Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition

if you were raised muslim and have only had the cudgel of dogma teach you what islam is, read this book. if you like poetry, read this book. if you like rumi, read this book. if you think sufism doesn't have anything to do with islam, read this book. if you like reading about love, read this book. if you don't know much about islam, read this book. if you're looking for moving and faithful english translations of quran, hadith, and sufi poetry, read this book. best enjoyed slowly, a passage or two at once, with time to let it sink in and move you.

This is a book written by a lover to his beloved about love. Dr. Safi has gathered together in one volume a lifetime of his scholarship and devotion. He has collected the most beautiful, heart-rendering, passionate yearnings the human soul has expressed towards the goal of their being, the fullest realization of the divine presence in their hearts. Each translation is, in itself, a prayer and a meditation. It is a gift of love to not only the object of his and our desire, but to us, the readers, that we may join him in our human journey to learn the secret within us.

Radical Love is an absolutely delightful book. It is uplifting, reassuring, thrilling and obviously written by an author who loves his subject. Here’s the thesis: life approached through an attitude, a conviction, that all that exists is love, is true, fulfilling and absolutely breezy. God is probably the vengeful being of the Hebrew Scriptures and is also the entirety of all the infinite dimensions of the cosmos, and yet is love itself, as are we all. Safi concentrates on philosopher poets from the Islamic traditions - Hafiz, Rumi, Kharaqani and a host of others including some quotes from the Holy Quran and the Hadith Qudsi. There are well over one hundred poems and poetry excerpts punctuated here and there by thoughtful insights from the author designed I suspect to help the thicker of us stay on task. His translations are nearly all his own and are from the original languages. He lets us know, without rancor and without using these words, that much, if not most, of the twelfth to fourteenth century Persian poetry we have in English is less translation than fan fiction. It isn’t that Ladinsky’s I Heard God Laughing, for instance, is not valuable and insightful, it’s just not Hafiz. There is a crispness in Safi’s translations which sharpens the material and lends it a certain abruptness which I found satisfying here and missing in the soft-focus fan fiction. Here is Kharanqani: One night Abu ‘l-Hasan Kharaqani was praying to God. He heard a voice from beyond: “O Abu ‘l-Hasan! Do you want me to tell people Everything I know about you, so that they stone you? Shaykh Kharaqani answered back to God: “O my God! Do you want me to tell them everything I know about your loving mercy and forgiveness, everything I see from your generosity? If I do no one would ever bother with acts of worship, no one would prostrate in prayer!” The voice of God answered: You say nothing; I say nothing. The book explores love at every level we use the term. Love is fraternal, physical, sexual, cerebral, celestial, theological, and at the same time, one. And if indeed love is all there is and love is one then we are one. I wish.

I bought this as a present for my mom who is a published poet, loves reading other peoples poetry, and is very honest about liking or disliking what she reads. She especially liked the book because it gives background to the various sections. Poetically she really enjoys it. This would be good for anyone who enjoys poetry and has a bent toward spirituality. While the poet was of the mystical branch of Sufi Islam, It would appeal to anyone who believes in some sort of god. If I wasn’t able to visit with her frequently I would’ve kept it for myself.

This book is beautiful. The poems and other passages in it are truly an inspiration and a call for radical love. The passages speak to what we all share, and what binds us together. In connecting to what unifies us as a people, barriers in the heart are broken down, and form a bridge to love, compassion, and peace.

Great book, lovely cover. Recommend as a gift or as a book for yourself!

This book of poetry is so beautiful. It’s amazing to gain access to these brilliant Sufi poets from someone who is a native Farsi speaker. Translations are difficult but it’s been especially difficult with popular translations of Rumis work being not based in actual translation but interpretation of translations done by someone who is not a native Farsi speaker. The words in this book have moved my heart and I will revisit them often. They reignite the passion of the spirit. Thank you to Professor Omid Safi for this amazing book. I want to gift it to all my friends.

I was surprised to read the very positive blurbs on the back cover of this book. The problem with this book is not the message that it's trying to convey — namely, that there is a huge Islamic tradition (Sufism or mysticism) that is based on love, devotion, asceticism, kindness, and direct knowledge of the divine. I think the book succeeds in conveying this message. The major problem with this book is its extreme scholarly deficiencies. First, some of the translations (whether by the author or by others) are beyond liberal; they are even beyond "interpretive". In essence, they are what the translator attributes to the text as its esoteric (bātinī) content. This puts the reader (who cannot access the original) completely at the mercy of the intellectual tendencies (more likely, "whims") of the translator. Also, it renders the subtext of this book (as, in part, showing how this tradition of love is, at best, rooted in, and at least, compatible with scriptural teachings of Islam) is poorly supported, or even unsubstantiated. Second, the selection of sources (and their documentation) is totally at odd with acceptable scholarly practices. For instance, the Hadiths (that is, traditions of the Prophet Muhammad) are mostly taken from secondary sources and there are no indications where these Hadiths are located (if they are located) in the canonical collections of Hadith. Hence, it's very difficult to search for those Hadiths in these collections in order to form some idea about their authenticity (and what kind of narration chains they have). And the selected texts themselves leave much to be desired. Some Sufi poets and masters (such as, Rumi and 'Attar) are over represented, and many others are very underrepresented (there is only one selection from Ibn 'Arabi and one selection from al-Hallaj). If you are serious about studying this tradition, there are many other books that are, in content, selection, scholarship, and documentation, much better and far more accurate and informative than this book. For instance, for a good general and accessible book about Sufism, see Knysh's Sufism; for translations of primary Sufi litterateurs, see Paul Smith's Selected Poems of al-Hallaj and Nesimi, Mojaddedi's new translation of Rumi's Masnavi (in 6 volumes, 4 of which are completed), and Abrahamov's translation of Ibn 'Arabi's Fusus al-Hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom); for excellent secondary literature about Rumi and ibn 'Arabi, any of Chittick's books are highly recommended.