Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism by Dr Cyrus Ali Zargar

Dr Cyrus Ali Zargar discusses his book "Polished Mirror: Storytelling and the Pursuit of Virtue in Islamic Philosophy and Sufism" with Dr Ali-Reza Bhojani. 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.