The Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism

How are virtue ethics presented in Islamic writings? Focusing on two pre-modern scholarly traditions central to contemplating virtue – philosophy and Sufism – The Polished Mirror presents the thinkers, metaphysicians, saints, poets and mystics who contributed to the pursuit of the perfection of character.


From the relationship between law and virtue to the struggles of the soul to transcend the body and its desires, Cyrus Ali Zargar examines key ethical questions from Islamic intellectual history. With new interpretations of passages from key Arabic and Persian texts, and keen analyses of the ethical implications therein, The Polished Mirror invites readers to reconsider the place of virtue ethics in Islam – a subject which has been given insufficient attention in academic study.