Publisher's Synopsis
Islam was born out of the mystical revelations of the 17th-century prophet Muhammed. Recent decades have seen an upsurge of fanatical Islamic fundamentalism, which has alienated some people from Islam. Yet many modern spiritual speakers have found the ecstatic path of the great Islamic mystics known as the Sufis a great source of inspiration and illumination.;The Sufis have been violently persecuted by dogmatic Muslim authorities, who portray them as misguided heretics. But the Sufis see themselves as the authentic voice of Islam, which for them is an open-minded, big-hearted, all-embracing spiritual path. Whilst fundamentalists interpret Muhammed's concepts of the "Jihad" or "Holy War" as a call to wage bloody crusades against the infidels to enforce conversion to Islam, the Sufis understand the "Jihad" as an internal battle to overcome the ego and surrender to Allah. This book and card set is a practical aid in making the true "Jihad" by learning to transform our everyday lives into an adventure of spiritual awakening.;"The heart of Islam" makes the perennial wisdom of the great Islamic mystics accessible in a simple and practical way. Each card contains an inspirational saying and the book provides commentaries on these sayings, providing deeper insight into their meaning. Each commentary ends with a "focus for contemplation", which suggests ways of applying this wisdom in the reader's own life. Contemplation on the commentaries should provide the reader with a new insight into their predicament and help them to transform it into an opportunity for spiritual awakening.
