The Alchemy of Happiness: Al-Ghazzali's Classic Work Interpreted in Poetry (Voices of World Religions)

Traditional cultures in many parts of the world have displayed a profound appreciation for the unity of all human spirit in its quest for knowledge of the Divine. Here a medieval Muslim handbook for right living is interpreted in modern English verse.

When I am come above these things of earth,
I find a heaven in my contemplation:
Eternal Beauty, nameless, featureless,
No longer masked nor hid by folds of flesh.

Two hundred years later, Rumi paid Ghazzali the compliment of incorporating several of his allegories into his own epic work, the Masnavi.

Jabez L. Van Cleef takes foundational texts from many oral traditions and religions and creates a common poetic format to preserve, promote and disseminate the values of these cultures. His work also promotes the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other frameworks fostering human achievement.