Download or read book Tales of God’s Friends written by John Renard and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2009-05-13 with total page 430 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The works of Islamic mysticism are a crucial genre of Islamic piety, and the lives of the awliya (friends of God) have been and continue to be a crucial way in which the theoretical insights of Sufism are embodied and communicated to a wider audience. Traditionally, these genres would be deciphered by a living Sufi master. Here John Renard acts as our Sufi guide, transporting us to the marvelous world of Islamic piety."—Omid Safi, Professor of Islamic Studies, University of Northern Carolina