Idries Shah was an author and teacher in the Sufi tradition who wrote dozens of books on topics ranging from psychology to spiritualilty to travelogues to other anthropological studies. In his writings, Shah presented Sufism as a universal form of wisdom that predated Islam. Shah is known for The Sufis, The Commanding Self, The Subleties of the Inimitable Mulla Nasrudin, The Exploits of the Incomparable Mulla Nasrudin, Thinkers of the East, and Learning How to Learn.