the Sufi path. Prior to reading this book I knew literally nothing about the subject. Now I understand Sufism to be a deeply personal path and one that is based on love of God, a dedication to service, a search for spiritual knowledge, and uncovering one's pure self. The wisdom of Sufism is learned through art, prayer, poetry, stories, readings and rituals, all of which is guided by a Sufi teacher.

The history of Sufism is traced in this book and the beliefs and path of the faith are thoroughly explained. Discussed are: Sufism's four great books (Jesus' Gospels, the Quran, Moses' Torah and David's Psalms), the Five Pillars of Islam, the four stages of Sufi practice, transforming the self, the importance of a Sufi teacher and much more. After reading this book I feel I have a sound knowledge of the basics of this faith and an understanding of why my friend has found such peace in following it. I highly recommend this book to anyone wishing to learn about Sufism or who is on a spiritual path that is open to new discoveries.

I was assigned to read this book for my AP Psychology class, at first it was really boring to me, I'll be honest. But after a while it started to grow on me, and I began enjoying learning the teachings of Maslow. I agree with Maslow's pyramid of needs, and after reading this book I have began to notice when people's needs arent being met, and how aggitated they will get when trying to achieve the needs that they want. This book will open up a lot of people's eyes and allow people to see things in a different light, if they are willing to get through the very detailed sections of Maslow's ideas. Overall, the book was enjoyable, a little slow because it is basically a giant thesis paper, but still enjoyable and much will be learned from this book.

Maslow pours his wisdom into our minds explaining the core needs of human beings. This is a great book to learn about yourself and the motivations of others.

The book's title and author intrigued me in the first place. I'd heard about Maslow's hierarchy of needs in college. Usually, about half a page or so was dedicated to it in general college psychology textbooks. What a disservice! Dipping one's big toe in the swimming pool is not the same as plunging into it. This book deserves to be plunged into, marked up, highlighted, commented on, thought about, and discussed. It is brilliant, original, fascinating, and readable. I'm not sure how to say it because there is so much, but I would say that what makes it especially unique is its study of psychologically healthy people (Maslow calls them self-actualizing people). This book will turn your brain on. I am not a technically/medically trained person. It took time to read trough Motivation and Personality, mostly because I wanted to stop and think about what it was saying. It's not a rush through kind of book. This book, as well as Dr. Peck's "People of Lie," exposed a whole new layer of the world I live in. I believe it fine tunes perceptions and make one so much more aware and alive.

This text is organized in a way that allows the reader to examine each personality theory in the context in which the theorist lived. The authors provide a historical context and present the antecedents that helped to shape each theorist's own personal growth. Students began to understand how and why psychological theory was shaped during a particular period in history and the disciplines that provide the framework of theory development. Each theorist is presented as a person whose life and experiences contributed to their subjective and objective methods used in the development of their paarticular theory. The reader is encouraged to crtical evaluate the theory and the theorists within an historical context. and to engage in self examination as well. It is an excelent text for students who are beganning to study theorys of personality.