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Description: “Almost a prerequisite for any serious study of Sufism in European languages”: this was the verdict of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his review of the first edition of this book. According to the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, it is “one of the most thorough and intimately engaging books on Sufism to be produced by a Western scholar.” Certainly there is nothing second-hand about it.
The author lets the Sufis speak for themselves and, in a series of unusual and absorbing texts mainly translated from Arabic, he gives a vivid picture of life in a North African Sufi order. Against his background stands the unforgettable figure of the Algerian Shaikh who was head of the order from the death of his Master in 1909 until his own death in 1934. The last few chapters are mainly devoted to his writing, which included some penetrating aphorisms, and which end with a small anthology of his remarkable mystic poems which, as one reviewer has remarked, “remain beautiful poetry even in their English translation.” -- from publisher
Table of Contents: Part One: The Path and the Order. 1. Seen from Outside ---
2. The Origins of Sufism ---
3. Seen from Within ---
4. The Spiritual Master ----
Part Two: The Doctrine.
5. Oneness of being ---
6. The Three Worlds ---
7. The Symbolism of the Letters of the Alphabet ---
8. The Great Peace ---
9. Gnosis ---
10. The Ritual Purification ---
11. The Ritual Prayer ----
Part Three: Further Dimensions.
12. Selections from his Aphorisms ---
13. Selections from his Aphorisms ---
14. Selections from his Poetry ----
Appendix 1: List of his Writings ---
Appendix 2: The Spiritual Chain.
Location: COLLECTION: Teachings & Practices -- AREA: Great Traditions -- SECTION: Islam - Sufism / Filing name: Alawi
Topics: In TinyCat -- See "Tags" above for our libraries topic areas. See "Subjects" below for LCSH (Library of Congress Subject Headings) (note you can tour our library via Tags or LCSH, but LCHS are not available for all items in our holdings).
FYxxxx / FY2015 /
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'Almost a prerequisite for any serious study of Sufism in European languages': this was the verdict of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his review of the first edition of the book. According to the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, it is 'one of the most thorough and intimately engaging books on Sufism to be produced by a Western scholar'. Certainly there is nothing second-hand about it. The author lets Sufis speak for themselves and, in a series of unusual and absorbing texts mainly translated from Arabic, he gives a vivid picture of life in a North African Sufi order. Against this background stands the unforgettable figure of the Algerian Shaikh who was head of the order from 1909 until his death in 1934. The last few chapters are mainly devoted to his writings, which include some penetrating aphorisms, and which end with a small anthology of his remarkable mystic poems.… (more)