Louay Fatoohi

Shaikh ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani is arguably the greatest figure in the history of Sufism. His teachings have attracted millions to Islam and helped countless Muslims understand the spiritual journey that this great religion represents.

The current work consists of fifteen short letters in which the Shaikh describes spiritual experiences and knowledge that are attained through striving against one’s base desires and committed devotion to Allah. They are written in a highly mystical language, using a peculiar style whereby each sentence or group of sentences is followed by a related Qur’anic text. In effect, the letters represent a Sufi experiential interpretation of the quoted Qur’anic verses. While small in size, this exceptionally charming and poetically beautiful work is immensely profound.

In the written Qur’an, known as “mushaf,” the chapters are not arranged in the chronological order of their revelation, so the first and last verses in the mushaf are not the first and last revealed verses, respectively. There are a number of had?ths and historical reports about which verses and chapters were revealed first and last. This book examines the credibility of each report, evaluates the views of scholars, and presents its own conclusions. Focused on the subject of the first and last revelations of the Qur’an, this book is by far the most comprehensive and complete study of this area of the Sciences of the Qur’an.