Fifteen Letters

Shaykh Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani
Louay Fatoohi
Paperback, 108 pages
9781906342203

 

Khamsata 'Ashara Maktuban

 

This book consists of fifteen letters by Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani. Articulated in a sublime mystical language, the letters describe spiritual experiences that are attained through striving against one's base desires and committed devotion to Allah. They are written in a peculiar style whereby each sentence or group of sentences is followed by a related Qur'anic text, which is often a part of a verse.

 

The text is effectively a Sufi experiential interpretation of the quoted Qur'anic verses. This peculiar style of the systematic pairing of mystical words of the Shaikh with a Qur'anic verse has produced an immensely beautiful text with a highly poetic tone.