A Little Book of Mystical Secrets

At long last, an accessible little book that focuses on the teachings of Rumi’s teacher and inspiration, Shams of Tabriz. Included in this slim, charming volume is a biographical sketch of the great Sufi teacher and mystic and a new translation of 500 of his core teachings that bring into fresh focus the meaning and mysteries of life and love.

There are many books on Rumi and many translations of his works and yet most readers are unaware of how Rumi became a mystic. Shams, an Arabic word that means the sun, was the catalyst that converted the rather resolute and ascetic Rumi, the cleric and teacher, into Rumi, the passionate disciple of the religion of love. He was the agent of the propulsive mystical energy that transformed Rumi the reticent into Rumi the ecstatic poet.

Rumi lovers, spiritual seekers, and devotees of the mystical path will meet this little book of wisdom and mystical secrets with enthusiasm.

I shall not place you in my heart
For you may get hurt by its wounds.
I won’t keep you in my eyes
For I may belittle you and
expose you to the ridicule of common men.
I will hide you inside my soul, not in my heart or in my eyes,
so that you may become one with my breath.

“After reading this insightful work, readers interested in Sufism, poetry, or Rumi himself will be delighted to have further insight and clarity about the influence that an otherwise almost unknown Muslim mystic had on one of the most celebrated poets of all time.” – Publishers Weekly
Maryam Mafi was born and raised in Iran. She went to Tufts University in the US in 1977 where she studied sociology and literature. While reading for her master’s degree in international communications in American and Georgetown Universities she began translating Persian literature and has been doing so ever since. She lives in London.

Narguess Farzad is the Senior Tutor in the Faculty of Languages and Culture at the University of London.