Zoheir Esmail

Al-Dawani’s Contested Mystical Praise of the Prophet (saw)

While I was unpacking a box of books I came across an interesting set of seven treatises written by various philosophers. One treatise that caught my eye was a commentary on a sentence in the introduction of a treatise written by Jalāl al-Dīn Muḥammad al-Dāwānī called Risālah al-zūrāʾ, which discusses origination and return (al-mabdaʾ wa … Read more

Mulla Sadra on Spiritual Realisation

While reading through Ṣadrā’s commentary on Uṣūl al-Kāfī, I came across this beautiful explanation of the methods different groups use to attain spiritual realisation. The extract is inspired by al-Ghazālī’s Iḥyāʾ and while Ṣadrā doesn’t recommend the path of the Ṣūfīs be followed exclusively, there are many points of the process that needs to be … Read more

The First Creation

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم By Shaykh Zoheir Esmail Mystics have devoted much attention on God’s first creation as within the conception of the first creation lies the answer to the paradox of how sheer unity gives rise to a world of multiplicity. God is without limits and this is why His perfection cannot be fathomed. … Read more