Sufism Revived - Mohamed Faouzi Al Karkari

In this compilation of spiritual discourses (sing. mudh¿kara), Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi al-Karkari offers a Sufi commentary on the functions, degrees and implications of prophethood (nub¿wa), messengerhood (ris¿la), and sainthood (wil¿ya). Major themes include the identification of the Prophet Muhammad with ¿the supreme intellect¿ (al-¿aql al-akbar); the manifestation of the all-encompassing Muhammadan Reality through the different prophetic figures; the notion of prophetic inerrancy (¿i¿ma); the doctrine of the Perfect Man (al-ins¿n al-k¿mil); and the universality of the Mu¿ammadan nation.

In his discussion on sainthood, the Shaykh offers a commentary on the Path to God as expressed in the well-known Holy Tradition (¿ad¿th quds¿), narrated in ¿a¿¿¿ Bukh¿r¿, in which God proclaims: ¿Whoever aggresses against one of My friends, I declare war on them¿My servant continues to draw near unto Me with supererogatory devotions until I love him; and when I love him, I am his hearing by which he hears, his sight by which he sees, his hand by which he clutches, and his foot by which he walks. If he asks of Me, I will surely give him; and if he seeks refuge in Me, I will surely give him refuge.¿

Throughout these discourses, the Shaykh offers practical advice for seekers regarding the complementarity between the exoteric Law (shar¿¿a) and esoteric Truth (¿aq¿qa); the love of the Prophet and his descendents; and the attainment of unmediated knowledge of God (ma¿rifa). Special emphasis is placed by the Shaykh on the seeker's visions (mush¿had¿t) of God's Light; recognizing the traces of the Divine Names in creation; and how to derive knowledge of God from one's spiritual experiences.