 First UK edition | |
| Author | Idries Shah |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Eastern philosophy and Sufism |
| Publisher | Jonathan Cape |
Publication date | 1967 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & eBook). |
| Pages | 248 |
| OCLC | 983317814 |
| Preceded by | The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin |
Tales of the Dervishes by Idries Shah was first published in 1967, and re-published and made available online for free by The Idries Shah Foundation in October 2016.
Tales of the Dervishes is a collection of stories, parables, legends and fables gathered from classical Sufi texts and oral sources spanning a period from the 7th to the 20th centuries. An author's postscript to each story offers a brief account of its provenance, use and place in Sufi tradition.
The Islamic scholar James Kritzeck, reviewing Shah's Tales of the Dervishes in The Nation , said that it was "beautifully translated" and equipped "men and women to make good use of their lives." [1] In an essay on dervish tales he also discusses at length the value of the stories in this book. [2] The Stanford University professor Robert E. Ornstein, writing in Psychology Today , called the book "... a collection of diamonds ... incredibly well-crafted, multifaceted ... likely to endure in the manner of the Koran and the Bible." [3] The Observer noted that the book "... challenges our intellectual assumptions at almost every point." [3] Desmond Morris, in The World of Books ( BBC ), said that "For every decade we live, we will find another meaning in each story." [3] The Sunday Times called it "An astonishingly generous and liberating book ... strikingly appropriate for our time and situation ... a jewel flung in the market-place." [3]
Psychiatrist and author Arthur Deikman, in his book The Observing Self, uses tales from this work to illustrate the role of intuition in the human makeup and the idea that mysticism is an extension of natural psychological faculties. [4]
Philosopher of science and physicist Henri Bortoft used teaching tales from Shah's corpus as analogies of the habits of mind which prevented people from grasping the scientific method of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. Bortoft's The Wholeness of Nature: Goethe's Way of Science includes stories from Tales of the Dervishes, The Exploits of the Incomparable Mullah Nasruddin and A Perfumed Scorpion .
Idries Shah, also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an Afghan author, thinker and teacher in the Sufi tradition. Shah wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
A teaching story is a narrative that has been deliberately created as a vehicle for the transmission of wisdom. The practice has been used in a number of religious and other traditions, though writer Idries Shah's use of it was in the context of Sufi teaching and learning, within which this body of material has been described as the "most valuable of the treasures in the human heritage". The range of teaching stories is enormous, including anecdotes, accounts of meetings between teachers and pupils, biographies, myths, fairy tales, fables and jokes. Such stories frequently have a long life beyond the initial teaching situation and have contributed vastly to the world's store of folklore and literature.
Omar Ali-Shah was a prominent exponent of modern Naqshbandi Sufism. He wrote a number of books on the subject, and was head of a large number of Sufi groups, particularly in Latin America, Europe and Canada.
Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah was an Indian-Afghan author and diplomat descended from the Sadaat of Paghman. Born and educated in India, he came to Britain as a young man to continue his education in Edinburgh, where he married a young Scotswoman.
Amina Shah, later known as Amina Maxwell-Hudson, was a British anthologiser of Sufi stories and folk tales, and was for many years the Chairperson of the College of Storytellers. She was the sister of the Sufi writers Idries Shah and Omar Ali-Shah, and the daughter of Sirdar Ikbal Ali Shah and Saira Elizabeth Luiza Shah Scottish woman. Her nephew is the travel writer and documentary filmmaker Tahir Shah; her nieces, Safia Shah and the writer and documentary filmmaker Saira Shah.
The Middle East Bedside Book is a collection of stories and information about the Middle East, edited by Anglo-Afghan author, Tahir Shah. The book was published in June 1991 by The Octagon Press.
The Sufis is one of the best known books on Sufism by the writer Idries Shah. First published in 1964 with an introduction by Robert Graves, it introduced Sufi ideas to the West in a format acceptable to non-specialists at a time when the study of Sufism had largely become the reserve of Orientalists.
The Institute for Cultural Research (ICR) was a London-based, UK-registered educational charity, events organizer and publisher which aimed to stimulate study, debate, education and research into all aspects of human thought, behaviour and culture. It brought together many distinguished speakers, writers and Fellows over the years.
A Perfumed Scorpion is a non-fiction book by the Sufist writer, Idries Shah, that was first published by Octagon Press in 1978, the same year that he published two other major works: Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way and The Hundred Tales of Wisdom. It has since been republished by The Idries Shah Foundation.
The Hundred Tales of Wisdom is a translation from the Persian by Idries Shah of the "Life, Teachings and Miracles of Jalaludin Rumi" from Aflaki's Munaqib, together with certain important stories from Rumi’s own works, traditionally known by that title. It was published by Octagon Press in 1978.
Wisdom of the Idiots is a book of Sufi teaching stories by the writer Idries Shah first published by the Octagon Press in 1969. A paperback edition was published in 1991. ISF Publishing, sponsored by The Idries Shah Foundation, published a paperback edition on 2015, followed by the ebook version and audiobook.
Special Illumination: The Sufi Use Of Humour is a book by the writer Idries Shah published Octagon Press in 1977. Later editions were published in 1983, 1989 and 1997.
Octagon Press was a cross-cultural publishing house based in London, UK. It was founded in 1960 by Sufi teacher, Idries Shah to establish the historical and cultural context for his ideas. The company ceased trading in 2014.
The Boy and the Filberts is a fable related to greed and appears as Aarne-Thompson type 68A. The story is credited to Aesop but there is no evidence to support this. It is not included in either the Perry Index or in Laura Gibbs' inclusive collection (2002).
Caravan of Dreams is a book by Idries Shah first published in 1968 by Octagon Press as part of his presentation of traditional Eastern teachings and Sufi ideas for contemporary society. New editions of the book were published in 2015 by The Idries Shah Foundation.
The Elephant in the Dark is a book by the writer Idries Shah, based on lectures he delivered at the University of Geneva as Visiting Professor in 1972–1973. He was invited to speak on the topic of “Salvation as a total surrender to God: an attempt at dialogue between Christians and Muslims.”
The Idries Shah Foundation (ISF) is an independent educational and cultural charity, set up by the family of the late thinker, writer, and teacher in the Sufi mystical tradition, Idries Shah, who wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.
The Book of the Book is a book by Idries Shah. The majority of the book's 200 pages are blank, with the remaining nine pages telling the story of a book left by a wise man consisting of one sentence and attempts over hundreds of years to discern the intended meaning.
The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin is a book by the writer Idries Shah, based on lectures he delivered at the University of Geneva as Visiting Professor in 1972–73. The book is a collection of tales, none more than two pages and almost all less than a page long, about the folkloric character Mulla Nasrudin. Published by Octagon Press in 1968, it was re-released in paperback, ebook and audiobook editions by The Idries Shah Foundation in 2015.
The Magic Monastery is a collection of teaching stories from the Sufi mystical tradition, by the writer Idries Shah, together with some stories by the author himself.