Since in the Ocean of Divine Unity neither "I" nor "you" exists,
what meaning can "man" or "woman" possibly have?
by Dr. Javad Nurbakhsh
translated by Leonard Lewisohn, Edited by William Chittick
First Edition 1983, Second Edition 1990
ISBN 0-933546-42-4
First published in 1983, Sufi Women presents the biographies and anecdotes of over one hundred women followers and guides of various Sufi orders. Compiled from a vast range of primary sources in Arabic and Persian (such as the Sefat as-safwat of Ebn Jawzi, the Nafahat al-ons of Jami, and many others) and exclusively devoted to female spirituality and the feminine dimension of Sufism, Sufi Women is the only book in a European language to address the question of the spiritual attainment of women in Islam. These biographies, which demonstrate that in the inner life of Sufis there is no difference between men and women, constitute an important contribution both to women's studies as well as to the literature of Sufism in general. Included are the biographies of many great women throughout the history of Sufism, beginning with Rabe'a, in the second century after the Prophet, and concluding with Hayati, in the nineteenth century AD.
Available in:
| English | Farsi | Italian
