A Perfumed Scorpion is a non-fiction book by the Sufist writer, Idries Shah, that was first published by Octagon Press in 1978, the same year that he published two other major works: Learning How to Learn: Psychology and Spirituality in the Sufi Way and The Hundred Tales of Wisdom. Shortly before he died, Shah stated that his books form a complete course that could fulfill the function he had fulfilled while alive. As such, A Perfumed Scorpion can be read as part of a whole course of study.