Idries Shah

Idries Shah (/ˈɪdrɪs ˈʃɑː/; Pashto: ادريس شاه‎, Urdu: ادریس شاه‎, Hindi: इदरीस शाह; 16 June 1924 – 23 November 1996), also known as Idris Shah, né Sayed Idries el-Hashimi (Arabic: سيد إدريس هاشمي) and by the pen name Arkon Daraul, was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote over three dozen books on topics ranging from psychology and spirituality to travelogues and culture studies.

Born in India, the descendant of a family of Afghan nobles, Shah grew up mainly in England. His early writings centred on magic and witchcraft. In 1960 he established a publishing house, Octagon Press, producing translations of Sufi classics as well as titles of his own. His seminal work was The Sufis, which appeared in 1964 and was well received internationally. In 1965, Shah founded the Institute for Cultural Research, a London-based educational charity devoted to the study of human behaviour and culture. A similar organisation, the Institute for the Study of Human Knowledge (ISHK), exists in the United States, under the directorship of Stanford University psychology professor Robert Ornstein, whom Shah appointed as his deputy in the U.S.

Idris Shah II of Perak

Sultan Idris Iskandar Al-Mutawakkil Alallahi Shah II Ibni Almarhum Sultan Iskandar Shah Kaddasullah, CMG (17 August 1924 – 31 January 1984) was the 33rd Sultan of Perak from 5 January 1963 until his death on 31 January 1984. He was the son of Sultan Iskandar Shah and a first nephew once removed of Raja Azlan Shah.

Early life and education

He was born on 17 August 1924 at Istana Negara, Kuala Kangsar, Perak as the second son of Sultan Iskandar and Raja Puteh Umi Kalsom. His father was a son of Sultan Iskandar Shah and a brother of Sultan Abdul Jalil. He was named Raja Idris at birth.

He was educated at Clifford School, Kuala Kangsar and furthered his studies at the Malay College Kuala Kangsar. He was made Raja Di Hilir in 1933, succeeding Raja Chulan, who died that year. He was appointed Raja Bendahara in October 1938 upon the demise of his father. Ten years later, on 29 March 1948, the then sultan, Sultan Abdul Aziz, died and Raja Idris was made Raja Muda (Crown Prince) by his cousin, the new sultan, Sultan Yussuf Izzuddin Shah.

Idris

Idris may refer to:

See also

Sultan

Sultan (/ˈsʌltən/; Arabic: سلطان‎ sulṭān, pronounced [sʊlˈtˤɑːn, solˈtˤɑːn]) is a noble title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun سلطة sulṭah, meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who claimed almost full sovereignty in practical terms (i.e., the lack of dependence on any higher ruler), albeit without claiming the overall caliphate, or to refer to a powerful governor of a province within the caliphate.

The dynasty and lands ruled by a sultan are referred to as a sultanate (سلطنة salṭanah).

A feminine form of sultan, used by Westerners, is sultana or sultanah; however, this styling misconstrues the roles of wives of sultans. In a similar usage, the wife of a German field marshal might be styled Frau Feldmarschall (in French, similar constructions of the type madame la maréchale are quite common). The rare female leaders in Muslim history are correctly known as "sultanas". However, the wife of the sultan in the Sultanate of Sulu is styled as the "panguian" and sultan's chief wife in many sultanate in Indonesia and Malaysia is known as "permaisuri". Special case in Brunei, the Queen Consort is known as Pengiran Isteri with suffix Pengiran Anak if the queen consort is a royal princess.