About The Book

The talks contained in Revelations of the Unseen, short and to the point, are among the most beautiful oratory the world has ever known. Our translations of this and other of the Shaikh's works surviving in manuscript form in Oriental collections around the world are intended to make them more widely available and accessible to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

This is probably the best known of Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir's works as there have been previous translations of it in both English and German. These are 78 discourses [majalis] that cover a wide range of topics of great importance to the spiritual traveler and are listed in their entirety below:

1. On the essential tasks of every true believer
2. On sharing good advice
3. On being tried and tested
4. On spiritual death
5. On the nature of this world, detachment from which is strongly advised
6. On passing beyond the creation
7. On removing the cares of the heart [qalb]
8. On drawing near to Allah
9. On disclosure and contemplation
10. On the self and its states
11. On carnal appetiten
12. On the prohibition of love of wealth
13. On submission to Allah's command
14. On following the practice of Allah's own
15. On fear and hope
16. On trust and its stages
17. On how the contact [wusul] with Allah is attained
18. On not complaining
19. On promises
20. On the saying of the Prophet (Allah bless him and give him peace): "Leave anything that makes you doubtful and stick to what arouses no misgivings in you."
21. On addressing Iblis the accursed
22. On the testing of the believer's faith
23. On contentment with one's lot from Allah
24. On cleaving to Allah's door
25. On the tree of faith
26. On not unveiling one's face
27. On good and evil as two fruits
28. On the classification of the seeker's state
29. On the saying of the Prophet (Allah Bless him and give him peace): "Poverty is on the verge of slipping into unbelief."
30. On not saying "What shall I do and how?"
31. On hatred for Allah's sake
32. On not sharing one's love of Allah
33. On the four types of men
34. On not resenting Allah
35. On pious caution [al-wara']
36. On the explanation of this world and the hereafter, and what one must do in them both
37. On censure of envy
38. On honesty [sidq] and sincerity [nisah]
39. On dissension, concord and hypocrisy [nifaq]
40. On when the aspirant truly belongs in the company of spiritual people
41. Illustrating the nature of annihilation [fana']
42. On the two conditions of the self [nafs]
43. On censure of asking from any but Allah
44. On the reason for non-response to the supplication of one who knows Allah [al-'arif bi'llah]
45. On blessings and trials
46. On the Sacred Tradition: "When someone is too busy remembering Me"
47. On closeness to Allah
48. On what the believer must attend to
49. On censure of sleep
50. On how to treat the servant's remoteness from Allah; explanation of how to achieve closeness to Him
51. On abstinence
52. On the reason for the trials borne by certain believers
53. On the commandment to seek contentment with Allah and annihilation [fana'] in Him
54. On those who wish to attain to the contact [wusul] with Allah, an explanation of the nature of that contact
55. On giving up life's pleasures
56. On the servant's becoming extinct [fana'] to creatures, passions, the self, the will and desires
57. On not contesting destiny, and the commandment to keep oneself content therewith
58. On looking away from all other directions, and seeking the direction of Allah's favor
59. On cheerful acceptance of misfortune, and being grateful for blessings
60. On the beginning and the end
61. On pausing before taking any action until its permissibility is clear
62. On love, the beloved, and what is required in respect of both
63. On a kind of inner knowledge [ma'rifa]
64. On death without life, and life without death
65. On the prohibition of resenting Allah for deferring response to supplication
66. On the commandment to make supplication, and the prohibition of omitting it
67. On struggle with the self, and description of its nature
68. On the words of Allah (Exalted is He): "Every day He is about some business."
69. On the commandment to ask Allah for forgiveness, protection from sin, help toward success, contentment and patience
70. On gratitude and acknowledgment of shortcomings
71. On the seeker and the sought
72. On those who are attracted to what they see in the market and those who view it with patient restraint
73. On a party of saints whom Allah makes aware of the faults of others
74. On how the intelligent person should prove to himself the Uniqueness of Allah
75. On spiritual culture [tasawwuf] and what it is based on
76. On advice
77. On staying with Allah and becoming extinct to creatures
78. On the people devoted to spiritual struggle and self-examination and the masters of resolve; explanation of their virtues

Cover Art by Rohana Filippi

"And with Him are the keys of the unseen [ghaib]" - {Qur'an 6:59}

About The Author

Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir is widely known by the honorific, 'the Sultan of the Saints (awliya) of Allah'. In the history of the Saints of Islam, Shaikh Abd al-Qadir stands out as being unique, in the broad scope of perfection that includes his lineage, his complete development, piety, knowledge of the religion and adherence to the Sacred Law (Sharia), his intimate and direct knowledge of the Divine, and his establishment by the Lord of All the Worlds at the level of Reality (Haqiqa). Shaikh 'Abd al-Qadir lived almost a thousand years ago, but his words transcend the time and place in which they were recorded to span the centuries without difficulty.

Revered to this day as the supreme spiritual helper (al-Ghawth al-A'zam) the Shaikh addresses his audience at a level that bypasses the heart and mind. His discourses are justly ranked among the most beautiful oratory the world has ever known.