Fifteen Letters (Khamsata ‘Ashara Maktuban)

This book consists of fifteen letters byShaikh ‘Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani. Articulated in a sublime mystical language, the letters describe spiritual experiences that are attained through striving against one’s base desires and committed devotion to Allah. They are written in a peculiar style whereby each sentence or group of sentences is followed by a related Qur’anic text, which is often a part of a verse.

The text is effectively a Sufi experiential interpretation of the quoted Qur’anic verses. This peculiar style of consistent pairing of mystical words of the Shaikh with a Qur’anic verse has produced an immensely beautiful text with a highly poetic tone.