In Search of the Lost Heart brings together twenty-six essays by William C. Chittick, renowned scholar of Sufism and Islamic philosophy. Written between 1975 and 2011, most of these essays are not readily available in Chittick's own books. Although this is a collection, its editors have crafted it to be a book "sufficient unto itself, which, when taken as a whole, can be said to explore the underlying worldview of Islam."Chittick draws upon the writings of towering figures such as Ibn al-'Arabi, Rumi, and Mulla ¿adra, as well as other important, but lesser-known thinkers, as he engages with a wide variety of topics, such as the nature of being and knowledge, the relationship between love and scriptural hermeneutics, the practical and theoretical dimensions of Islamic mysticism, the phenomenon of religious diversity, and the ecological crisis.

A Note on Transliteration and Style Editors' Introduction Part I. Sufism and the Islamic Tradition 1. Islam in Three Dimensions 2. The Bodily Gestures of the Salat 3. Weeping in Islam and the Sufi Tradition 4. A Shadhili Presence in Shi'ite Islam 5. The Pluralistic Vision of Persian Sufi Poetry 6. The Real Shams-i Tabrizi 7. The Koran as the Lover's Mirror Part II. Ibn al-'Arabi and His Influence 8. A History of the Term Wahdat al-Wujud 9. The Question of Ibn al-'Arabi's "Influence" on Rumi 10. Ibn al-'Arabi on the Benefit of Knowledge 11. Qunawi, Neoplatonism, and the Circle of Ascent 12. Farghani on Oneness and Manyness 13. Jami on the Perfect Man 14. Two Treatises by Khwaja Khurd 15. A Debate Between the Soul and the Spirit 16. A Sufi Handbook from Bijapur Part III. Islamic Philosophy 17. Rumi and the Wooden Leg of Reason 18. Baba Afdal's Psychology 19. Mulla Sadra on Perception 20. Eschatology in Islamic Thought 21. The Circle of Life 22. The Goal of Philosophy Part IV. Reflections on Contemporary Issues 23. The Metaphysical Roots of War and Peace 24. Harmony with the Cosmos 25. Stray Camels in China 26. In Search of the Lost Heart Appendix I: Chronological List of Historical Figures Cited Appendix II: Chapter Sources Appendix III: Books by William C. Chittick Notes Bibliography Index of Koranic Passages Index of Hadiths and Sayings General Index