New book by Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani: “Fifteen Letters (Khamsata ‘Ashara Maktuban)”

BIRMINGHAM, U.K. - Sept. 18, 2014 - PRLog -- This is a book by Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (1077-1165 CE) one of the most, if not the most, famous and influential Sufi masters. In these fifteen short letters, the Shaikh describes spiritual experiences and knowledge that are attained through striving against one’s base desires and committed devotion to Allah. The letters are written in a mystical language, using a peculiar style whereby each sentence or group of sentences is followed by a related Qur’anic text. This is an example:

“Be afraid of:

The Day on which the person flees from his brother, mother, father, spouse, and sons, (80.34-36)

—and think of the reckoning of:

Whether you show what inside your souls or hide it Allah will reckon with you for it. (2.284)”

The letters effectively represent a Sufi experiential interpretation of the quoted Qur’anic verses. The editor and translator, Louay Fatoohi, who had prevised co-translated another of al-Jilani’s books called “Purification of the Mind (Jila’ al-Khatir) — has added a commentary to the text. The commentary has been kept succinct and focused on the translator’s understanding of the main points of the text without any attempt to delve deeper into it. This should reduce the possibility of any misunderstanding that is likely to happen as a result of any further elaboration. While small in size, this exceptionally charming and poetically beautiful work is immensely profound.

The editing and translation is based on three manuscripts. The first is in King Saud University in Saudi Arabia, the second is in the Bodleian Library at Oxford University, UK, and the third is kept in the Special Collections Library at Michigan University, USA.

The translator has added a biography of Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani.

For more information about the book and excerpts, please visit this link http://www.quranicstudies.com/books/fifteen-letters-khams...

This is the book page on Amazon US: http://www.amazon.com/Fifteen-Letters-Khamsata-Ashara-Mak...

This is the book page on Amazon US: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fifteen-Letters-Khamsata-Ashara-M...

This is the Table of Contents of the book

The Author

The Manuscripts

The Letters

The Edited Text

The English Translation

Prelude (Manuscript “S”)

Prelude (Manuscript “B”)

Prelude (Manuscript “M”)

The First Letter

The Second Letter

The Third Letter

The Fourth Letter

The Fifth Letter

The Sixth Letter

The Seventh Letter

The Eighth Letter

The Ninth Letter

The Tenth Letter

The Eleventh Letter

The Twelfth Letter

The Thirteenth Letter

The Fourteenth Letter

The Fifteenth Letter

Epilogue

References