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A Sufi Saint of the Twentieth Century: Shaikh Ahmad al-Alawi
'Almost a prerequisite for any serious study of Sufism in European languages': this was the verdict of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in his review of the first edition of the book. According to the Journal of Near Eastern Studies , it is 'one of the most thorough and intimately engaging books on Sufism to be produced by a Western scholar'. Certainly there is nothing second-hand about it. The author lets Sufis speak for themselves and, in a series of unusual and absorbing texts mainly translated from Arabic, he gives a vivid picture of life in a North African Sufi order. Against this background stands the unforgettable figure of the Algerian Shaikh who was head of the order from 1909 until his death in 1934. The last few chapters are mainly devoted to his writings, which include some penetrating aphorisms, and which end with a small anthology of his remarkable mystic poems.
242 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1971
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About the author
Martin Lings
114 books475 followersMartin Lings was an English writer and scholar, a student and follower of Frithjof Schuon, and Shakespearean scholar. He is best known as the author of a very popular and positively reviewed biography, Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources, first published in 1983 and still in print.
Lings was born in Burnage, Manchester in 1909 to a Protestant family. The young Lings gained an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States due to his father's employment.
Lings attended Clifton College and went on to Magdalen College, Oxford (BA (Oxon) English Language and Literature). At Magdalen he was a student of C. S. Lewis, who would become a close friend of his. After graduating from Oxford Lings went to Vytautas Magnus University, in Lithuania, where he taught Anglo-Saxon and Middle English.
For Lings himself, however, the most important event that occurred while he was at Oxford was his discovery of the writings of the René Guénon, a French metaphysician and Muslim convert and those of Frithjof Schuon, a German spiritual authority, metaphysician and Perennialist. In 1938 Lings went to Basle to make Schuon's acquaintance and he remained Frithjof Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life.
In 1939 Lings went to Cairo, Egypt in order to visit a friend of his who was an assistant of René Guénon. Not long after arriving in Cairo, his friend died and Lings began studying and learned Arabic.
Cairo became his home for over a decade; he became an English teacher at the University of Cairo and produced Shakespeare plays annually. Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944 and lived with her in a village near the pyramids. Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances.
Upon returning to the United Kingdom he continued his education, earning a BA in Arabic and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His doctoral thesis became a well-received book on Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi (see Sufi studies). After completing his doctorate, Lings worked at the British Museum and later British Library, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works, rising to the position of Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts 1970-73. He was also a frequent contributor to the journal, Studies in Comparative Religion.
A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well-regarded, his most famous work was a biography of Muhammad, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad.[2] He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in Kent. He died in 2005.
In addition to his writings on Sufism, Lings was a Shakespeare scholar. His contribution to Shakespeare scholarship was to point out the deeper esoteric meanings found in Shakespeare's plays, and the spirituality of Shakespeare himself. More recent editions of Lings's books on Shakespeare include a Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales. Just before his death he gave an interview on this topic, which was posthumously made into the film Shakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings.
Lings was born in Burnage, Manchester in 1909 to a Protestant family. The young Lings gained an introduction to travelling at a young age, spending significant time in the United States due to his father's employment.
Lings attended Clifton College and went on to Magdalen College, Oxford (BA (Oxon) English Language and Literature). At Magdalen he was a student of C. S. Lewis, who would become a close friend of his. After graduating from Oxford Lings went to Vytautas Magnus University, in Lithuania, where he taught Anglo-Saxon and Middle English.
For Lings himself, however, the most important event that occurred while he was at Oxford was his discovery of the writings of the René Guénon, a French metaphysician and Muslim convert and those of Frithjof Schuon, a German spiritual authority, metaphysician and Perennialist. In 1938 Lings went to Basle to make Schuon's acquaintance and he remained Frithjof Schuon's disciple and expositor for the rest of his life.
In 1939 Lings went to Cairo, Egypt in order to visit a friend of his who was an assistant of René Guénon. Not long after arriving in Cairo, his friend died and Lings began studying and learned Arabic.
Cairo became his home for over a decade; he became an English teacher at the University of Cairo and produced Shakespeare plays annually. Lings married Lesley Smalley in 1944 and lived with her in a village near the pyramids. Despite having settled comfortably in Egypt, Lings was forced to leave in 1952 after anti-British disturbances.
