Description :

 

'Letters on the Spiritual Path' is the culmination of many years’ effort to present for the first time a complete rendering into English, or any other western language of all 272 letters of spiritual guidance written by the renowned Sufi teacher of eighteenth century Morocco, Mawlay al-Arabi al-Darqawi al-Hasani (d. 1239/1823), may Allah have mercy upon his soul.

 

 

These letters are a living example of an educative process that provided the wayfarer on the Sufic path with an integral vision of the principles, attitudes, and conduct that constitute Islamic spirituality itself and of the self-effacing comportment that leads to the experiential knowledge of the Divine (ma'rifa). They offer rare insight into the teacher/student relationship within the circles of Islamic mysticism.


The letters are singularly personal and touch upon nearly every conceivable aspect of the Sufic path, depicting the Shaykh as a human being living among other human beings, and portraying how, for a person of God such as Mawlay (Mulay) al-Arabi, everything that happens can be seen as infused with the Divine Presence. In this regard these letters are his response to those, like himself, who sought to negotiate the currents of the times without compromising themselves and their values, and are as relevant today as they were to those who so ardently sought copies of them during the lifetime of Mawlay al-Arabi himself.


The translation is in clear accessible English, and holds true to the intention of the translators to, “keep in mind the fact that they were written in an intimate register of Arabic that could be grasped by most of the Shaykh’s disciples.” The text includes an in depth introduction, is well annotated with hadith and textual referents cited, and has both detailed biographical and topical indexes. This long awaited translation is a must for the library of every serious student of Sufism and provides excellent examples of Sufi literature for the university classroom.





About the Author :

Shaykh Abu Abdullah Muhammad Mawlay al-Arabi al-Darqawi al-Hasani (1760–1823) was a Moroccan Sufi leader of the Shadhili tariqa and the author of letters concerning the dhikr he preached and instructions for daily life. He stressed non involvement in worldly affairs (Dunya) and spoke against other Sufi orders exploiting claims of barakah (blessings). [1] He was imprisoned by the Moroccan ruler Mawlay Slimane (r. 1792–1822) for supporting revolts against the throne, but was released by Abderrahmane (r. 1822–1859).

 

A branch of the Shadhili order, the Darqawa, was organized around his teachings after his death, with members coming from a wide range of social groups. Though the Darqawa was once the most important tariqah in Morocco, its power waned as it spread throughout North Africa. [2] Al-Darqawi was descended from a Hasanid / Idrissid sherif family that lived among the Beni Zerwal Berbers, in the hills to the north-east of Fez.[citation needed]. His tomb is in the Zawiya Bou Brih also in the Rif.

 

 

 

 

Small Selection of the 272 Letters :

 

Letter 1 : On Maintaining the obligatory and the Confirmed Sunna,

Letter 2 : Learning enough Fomal Knowledge to Accomplish the Obligatory and Confirmed Sunna; The True Meaning of Sufism,

Letter 5 : Concerning the Manners of Begging, Wearing the Patched Robe, and their True Meaning' the Way of the folk,

Letter 6 : On Slaying the Ego & Occupying Oneself with the Creator rather than the Creation,

Letter 7 : Letting God defend you,

Letter 12 : The Reality of the Soul,

Letter 13 : The Necessity of the Shaykh; the Mystery of Permission (al-idhn); the Invocation of the Name,

Letter 15 : All Goodness is in the Invocation of God; being Occupied with it Alone to the Exclusion of All Else ; keeping a distance from the Mundane World,

Letter 18 : On the Invocation of Blessings upon the Messenger of God, ?, in all situations and with the best comportment,

Letter 19 : Antagonism towards the Sufis,

Letter 20 : Finding a Reflective State in the Recitation of the Qur'an,

Letter 21 : Choosing a Shaykh,

Letter 22 : The Ailment of the Heart,

Letter 24 : On Visiting the Shaykh : Issues,

Letter 26 : To Someone Confused about his situation,

Letter 27 : The Results of Sincerity with God,

Letter 30 : The Signs of Loving God,

Letter 31 : Things are Hidden in their Opposites,

Letter 33 : The Bride of Incomparable Beauty,

Letter 35 : The Shadhiliyya Path,

Letter 38 : Constancy in asking God's Blessings upon the Prophet, ?,

Letter 40 : Good deeds done in Private and in Public,

Letter 43 : The Sign of one Devoted to God,

Letter 44 : Both the Spirit and the Ego are fashioned from the Prophet's Light, ?, 

Letter 48 : Know God and All Creation will know you,

Letter 50 : On Seeing the Prophet, ?, in a Waking State,

Letter 53 : The Sensory Dimension (al-hiss),

Letter 55 : Veneration,

Letter 56 : The man who Became Impressed with his Spiritual Knowledge,

Letter 59 : Repelling Demonic Thoughts,

Letter 60 : On Receiving the Rain of Divine Inspiration,

Letter 63 : On the Value of Intention,

Letter 65 : On detachment from the workaday world (al-tajrid),

Letter 68 : A little worship done with a good state is better than a lot done with a bad state,

