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Book/Printed Material Revealing the Secrets of Enlightenment.

About this Item

Title

  • Revealing the Secrets of Enlightenment.

Summary

  • Kashf al-asrār li-tanwīr al-afkār (Revealing the secrets of enlightenment) is a handbook for inductees into the Yashruti branch of the Shadhiliyah Sufi order. The secrets referred to in the title have to do with the meaning of prayer and other spiritual matters rather than with hidden rituals. The author, Muṣṭafá ibn Muḥyī al-Dīn Naja (1853-1932), was born in Beirut and spent most of his life there. He received his Sufi training from the shaykh of the time, 'Ali Nur al-Din al-Yashruti. As the supreme religious authority in Lebanon, Naja took the lead in representing Sunni interests to the colonial French authorities until his death in 1932. Naja opens his work with a biography of Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, the 13th-century founder of the Shadhiliyah order, and provides explanations of his sayings and practices. He points out that Abu al-Hasan rejected monkish self-denial and taught that eating well and sleeping comfortably lead to humility and a thankful frame of mind. Naja instructs the murid (novice) that he must memorize the chain of leadership back to al-Shadhili and thence to the Prophet Muhammad himself. He provides a mnemonic poem for this purpose. The remainder of the book offers the "secret" interpretations of the prayers that bring enlightenment. Sufi orders, or mystical fraternities, are embedded in Islamic history and continue to thrive to the present. Many of these fraternities welcome men and women of all social classes as members.

Names

  • Najā, Muṣṭafá ibn Muḥyī al-Dīn, 1853-1932 Author.

Created / Published

  • Beirut : Jarīdat Bayrut Press, [1891 to 1892]

Headings

  • -  1891 to 1892
  • -  Handbooks and manuals
  • -  Prayer
  • -  Shādhilī, Abū al-Ḥasan ʻAlī ibn ʻAbd Allāh, approximately 1196-1258
  • -  Shādhilīyah
  • -  Spiritual life
  • -  Sufis
  • -  Sufism

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 148 pages ; 25 centimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Qatar National Library.
  • -  Content in Arabic.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021666275

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

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Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Najā, Muṣṭafá Ibn Muḥyī Al-Dīn, Author. Revealing the Secrets of Enlightenment. [Beirut: Jarīdat Bayrut Press, to 1892, 1891] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666275/.

APA citation style:

Najā, M. I. M. A. (1891) Revealing the Secrets of Enlightenment. [Beirut: Jarīdat Bayrut Press, to 1892] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021666275/.

MLA citation style:

Najā, Muṣṭafá Ibn Muḥyī Al-Dīn, Author. Revealing the Secrets of Enlightenment. [Beirut: Jarīdat Bayrut Press, to 1892, 1891] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021666275/>.