🌌 Mysticism −16%

The Prophet

✍️ Gibran, Kahlil
Reader Score
4.5
(1 review) 141 sold
$14.99 $18.00 Save $3.01 (16%)
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📚 WHAT THE BOOK IS ABOUT

Before his departure after twelve years abroad, the prophet Almustafa shares profound insights with the people of Orphalese. Across twenty-eight lyrical essays, he delves into the fundamental experiences of existence—from the joys of love and friendship to the mysteries of pain and death. This spiritual odyssey offers guidance for navigating an ever-changing world, drawing from the author's own immigrant perspective, making it a beacon for those seeking solace and understanding in tumultuous times.

🌌
Mysticism

Praise for this book

“This book cracked my heart wide open. And I think it's going to do the same to yours. . . . I've read The Prophet more times than I can count. I've owned and given away dozens of copies. I have one packed permanently in my travel bag. . . . The Prophet, and the man behind it, freed the poet in me. . . . Almost a hundred years later, it still feels as fresh and as relevant as ever. Why have I read it dozens of times?”
— Rupi Kaur, from the Foreword
“Like most wisdom, most of what [Kahlil Gibran] has to tell is ancient, the possession of all men who have thought much and hard about fundamental things. . . . But on it all there is also the imprint of a rich and unusual personality. . . . Gibran offers no short-cuts to happiness, no easily mastered formulae for successful living. Essentially, he bids you look closely into your own heart and mind.”
— The New York Times
“Cadenced and vibrant with feeling, the words of Kahlil Gibran bring to one's ears the majestic rhythm of Ecclesiastes. . . . If there is a man or woman who can read this book without a quiet acceptance of a great man's philosophy and a singing in the heart as of music born within, that man or woman is indeed dead to life and truth.”
— Chicago Post
🏛 Penguin Classics 📅 2019 📖 128 pages 🌐 en 📐 Hardcover ISBN: 9780143133582
Fun Fact
Gibran's *The Prophet* remains an astonishing achievement, a beacon of contemplative thought. It excels in offering universal solace through its lyrical prose and accessible wisdom, making profound concepts digestible for a wide audience. Those seeking linear narrative or strict theological dogma might find its allegorical style diffuse. However, its enduring legacy as a poetic guide to life's grand questions solidifies its place as an essential cornerstone in any spiritual library.

📝 Description: The Prophet

"My all-time favorite collection of poems . . . [Gibran's] poetry always roots me in my humanity." --Rupi Kaur, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Milk and Honey, The Sun and Her Flowers, and Home Body A stunning new hardcover edition--with a full linen case, copper stamping, turquoise gilded edges, and colored endpapers--of one of the world's most beloved and popular spiritual classics, featuring a new foreword by Rupi Kaur A Penguin Classics Hardcover The most famous work of spiritual fiction of the twentieth century, The Prophet is rooted in Kahlil Gibran's own experience as an immigrant and provides inspiration to anyone feeling adrift in a world in flux. As a prophet named Almustafa is about to board a ship to travel back to his homeland after twelve years in exile, he is stopped by a group of people who ask him to share his wisdom before he leaves. In twenty-eight poetic essays, he does so, offering profound and timeless insights on many aspects of life, including love, pain, friendship, family, beauty, religion, joy, sorrow, and death. An immediate success when first published in 1923, The Prophet is a modern classic, having been translated into more than forty languages and sold more than ten million copies in the United States alone. The message it imparts, of finding divinity through love, made it the bible of 1960s culture and continues to touch hearts and minds across generations and national borders. This edition is illustrated with twelve of Gibran's famous visionary paintings and features a foreword by Rupi Kaur. In the sweetness of friendship let there be laughter, and sharing of pleasures. For in the dew of little things the heart finds its morning and is refreshed. For more than seventy-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 2,000 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

