The Meaning of Man : New

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The Meaning of Man : New,
''The Foundations of the Science of Knowledge,''
*[A5+] Large Paperback - 465 pages,
by Shaykh 'Ali al-Jamal [d.1193H],
Translated by Aisha 'Abd ar-Rahman Bewley -
- from the orginal text edited by 'Abd al-Kabir al-Munawarra,
Preparation of the text by The Darqawi Institute.
Published by Madinah Press.

Back in Stock May 2023

Description :

                        Neither My Earth nor My heaven contain Me,
                        but the heart of My slave, the mu'min contains Me.

'The Meaning of Man' is translated from a unique 18th-century manuscript, this work examines the interaction of the opposites inherent in existence. It is a clear statement of how existence works. The author again and again in the book makes clear that the foundations of knowledge are only accessible to the one who is prepared to undergo a profound existential transformation. The idea of knowledge being an ideational process is not even considered. Mens words are not to be mistaken for men's deeds.

                        A gnostic counseled one of his companions and
                        said to him, ''My son, beware of the company of
                        three types of people: the first are heedless tyrants,
                        the second are the negligent reciters, and the third
                        are the ignorant Sufis.''


Until this edition only one copy of the book was in existence. For two hundred years the author’s copy was kept at the place where he taught and during that time, regularly, every Thursday night, a small group of the intellectual elite of the city of Fez in Morocco would make their way down to the dyer’s quarter to the small zawiyya of the great teacher, gather in a circle and read, examine and apply the method delineated in the hand-written manuscript before them. As of today, that circle still gathers. It is hoped that by publication of this extraordinary work, incomparable in its profundity and clarity, the circle of Fez scholars will be extended and that knowledge may be disseminated through it in this age of intellectual bankruptcy.

                        The beginning of this Path of ours is madness,
                       its middle is arts, and its end is stillness.

We live in an age where the meaning of man itself is in danger, therefore man is in danger, therefore his enviroment, this Earth is in danger. We live in a society that is determined to destroy man and make him the servant of the lowest aspect of himself, instead of the master of the highest aspects of himself. In the recognition that this nadir point of human worth is taking us to the time when man will be restored in his splendour as a locus of knowledge we have published this magesterial work.?” ---(Taken from the Introduction by Shaykh Dr. Abdalqadir as-Sufi).

                         When you are aware of existence,
                         Then your ransom has appeared, so be still,
                         Cling to denial. Quiet your attributes.

Sidi Ali al-Jamal (d. 1193AH/1779CE) was a great reclusive shaykh. Originally from Fez, he had served in the administration. He travelled to Tunisia to learn from the Sufis later returning to build his zawiya in Fez. His most significant shaykh was Sidi al-Arabi ibn Ahmad ibn Abdullah. Sidi Ali al-Jamal’s teaching, expressed so vividly in this work, was distilled in The Darqawi Way, the letters of Shaykh Moulay al-Arabi ad-Darqawi to his murids, and he in turn transmitted it to a large number of shaykhs, the tariqa then becoming famous under his name.

                          Do the people reckon that they will be left to say:
                          ''We believe,'' and will not be tried?