What do you think?
Rate this book
Le Livre De La Certitude: La Doctrine Soufie De La Foi, De La Vision Et De La Gnose
Ce petit ouvrage au titre énigmatique est bien plus qu'une étude de la doctrine de la certitude telle que les exégètes classiques ont pu l'extraire des enseignements du Coran. S'il n'était que cela, il serait déjà hautement recommandable tant il est vrai qu'il n'est pas aisé au lecteur contemporain d'y avoir accès. En réalité, c'est l'ensemble des symboles fondamentaux du Coran qui sont ici présentés avec profondeur et rigueur. Les enseignements du Livre sacré de l'Islam prennent souvent la forme d'images et de paraboles qu'il importe de savoir déchiffrer si l'on veut en saisir le message profond. En partageant avec le lecteur ses méditations du Coran et de ses commentaires les plus pénétrants, Martin Lings offre ici une véritable initiation à la Voie de la connaissance telle qu'elle est enseignée dans le soufisme.
144 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1970
14 people are currently reading
778 people want to read
About the author
Martin Lings
112 books470 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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
January 19, 2019
او که مرا می جوید، خواهدم یافت
او که مرا می یابد، خواهدم شناخت
او که مرا بشناسد، دوستم خواهد داشت
او که دوستم بدارد، خواهمش کشت.
او که منش کشته باشم، دیه اش بر من است.
او که باید دیه اش پردازم، خودِ من دیه اش خواهم بود.
------
گاه گفته می شود که شریعت را می توان در قالب دو کلمه ی "تو و من" بیان کرد، در صورتی که حقیقت طریقت را که همان راه مستقیمِ برگشت به خداوند است، می توان اینگونه خلاصه کرد " من تو هستم و تو منی" اما خودِ حقیقت فی نفسه چنین است : "نه منی هست و نه توئی؛ بلکه تنها اوست"
------
من احمد هستم بدون حرف میم، من عربی هستم بدون حرف عین. آن که مرا دیده باشد حق را دیده است
May 28, 2014
Excellent writing by Martin Lings. I especially enjoyed the philosophical explanation of the analogy on the vertical and horizontal planes. And how they correlate to our physical and spiritual lives. Felt the chapters towards the end actually rein in the book. From the Tree of Knowledge to the Narrow Bridge...the book ties up the message well. Recommended to all who seek a deeper understanding of Sufism.
Here's a para I wanted to share:
"Since the traveller has in himself no means of passing even beyond the limits of the earth, let alone the limits of the Heavens, it may be asked what is the authority which will allow him to pass, or in other words, what is it that can ever cause the Eye of Certainty to open in his Heart? The opening of the Eye is a mystery and a miracle; it can only be brought about by the Mercy of the Merciful (ar-rahmatu'r-rahimiyyah)Which is said to intervene only where there is sufficient inclination towards It.* This depends to some extent on the efforts of the traveller; but by themselves these efforts could never bring about the change, since the inclination which they help to produce is entirely passive in relation to the Mercy. It is significant that in the Qur'an His Name the Merciful (ar-rahim) is often placed immediately after His Name the Forgiving (al-ghafur: for it is first of all by operation of the Forgiveness that the erring heavenly desires may return to their rightful place in the traveller's soul, their presence in its centre being that which counts above all in making up the necessary inclination; and then it is by operation of the Mercy of the Merciful that the traveller may pass beyond the limits of the earth."
SubhanAllah really - So much we overlook in our everyday lives, taking for granted what is really in essence a gift of Mercy out of Love for His creation. Several passages in the book left me humbled.
