The Kashful Mahjub : Unveiling the Veiled, HB

 The Kashful Mahjub, Unveiling the Veiled,
A4 Hardback - 436 pages,
by Syed Ali bin Uthman al-Hujweri,
Translated with Commentary by Mawlana Wahid Baksh Rabbani.


The Kashful Mahjub | Unveiling the Veiled.


The Earliest Persian Treatise on Sufism.


Kashful Mahjub, originally in Persian, was written at the request of a student of sufism (tasawwuf) at that time. He had asked the shaykh to compile a comprehensive study on sufism as a guide for spiritual aspirants. Although Data Ganj Baksh; Sayyad Ali bin Uthman al-Hujweri, May Allah be pleased witrh him, was a master in the science of Islamic scholasticism and his judgements based on logic, the conclusions he arrived at were the result of his deep spiritual experience, where he has shown the absence of any conflict between true sufism and Islamic Shari'ah.


Starting from the life of the Prophet's, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, brimful experience of Divine nearness, Presence, Union and Communion, this book describes the spiritual experiences of the Companions of the Prophet, Companions of the Companions (tabi'in), their Companions (taba-tabi'in), and the Imams (heads) of the four schools of Islamic law (Ahl al-Sunnah wal Jama'ah), showing in truth, "when sufism was made to leave Islam," and that it is not the so called question of "when sufism 'entered' Islam." This book also explains the various aspects of sufism in a thorough yet simple manner.


This Edition of Kashful Mahjub, contains for the first time ever, an invaluable comprehensive English Commentary by a practising sufi shaikh, further clarifying in today's language and context, the various subtleties of Sufism in an understandable form rarely found elswhere.


Hadhrat Syed Ali bin Uthman al-Hujweri, may Allah be pleased with him, popularly known as Data Ganj Bakhsh (Bestower of Spiritual Treasures) belonged to a place called Hujwer in the town of Ghazna, Afghanistan. He lived during the 5th century A.H. (11th century C.E.) and was well versed in all the Islamic sciences such as Tafsir (exegesis) of the Qur'an, Hadith (Traditions of the Prophet), Fiqh (Muslim Law) and dogmatic theology (Ilmu Kalam). Al-Hujweri's, Radi Allahu anhu, spiritual lineage traces back to Hadhrat Junaid al-Baghdadi, Radi Allahu anhu, through the three intermediaries al-Husri, an-Nasrabi, and Shibli, may Allah be pleased with them.


In the course of his spiritual journey to God, he journeyed physically to many countries, often alone and with hardship. These places included Turkestan, Transoxania, Iran, Iraq, and Syria where he met innumerable Sufi shaikhs, many of whom he has mentioned in this book. He went to Lahore in the later part of this life to spread Islam, converting large numbers of Hindus into Muslims. He passed away in Lahore in 469 A.H. (1077 Common Era) where his maqam currently stands, visited by people of all walks of life, from near and far.


This is a book that must be read not only by those interested in sufism, but by all who yearn for tranquility and inner-peace in this present day of lop-sided, imbalanced and over-materialistic tendencies, where man has deplorably failed to strike a balance between his physical and spiritual life. This imbalance is now resulting in untold misery, restlessness, frustration, worries, woes, conflicts and confrontations which have virtually torn this world asunder.

 
About the Translator : The Translator and Commentator of this book, Hadhrat Mawlana Wahid Bakhsh Rabbani, rahmatullahi 'alayhi, an eminent sufi saint of this century. He spent 12 years in the company of his shaykh; Hadhrat Mawlana Sayyad Muhammad Zawqi Shah, rahmatullahi 'alayhi, (1878-1951), and was a practising sufi for over 55 years until his passing away on the 21st of Dhul Qaddah 1415 (April 1995). Like his shaykh, he had written numerous books on tasawwuf of which "Islamic Sufism", a comprehensive manual on sufism in English, was one of his masterpieces. He also translated many valuable Sufi works from Persian to urdu including "Mirratul Asrar", "Maqabis-ul-Majalis", and "Talqin-i-Laduni", and was a recognised master of tasawwuf of his time. 

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