Stations of the Sufi Path: The One Hundred Fields (Sad Maydan) of Abdullah Ansari of Herat by Nahid Angha

Stations of the Sufi Path: The One Hundred Fields (Sad Maydan) of Abdullah Ansari of Herat, is a key Sufi text and the first in Persian to address the stages, or stations, of the Sufi way. Its author Abdullah Ansari (396/1006—448/1056) is considered one of the greatest and most prolific of the Persian Sufi scholars, and his works constitute an important contribution to the intellectual history of Islam His writings address both exoteric philosophy and esoteric understanding, and range from Qur’an exegesis to devotional invocations and biographies of the Sufis, from literature and poetry to civil morality and ethics, always emphasizing the divine law as well as the divine truth as the way toward understanding. The One Hundred Fields was written by a spiritual teacher to serve as a Sufi manual for guiding novices. Its clearly defined and detailed descriptions of each ‘station’ make this work an esoteric masterpiece, almost one thousand years old, that still invites the reader on a spiritual journey of self-discovery.

Nahid Angha provides the first complete annotated translation into English together with a full introduction. The Foreword is by Leonard Lewisohn. It will be of interest to the specialist in Sufism as well as to the general reader.