The Book of Mirdad

The Book of Mirdad, the timeless allegorical story which has touched the hearts of so many readers, continues to show new generations how it is possible to expand one’s consciousness, to uncover God in man by dissolving man’s sense of duality. Mikhail Naimy, in a similar style to Gibran, unravels one layer after another, showing that the words of his message have descended from some mysterious source. The book is essentially a set of question and answer between Mirdad and his disciples, especially his chief disciple, Naronda. These dialogues occurred during the time he was admitted as a servant in the monastery of Altar Peak, built where Noah’s Ark came to rest after the flood waters subsided. Mirdad’s teachings cover all the important life issues such as love, the master-servant relationship, creative silence, money, the moneylender and the debtor, the cycle of time and death, repentance, old age, and so on. The culmination, and indeed the message, is that Mirdad’s own Ark is the Ark of Holy Understanding, which will bring humankind through another deluge, greater than Noah’s, when Heaven will be revealed on Earth. Mirdad’s words are the words of an enlightened Sufi master.