Here's a para I wanted to share:
"Since the traveller has in himself no means of passing even beyond the limits of the earth, let alone the limits of the Heavens, it may be asked what is the authority which will allow him to pass, or in other words, what is it that can ever cause the Eye of Certainty to open in his Heart? The opening of the Eye is a mystery and a miracle; it can only be brought about by the Mercy of the Merciful (ar-rahmatu'r-rahimiyyah)Which is said to intervene only where there is sufficient inclination towards It.* This depends to some extent on the efforts of the traveller; but by themselves these efforts could never bring about the change, since the inclination which they help to produce is entirely passive in relation to the Mercy. It is significant that in the Qur'an His Name the Merciful (ar-rahim) is often placed immediately after His Name the Forgiving (al-ghafur: for it is first of all by operation of the Forgiveness that the erring heavenly desires may return to their rightful place in the traveller's soul, their presence in its centre being that which counts above all in making up the necessary inclination; and then it is by operation of the Mercy of the Merciful that the traveller may pass beyond the limits of the earth."
SubhanAllah really - So much we overlook in our everyday lives, taking for granted what is really in essence a gift of Mercy out of Love for His creation. Several passages in the book left me humbled.
July 13, 2023
Otherworldly in its entirety. The realm of sufi mysticism is practically unexplored within the current age, but Martin Lings’ terminology can open a portal door connecting us to the spiritual world of the past.
August 29, 2018
One of the first Martin Lings's books I read and loved.
It takes you deeper than you can believe and plummet into an untold words and an entire world of significations to discover throughout it, throughout Sufism and Islam, throughout yourself.
Martin Lings had put words on feelings and states you experiment during your journey on the Path of the Truth, and put you onto paths you have not imagine yet to walk on.
To each reading, you can have different understandings and viewpoints that match or not with the previous you've done in your mind but mainly contribute to the search of the Late Truth of Life.
It takes you deeper than you can believe and plummet into an untold words and an entire world of significations to discover throughout it, throughout Sufism and Islam, throughout yourself.
Martin Lings had put words on feelings and states you experiment during your journey on the Path of the Truth, and put you onto paths you have not imagine yet to walk on.
To each reading, you can have different understandings and viewpoints that match or not with the previous you've done in your mind but mainly contribute to the search of the Late Truth of Life.
August 3, 2017
The Arabic translation of the book is a bit out of tune, made it harder to understand the perennial jargon..
November 21, 2018
Key passage :
"Universal man cannot make his human soul divine; like the souls of other men, but with an outstanding difference of quality, it implies the allusion of an existence apart from God. It differs from them not in kind, but in what might be called an organic consciousness that this separate existence is no more than an illusion. There is a saying that 'Muhammad is a man, yet not as other men, but like a jewel among stones.'"
Siraj ad-Din is echoing Mawlana (Rumi) :
"Listen to this reed how it complains, telling a tale of separations––
Saying, “Ever since I was parted from the reed-bed, man and woman have moaned in (unison with) my lament.
I want a bosom torn by severance, that I may unfold (to such a one) the pain of love-desire.
Every one who is left far from his source wishes back the time when he was united with it.
In every company I uttered my wailful notes, I consorted with the unhappy and with them that rejoice.
Every one became my friend from his own opinion; none sought out my secrets from within me.
My secret is not far from my plaint, but ear and eye lack the light (whereby it should be apprehended)."
The reed is not complaining of separation itself, but the illusion of separation.
"Universal man cannot make his human soul divine; like the souls of other men, but with an outstanding difference of quality, it implies the allusion of an existence apart from God. It differs from them not in kind, but in what might be called an organic consciousness that this separate existence is no more than an illusion. There is a saying that 'Muhammad is a man, yet not as other men, but like a jewel among stones.'"
Siraj ad-Din is echoing Mawlana (Rumi) :
"Listen to this reed how it complains, telling a tale of separations––
Saying, “Ever since I was parted from the reed-bed, man and woman have moaned in (unison with) my lament.
I want a bosom torn by severance, that I may unfold (to such a one) the pain of love-desire.
Every one who is left far from his source wishes back the time when he was united with it.
In every company I uttered my wailful notes, I consorted with the unhappy and with them that rejoice.
Every one became my friend from his own opinion; none sought out my secrets from within me.
My secret is not far from my plaint, but ear and eye lack the light (whereby it should be apprehended)."
The reed is not complaining of separation itself, but the illusion of separation.
