A Sufi saint of the twentieth century: Shaik Ahmad al-ʻAlawī: his spiritual heritage and legacy (Ethical and religious classics of east and west, no. 23) - Hardcover

Lings, Martin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0042970237 ISBN 13: 9780042970233

Publisher: Allen and Unwin, 1971

Synopsis

'Almost a prerequisite for any serious study of Sufism in European languages': this was the verdict of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his review of the first edition of the book. According to the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, it is 'one of the most thorough and intimately engaging books on Sufism to be produced by a Western scholar'. Certainly there is nothing second-hand about it. The author lets Sufis speak for themselves and, in a series of unusual and absorbing texts mainly translated from Arabic, he gives a vivid picture of life in a North African Sufi order. Against this background stands the unforgettable figure of the Algerian Shaikh who was head of the order from 1909 until his death in 1934. The last few chapters are mainly devoted to his writings, which include some penetrating aphorisms, and which end with a small anthology of his remarkable mystic poems.

About this title

About the Author:

Martin Lings, formerly Keeper of Oriental Manuscript in the British Museum and the British Library, is the author of three works on Islamic mysticism, 'Sufi Poems', 'What is Sufism?' and 'The Book of Certainty', as well as the award-winning 'Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources' all published by the Islamic Texts Society.

Review:

"A masterly study of a man whose sanctity recalled the golden age of medieval mystics." -- A. J. Arberry

"What Martin Lings adds...may serve as a key to a deeper understanding of Islam as a whole." -- Titus Burckhardt

About this edition

• Publisher: Allen and Unwin
• Publication date: 1971
• ISBN 10: 0042970237
• ISBN 13: 9780042970233
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 242