A SPIRITUAL OCEAN

By Mevlevi Australia

Whenever Sheikh Abdul Aziz is asked to recommend books on Sufism or the Mevlevi tradition, his usual advice is that in his experience it may be better ‘to follow one's own nose’.  However, he also often recommends the following:

Rumi works and translations

The Mathnawi of Jalaluddin Rumi translated by Reynold A. Nicholson (E.J.W. Gibb Memorial Trust) (Volumes ii, iv and vi are the translation, plus two volumes of commentary)

Discourses of Rumi (or Fihi Ma Fihi - 'In it what is in it') translated by A.J. Arberry (John Murray publishers)

or as

Signs of the Unseen - The Discourses of Jalaluddin Rumi translated by W.M. Thackston Jr. (Threshold Books 1994)

The Quatrains of Rumi translated by Ibrahim Gamard and Rawan Farhadi (Sufi Dari Books 2008)

A Spiritual Ocean - Contemplation Themes from the Mathnawi of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi by Mevlevi Sufi Order of Whirling Dervishes Australia Inc. (Blurb 2019)

Light Upon Light - Inspirations from Rumi translated Andrew Harvey (North Atlantic Books)

Other works and translations

Beads of Dew – Histories of the Khwajagan, The Masters of Wisdom by Mawlana Ali ibn Husain Safi, translated by Muhtar Holland (Al-Baz Publishing Inc 2001)

Living Presence by Sheikh Kabir Helminski (Penguin Putnam Inc 1992)

Love is the Wine by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak, edited by Robert Frager (The Philosophical Research Society 1999)

Manaqeb al-arefin - The Feats of the Knowers of God by Shemsuddin Ahmed-e Aflaki, translated by John O'Kane (Brill 2002)

or as a selection of anecdotes titled

Legends of the Sufis translated by J.W. Redhouse (Theosophical Publishing House 1977)

Muslim Saints and Mystics - Episodes from the Memorial of the Saints by Farid ud-Din Attar, translated by A.J. Arberry (Routledge & Kegan Paul)

Sufis of Andalusia by Ibn 'Arabi, translated by R.W.J. Austin (Beshara Publications 1988)

The Conference of the Birds by Farid ud-Din Attar, translated by C.S.Nott (Routledge & Kegan Paul)

The Knowing Heart by Sheikh Kabir Helminski (Shambhala Publications Inc 2000)

The Secrets of God's Mystical Oneness - The Spiritual Stations of Sheikh Abu Sa'id by Sheikh Mohammad Ebn-e Monavvar, translated by John O'Kane (Mazda Publishers 1992)

The Unveiling of Love by Sheikh Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi al-Halveti, translated by Muhtar Holland (East West Publications)

The Way of the Sufi by Idries Shah (Penguin Arkana 1968)

Women of Sufism selected and edited by Camille Adams Helminski

Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes by Shems Friedlander (Parabola Books 2003, first edition 1974)

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi's Forgotten Message by Shems Friedlander (Sufi Kitap 2017) Part of this book has appeared in Rumi and the Whirling Dervishes, Parabola Books 2003.

The Book of Illumination by Ibn 'Ata'Allah Al-Iskandari translated by Scott Kugle (Fons Vitae 2005)

The Lamp of Mysteries - A Commentary on the Light Verse of the Quran by Ismail Anqarawi translated & edited by Bilal Kuspinar (Anqa Publishing 2011)

Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi and Sufism - A Dervish Logbook by Min Kemal Oke (Sufi Kitap 2017)

Rumi and Islam - Selections from His Stories, Poems, and Discourses by Ibrahim Gamard (Skylight Paths Publishing 2004)

The Study Quran by Seyyed Hossein Nasr (editor-in-chief) (HarperCollins Publishers 2015)