February 26, 2015
I felt that it was a very hard yet rewarding read. Much of the book is about parables of that which is seen in regards to that which is hidden, namely the soul and the possible journeys that it may partake. In the end, the gist is to always be prepared for what God wants us to experience and understand that it is from Him and Him alone.
I will probably re-read it again when I feel that the time is right, as I believe that there is still plenty of benefit that can be extracted.
I will probably re-read it again when I feel that the time is right, as I believe that there is still plenty of benefit that can be extracted.
September 23, 2017
I love every chapter of the book and the author's vision. Each chapter is meant to illustrate a quote from the Quran and develops a commentary on it, based on the Traditional approach.
Beware, although an introduction, this is not an easy read. There is a lot of information concentrated in just few pages.
Beware, although an introduction, this is not an easy read. There is a lot of information concentrated in just few pages.
June 27, 2010
"...some universal truths lie at the heart of all religions.' a great introduction to the teachings of Sufism. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I read it as an assignment and have read it many times after that. :)
August 4, 2024
"For the fallen man to start upon the Path in return towards the primordial state, it is not enough that he should merely desire to do so, with firm belief in the truth. The change, which was in earlier times a return to the normal nature of one's species, amounts in later times almost to a change of species; and if the fallen man were left to himself, his aspiration to become the true man would be as vain as would that of a tree to grow fruit of a kind diferent from its own."
- Martin Lings, The Book of Certainty
- Martin Lings, The Book of Certainty
November 17, 2024
A metaphysical approach to the Qoran and Islam, dense in symbolism but not in pages, made accessible by Martin Lings.
“In considering what the religions teach, it is essential to remember that the outside world is as a reflection of the soul of man, corresponding to it in all its details. […] It is by reason of the correspondence between these two worlds that sacred utterances which refer directly to the outside world, the macrocosm, may be interpreted as referring also to the microcosm.”
Chapter IV, p.32
So it may be said by the Prophet —
“Who knoweth himself, the same knoweth his Lord.”
“In considering what the religions teach, it is essential to remember that the outside world is as a reflection of the soul of man, corresponding to it in all its details. […] It is by reason of the correspondence between these two worlds that sacred utterances which refer directly to the outside world, the macrocosm, may be interpreted as referring also to the microcosm.”
Chapter IV, p.32
So it may be said by the Prophet —
“Who knoweth himself, the same knoweth his Lord.”
March 28, 2020
Profound.
January 12, 2024
Risalah yang cenderung tipis, membawa pembaca meliuk ke labirin lapis batin manusia. Kiai mushonnif dlm pendahuluannya, menyebut tujuan buku ini utk mengenalkan konsep-konsep religio perennis, kesepadanan inti batin seluruh tradisi spiritual, dari peneropongan thd ajaran tasawuf.
Setelah dianter melihat2 jeroan batin manusia dari pancang awal soal derajat keimanan (haqq, ain, ilmul yaqin), kemudian disodori berbagai analog2 bagaimana jeroan batin manusia itu ternyata sebagai jagad cilik menemukan kesepadanannya dengan jagad gede. Ga lupa jg diceritakan bgmana kesepadanan doktrin dan metode tasawuf dg berbagai tradisi spiritual selain islam, semisal soal khatam nabiyullah sulaiman/seal of solomon, kristianitas, asror sughro-kubro/lesser-greater mysteries yunani/grika & romawi, dao de jing, dst.
Uraian2 beliau sifatnya cenderung simbolik, kyk karya2 simbolik para sufi di genre doktrin tasawuf (aspek falsafinya). Selain ringkas, tingkat kedalamannya juga cenderung ga terlalu dalam shg lebih memudahkan utk menikmatinya scr rileks (dlm arti bisa dibaca agak sambil lalu tanpa mikir terlalu berat/keras kl dibanding karya2 yg bener2 mendalam). Dg catatan, tentu sj akan lebih mudah utk "menikmati" alur paparan2 beliau, umpamanya pembaca sdh terbiasa baca teks2 tasawuf falsafi. Umpamanya belum terbiasa, mungkin karya ini kurang bisa dinikmati, tp kl mau dicoba pun ga ada salahnya (kalau berat, nyerah, ya bisa milih antara sabar supaya makin terbiasa atau geser ke karya lain yg lebih bisa dibaca rileks).