Upon returning to the United Kingdom he continued his education, earning a BA in Arabic and a PhD from the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). His doctoral thesis became a well-received book on Algerian Sufi Ahmad al-Alawi (see Sufi studies). After completing his doctorate, Lings worked at the British Museum and later British Library, overseeing eastern manuscripts and other textual works, rising to the position of Keeper of Oriental Printed Books and Manuscripts 1970-73. He was also a frequent contributor to the journal, Studies in Comparative Religion.
A writer throughout this period, Lings' output increased in the last quarter of his life. While his thesis work on Ahmad al-Alawi had been well-regarded, his most famous work was a biography of Muhammad, written in 1983, which earned him acclaim in the Muslim world and prizes from the governments of Pakistan and Egypt. His work was hailed as the "best biography of the prophet in English" at the National Seerat Conference in Islamabad.[2] He also continued travelling extensively, although he made his home in Kent. He died in 2005.
In addition to his writings on Sufism, Lings was a Shakespeare scholar. His contribution to Shakespeare scholarship was to point out the deeper esoteric meanings found in Shakespeare's plays, and the spirituality of Shakespeare himself. More recent editions of Lings's books on Shakespeare include a Foreword by HRH The Prince of Wales. Just before his death he gave an interview on this topic, which was posthumously made into the film Shakespeare's Spirituality: A Perspective. An Interview With Dr. Martin Lings.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 11, 2015
پانزده ساله بودم. تازه با چیزی به نام "عرفان" آشنا شده بودم. هیجان زده بودم. احساس می کردم که در تمام این مدت، همه ی اعمال دینی ام تنها بازی بوده. احساس می کردم که تمام عمر در خواب بودم. این حس، سه سال از شیرین ترین سال های زندگی ام را رقم زد. در این مدت، با عرفان و ادبیات به مقدار مساوی آشنا شدم و کتاب های این دو زمینه را نخواندم، که قطره قطره نوشیدم.
این یکی از کتاب هایی بود که در آن برهوت منابع عرفانی (برای یک نوجوان پانزده ساله) حکم چشمه ای در میان کویر داشت. بسیاری از مفاهیم عرفانی را با شور و شوق و هیجانی زاید الوصف، از این کتاب یاد گرفتم.
نمی دانم اگر برگردم و بخوانمش، همچنان دوستش خواهم داشت یا نه، و جزء کتاب هایی است که باز نخواهم خواند، از ترس مخدوش شدن تصویرش.
این یکی از کتاب هایی بود که در آن برهوت منابع عرفانی (برای یک نوجوان پانزده ساله) حکم چشمه ای در میان کویر داشت. بسیاری از مفاهیم عرفانی را با شور و شوق و هیجانی زاید الوصف، از این کتاب یاد گرفتم.
نمی دانم اگر برگردم و بخوانمش، همچنان دوستش خواهم داشت یا نه، و جزء کتاب هایی است که باز نخواهم خواند، از ترس مخدوش شدن تصویرش.
February 14, 2014
It is difficult to imagine the entire range of benefits someone could attain from a book like this. It would depend entirely on the reasons for approaching the book, but it could serve many different goals. As a person who longs to move deeper into knowledge of Sufism and its empirical practices, I found myself tending to look for areas where I found resonance in my own experience. However, it also served as a wonderful illustration of the practices of Sufi orders. In that sense the title can be a bit misleading. While it does focus on the life of Sheikh Al-Alawi, the true focus is on the way that his life became one with THE One, which ultimately makes it a story of divinity manifested through a true saint, and how that saint's life served as an illustration of the practices of the way.
What the book then becomes is a picture of life around a Sufi order. Lings immerses us in the impact the Sheikh and the order had on everyone who came into its orbit. He begins with the observations of an agnostic doctor who had come to treat the Sheikh, continues with a brief introduction to Sufism, then incorporates statements from disciples of the Sheikh. The first part concludes with descriptions of the Sheikh's own progression in the order.
The second part is entirely focused on doctrine, and Lings is a master at tying the specific into the universal as is the pattern of the Qur'an and Islam. The Qur'an and Sunnah were the foremost guides in Sheikh Al-Alawi's life, and through those sources the Sheikh begins with the central doctrine of Oneness of Being. From there, Lings moves us through the Sheikh's doctrine on the symbolism of the Arabic alphabet to the deep rich meaning behind ritual purification and Islamic prayer (Salat) to doctrine around gnosis, the three worlds and the great peace. An outstanding picture of the Sufi path and one that Seyyed Hossein Nasr and others consider as essential reading in Sufism.
