The Mystery of Prayer

This groundbreaking translation presents a little known dimension of an author known in the West largely for his firebrand revolutionary politics. Writing forty years before the Islamic revolution in Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini shows a formidable level of insight into the spiritual aspects of the ritual Islamic prayer. Drawing upon Islamic scriptural sources and the Shi'ah intellectual and mystical tradition, the subtlety of the work has led to it being appreciated as one of Khomeini's most original works in the field of gnosis. Through discussions on topics such as spiritual purity, the presence of the heart before God, and the stations of the spiritual wayfarer, Khomeini elucidates upon the true relationship of reality and the divine. With a scholarly introduction by the translator, The Mystery of Prayer will interest students, scholars of Islamic metaphysics (hikmah) and gnosis ('irfan), and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of one of the most significant political figures of the twentieth century.