Pir Press

What Pir Press does

Pir Press Inc. is an independent, privately held publishing company headquartered at 245 West Broadway in New York City that specializes in scholarly translations and editions of Sufi mystical texts, classical Islamic philosophy, and interspiritual literature. The company's flagship initiative is the Futuhat Project, the first complete English translation of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah (The Openings Revealed in Makkah), a 10,000+ page classical Arabic work that has never previously been translated in its entirety into English. Dr. Eric Winkel has been working exclusively on this translation since 2012, with volumes published annually since 2019 through hardcover scholarly editions ($100-$120 each) and a softcover Taschenbuch pocket series ($20/book, $200 bookset) co-published with Oceans Within (The Futuhat Foundation). The catalog additionally includes works by Muzaffer Ozak al-Jerrahi, Lex Hixon, Ruzbihan Baqli, and Farid ud-Din Attar, plus Sufi ceremonial music recordings.

The business runs on a direct-to-consumer Shopify-powered ecommerce storefront (pirpress.com) with adjacent distribution through Amazon Kindle for ebooks and Amazon Marketplace for select physical titles. Revenue is generated entirely through one-time purchase of physical books, ebooks, and music CDs, with wholesale discounts available for bulk buyers. Pricing structures include hardcover scholarly volumes ($100-$120), paperback Sufi Masters titles ($9-$25), Taschenbuch pocket books ($20), bundled booksets ($200), and music CDs ($9.99-$17). Payment processing is integrated across all major rails (American Express, Apple Pay, PayPal, Visa, Mastercard, etc.) via Shopify.

The target customer base spans three horizontal segments: individual spiritual seekers drawn to Sufism and the Path of Love, academic scholars of Islamic mysticism and comparative religion, and Sufi practitioners affiliated with the Halveti-Jerrahi Order. Marketing is executed through a content-led approach combining a news/blog section, organic social presence on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, Pinterest product pins, an email newsletter, and in-person book launch events. The company operates without disclosed external funding, subsidiaries, or M&A activity, and is currently shipping 7 hardcover volumes and 10 Taschenbuch books of the planned 19-volume and 37-book total respectively.

Name

Pir Press

Legal name

Pir Press Inc.

Website

https://pirpress.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Pir Press is an independent New York-based publisher specializing in scholarly editions and translations of Sufi mystical texts, most notably the first complete English translation of Ibn Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah. The company serves spiritual seekers, academic scholars, and Sufi practitioners through a Shopify direct-to-consumer ecommerce storefront.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Religious & Spiritual Book Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (51313)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731)

akta.pro primary industry

Devotional & Prayer Publishing (Devotionals, Prayer Books, Meditation Guides) (MPAJAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Religious Reference & Study Tools Publishing (Commentaries, Concordances, Lexicons) (MPAJAHAL), Interfaith & Comparative Religion Publishing (MPAJAHAK), Religious & Specialty Publishing Distribution (CRAOALAD)

Keywords

• Sufi book publishing
• Islamic mysticism translations
• Independent scholarly publishing
• Spiritual literature publishing
• Classical Arabic translations

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Direct Book Sales: One-time purchase of physical books and ebooks through the pirpress.com ecommerce store. Products include hardcover scholarly volumes ($100-$120), paperback books ($9-$25), Taschenbuch pocket series ($20/book), and bundled booksets ($200). Some titles also available as ebooks on Amazon Kindle.
2. Music CD Sales: Sale of Sufi ceremonial music recordings including CDs such as 'Garden of Paradise' and 'REUNION: Ceremonial Music of the Sufis' priced at $17 each.
3. Wholesale Distribution: Wholesale discounts are available for bulk orders, allowing bookstores and retailers to purchase inventory for resale.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Pir Press is an independent publisher that produces and sells scholarly English translations of classical Sufi mystical texts, biographies of Sufi masters, and recordings of Sufi ceremonial music. Its flagship offering is The Futuhat Project — the first complete English translation of Ibn Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah, available in hardcover scholarly volumes and a Taschenbuch pocket series. The publisher also releases works by Muzaffer Ozak, Lex Hixon, and other Sufi masters, distributed primarily through its Shopify e-commerce site with select titles on Amazon and iTunes.

