TRANSLATION AND COMMENTARY BY SHAYKH FADHLALLA HAERI
The Hikam, or Wisdom, of the great Sufi Master Ibn `Ata 'Allah al-Iskandari has long been acknowledged as an essential and classic masterwork of the Islamic science of enlightenment. Ibn `Ata 'Allah exemplified the ultimate model of a Sufi master possessed of a deep foundation in the sciences of the Qur'an, the way of the Prophet and the Universal Laws of the Islamic way of life, both outer and inner.
Short but immensely thought provoking, dense in their significance and insightfulness, crisp and sharp in their elucidation, the aphoristic Hikam are a true manifesto for those who are sincerely on the path of knowledge and awareness. This wisdom strips away our conventional responses to events, actions and phenomena, and encourage us to concentrate on the only true Reality.
With the publication of Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri's new translation and with the aid of his accompanying commentary, students and adepts alike can now gain a profounder understanding of these timeless teachings from the wellspring of the heart of Islam.
ABOUT SHAYKH FADHLALLA HAERI
Acknowledged as a master of self-knowledge and a spiritual philosopher, Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri’s role as a teacher grew naturally out of his own quest for self-fulfillment.
He travelled extensively on a spiritual quest which led to his eventual rediscovery of the pure and original Islamic heritage of his birth, and the discovery of the truth that reconciles the past with the present, the East with the West, the worldly with the spiritual – a link between the ancient wisdom teachings and our present time.
A descendant of five generations of well-known and revered spiritual leaders, Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri has taught students throughout the world for over 30 years. A prolific author of more than thirty books relating to the universal principles of Islam, the Qur’an, and its core purpose of enlightenment, he is a gifted exponent of how the self relates to the soul, humankind’s link with the Divine, and how consciousness can be groomed to reflect our higher nature.
The unifying scope of his perspective emphasizes practical, actionable knowledge that leads to self-transformation, and provides a natural bridge between seemingly different Eastern and Western approaches to spirituality, as well as offering a common ground of higher knowledge for various religions, sects and secular outlooks.
Zahra Publications’ other eBooks are listed at http://www.zahrapublications.pub.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Ibn `Ata 'Allah al-Iskandari was born in the middle of the 7th century AH/13th century CE and grew up in Alexandria during the Mamluk era. Although not much is known about his life, he had the best teachers in all branches of traditional sciences and became known as a great master of Islamic law of the Maliki school.
His lifetime witnessed the great flourishing of several Sufi brotherhoods, including the Shadhiliyya, the Mawlawiyya, the Chishtiyya and the Ahmadiyya. His father was a student of Imam al-Shadhili, though it is unlikely he himself ever met him.
Initially Ibn `Ata 'Allah was not so drawn to the Sufi path, preferring to concentrate his energies on jurisprudence. Yet, in spite of his early antipathies, he did become a disciple of Shaykh Abu 'l-`Abbas al-Mursi, (d. 686/1288).
As his most important and principal work, the Hikam, attests, he had become a Sufi master in his own right, and was already a shaykh when al-Mursi died. He became the third great master of the Shadhiliyya order which grew from Morocco and spread throughout North Africa and beyond.
With his career as a scholar in Cairo under the Mamluks in full flourish, he died at around 60 years of age in 709 AH/1309 CE and was buried there in the Qarafa cemetery.
