Sawanih – Inspirations from the world of pure spirits pdf download

Sawanih – Inspirations from the world of pure spirits by Ahmad Ghazali Translated from the Persian with a Commentary and Notes by Nasrollah Pourjavady

Sawanih – Inspirations from the world of pure spirits

The present volume is a complete translation of the Sawanih , written by the Persian Sufi master Ahmad Ghazzall with a commentary by the translator.

The fame of the author, as A.J. Arberry rightly states, “has been overshadowed by that of his illustrious brother Abu Hamid Muhammad Ghazzali (450/1058-505/1 111).

The exact date of Ahmad’s birth is not known, but we know that he was only a few years younger than his brother, and died fifteen years after him in 520/1126.

He spent most of his life preaching in mosques and training disciples in the convents ( khaniqahs ) of the Sufis.

Although he was not by any means as prolific as his older brother, there are a number of short treatises in Persian and Arabic extant, of which, thus far, only one Arabic treatise on Sam(Sufi Concert) under the title of Bawariq al-ilmd has been available in English.

Sawanih is the longest and the most important book that Ahmad wrote in Persian.

The title of this book, to Sufis, means the inspirations that a mystic experiences on his journey through “the world of the Spirit” ( c dlam-i ruh) or, as it is sometimes called, the world of Pure Spirits { c alam-i arwah). A

ccording to the Sufism of Ghazzali, when a mystic goes beyond the phenomenal world, he passes through three different plains, the Heart {dil), the Spirit {ruh), and the Subtle or Secret {sin) 1 2 3 . “The world of the spirit” is,