Home - The Idries Shah Foundation

‘A beacon of sanity in our age of polarity’^*

The Idries Shah Foundation is a charity dedicated to publishing and disseminating the works and ideas of the writer and thinker Idries Shah — and to connecting ideas across disciplines, cultures and history to help bring about a deeper insight into human thought and behaviour. Besides publishing, we are also engaged in a wide range of charitable projects, from supporting education in deprived societies to collaborating with UNESCO to promote stories as the essence of culture.

Ibn el-Arabi: the Greatest Sheikh

Malala Yousafzai, Nobel Laureate for Peace 2014

Ibn el-Arabi’s The Loftiest Pearl (Al-Dawr al-a‘la) from the 14th century. Its influence, along with the Sufi’s other seminal works, penetrated the thought of both East and West, according to Idries Shah.

Rumi – Sufi Poet of East and West

Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273) is one of the best-selling poets in the western world. But according to Idries Shah, his poetry contains depths of meaning not often understood or appreciated.

With Sufi ideas under threat ISF is reseeding them through its translations project

‘In many Islamic countries, the Sufi outlook is increasingly under threat.’ ISF is working to renew this ancient tradition.

Explore the largest collection of Sufi literature and teaching-stories in the world

For over 40 years, Shah collected and published centuries of Sufi literature, and offered an interpretation of this invaluable resource uniquely framed for our time

We publish timeless, beautifully-illustrated stories for children

‘These stories…nurture a part of the mind that is unreachable in more direct ways...’
– Robert Ornstein, Professor of Psychology, Stanford University

Once upon a time – in 1979 to be exact – Idries Shah published a remarkable volume of 65 stories, entitled World Tales. He had collected them from around the world – some from ancient sources, others from contemporary ones. Yet they all shared one common factor: in each case, the tale could be found in similar forms in disparate cultures that appeared to have no connection with one another. One story, for example, was popular in Scotland and also pre-Columbian America simultaneously. ‘One feels a truly living element in them which is startlingly evident when one isolates the “basic” stories; the ones which tend to have travelled farthest,’ wrote Shah. Today’s story is drawn from this timeless collection. Read it, pass it on – and become a part of its journey. Who knows where it will travel next?