Tears from the Mother of the Sun: A Secret History of the World
(Hardback)
Publishing Details
Tears from the Mother of the Sun: A Secret History of the World
By (Author) Pir Zia Inayat Khan
Illustrated by Amruta Patil
Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Inner Traditions Bear and Company
1st April 2026
United States
Classifications
General
Non Fiction
Mysticism
Folklore studies / Study of myth (mythology)
Islamic groups: Sufis
Physical Properties
Hardback
256
Width 152mm, Height 229mm
446g
Description
Esoteric legends that track history across multiple continents and planes of existence
Synthesizes ancient mythologies across time, space, and cultures to resacralize the human experience
Written as a novella interspersed with metered quatrains in the tradition of medieval Persian belles-lettres
Includes full-color paintings of key figures and motifs, including Sita, Yggdrasil, the Minotaur, Quetzalcoatl, and the Three Marys
In this globe-spanning chronicle, Pir Zia, leader of the Inayatiyya, sets forth an astonishing sequence of legends revealing little-known connections between ancient cultures and spiritual lineages.
Framed as a dialogue between the Iranian epic poet Firdausi and his tutelary daimon, the novella follows the tradition of medieval Persian belles-lettres in which prose passages are punctuated with metered verses. The daimon reveals to the hitherto depressed poet the inner history of the world as reflected in the missions of a succession of sages moving through Earths lands and ages. Readers will learn of the creation of the universe, the war of the angels and the jinns, the exile of Adam and Eve, and the deeds of Melchizedek and Enoch. Explore the rise of the Nephilim, the advent of ancient civilizations, the origins of the Abrahamic faiths, and the history of the Grail and Emerald Tablet. Beautiful paintings by Amruta Patil bring the legends to life.
The cumulative effect of the traditions synthesized here is a resacralization of the human experience across time, space, and cultures, achieved through an unexpected marriage of myth and history.
Author Bio
Pir Zia Inayat Khan, Ph.D., is the leader of the Inayatiyya, a Sufi fellowship rooted in the mystical legacy of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. He is the author of Mingled Waters: Sufism and the Mystical Unity of Religions and Immortality: A Travelers Guide. Amruta Patil is a writer, painter, and author of four graphic novels: Kari, the Mahabharata-themed Adi Parva and Sauptik, and the Vedic/ecofeminist Aranyaka. In 2017, she received a Nari Shakti award from the 13th President of India.
