Fons Vitae is a non-profit 501(c)(3), peer-reviewed independent publishing house based in Louisville, Kentucky. It publishes interfaith scholarly works focused primarily on world spirituality. Fons Vitae has been recognised for its English translations of major Arabic and Persian works, especially in the field of Islamic Studies and Sufism.Official About Us page.University of Kentucky list of publishers. In addition to their publications, Fons Vitae organises lecture series and events related to world religions, and is involved in prison outreach and school programmes.Muslim Americans for Compassion organization. With a global readership, both academic and general (including children's titles), Fons Vitae bridges cultural and intellectual discourses through carefully curated academic and spiritual texts.“Top 35 Book Publishing Companies in Kentucky 2025”. The current catalogue contains more than 300 titles.Full catalogue page.
Among Fons Vitae's series of publications are the Ghazali Translation Series, Sufi Master Rumi Series, Ibn 'Arabi Series, Imam al-Haddad Series, Ibn 'Ajiba Series, Quranic Commentary Series, the Thomas Merton Series,“A distinguished series of books on Thomas Merton’s engagement with non-Christian religions”, see Fons Vitae: An Initiative to Promote Catholic Learning at Duke. and the Ghazali Children's Project.See the dedicated Ghazali Children’s Project.See John Templeton Foundation grant page of this project.
Name Fons Vitae is Latin for “the Fountain of Life”, which refers to the Divine Source from which Wisdom and Truth emanate.Interview with Virginia Gray. It relates to the Abrahamic imagery of the Rivers of Paradise.See Radscheit, Matthias, ‘Springs and Fountains’. In Encyclopaedia of the Qur’ān Online. Brill.
History Fons Vitae was founded in 1984 by Aisha Gray Henry,16 Best Book Publishing Companies in Kentucky (In 2024). “a seventh-generation Kentuckian” scholar, graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and Al-Azhar University.Camille Adams Helminski, Women of Sufism: A Hidden Treasure, Shambhala, 2003, p.256.
From its foundation, Fons Vitae has collaborated with prominent religion scholars like Hamza Yusuf, Martin Lings, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Timothy Winter, and William Chittick.
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External links
A video tour of Fons Vitae Official Facebook page LinkedIn page