In 1317, in Tabriz, western iran-less than a hundred years after the deaths of Ibn 'Arabi and Jalaluddin Rumi, and just before the time of Hafiz-Mahmud Shabistari, a follower of the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi and Attar (Rumi's literary and spiritual predecessor), composed Garden of Mystery [Gulshan-i raz] in response to questions put to him by Sayyid Husseini, a fellow mystic. The questions introduce controversies and metaphysical enigmas of Sufi thought and practice that were at the heart of spiritual inquiry of that time. In a magnificent poem of about one thousand lines, Shabistari not only answers the questions to the fullest extent possible, but also provides a coherent literary bridge between the Persian 'school of love' poetry and the rapidly growing number of metaphysical and gnostic compositions from what had come to be known as the school of the 'Unity of Being'.Garden of Mystery holds a unique position in Persian literature. It is considered one of the most remarkable and original compositions in the entire history of Persian literature. It is a compact and concise exploration of the doctrines of Sufism at the peak of their development that has remained a primary text of Sufism throughout the world from Turkey to India.