Description 'To express in the language of Sufism, that is, Islamic mysticism, some of the universal truths which lie at the heart of all religions'--this is the book's avowed purpose. It came into being because the author was asked by a friend to set down in writing what he considered to be the most important things that a human being can know. He was also asked to make it very easy, and despite the depth of all that it contains, it has in fact a remarkable simplicity and clarity, due no doubt to the constant use of traditional imagery which awakens and penetrates the imagination. About the Author Shaykh Abu Bakr Siraj ad-Din (Dr Martin Lings) (d. 2005), formerly Keeper of Oriental Manuscript at the British Museum and the British Library, is the author of the best-selling title Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources , and of What is Sufism? , The Book of Certainty , Sufi Poems , and The Holy Qur'an: Translations of Selected Verses , all published by the Islamic Texts Society.