An internationally acclaimed scholar, who has dedicated more than fifty years of her life to understanding the Islamic world. Annemarie Schimmel examines a much-misunderstood feature of Islam- the role of women. Schimmel is critical of those - especially Western feminists - who take Islam to task without taking the time to comprehend the cultures, language, and traditions of the many societies in which Islam is the majority religion. Shattering stereotypes, Schimmel reconstructs an important but little-known chapter of Islamic Spirituality. With copious examples, she shows the clear equality of women and men in the conception of the prophet Muhammad, the Quran, the feminine language of the mystical tradition, and in the role of holy mothers and unmarried women as manifestations of God. The book is studded with luminous texts from Arabic, Turkish, Persian and particularly Indo-Muslim cultures, which reveal how physical love can give expression to the highest forms of mysticism.