The Sun Will Rise in the West: The Holy Trail

by Taner Ansari

In this inspiring book written specifically for the Western reader, a renowned Sufi Shaykh synthesizes his wisdom of the Sufi path for knowing and loving God. This study of Sufism serves as a guide for finding your purpose and acting according to it. To the Sufi, actions, thoughts, feelings, spoken words, all transmit vibrational patterns which produce reactions in the universe. The goal is to understand which reactions please the Creator as opposed to which please only one's ego. The Sufi route to this goal is via the heart, for love is the medium of Unity necessary for a connection between a person and the Divine.

The book discusses the practices that open a student's inner organs of perception to an expanded world of radiance which is normally unseen. The Shaykh serves as the guide and protector on this journey and the book clearly describes the responsibilities of both the Shaykh and the Sufi student. The ultimate goal of the Sufi path is the purification of one's heart, a process known as "surrender," i.e., the achievement of complete mastery over the selfish urgings of one's egoistic nature. Intention and sincerity are the springboards of the surrender process - the inner aspect which gives meaning to our outer deeds. This book will open your understanding to the deeper meaning of the Sufi path and its importance to both your own and humanity's future.

Paperback

Published October 1, 2000

Reviews

[Opinionated Hijabi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Shaykh Taner wrote a short, sweet edition explaining Islam and the ideas of tasawwuf (Sufi search for pleasing God) in a perfectly easy to read book. It covers things about Islam for beginners (what Muslims believe about God, angels, heaven, etc) as well as Sufism for beginners and advice for us all.
I treasure this book, and have given it away, only to buy a new one perhaps 5 times. When I relocated to the Middle East, this was one of few personal books I brought (instead of research books which took up my flight weight limit & were shipped). It's a book I don't like to live without.