Idries Shah

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Idries Shah (16 June 1924–23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayyid Idris al-Hashimi, was an author in the Naqshbandi sufist tradition on works ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.

Contents 1 Life 2 Works 3 See also 4 Partial bibliography 5 External links

[edit] Life

Idries Shah was born in Simla, India, of an Afghan-Indian father and Scottish mother into the family of the Paghman saadat. Shah's early years were mainly spent in England (London and Oxford), but his upbringing bridged East and West. He was educated, as his father before him, by private tutors in Europe and the Middle East, and through wide-ranging travel—the series of journeys, in fact, that characterise Sufi education and development.

Shah married Cynthia (Kashfi) Kabraji in 1958, and fathered one son Tahir Shah and two daughters. One of the daughters, Saira Shah reported on women's rights in Afghanistan with her documentary Beneath the Veil. Shah's brother, Omar Ali-Shah, was also a writer and teacher of Sufism.

[edit] Works

Idries Shah's writings greatly extended the western knowledge of the Sufi teachings. He profoundly influenced several intellectuals, notably Doris Lessing and Robert Ornstein. His definition of Sufism was liberal in that he was of the opinion that it predated Islam and did not depend on the Qur'an, but was universal in source, scope and relevance (see Sufi studies). He maintained that spiritual teachings should be presented in forms and terms that are familiar in the community where they are to take root. He believed that students should be given work based on their individual capacities, and rejected systems that apply the same exercises to all. In his own work he used teaching stories and humor to great effect.

Shah's earliest published works reflected his interest in magic, witchcraft and occultism: Oriental Magic (London 1956), and The Secret Lore of Magic: Book of the Sorcerers (London 1957). He started Octagon Press ([1]) in 1960, and the first Octagon title was Gerald Gardner: Witch, the biography of a leading figure in the British witchcraft revival of the 1950s. Attributed to "Jack L. Bracelin", it has long been known as a pseudonymous work by Shah, who was Gardner's secretary at the time of writing (see F. Lamond, Fifty Years of Wicca, 2004). Later, Shah developed his press as a means of publishing and distributing Sufi books that might otherwise have gone out of print. His desire was to have these always available to each generation. The books range from traditional Sufi manuals, to contemporary works. Several books feature the Mulla Nasrudin character. These humorous teaching stories are believed to act as a mirror to human foibles, aiding philosophical self examination.

Shah started the "Society for Understanding the Foundations of Ideas" (or "SUFI") in London in the mid-1960s. This was renamed the Institute for Cultural Research ([2]), alongside a more esoteric "Society for Sufi Studies", also founded by Shah. The ICR, currently based in London, hosts lectures and seminars on topics related to aspects of human nature, while the SSS has ceased its activities.

Shah's books have sold over 15 million copies in 12 languages worldwide. They have been reviewed by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Times (see for example, Doris Lessing's review), The Tribune, The Daily Telegraph and numerous other international journals and newspapers. His best-selling novel "Kara Kush", was based on fact, incorporating Shah's first-hand knowledge of the courage of the Afghan people, and the atrocities inflicted upon them. About a year after his last visit to Afghanistan in late spring of 1987, Shah suffered two successive and massive heart attacks. He died in London on November 23rd 1996, at the age of 72. According to the obituary in The Daily Telegraph, Idries Shah was a collaborator with Mujahuddin in the Afghan-Soviet war, a Director of Studies for the Institute for Cultural Research and a Governor of the Royal Humane Society and the Royal Hospital and Home for Incurables.

On Idries Shah in contemporary reference see:

Marcia Hermansen [3] "Literary productions of Western Sufi movements" in: Sufism in the West, Jamal Malik and John Hinnells eds. -Routledge: London and New York, 2006 (pp 28-48)

[edit] See also

• Tahir Shah
• Saira Shah

[edit] Partial bibliography

• Sufism:
  • The Sufis ISBN 0-385-07966-4
  • The Way of the Sufi ISBN 0-900860-80-4
  • Tales of the Dervishes ISBN 0-900860-47-2
  • The Book of the Book ISBN 0-900860-12-X
  • Neglected Aspects of Sufi Study ISBN 0-900860-56-1
  • Sufi Thought and Action ISBN 0-86304-051-9
• Philosophy:
  • Knowing How to Know ISBN 0-86304-072-1
  • The Commanding Self ISBN 0-86304-066-7
  • Learning How to Learn - Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way ISBN 0-900860-59-6
  • The Elephant in the Dark - Christianity, Islam and The Sufis ISBN 0-900860-36-7
  • Thinkers of the East - Studies in Experientialism ISBN 0-900860-46-4
  • Reflections ISBN 0-900860-07-3
  • A Veiled Gazelle - Seeing How to See ISBN 0-900860-58-8
  • Seeker After Truth - A Handbook ISBN 0-900860-91-X
• Collections of Mulla Nasrudin Stories:
  • The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin
  • The Subtleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin
  • The Pleasantries of the Incredible Mullah Nasrudin
  • The World of Nasrudin
• Fiction:
  • Kara Kush
• Children's Literature:
  • World Tales
  • The Man With Bad Manners
  • The Old Woman and The Eagle
  • The Boy Without A Name
  • The Lion Who Saw Himself in the Water
  • Neem the Half-Boy
  • The Farmer’s Wife
  • The Silly Chicken
  • The Magic Horse

Shah admitted that he wrote under pseudonyms, although he did not reveal the details of the works published, stating that that would defeat the purpose of using a pseudonym. Some books which have been suggested as coming from Shah's pen are:

• Gerald Gardner, Witch by Jack Bracelin (1960)
• You and Your Stars by Edouard Chatelherault (1960)
• Secret Societies: A History by Arkon Daraul (1961)
• Witches and Sorcerers by Arkon Daraul (1962)
• Afghanistan, Cockpit in High Asia by Peter Michael King (1966)
• The Teachers of Gurdjieff by Rafael Lefort (1966) (also suggested as Omar Ali Shah's work)
• Among the Dervishes: An account of travels in Asia and Africa, and four years studying the Dervishes, Sufis and Fakirs, by living among them by O. M. Burke (1973)
• Journeys With a Sufi Master by Bashir M. Dervish (1982)
• Adventures in Afghanistan by Louis Palmer (1990)

[edit] External links

• Complete list of books by Idries Shah
• Doris Lessing on Idries Shah
• Sufism and Sufi Orders
• Articles by Idries Shah
• Islamic sufi criticism of Gnostic and Fourth Way (including Shah) interpretations of Sufism
• Exegesis on Idries Shah by member of Blaketashi Sufi group
• List of works by Idries Shah or with his participation
• Shah groups in the USA
• Neo-Sufism: The Case of Idries Shah
• 1965 Review of 'The Sufis'