What the book then becomes is a picture of life around a Sufi order. Lings immerses us in the impact the Sheikh and the order had on everyone who came into its orbit. He begins with the observations of an agnostic doctor who had come to treat the Sheikh, continues with a brief introduction to Sufism, then incorporates statements from disciples of the Sheikh. The first part concludes with descriptions of the Sheikh's own progression in the order.
The second part is entirely focused on doctrine, and Lings is a master at tying the specific into the universal as is the pattern of the Qur'an and Islam. The Qur'an and Sunnah were the foremost guides in Sheikh Al-Alawi's life, and through those sources the Sheikh begins with the central doctrine of Oneness of Being. From there, Lings moves us through the Sheikh's doctrine on the symbolism of the Arabic alphabet to the deep rich meaning behind ritual purification and Islamic prayer (Salat) to doctrine around gnosis, the three worlds and the great peace. An outstanding picture of the Sufi path and one that Seyyed Hossein Nasr and others consider as essential reading in Sufism.
December 6, 2021
This book for me highlighted the problem with Sufism as it has currently become to be known and practised in the world today. I have a problem with Sufi Orders that practice ascetic sufism, one that essentially involves novices and initiates to live celibate monkish lives. If any individual wishes to become a celibate monk and go down the path of ascetic sufism there should be nothing wrong with that. If such an individual, like Sheikh Alawi, chooses to embark on this gnostic journey and at the same time have a wife whom he knows he will not be able to fulfill his conjugal duties with, then yes I do have a problem with that. For the simple reason that the life of a celibate monk is not advocated in the Quran. If you read the final verses of Surah Hadid you can see that it is disapproved off. I am baffled as to why an enlightened Sufi Master such as Sheikh Alawi would have to marry and divorce four wives for the same reason. He had sacrificed all physical appetites and desires and had resolved to live his life as an ascetic Sufi.
Sheikh Alawi goes to great lengths to justify the whirling dances of the Sufis. Quite clearly, this troubled his conscience more than the neglect of his wives. I aslo found his theology problematic. It was disconcerting to see the way he seemed to misconstrue a couple of the Quranic verses in the book. One such being verse 46 in Surah Nur, where he seems to think that analogy of man finding a mirage in the desert is a metaphor for a man who has reached such a level of enlightenment that everywhere he turns he finds God. This is completely the wrong context for the verse. Simialrly he translates verse 143 of Surah Araf as an example of a shadow effacing itself for substance and seperation attaing union and the outer eye becoming the inner eye.
The problem I find with such Sufi explanations is they are rich in symbolism and lacking in logic. I am at a loss to know why there should always be a dissonance between symbolism and logic. If any Sufi explanation does not even remotely adhere to logic then I am within my rights to call it conjecture.
Similarly, the way his disciples likened the visage of the Sheikh to that of Jesus seemed completely nonsensical. As with the claims that they saw the Virgin Marry next to the Sheikh.
Sheikh Alawi goes to great lengths to justify the whirling dances of the Sufis. Quite clearly, this troubled his conscience more than the neglect of his wives. I aslo found his theology problematic. It was disconcerting to see the way he seemed to misconstrue a couple of the Quranic verses in the book. One such being verse 46 in Surah Nur, where he seems to think that analogy of man finding a mirage in the desert is a metaphor for a man who has reached such a level of enlightenment that everywhere he turns he finds God. This is completely the wrong context for the verse. Simialrly he translates verse 143 of Surah Araf as an example of a shadow effacing itself for substance and seperation attaing union and the outer eye becoming the inner eye.
The problem I find with such Sufi explanations is they are rich in symbolism and lacking in logic. I am at a loss to know why there should always be a dissonance between symbolism and logic. If any Sufi explanation does not even remotely adhere to logic then I am within my rights to call it conjecture.
Similarly, the way his disciples likened the visage of the Sheikh to that of Jesus seemed completely nonsensical. As with the claims that they saw the Virgin Marry next to the Sheikh.
