Biography
Bibliography
Lings reading poem
Martin Lings: Video Clips on his Early Spiritual Influences
Memories (video clips) of Martin Lings by Michon and Petitpierre
More SlideShows
Bibliography: See Martin Ling's Selected Bibliography
Martin Lings was the author of the authoritative biography of the Prophet, Muhammad, His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. He has also written What is Sufism?, Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions, The Sacred Art of Shakespeare: To Take upon Us the Mystery of Things, The Book of Certainty, A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century, The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination and two volumes of poems, The Element and The Heralds. He was also the author of the article on Sufism in the latest edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica, the chapter on Sufism in the Cambridge University Publication Religion in the Middle East, and numerous articles for the quarterly journal Studies in Comparative Religion.
The Underlying Religion (2007) is co-edited by Dr. Lings and Clinton Minnar.
Martin Lings was born in Burnage, Lancashire, 1909. After taking an English degree at Oxford in 1932, where he studied under C.S. Lewis, he was appointed Lecturer in Anglo-Saxon at the University of Kaunas, Lithuania. His interest in Islam, Sufism, and Arabic took him to Egypt in 1939, and in the following year he was given a lectureship in Cairo University. While in Cairo, he became associated with René Guénon. In 1952 he returned to England and took a degree in Arabic at London University. From 1970-74 he was Keeper of Oriental Manuscripts and Printed Books at the British Museum (in 1973 his Department became part of the British Library) where he had been in special charge of the Qur’an manuscripts, amongst other treasures, since 1955.
Dr. Lings died in May, 2005.
Selected Bibliography of Major Works
The Book of Certainty: The Sufi Doctrine of Faith, Wisdom and Gnosis.1952, 1970, 1992
A Muslim [Sufi] Saint of the Twentieth Century. 1961, 1971,1973,1981,1982,1993
Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions. 1964, 1980, 1991
Shakespeare in the Light of Sacred Art. 1966
The Elements, and other Poems. 1967
The Heralds, and other Poems. 1970
Islamic Calligraphy and Illumination. 1971
What is Sufism?. 1975,1977, 1981, 1993
The Quranic Art of Calligraphy and Illumination. 1976, 1978, 1987
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources. 1983,1985,1991
The Secret of Shakespeare. 1984
Collected Poems, 1987
The Eleventh Hour: The Spiritual Crisis of the Modern World in the Light of Tradition and Prophecy. 1989
Symbol and Archetype: A Study of the Meaning of Existence. 1991