Product overview

Pir Press is an independent publisher dedicated to the sacred tradition of Sufism and the Path of Love. The company publishes books and music related to Islamic mysticism, spirituality, and the wisdom of various religious traditions. The core product portfolio centers on translations of classical Sufi texts, particularly the works of Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi through 'The Futuhat Project.' The company offers two formats of Ibn al-Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah: a scholarly hardcover edition (4 of 19 planned volumes published) and a more affordable Taschenbuch (softcover pocket) series (10 of 37 planned books published). Additional offerings include biographies and teachings of Sufi masters like Muzaffer Ozak and Lex Hixon, classical texts by figures such as Ruzbihan Baqli and Farid ud-Din Attar, and audio recordings of Sufi ceremonial music. The company operates an e-commerce platform powered by Shopify.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• The Openings Revealed in Makkah Hardcover Volumes Hardcover scholarly editions of Ibn Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah, translated by Dr. Eric Winkel as part of the first complete English translation of this 10,000+ page classical Arabic work. Volumes priced $100-$120, targeted at academic scholars and serious students of Sufism.
• The Openings Revealed in Makkah Taschenbuch Series Softcover pocket-sized editions of Ibn Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah translation by Dr. Eric Winkel, priced at $20 per book with the 10-book set at $200. Published in collaboration with Oceans Within (The Futuhat Foundation). Aimed at accessible, travel-light reading for spiritual seekers.
• An Illustrated Guide to Ibn Arabi 222-page illustrated guide presenting 25 concepts toward understanding Ibn al-Arabi's mystical vision. Funded by the Radius Foundation as accessible introductory content for newcomers to Ibn Arabi's thought.
• Living Open Space: The Interspiritual Journey of Lex Hixon Spiritual biography of Lex Hixon by Gregory Blann, priced at $20, covering Hixon's universalist teachings across Vedanta, Tibetan Buddhism, Zen Buddhism, Orthodox Christianity, and Islamic Sufism.
• Irshad: Wisdom of a Sufi Master

Quantifiable outcome

• First complete English translation of al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah - a 10,000+ page classical Arabic text never before fully translated

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Oceans Within (The Futuhat Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Taschenbuch Series of The Openings Revealed in Makkah is published by Oceans Within (The Futuhat Foundation). This represents a collaborative publishing relationship for the pocket-sized version of Dr. Eric Winkel's translation, while Pir Press publishes the hardcover scholarly editions.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• NYU Press Library of Arabic Literature: The Library of Arabic Literature at NYU Press produces high-quality English translations of classical Arabic texts, including works adjacent to Sufi and mystical literature. It is a direct peer in the niche English-Arabic scholarly translation category, with comparable production values and academic readership.
• The Islamic Texts Society: The Islamic Texts Society is a UK-based non-profit publisher of translations of classical Islamic texts, including Sufi and scholarly works. It directly competes with Pir Press for academic and serious-reader sales of translated Islamic and Sufi primary source material.
• World Wisdom: World Wisdom publishes books on perennial philosophy, Islamic, and interfaith spirituality including Sufi titles. It is comparable to Pir Press as a similarly-sized independent publisher of scholarly spiritual literature aimed at interfaith readers and academics of mysticism.
• Inner Traditions / Bear & Company: Inner Traditions is a Vermont-based independent publisher of books on metaphysics, mysticism, indigenous spirituality, and Sufism, including works by Pir Press's own authors (Seyyed Hossein Nasr). It directly overlaps with Pir Press's spiritual and interfaith catalog and serves the same seeker audience.
• Fons Vitae: Fons Vitae is an independent publisher specializing in Sufi and interfaith spiritual literature, including translations of classical Islamic mystical texts. It is directly comparable to Pir Press as a similarly-sized niche publisher serving the same spiritual seeker and Sufi practitioner segments.
• Anqa Publishing: Anqa Publishing is an independent press dedicated to the works and legacy of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, publishing translations and scholarly studies of his writings. It is the closest direct competitor to Pir Press's Futuhat Project, operating in the same Ibn Arabi specialist niche.

Broad incumbents

• Brill Publishers: Brill is a major academic publisher with a deep Islamic Studies and Sufism catalog, including critical editions and translations of primary Islamic texts. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Pir Press in the scholarly Arabic-text translation category, but with institutional scale and university library distribution that Pir Press lacks.
• Paulist Press: Paulist Press is an established Catholic/ecumenical publisher with a broad interfaith catalog that includes mystical and Islamic studies titles. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Pir Press because it sells scholarly religious literature to a similar academic and interfaith audience, but with a much wider denominational scope.

Others

• Threshold Society: The Threshold Society (Threshold Books / The Threshold Society) publishes works on Sufism and the teachings of Bawa Muhaiyaddeen. It is an adjacent peer in the small-publisher Sufi niche, with overlapping community and author ecosystems though operating as a non-profit society rather than a commercial press.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/pirpress
• Facebookfacebook.com/pirpress
• Instagraminstagram.com/pirpress

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Pir Press