The Food of Paradise from Tales of the Dervishes

The Food of Paradise from Tales of the Dervishes

From the Idries Shah Sufi Studies and Middle Eastern Literature More stories Buy now Although enormously attractive as sheer entertainment, Dervish tales were never presented merely on the level of a fable, legend or folklore. They stand in comparison in wit, construction and piquancy with the finest stories of any culture, yet their true function as Sufi … Read More

Haughty and Generous from Wisdom of the Idiots

Haughty and Generous from Wisdom of the Idiots

From the Idries Shah Traditional Psychology More stories Buy now ‘Because what narrow thinkers imagine to be wisdom is often seen by the Sufis to be folly, the Sufis in contrast sometimes call themselves “The Idiots.”’ — Idries Shah. Sufi stories contain several levels of meaning and work like psychological mirrors in which the reader … Read More

Three Fishes from Tales of the Dervishes

Three Fishes from Tales of the Dervishes

From the Idries Shah Sufi Studies and Middle Eastern Literature More stories Buy now Although enormously attractive as sheer entertainment, Dervish tales were never presented merely on the level of a fable, legend or folklore. They stand in comparison in wit, construction and piquancy with the finest stories of any culture, yet their true function as Sufi … Read More

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‘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 … Read More

What is Sufism?

What is Sufism? ‘To be a Sufi is to detach from fixed ideas and from preconceptions; and not to try to avoid what is your lot.’ Abu-Said, son of Abi-Khair ‘Sufism is truth without form.’ Ibn el-Jalali ‘Idries Shah did some revolutionary things’ by Saira Shah A classical Persian dictionary, said to have been compiled … Read More

Traditional Psychology

Traditional Psychology Idries Shah believed that Sufi ideas are the common property of all human beings. They have survived throughout history by being adapted to fit in with the general preoccupations of the cultures in which they were disseminated. For instance, in the eleventh to thirteenth centuries, they were considered a branch of religious philosophy. … Read More

Books – Farsi Translations

Farsi Translations We have a number of Idries Shah’s books available in Farsi from Sufi Studies, Traditional Psychology, Current and Traditional Ideas as well as from the Nasrudin stories.

Publishing

Publishing

Publishing When the Idries Shah Foundation was founded in 2014, it took on a monumental task: re-publishing the entire Idries Shah canon, including the seminal works on Sufism written in the modern era. This publishing initiative is now complete: all of Shah’s books are once again available in English. They can be read and purchased … Read More

Books – Dari Translations

Dari Translations We have a number of Idries Shah’s books available in Dari from Sufi Studies, Traditional Psychology, Current and Traditional Ideas as well as from the Nasrudin stories.