Gifts for the Seekers by Imam Abdallah Ibn Alawi al-Haddad

DESCRIPTION:

This book answers many of the questions often asked by seekers of inward illumination.
 

• What are the real implications of the doctrine of divine unity?
• How can proper concentration be achieved during spiritual exercises?
• When should one avoid participating in Sufi gatherings?
• What is the relationship between the tongue, the mind, and the heart?
• How is one to understand visions received in sleep?
   

The work also includes the author’s commentary on a poem on inner wayfaring which speaks of the most exalted stations of the path and goes on to explain a number of paradoxes of the Way, such as the reason as why the saints usually refuse to deploy their miraculous powers, preferring to concentrate on self-scrutiny and the compassionate guidance of others. These points are illustrated with references to the famous mystical poems of Ibn al-Farid and Abu Madyan.

DETAILS:

ISBN: 9781872038230
AUTHOR: Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi Al-Haddad
TRANSLATOR: Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi
LANGUAGE: English
BINDING: Paperback
PAGES: 72
DIMENSIONS: 22 x 14  CM
PUBLISHER: The Quilliam Press

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Imam Abd Allah ibn Alawi al-Haddad was born in 1634 CE (1044 Hijri). He lived his entire life in the town of Tarim in Yemen’s Valley of Hadramawt and died there in 1720 CE (1132 Hijri). In Islamic history, he was considered one of the great Sufi sages. He was an adherent to the Ashari Sunni Creed of Faith (Aqeedah), while in Islamic jurisprudence (Fiqh), he was a Shafi'i.

He lived at Tarim in the Hadramaut valley between Yemen and Oman, and is widely held to have been the ‘renewer’ of the twelfth Islamic century. A direct descendant of the Prophet, his sanctity and direct experience of God are clearly reflected in his writings, which include several books, a collection of Sufi letters, and a volume of mystical poetry. He spent most of his life in Kenya and Saudi Arabia where he taught Islamic jurisprudence and classical Sufism according to the order (tariqa) of the Ba'Alawi sayids.

In spite of being a major source of reference among the Sunni Muslims (especially among Sufis), only recently have his books began to receive attention and publication in the English-speaking world. Their appeal lies in the concise way in which the essential pillars of Islamic belief, practice, and spirituality have been streamlined and explained efficiently enough for the modern reader. Examples of such works are The Book of Assistance, The Lives of Man, and Knowledge and Wisdom.

ABOUT THE TRANSLATOR:

Dr. Mostafa Badawi was born in Cairo in 1948. He graduated from Cairo University Medical School in 1971 and thereafter completed his postgraduate training in the United Kingdom in 1985. He has been practicing as a consultant psychiatrist since then. Dr. al-Badawi has authored several books in English, including Man and the Universe: An Islamic Perspective, The Prophetic Invocations, and Sufi Sage of Arabia: Biography of Imam al-Haddad.

He has also authored several books in Arabic. In addition, Dr. al-Badawi has translated from the original Arabic into English several of Imam Abdallah ibn Alawi al-Haddad's works, including The Book of Assistance, The Lives of Man, Gifts for the Seeker, Wisdom and Knowledge, Good Manners, and Mutual Reminding. He also translated into English Habib Ahmad al-Haddad's Key to the Garden as well as Shaykh Abd al-Khaliq ash-Shabrawi's Degrees of the Soul.