The Garden of the Prophet

By Kahlil Gibran

“The Garden Of The Prophet” is Khalil Gibran's 1933 sequel to “The Prophet”, published posthumously. Intended to be a companion to his masterpiece, it represents a lyrical celebration of life, nature and love. Gibran Khalil Gibran (1883 – 1931) was a Lebanese-American poet, writer, and artist best known as the author of “The Prophet” (1923), which is one of the best-selling books of all time. Gibran's work covers such themes as justice, religion, science, free will, love, happiness, the soul, the body, and death. He is widely considered to have been one of the most important figures in Arabic poetry and literature during the first half of the twentieth century. Other notable works by this author include: “Music” (1905), “Rebellious Spirits” (1908), and “Broken Wings” (1912). This volume is highly recommended for fans Gibran's seminal work and it would make for a worthy addition to any collection. Many vintage books such as this are becoming increasingly scarce and expensive. We are republishing this volume now in an affordable, modern, high-quality edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read & Co. Books
• Release date: Jan 8, 2021
• ISBN: 9781528769402

Kahlil Gibran

Khalil Gibran (1883 – 1931) was a Lebanese-American writer, poet, and visual artist, best known for his debut novel “The Prophet”. Born in the Ottoman Empire, Gibran emigrated with his family to the United States, where he studied art and began writing in both English and Arabic. His romantic style of writing was ground-breaking and constituted a change away from traditional classical Arabic literature. Gibran is the third-best-selling poet of all time, behind Shakespeare and Lao Tzu.

Book preview

KAHLIL GIBRAN

Gibran Khalil Gibran was born on 6th January, 1883, in the historical town of Bsharri, in northern Mount Lebanon, then a semi-autonomous part of the Ottoman Empire.

Due to his family’s poverty, Gibran had no formal education in his early years except for the Maronite Catholic priests who would visit to teach him about the bible, as well as the Arabic and Syriac languages. His father, who was his mother’s third husband, was not a financially successful man, and after racking up gambling debts, was forced to take a position as a local administrator. However, in 1891, he was imprisoned for embezzlement and his family’s property was confiscated. This prompted Gibran’s mother to leave his father and migrate to the United States with her children in 1895.

They settled in the second-largest Syrian-Lebanese-American community, in Boston’s South End, where young Kahlil, enrolled at an art school in a nearby settlement house. He was taken under the wing of the avant-garde artist, photographer, and publisher Fred Holland Day, who encouraged Kahlil’s creative flare.

In 1904 he held the first exhibition of his drawings at Day’s studio. During the exhibition, he met a respected headmistress ten years his senior, named Mary Elizabeth Haskell, who went on to become his editor. The two of them were well-known to be great friends, but it later emerged that in private they were lovers. In fact, Gibran twice proposed to her but marriage was not possible in the face of her family’s conservatism.

Gibran’s early works of poetry were in Arabic, but after 1918 he decided to write mainly in English. It was in 1918 that the Alfred A. Knopf publishing company published The Madman, a slim volume of aphorisms and parables written in biblical cadence somewhere between poetry and prose. This style brought him great success with his 1923 work The Prophet. Although it received a cool reception when first published, its notoriety grew and it is now his most famous work, never having been out of print and translated into more than forty languages. In Lebanon, Gibran is still celebrated as a literary hero, which is not surprising as he is actually the third best-selling poet of all time, behind only Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.

Gibran died at the age of 48 in 1931 from cirrhosis of the liver and tuberculosis. The following year Mary Haskell and her sister Mariana purchased the Mar Sarkis Monastery in Lebanon in which he was buried. This is now the Gibran Museum. Written next to Gibran’s grave are the words a word I want to see written on my grave: I am alive like you, and I am standing beside you. Close your eyes and look around, you will see me in front of you.

ALMUSTAFA, the chosen and the beloved, who was a noon unto his own day, returned to the isle of his birth in the month of Tichreen, which is the month of

Reviews for The Garden of the Prophet

[michael5rimmer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Garden of the Prophet didn't strike me as profoundly as did The Prophet, but there are still plenty of thought-provoking and moving passages within it.It seemed to me that the character of Almustafa was more closely drawn to that of Christ in this volume. The parallels are not, however, overplayed, and the message is a universal one of love, forbearance and simplicity.

[tloeffler_3 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

More writings from Kahlil Gibran. This book was intended to be a companion piece to The Prophet, although I found it less inspiring. Still, I enjoy reading his writing. It's almost musical, and very poetic.

[realbigcat · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The sequel to Gibrans classic The Prophet. The Prophet Almustafa returns to his homeland. Gibran's writing is pure poetry. Just as good as the Prophet. A very short and wonderful read.

[erwinkennythomas · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Almustafa in the Garden of the Prophet by Kahlil Gibran is the prophet who returned to the garden. Gibran’s writing is melodramatic and mystical. The prophet appears like a Christ-like figure with his disciples. I was particularly struck by the cosmic elements of the poetry. Undoubtedly most lines have rather deep psychological meanings.The garden was a microcosm of the world. In it was not only water and trees, but a cemetery where the deceased was laid to rest. Gibran’s expressions were often sad and gloomy with glimmerings of wisdom. The writer had stirring messages formulated with nuances, challenges, and conflicts. Interesting was how the prophet related to his disciples by the way he answered their probing questions. But in the end they all dispersed, and the prophet appeared to have been absorbed with the elements.