I've written before about my admiration of the work of Sufi Comics. They do outstanding work engaging with Muslim spirituality in a modern context. In fact, I have an academic article about their work on Imam Ali coming out in an anthology on Muslim Superheroes.
They now have a new collection of Rumi stories out, and they are making sure that Rumi is not divorced from his Muslim roots. As in the previous volume, the story is end capped by a verse from the Qur'an and quote from either Prophet Muhammad (SAWS) or Imam Ali (AS). Unlike in the previous volume, these quotes are far more organic and related to the story at hand. However, they are not necessary to see that while Rumi's spirituality is universal, it is grounded in a Muslim worldview.
The angels function as angels do in Muslim thought, as voices and servants of God. Moses is the Moses of the Qur'an, not the Torah. Ritual is deeply important in this collection, from prayer to fasting, and demonstrates how Rumi can go from his particularity to a universal lesson. His wisdom is not in spite of his faith, but because of it.
As with all their collections, the work is richly illustrated, with beautiful colors, clear lines, and a nod to the miniature tradition. The translations in this collection are stronger than in the previous one, but they've omitted the Persian this time around, which I find unfortunate. I enjoyed being able to have the original there to read with the images and the translation.
Like the previous volume, this collection is a must have. Their work only gets stronger as they continue to do it, and I'm looking forward to what they have coming next.
[Disclosure: I will receive a free copy of this book for a review. There were no conditions attached to the review, nor do I believe the free book impacted my review.]