About Us
For German-speaking Muslims who wish to read the great sources of Islamic tradition, the situation is sobering: much of what is available in translation is linguistically awkward, poorly designed, or both. For more than two decades, Spohr Verlag has been the answer to this shortcoming. It was founded by Salim and Hagar Spohr.
The books of Spohr Verlag combine the classical Islamic heritage with publishing care that does justice to the importance of these texts – in typesetting, layout, binding, and paper. Thread-stitched, with horizontal spine lettering and a haptic quality that is immediately noticeable, each book follows the principle that a text conveying enduring meaning also deserves a lasting form.
At the heart of the program is the tradition of Tasawwuf. With the multi-volume Ghazali series, the publisher has created a unique complete works edition in the German-speaking world: central writings of Islamic ethics, spirituality, and scholarship, made accessible in German for the first time with such breadth and depth. Anyone who reads the Ihya or the treatise on death and the afterlife for the first time in an edition that takes them seriously as a reader will understand what distinguishes this publisher from others. In addition, Ibn Ishaq's "The Life of the Prophet," the letters of Shaykh al-Arabi ad-Darqawi, the "Handbook of Islam," and numerous other source texts are part of the program – supplemented by contemporary works and an English-language offering.
The translations combine linguistic precision with respect for the subject matter. Text, translation, and design are conceived as a unity. This results in books that are as carefully crafted in their language as they are in their external form – books that are not treated as disposable goods but belong on the shelf and stay there.
Spohr Verlag is aimed at Muslim men and women who seek a serious access to the Islamic spiritual tradition and expect editions that live up to this claim. Its books accompany study, teaching, and personal spiritual life. They are made to last a lifetime.
For 20 years
For twenty years we have striven to make beautiful books, but every time a successful production is reflected in the published work, we are happy! With three hundred and fifty-two pages, the new Ghazali is the thickest in the German-language series: "Remembering Death and the Afterlife," a stunningly wonderful book!
