Cyrus Ali Zargar is Associate Professor in Religion at Augustana College, in Rock Island, Illinois, where his primary research interest is the literature of medieval Sufism in Arabic and Persian.

Islamic philosophy and Sufism evolved as distinct yet interweaving strands of Islamic thought and practice. Despite differences, they have shared a concern with the perfection of the soul through the development of character. In The Polished Mirror, Cyrus Ali Zargar studies the ways in which, through teaching and storytelling, pre-modern Muslims lived, negotiated, and cultivated virtues. Examining the writings of philosophers, ascetics, poets, and saints, he locates virtue ethics within a dynamic moral tradition.

Innovative, engaging, and approachable, this work ? the first in the English language to explore Islamic ethics in the fascinating context of narrative ? will be a valuable resource for both students and scholars.

Introduction



Part One Islamic Philosophy

Chapter One: The Humors (al-akhla?) and Character Traits (al-akhlaq) According to the Brethren of Purity

Chapter Two: Virtue Ethics in Avicenna's Philosophical Allegories

Chapter Three: The Virtues, from Philosophy to Scripture: Refining Character Traits in Miskawayh and Ghazali

Chapter Four: Reason, Revelation, and Discovering the Virtuous in Ibn ?ufayl's Literary Thought Experiment

Chapter Five: From Humors to Pure Light: Knowledge and Virtue in the Allegories of Suhrawardi
Part Two Sufism

Chapter Six: The Soul's Constant Returning: Repentance (Tawba) in the Sufi Legacy of Jaʿfar al-?adiq

Chapter Seven: Distancing Oneself from the Worldly: Renunciation (Zuhd) According to al-Mu?asibi and al-Sarraj

Chapter Eight: Self-Awareness that Leads to Self-Loss: Futuwwa as a Compound Virtue in the Legacy of An?ari

Chapter Nine: The Completion of Ethics: Self-Annihilation (Fanaʾ) Through the Lens of ʿA??ar

Chapter Ten: Virtue in the Narrative Poetry of Rumi
Conclusion: A Brief Case for Relevance

Acknowledgments

Bibliography

Index