Epistemology, rationalism, empiricism: the vocabulary which introduces this work would seem to presage a dry academic text and yet that could not be further from an accurate description of this truly remarkable book. By examining the teaching and work of the contemporary Sufi master, Shaykh Abdalqadir as-Sufi, in conjunction with the intellectual history of the last two millennia, the book weds together the traditional understanding of existence propounded by the ancient world with the most cutting edge perceptions of present day scientific discourse. By doing this it shows how the modernist thesis, that has dominated intellectual thinking for the past five hundred years, has provided a completely inadequate paradigm for a satisfactory understanding of the nature of knowledge. The sheer breadth of the subject matter is astonishing, bringing together, as it does, disciplines and subjects normally only examined in isolation, in a glorious fusion that sheds a new light on them and opens the way to a fresh and vibrant reassessment of epistemology and its expression within the world in which we live. Shaykh Abdalhaqq Bewley

Dr. Riyad Asvat graduated with the degree of Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Melbourne. He has several publications covering a variety of Islamic topics. These include: The Political Philosophy of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Sufi, Commercial Transactions of the Sarraf’s (Moneychangers) and Awqaf al-nuqud (cash waqfs) in the Ottoman Caliphate and Economic Justice and Shari'a in the Islamic State.

He has presented papers at several international academic conferences. The last conference he attended was organized by the Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah University in Fez, Morocco. The theme of the conference was The Maliki School of Jurisprudence and its Contemporary Manifestations. Dr. Asvat’s paper was entitled The Implications of Maliki Methodology for the Social Sciences.

His current research focuses upon Sufism, philosophy, economics, political science, sociology, Islamic law and Islamic trade and commerce.