Saking menikmati keringkasan dan berbagai parabel beliau, berhubung jg banyak berkaitan dg kosa kata bhs arab, sy jg pakai versi bhs arabnya sbg pembanding beberapa uraian dan kosa kata ttntu. Konon di pendahuluan, awalnya kiai mushonnif jg ga nyangka buku ini bakal diterjemah terbitkan ke bahasa eropa, makanya versi bhs arabnya menurut sy kurang lebih cukup membantu scr pemahaman makna teks & detil kosa katanya. Seru juga sih baca kutipan2 kitab suci lain lewat bhs arab heuheu. Sekian review~
Setelah dianter melihat2 jeroan batin manusia dari pancang awal soal derajat keimanan (haqq, ain, ilmul yaqin), kemudian disodori berbagai analog2 bagaimana jeroan batin manusia itu ternyata sebagai jagad cilik menemukan kesepadanannya dengan jagad gede. Ga lupa jg diceritakan bgmana kesepadanan doktrin dan metode tasawuf dg berbagai tradisi spiritual selain islam, semisal soal khatam nabiyullah sulaiman/seal of solomon, kristianitas, asror sughro-kubro/lesser-greater mysteries yunani/grika & romawi, dao de jing, dst.
Uraian2 beliau sifatnya cenderung simbolik, kyk karya2 simbolik para sufi di genre doktrin tasawuf (aspek falsafinya). Selain ringkas, tingkat kedalamannya juga cenderung ga terlalu dalam shg lebih memudahkan utk menikmatinya scr rileks (dlm arti bisa dibaca agak sambil lalu tanpa mikir terlalu berat/keras kl dibanding karya2 yg bener2 mendalam). Dg catatan, tentu sj akan lebih mudah utk "menikmati" alur paparan2 beliau, umpamanya pembaca sdh terbiasa baca teks2 tasawuf falsafi. Umpamanya belum terbiasa, mungkin karya ini kurang bisa dinikmati, tp kl mau dicoba pun ga ada salahnya (kalau berat, nyerah, ya bisa milih antara sabar supaya makin terbiasa atau geser ke karya lain yg lebih bisa dibaca rileks).
Saking menikmati keringkasan dan berbagai parabel beliau, berhubung jg banyak berkaitan dg kosa kata bhs arab, sy jg pakai versi bhs arabnya sbg pembanding beberapa uraian dan kosa kata ttntu. Konon di pendahuluan, awalnya kiai mushonnif jg ga nyangka buku ini bakal diterjemah terbitkan ke bahasa eropa, makanya versi bhs arabnya menurut sy kurang lebih cukup membantu scr pemahaman makna teks & detil kosa katanya. Seru juga sih baca kutipan2 kitab suci lain lewat bhs arab heuheu. Sekian review~
April 14, 2015
Le livre de la certitude est un voyage spirituel dans le monde de la connaissance, de la foi et de la vision.
A partir d'un certain nombre de "signes" du Coran, Martin Lings démontre la force du symbolisme Coranique. Des versets qui peuvent donner l'impression d'être naïfs, s'avèrent très profonds et révèlent aux voyageurs les mystères de la Création.
La correspondance entre les signes du macrocosme avec ceux du microsome semble d'une évidence aveuglante, seulement faut avoir le Coeur prêt à accueillir la Lumière Divine.
A partir d'un certain nombre de "signes" du Coran, Martin Lings démontre la force du symbolisme Coranique. Des versets qui peuvent donner l'impression d'être naïfs, s'avèrent très profonds et révèlent aux voyageurs les mystères de la Création.
La correspondance entre les signes du macrocosme avec ceux du microsome semble d'une évidence aveuglante, seulement faut avoir le Coeur prêt à accueillir la Lumière Divine.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews