this is a clear, thorough and reliable introduction to Sufism. What do the Sufis believe? What do they aim at? What do they do? Unlike other writers on the subject, Martin Lings treats all three questions with equal justice. He is thus able to give a wealth of answers to the main question- What is Sufism? Each answer being from a different angle but all going to the root of the matter. Martin Lings knows his subject thoroughly and intimately and it has always been a characteristic of his writings that he goes straight to the heart of his subject. In his careful explanation of what Sufism is and, just as important, what it is neot,•he brings to bear both a profundity of understanding rare among modern writers, and also an uncompromising insistence on many aspects of Sufism which are usually brushed aside. The book plays a double role: it is both an excellent “introductory” work and a direct reflection of certain states from which a real answer might be given to the question. It has the taste of tasaw2vuf to such an extent that to read it is like an anticipatory participation in the very subject matter itself