About the author
Annemarie Schimmel SI HI TCLN (7 April 1922 – 26 January 2003) was an influential German scholar of Islamic studies who wrote extensively on Islam, especially Sufism. She was a professor at Harvard University from 1967 to 1992. == Early life and education == Schimmel was born to Protestant and highly cultured middle-class parents in Erfurt, Germany. Her father Paul was a postal worker and her mother Anna belonged to a family with connections to seafaring and international trade. Schimmel remembered her father as "a wonderful playmate, full of fun," and she recalled that her mother made her feel that she was the child of her dreams. She also remembered her childhood home as being full of poetry and literature, though her family was not an academic one. Having finished high school at age 15, she worked voluntarily for half a year in the Reich Labour Service. She then began studying at the University of Berlin in 1939, at the age of 17, during the Third Reich (1933–1945). At the university, she was deeply influenced by her teacher Hans Heinrich Schaeder, who suggested that she study the Divan-i Shams-i Tabrizi, one of the major works of Rumi.
💬 What our editors say about Annemarie Schimmel's books
“Schimmel delivers a captivating exploration of number symbolism that bridges disciplines with grace and depth. While the text remains scholarly, its accessibility makes it a valuable resource for understanding the spiritual…”
Esoterica Books editorial team, Occult literature desk · on The Mystery of Numbers
