At first, it signified asceticism and devotion, before acquiring the meaning of knowledge “of the interior” (isoteric).Scholars understand religion as consisting of two parts: the “exterior” (esoteric) and the “interior” (isoteric). The esoteric comprises the respect of the commandments of Shari’ a, including cultural rites, while the isoteric is a free and sincere spiritual experience that an adept seeks out. Sufis assemble under the guidance of a sheikh who has received isoteric knowledge from his predecessors.

They form a tariqa (fraternity) that has its own ritual which, in principle, does not contradict the Shari ‘a, even though some have become famous for errors that sheikhs and those with esoteric knowledge have condemned...A Sufi can reach a type of holiness (walaya) and receive the karamat (supernatural powers) that make him well known.
The Sufi fraternities have played an important role in the Islamization of Asia and Africa, because they taught the Mohammedan message while practicing the method that we have discussed, which created desire rather than inspired fear by addressing each human being at the level of her conscience. These experiences and powers inspired numerous poems whose goal is to educate the listener or the reader with an indirect teaching that develops his comprehension of supernatural realities.

We were inspired to bring you this collection of stories and illustrations with the hope that we could make the Sufi literary patrimony available even to beginning readers of Arabic. The goal is to take you beyond cultural bias to learn Arabic.

• The gates...
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