This is the first English translation of Ibn ʿArabi’s Hilyat al-abdal, a short work which he wrote in the space of an hour during his Meccan period as something that would be ‘of assistance for those on the Path to true happiness’.
The Book of Counsels, the author’s largest work, was declared by Imam al-Haddad to be easy, clear, intelligible to the reader possessed of understanding, and sufficient.”
A Collection of Sufi Rules of Conduct is not only a pioneering work on ethics and mysticism, it is also a summary of the views of Sufis up till the eleventh century.
An old disciple of al-Ghazali had studied the Islamic sciences, including the many works of his master, for most of his life. Faced with the proximity of death, he turns again to his master this time asking for a summary of all his teachings, and Letter to a Disciple is al-Ghazali’s response.
Bridging the gap between western intellectual traditions and Islamic mysticism, this book explains the meaning of knowledge in the orthodox line of Sufism.
Many Muslims look into their hearts today and find a spiritual emptiness. Speeches abound, but when the chairs are folded up and people go home, they find their prayers and inner life as dry as ever.