April 8, 2015
From a literary point of view a very-well written piece explicating the Spiritual Way and Doctrine of Shaykh Ahmed al-Alawi, from the lenses of an adherent and propagandist for the perennialist school, the late Dr. Lings. The book begins well with a delightful re-telling of the "encounters" of a western physician with the Shaykh. However, there are passages in the book which are rather obscure (and concepts not readily rendered into language) and despite the best efforts of the author, much is 'lost in translation' and leaves room for misunderstandings and distortions of the intended purpose - that of introducing to the wider Western readership the 'spiritual heritage and legacy' of the Shaykh Ahmed al-Alawi.
November 18, 2012
This book was a life changer for me. Literally. I started a, or more fairly, I was taken to a ride which lasted until today after reading it. I have met other who had similar experiences.
It certainly is not the best book of Lings. I loved the first part, translation of the real life account of a French physician, who spent some time with Sheikh Alawi. This is a short chapter followed by more in depth discussion of Shaikh Al Alawi's views.
As I said, highly recommended; worked pretty well for me.
It certainly is not the best book of Lings. I loved the first part, translation of the real life account of a French physician, who spent some time with Sheikh Alawi. This is a short chapter followed by more in depth discussion of Shaikh Al Alawi's views.
As I said, highly recommended; worked pretty well for me.
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November 6, 2009A gem about the great Sheikh Ahmad al-Alawi
September 4, 2025
This is a very well-written book. Martin Lings is, for me, one of the finest English Muslim writers. His style is eloquent, beautiful, and poetic.
The book presents the life of Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi while at the same time unfolding the meaning of Sufism. It is not necessarily an easy read, especially for those unfamiliar with the study of Sufism or esotericism, but I greatly enjoyed it. It is definitely a book that deserves multiple readings on my part.
One of the most memorable stories is about the great sage Ahmad al-‘Alawi, who had once been a snake charmer. When he encountered his shaykh, Sidi Muhammad al-Buzidi, he was told that there is a snake which, if he could master it, would prove him a true sage. When Shaykh al-‘Alawi asked where he could find this snake, his master replied: “I mean your soul, which lies between the two sides of your body. Its poison is more deadly than that of a snake. If you can seize it and bring it under your control, then you are truly a sage.”
This teaching captures the very essence of Sufism: to confront the self, to purify the heart and soul, and through that struggle attain the realization of God within.
The book presents the life of Shaykh Ahmad al-‘Alawi while at the same time unfolding the meaning of Sufism. It is not necessarily an easy read, especially for those unfamiliar with the study of Sufism or esotericism, but I greatly enjoyed it. It is definitely a book that deserves multiple readings on my part.
One of the most memorable stories is about the great sage Ahmad al-‘Alawi, who had once been a snake charmer. When he encountered his shaykh, Sidi Muhammad al-Buzidi, he was told that there is a snake which, if he could master it, would prove him a true sage. When Shaykh al-‘Alawi asked where he could find this snake, his master replied: “I mean your soul, which lies between the two sides of your body. Its poison is more deadly than that of a snake. If you can seize it and bring it under your control, then you are truly a sage.”
This teaching captures the very essence of Sufism: to confront the self, to purify the heart and soul, and through that struggle attain the realization of God within.
January 8, 2021
Amazing, Martin Lings is a great writer and him having followed the path makes his books tremendously different and deeper compared to other great orientalists
It is a biographical narrative of one of the most charismatics Sufi master of the modern age from Northern Africa. Worthy to read over and over again
It is a biographical narrative of one of the most charismatics Sufi master of the modern age from Northern Africa. Worthy to read over and over again
March 26, 2020
It's hard to write a comment on such a complete book. This is more than a biography, it's a lesson. It's a book so deep and rich that I will need to reread it many times.
January 6, 2022
Permet d'avoir une bonne compréhension de la doctrine sourie
April 11, 2024
Good book to know more about sufism and especially sufis from North Africa......
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December 21, 2009an account of one greatest sufi saint in algeria where Martin had a chance to meet him quite few times and became interested in sufism.
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September 5, 2010a rare read of Sufi life
March 7, 2011
Lovely book
March 1, 2012
A very good book, for a Sufi lover. The detailed insights of the writer, as well as his expositions and his deep insight into the subject is an enlightenment for all his readers.
Want to read
September 7, 2015awe some... the grace of god...\]
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews