Living Sufism

T his book combines scholarly research into aspects of Sufi doctrines and History with a Penetrating account of the spiritual and metaphysical message and significance of Sufism as a living spiritual tradition. In an original discussion, the author places special accent on the relevance of Sufi teaching to contemporary problems. The book is written for both the ever-Increasing western public interested in Sufism and for the Western education Muslim interested in his own spiritual heritage. Dr Nasr draws on his intimate knowledge of Sufi literature in Arabic and Persian as well as his first hand knowledge of the Sufi tradition.

Seyyed Hossein Nasr was born in Tehran, where he received his early education. He Studied in the West and gained his BS from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and his MA and PhD D from Harvard University, where he studied the History of science and Learning with special concentration on Islamic science and philosophy. In 1958 he returned to Iran to teach at Tehran University, where he was Professor of the History of Science and Philosophy. In 1962 he was visiting lecturer at Harvard University, and he taught there during the summer of 1965. During 1964-65 he was the first holder of the Agha Khan chair of Islamic studies at the American University of Beirut. He also served as Vice Chancellor of Tehran University and Chancellor of the Arya-Mehr University of Technology in Iran. He was the founder and the first president of the Iranian Academy of Philosophy and is presently University Professor of Islamic Studies at the George Washington University, Washington DC.
Professor Nasr has lectured in America, Europe, the Middle East, Pakistan, India, Japan, and Australia. He is the author of over 25 books and numerous articles, and his works have appeared in more than ten languages.