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Det holder kanskje å nevne at sheikh Abu Madyan var studenten til Sheikh Abdul Qadir Gilani r.a. Men det er mer å fortelle. Abu Madyan  levde også i same tid som Ibn Arabi. Ibn Arabi fikk aldri møtt Abu Madyan personlig, men han så opp til ham, og han hadde vært en inspirasjon til hans egen reise til Allah.

Abu Madyan var ansett som den største av Allahs venner på hans tid. Store sufi ordener utspringer fra ham, blant annet Shadhili ordenen.

Boken gir gjengir først biografien til sheikh Abu Madyan, før selve teksten kommer. Både arabisk og engelsk er gjengitt.

Kort utdrag fra boken:

I was an orphan in al-Andalus. My brothers made me a shepherd for their flocks, but whenever I saw someone praying or reciting [the Qur’an], it pleased me. I would come near to him and found a sadness in my soul because I had not memorized anything from the Qur’an and did not know how to pray. So I resolved to run away in order to learn how to read and pray.

I ran away, but my brother caught up with me, spear in hand, and said, ‘By God, if you do not return I will kill you!’ So I returned and remained for a short time. Then I strengthened my resolve to flee by night. I slipped away at night and took another road [from that which I had originally followed]. My brother [again] caught up with me after sunrise. He drew his sword against me and said, ‘By God, I will kill you and be rid of you!’ Then he raised his sword over me in order to strike me. I parried him with a piece of wood that was in my hand and his sword broke and flew into pieces. When he saw [what had happened] he said to me, ‘Oh my brother, go wherever you wish’.