I am currently working on a translation of a much neglected work, the Kitāb al-Ajwiba al-ʿArabiyya fī Sharḥ al-Naṣāʾiḥ al-Yusūfiyya, or a series of counsels given to one spiritual student, Yusūf, regarding a formidable master he spoke to in spiritual form, ʿAlī al-Kurdī. The latter provides indispensable advice to Yusūf on traversing the spiritual path to God, and it is Ibn al-ʿArabī, the Shaykh al-Akbar, who expounds and explains these pithy statements in great detail for our benefit. With typical Akbarian flair, he mixes and interweaves his intricate knowledge of the Islamic sciences with personal and intimate episodes from his own life.

What is the spiritual path to God? What are the rights and obligations towards one's spiritual master who is accomplished on the Path? Is struggling under difficulty the same as labouring with love? Can a sincere spiritual student guide a pseudo-master? And does God reveal Himself to the student in the form of his master?

These, and many other questions, are answered in Ibn al-ʿArabī's important work, to be translated for the first time into English.