Letter 70 : Benefitting from Spiritual Instruction,

Letter 73 : Putting the limbs in Accordance with the Heart,

Letter 74 : A Letter to certain fuqaha opposed to the Way,

Letter 76 : Visiting the Masters of the Tariqa ; Recognising the Shaykh

Letter 78 : The Livelihood of the Faqir,

Letter 79 : A True Sharif is Noble in Character,

Letter 81 : Caution against being deluded by exoteric knowledge and its scholars,

Letter 83 : Not being Deceived by those who act like Sufis,

Letter 84 : On removing the garments of this world,

Letter 85 : Avoiding Worldly People,

Letter 86 : The Vision of God,

Letter 87 : Veneration towards God and His Saints and encouragement to make a Qur'anic exegesis extensive,

Letter 89 : Finding strength in Servanthood,

Letter 93 : The Ego's Whisperings,

Letter 95 : Silence and Hunger,

Letter 97 : A Time each day for Remembrance; More on the Saying of Shaykh Zarruq,

Letter 98 : The Proximity of God,

Letter 99 : A Dream,

Letter 100 : Caution against imitating Worldly scholars,

Letter 102 : Respect for Masters of the Way,

Letter 103 : Companionship (suhba) through correspondence,

Letter 105 : Knowing God both in Hardship and in Ease,

Letter 110 : Sobriety and Rapture,

Letter 114 : The man who kept quiet,

Letter 117 : Avoid Pretenders,

Letter 118 : Caution against conjecture (zann),

Letter 119 : Some of the Sates of the Sufis,

Letter 121 : Majesty and Beauty,

Letter 124 : Receiving the Litany,

Letter 125 : Following a Shaykh,

Letter 145 : Being Open to "the breezes of the spirit"; visiting Saints, both living and dead,

Letter 147 : The Blessing of anonymity (al-khumul),

Letter 148 : Concerning the Judge who insulted some of the fuqara,

Letter 149 : Invoking the Supreme Name and Keeping silent except to mention the good,

Letter 150 : Concerning al-Khidr, alayhi salam,

Letter 151 : Servanthood (al-'ubudiyya),

Letter 152 : The Spiritual work of Women ; transmitting the litany,

Letter 153 : The effects of too much talk, food, and social contact,

Letter 154 : A Letter summing up the Way,

Letter 158 : Proper comportment with God; Sunna practices,

Letter 159 : To a Faqih who treated a Sufi harshly,

Letter 162 : The example of the People of the Porch (ahl al-Suffa),

Letter 163 : The possibility of Seeing God,

Letter 165 : Concerning those who disregard the Law,

Letter 168 : The People of God in the next World,

Letter 169 : Letter to those Teaching for the Sake of God,.

Letter 170 : Who is a Saint?

Letter 171 : Speak of esoteric knowledge only to those who can understand it,

Letter 172 : Visiting the Saints,

Letter 173 : An encounter at the shrine of Mulay Idris in Fes,

Letter 174 : A Vision while Teaching Children,

Letter 175 : A Vision at the Beginning of the Way,

Letter 179 : When his Shaykh removed his headcloth,

Letter 180 : When he removed his Prayer Cap,

Letter 187 : The Woman seized by Spiritual Ecstacy,

Letter 191 : The Two Men who wanted to Marry the Same Woman,

Letter 193 : The Man who Leaned the Hard Way,

Letter 199 : The Pretender who came to the Zawiya,

Letter 200 : The Best Vocation,

Letter 205 : Seeing al-Khidr, alayhi salam,

Letter 211 : When Rain flooded the Mosque,

Letter 216 : The Man who Sought a Cure for his Wife,

Letter 218 : The Woman who was brought to the shrine of Sidi Ahmad ibn Yusuf,

Letter 224 : The Pole,

Letter 228 : When he said "Go Forth" to the faqih,

Letter 230 : Chatting when others are in Worship,

Letter 231 : Repair what you have ruined,

Letter 232 : The True Elixir,

Letter 233 : Stories of those who opposed those their Ego's desires,

Letter 234 : The Prayer of Seeking God's choice,

Letter 235 : The Blessed Man who Wrote down his Answers,

Letter 239 : The Source of Joy,

Letter 242 : A Definition of Sufism,

Letter 243 : Advice for a Woman who is Afflicted by Whisperings,

Letter 244 : Advice on Receiving Guests,

Letter 245 : The Prayer (al-Salat),

Letter 246 : Some of the Saintly Men he met and his Teachers,

Letter 248 : Breaking Normal Habits : Seeing the Prophet, ?,

Letter 250 : On keeping the Prayer in its time,

Letter 252 : Practices of the Heart,

Letter 255 : You will be your own shaykhs,

Letter 257 : Expecting Miracles,

Letter 258 : The man who said, "Nothing has Appeared to Me"

Letter 261 : Respect for the shaykh,

Letter 262 : More concerning the Prayer (al-salat),

Letter 263 : The last words of his shaykh,

Letter 265 : Caution against sharing these writings with everyone,

Letter 266 : What knowledge is most useful?

Letter 267 : Offering the Prayer on time,

Letter 268 : Finding rest in the Remembrance of God,

Letter 269 : Rejoice if something in the world is taken from you,

Letter 270 : Invoking the Supreme Name,

Letter 271 : The One Needful thing,

Letter 272 : Final Words about the Remembrance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Other works of Mawlay al-Darqawi,

More Shadhiliya books.
 

Homepage for Sufism.

 

 

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