The Pure Intention: On Knowledge of the Unique Name

The Pure Intention: On Knowledge of the Unique Name is the first ever translation into English of a seminal work from the Sufi tradition. This title focuses on the Divine Name Allah and the virtues and transformative power of its invocation. Written by the renowned Sufi master Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari in the twelfth century the work is divided into two parts. Part One looks at the Name of Allah, its letters and their meanings. While in Part Two the author turns to the more practical question of the role of invocation, both in general and of the Name Allah specifically. Ibn Ata Allah discusses the virtue of invocation and establishes that it is the supreme act of worship.

Ibn Ata Allah al-Iskandari (d. 1309) was a renowned Sufi master in the Shadhili order and one of the great authorities on Sufism in the thirteenth century. Khalid Williams was born in the UK in 1983. He graduated from Leeds University in 2006 with a BA in Arabic Studies, and moved to Morocco to teach and further his studies in the traditional Islamic disciplines. He began working in translation in 2009, with an emphasis on Islamic Studies and Sufism. He is the translator of Qur'an and the Prophet in the Writings of Shaykh Ahmad al-Alawi.