Pure Gold - New,
from the Words of Sayyidi 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Dabbagh,
Al-Dhahab al-Ibriz min Kalam Sayyidi 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Dabbagh,
*[A5+] Large Paperback - 1015 pages,
by Ahmad b. al-Mubarak al-Lama?i
A Translation with Notes by: John O'Kane
& Bernd Radtke,
Foreword by Waheed Ahmad Dabbagh.
Published by Beacon Books.
 

Description :


Around 1720 in Fez Ahmad b. al-Mubarak al-Lama?i, may Allah have mercy upon him, a religious scholar, wrote down the words and teachings of the Sufi master 'Abd al-'Aziz al-Dabbagh, may Allah have mercy upon him. Al-Dabbagh shunned religious studies but, having reached illumination and met with the Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, he was able to explain any obscurities in the Qur?an, hadiths and sayings of earlier Sufis.

The resulting book, known as the Ibriz, describes how al-Dabbagh attained illumination and access to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, as well as his teachings about the Council of the godly that regulates the world, relations between master and disciple, the darkness in men’s bodies, Adam’s creation, Barzakh, Paradise and Hell, and much more besides.


This ‘encyclopaedia’ of Sufism with its many teaching stories and illustrations provides a window onto social life and religious ideas in Fez a generation or so before powerful outside forces began to play a role in the radical transformation of Morocco.





Biographical note

John O'Kane, B.A. (1963) in Classics, Princeton University, is an independent scholar. His translations include The Secrets of God's Mystical Oneness (Mazda, 1992), Fritz Meier, Essays on Islamic Piety and Mysticism (Brill, 1999) and The Feats of the Knowers of God (Manaqeb al-‘arefin) by Shams al-D?n Ah?mad-e Afl?k? (Brill, 2002).


Bernd Radtke (born 1944) has taught at the universities of Basel, Bergen (Norway) and Utrecht. His field of specialization is Islamic cultural and intellectual history (Geistesgeschichte), in particular Islamic mysticism.



Review :
[...] a treasure trove of information..This translation will undoubtedly expand scholarly awareness of this little-read but influential book, which reflects a still understudied period in the development of Sufi thought and practice._{---Valerie J. Hoffman, Islamic Africa, 2010}.





Table of Contents :

---Foreword,
---Preface ix,
---Translators’ Introduction xi,
---An Outline of the Al-Ibriz 1,

---Author’s Introduction :
------Al-'ArabI al-Fishtali’s predictions,
------The birth of al-Dabbagh,
------His illumination,
------His meeting with the Prophet, ?,
------Reports of his miracles 113,


---Chapter [I]: Al-Dabbagh explains difficulties in hadlths 199,

---Chapter [II]: Al-Dabbagh explains difficulties in Qur'anic verses 403,

---Chapter [III]: On the darkness that enters men’s bodies and works 519,

---Chapter [IV]: The Council of the godly (Diwan al-Salihin) ... 577,

---Chapter [V]: On the office of spiritual guide and on being a proper disciple 611,

---Chapter [VI]: A commentary on what the Ra'iyya says about the qualities of the shaykh and the disciple 681,

---Chapter [VII]: Difficult sayings of spiritual masters explained, and the debate about Imam al-Ghazali’s words:  There is not in possibility anything more wonderful than what is.’ 745,

---Chapter [VIII]: On Adam’s being created by gradual stages 827,

---Chapter [IX]: Light-filled and gloom-laden illumination, and the difference between the majdhub and the fool 839,

---Chapter [X]: A description of Barzakh and the spirits that reside there 877,

---Chapter [XI]: A description of Paradise and its different degrees 893,

---Chapter [XII]: A description of Hell 913,


---Appendix 925,
---Bibliography 933,
---Indexes,
---Proper Names 945,
---Subjects 959.

Also available in Hardback by EJ Brill.
More books on Sufism.



_NB: This edition is bound in Paperback, over 1000 pages. Some shelf wear to edges and spine, still a very much sought after work.

*Dimensions : 23.3 x 15.5 x 5.5cm.