786   My Murshid, F. A. Ali ElSenossi, has requested that I summarise the work translated by Muhammad Alamgir, Muhammad in the Vedas and the Puranas[1]. Rather than give a sequential account of this work, the material relating to the Vedas, the Puranas, and the Mahabharata have been grouped together. The reason for this approach … Continue reading Muhammad in the Vedas and the Puranas →

Besides being known as the subtle centres of the heart, the lata’if are also referred to as the senses of spiritual perception. The physical heart is the centre of the physical body connecting to all areas of the body through the blood. Similarly, the spiritual organ is the centre of the human being. Thus, the heart can be understood as the centre of our spiritual awareness. Just as the human has five physical senses to access and understand the material world, so too does the spiritual centre have five senses.

This paper was delivered at the 4th International Sufi Conference, Chittagong, Bangladesh, 2014. SufiConference2014 Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah is renown, amongst other things, for being the earliest prose writers of the Shadhiliyya. Amongst his works that are currently available is the Lata’if al-minan, the earliest known account of the founder of the Shadhiliyya Order, Abu’l Hassan … Continue reading A Saint in Society – Responses to Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah’s view of the Founder of the Shadhiliyya Order →

This article originally appeared in The Journal of Islamic Philosophy, Vol. 8 (2012). An earlier version of this article, under the title “Ibn Sab’in – A Man Accused,” appeared in The Treasure: Australia’s Sufi Magazine, no. 27 (2010), pp. 14 – 18. A PDF of the article can be found here: CookSab’in2012 Amongst the various images of Ibn Sab’in (c. 614/1217-668/1270), most … Continue reading Ibn Sab’in and Islamic Orthodoxy: A Reassessment →

This article originally appeared in The Treasure: Australia’s Sufi Magazine, no. 26 (2009), pp. 29 – 37. “After Buddha was dead, his shadow was still shown for centuries in a cave — a tremendous, gruesome shadow. God is dead; but given the way of men, there may still be caves for thousands of years in which … Continue reading Nietzsche and the Science of Prophethood →