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In this compilation of spiritual discourses (sing. mudhakara), Shaykh Mohamed Faouzi al-Karkari offers a Sufi commentary on the functions, degrees and implications of prophethood (nubuwa), messengerhood (risala), and sainthood (wilaya). 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 ('isma); the doctrine of the Perfect Man (al-insan al-kamil); and the universality of the Muhammadan nation.
In his discussion on sainthood, the Shaykh offers a commentary on the Path to God as expressed in the well-known Holy Tradition (hadith qudsi), narrated in Sahih Bukhari, 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 (shari'a) and esoteric Truth (haqiqa); 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 (mushahadat) 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.
