Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi’s introduction and annotated scholarly translation of The Mystery of Prayer by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini brings to light a rarely studied dimension of an author better known for his revolutionary politics.
Writing forty years before the Islamic revolution, Ayatollah Khomeini demonstrates a formidable level of insight into the spiritual aspects of Islamic prayer. Through discussions on topics such as spiritual purity, the presence of the heart before God, and the stations of the spiritual wayfarer, Ayatollah Khomeini elucidates upon the nature of reality as the countenance of the divine. Drawing upon scriptural sources and the Shīʿah intellectual and mystical tradition, the subtlety of the work has led to it being appreciated as one of Ayatollah Khomeini’s most original works in the field of gnosis (ʿirfān) and philosophy (ḥikmah).
The Mystery of Prayer shall be available in hardback and paperback formats from June 2015, and is currently available to preorder on Brill’s website.
