The Literary Editor of the Evening News (London) rated The Sufis as the most important book ever written, ranking it alongside the Bible, the Quran and other masterpieces of world literature. From the very moment of its appearance, this work has had a huge impact on thinkers in a wide range of intellectual fields, on scientists, psychologists, poets and artists. As became apparent later, this was the first of more than thirty books aimed at giving readers a basic knowledge of the principles of Sufi development. In this first and arguably seminal book, Shah touches on many of the key elements of the Sufi phenomenon, such as the principles of Sufi thought, its connection with Islam, its influence on many prominent figures in Western history, the mission of Sufi teachers, and the use of special "teaching stories" as tools to enable the mind to operate in higher dimensions. But above all, it is an introduction to a way of thinking that is radically different from intellectual and emotional thinking, opening the way to achieving a higher level of objectivity.

The publisher's layout of the book has been preserved in PDF A4 format.