💎 Expert review

💎
Esoterica Books editorial team
Occult literature desk
While this text offers beautiful insights into fundamental experiences like love and death, it may not suit readers preferring rigorous philosophical argumentation or dense academic theory. Its lyrical, essayistic style requires patience for those accustomed to plot-driven narratives or direct doctrinal instruction. However, for those open to spiritual odyssey and metaphorical truth, it remains a captivating resource. The lack of concrete historical dates might frustrate some, but its emotional resonance is undeniable. It is a quiet companion rather than an intellectual challenge.
✓ EDITOR'S REVIEW

📖 Why choose it

📖

Why this book is worth reading

Readers seeking solace and understanding in tumultuous times will find profound comfort within these pages. Almustafa’s farewell journey serves as a beacon for those navigating life's deepest questions, offering timeless wisdom through lyrical essays on love, friendship, pain, and death. Its immigrant perspective resonates deeply with anyone feeling displaced or searching for spiritual grounding. This book is ideal for souls yearning for guidance in an ever-changing world, providing a gentle yet powerful illumination of the human spirit that transcends cultural boundaries.

⭐ Reader reviews

The starting rating comes from the team Esoterica Books —
⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.5/5
★★★★
If you find yourself searching for enduring truths amidst life's complexities, or if you simply appreciate profound, reflective prose, this classic offers solace and inspiration. It's for those who seek to understand the deeper currents of human existence and find beauty in universal insights.

Reader rating

4.5
Based on 1 reviews
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Esoterica Books editorial team

While this text offers beautiful insights into fundamental experiences like love and death, it may not suit readers preferring rigorous philosophical argumentation or dense academic theory. Its lyrical, essayistic style requires patience for those accustomed to plot-driven narratives or direct doctrinal instruction. However, for those open to spiritual odyssey and metaphorical truth, it remains a captivating resource. The lack of concrete historical dates might frustrate some, but its emotional resonance is undeniable. It is a quiet companion rather than an intellectual challenge.

❓ Frequently asked questions

While deeply spiritual and philosophical, it transcends specific dogma, offering universal truths applicable to various belief systems rather than adhering to one particular faith.
This particular edition is a beautifully crafted hardcover, designed for aesthetic appreciation, featuring a full linen case, copper stamping, gilded edges, and a new foreword from contemporary poet Rupi Kaur.

📖 Who should read this

If you find yourself searching for enduring truths amidst life's complexities, or if you simply appreciate profound, reflective prose, this classic offers solace and inspiration. It's for those who seek to understand the deeper currents of human existence and find beauty in universal insights.

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Exile and Homecoming

The narrative is framed by the prophet Almustafa's return to his homeland after a long absence. This unique perspective, shaped by his time abroad, allows for profound reflections on belonging, detachment, and the wisdom gained through living between worlds, echoing Gibran's own immigrant experience.

Universal Human Experience

Through poetic prose, the book explores the foundational aspects of human life—love, marriage, children, work, joy, sorrow, and death—in a way that transcends cultural and religious boundaries. It seeks to uncover the underlying truths and shared emotions that connect all people, offering comfort and insight.

The Nature of Wisdom

Almustafa's dialogues are essentially philosophical meditations on how one should live and perceive the world. His responses to the townspeople's inquiries are imbued with a gentle, yet powerful, wisdom that encourages self-reflection and a deeper understanding of life's paradoxes and inherent beauty.

📜 Historical context

Published in 1923, this work swiftly became a landmark spiritual text of the 20th century. Its accessible yet profound wisdom, rooted in Gibran's Lebanese heritage and immigrant experience, resonated deeply with a global audience, establishing it as a foundational text in modern spiritual literature that bridges East and West.

📚 Glossary

Almustafa
Exile
Spiritual Classic

📔 Questions to reflect on

  1. Reflect on a time you experienced profound change or transition. How did it shape your understanding of self, community, or the world around you?
  2. Which of Almustafa's insights on love, pain, or joy resonates most with your current life experiences, and why does it speak to you so deeply?
  3. Consider your own 'homeland,' whether physical or spiritual. What wisdom would you feel compelled to share if you were about to depart from it for an unknown journey?

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