Maktubat Imam Rabbani I-III: New Edition English Translation

Maktubat Imam Rabbani Complete English Translation Volume 1 to 3

Maktubat is the common term referred to the letters of Sufi sheikh and scholars. The Maktubat of Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi are indeed the most popular among the letters of sufi sheikhs. This book is a classical and most venerated book of Sufism that covers classical Sufism, methodologies, beliefs and practices of Islam and many other spiritual secrets. The text engages with the concepts of tawhid, self-disclosure, and the transformative power of spiritual experiences, while emphasizing the importance of intention and the recognition of one's own shortcomings in the pursuit of spiritual perfection.

Letters of Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi (may Allah be pleased with him) were compiled in his lifetime. Volume 1 was compiled by Khwajah Yar Muhammad Badakhshi Talqani (rahmatullah alaih), a murid of Sheikh Ahmed Sirhindi. The volume was named as Durr al-Ma'rifat (در المعرفت) and was finished in 1025 AH, as the Sheikh ordered to complete it at 313 letters, 313 being a sacred number. Volume 2 was named as Noor al-Khallaq (نور الخلاق) and contains 99 letters. It was compiled by Khwajah Abdul Hayy. Volume 3 was compiled by Khwajah Muhammad Hashim Kashmi and contains 124 letters. The volume was named Ma'rifat al-Haqa'iq (معرفت الحقائق). Thus Maktubat-i Imam-i Rabbani Volume 1 to 3 contains a series of 536 letters.

The complete Three Volume English Translation of Maktubat Imam Rabbani by Irshad Alam Mujaddidi is presented here. Its print edition is available as part 1, containing complete 313 letters of Volume I while Part 2 consists of Volume II and Volume The Volume II and III and contains a series of 223 letters (99 in Volume 2, 124 in Volume III), as the twin part of the Volume 1, having almost same number of pages. The first volume of the holy Maktubat is a book that explores the early spiritual experiences and reflections of the author, particulately focusing on the states of self-disclosure and annihilation in the quest for divine closeness while the second and third Volumes are books that explores the later part of the spiritual experiences and reflections of the author's life, Shaikh Ahmad Faruqi Naqshbandi. It is in this later part of the Great Imam’s life that he shifted his views regarding his earlier takes on his most popular ontology, the shadow prototype (zilliyat), that the existence of the cosmos was shadow (zilliy) existence, instead of prototypal existence, which belonged to Allah swt exclusively. It's in this part of his life that he fully aligned with Ibn Arabi, shifting from Wahdat-i shuhud with respect to the nature of the sufi experience of tawhid to a modified form of wahdatul wujud, with Seven-descents in respect of his final ontology.

First, it may be noted that the Mujaddid has about three phases in his transformations. In Phase 1, from Maktub 1 upto maktub 160 of Volume I he was purely akbarian; Phase 2 from 1.160 upto Volume II, approximately maktub 15, was when he proposed the zilliyat and wahdatus shuhud; and at the end of his life, the final Phase, he completely came back to normative ibn arabi is wahdatul wujud in Volume III. The Mujaddidi understood Ibn Arabi through the eyes of his commentators. He later studied the original texts as well-he mentions both (Fusus al-Hikam) and (Futuhat al-Makkiya) as books he studied. He also discusses numerous expressions and ideas from those. However, his earlier understanding of the original texts was colored by the understanding of those commentators. It seems that the Mujaddid understood Ibn Arabi via the interpretations made by the wujudi school. This school was popularised in India via the writings made by Mulla `Abdur Rahman Jami, whose poems and interpretations the Mujaddid quotes often. criticized them in a constructive manner, pointing out their errors.

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Oversættere: Irshad Alam Mujaddidi

Udgivelsesdato

E-bog: 7. august 2025