Presentation

The present translation is of one section--- the fifty-fourth hizb (or part) containing the Chapters of The All-Merciful, The Event, and Iron---from this unique and monumental work. Its intention is to provide the Anglophone reader with access not only to how the generality of educated Muslims have understood the dominant themes of these Chapters since the earliest days of Islam, but also how traditional Sufic sources have viewed these same themes in respect to the microcosm of the soul and the journey towards God. To this latter dimension, Ibn ‘Ajiba adds insights arising from his own spiritual quest, that of a man who, in his early 40s, having lived the life of a scholar from a noble Tetouani family, turned away from all the rank and respect he had previously enjoyed in order to become the disciple of two of the greatest Sufic teachers of his day, Mulay al-‘Arabi al-Darqawi and Muhammad al-Buzidi, and immerse himself in the rigorous spiritual training and practice that characterized their way, al-Tariqa al-Shadhiliyya al-Darqawiyya. This translation, then presents both an example of Islamic scholarship based on traditional formal sources as well as insight into Ibn ‘Ajiba’s own personal journey of discovery.

In the course of this work, the reader will find commentary, both exoteric and esoteric, on verses concerning the interrelation between Divine benevolence and human gratitude ; the blessings of Heaven and the place of faithful men and women there ; the relationship between practice, grace, and salvation ; the role and meaning of the invocation and remembrance of God (dhikr Allah) ; the ephemeral nature of this world ; the essential traits of Christians ; the meaning of earthy tribulations ; and the benefits of charity.

Table des matières

I. Ritual Purity (Taharah) II. Ritual Prayer (Salat) III. On fasting IV. On spiritual retreats, i.e., seclusion in the mosque for prayer and worship V. On Zakah VI. On the Hajj, or Greater Pilgrimage VII. On animals slaughtered for the Day of Sacrifice (’udhiyah’).

(Source : Fons Vitae US)