Sufism

Selected Letters: Imam Abd Allah Ibn Alawi Al-Haddad

Muhammad Isa Waley
Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi

$29.95

Imam ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlawī al-Ḥaddād, of Ḥaḍramawt in southern Yemen, is generally considered one of the great spiritual masters of Islam. In addition to the wealth of treatises and litanies (awrād) that he left for the benefit of posterity, the Imam wrote hundreds of letters to disciples, followers and fellow scholars, to local sultans and governors, and to other individuals both in his region and elsewhere in the Muslim world.

These letters provide unique insights into the Imam’s learning, wisdom, and personality. They reflect his relationships with family, friends, rulers and others, his life and times, and his reactions to current events. Also notable is his frequent use of verses to highlight points with extra force and eloquence; these are translated in full.

Selected Letters of Imam al-Ḥaddād presents a representative choice of this precious material, expertly translated together with an introduction, full annotations and a glossary of technical terms. It will be of interest to anyone concerned with the literature on the spiritual path and its masters in Islamic tradition.

Product Description

“Dr. Badawi has been instrumental in introducing works of Imam ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAlawī al-Ḥaddād to the English readership. “

Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi is a scholar of Islamic sciences as well as a consultant Psychiatrist. Dr. Badawi is one of the leading contemporary translators of Islamic books from Arabic to English. He has translated the 10 treatises that constitute the complete prose works of Imām al-Ḥaddād, Key to the Garden by Habib Ahmad Mashhur al-Haddad, The Degrees of the Soul by Shaykh al-Shabrāwī, and a collection of Bā-Alawī treatises recently published under the title Spiritual Insights.

Dr. Mostafa al-Badawi