Kitab Al-Hikam

The Inner Garden Of Sufi Wisdom

The Al Hikam is one of the most profound collections of Sufi wisdom and Islamic mysticism. This book contains the legendary aphorisms of Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh al-Iskandarī. His teachings, distilled into 264 luminous verses, have guided seekers for centuries across the world.

Shadhili Sufism
The Al Hikam is rooted in the living tradition of Shadhili Sufism. The Shadhili tradition is characterised by its insistence on remaining in the world, the Shadhili master works, earns, and lives among people, while maintaining an interior orientation toward God that the exterior activity does not diminish. It is grounded spirituality, heaven on earth.

Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh al-Iskandarī
The author of Al Hikam, Ibn ʿAṭāʾ Allāh al-Iskandarī, was the third master of the Shadhili Sufi order, the spiritual lineage founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili of Morocco and established in Egypt by his successor Ibrahim ibn Adham.

The Translation
Approval was granted from The Matheson Trust to use their translation of Victor Danner edited by Juan Acevedo (2012). The Matheson Trust is a London-based educational charity dedicated to the study and dissemination of comparative religion.

The Poetic Commentary
The poetic commentary is the fruit of a long, desperate search into the mysteries of the heart. Emerging from the life of a poet, psychologist, husband and father standing between worlds, David J. McCartney.

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The clinical and the spiritual are not always separate in these pages. The wounded child who hides behind spirituality. The addiction that could not be cured until the longing for God exceeds the craving for pleasure. The pride that masquerades as humility. The crowded heart with no room for light to enter. These are clinical observations and Sufi teachings simultaneously, because they describe the same reality.
 

The collection is also personally autobiographical in ways that those who know the author will recognise. A life burnt to the ground. A teacher who fell from his throne. An orphan searching for a spiritual home. Voices beneath rock bottom These are not metaphors used only for dramatic effect. They are a testimony of what the Hikam teaches, in the specific circumstances of his life.

Made by a Human
Every poem in this book was written by hand, without the assistance of AI. The book cover was painted by artist Jono Solis. All interior illustrations were ethically created using licensed editing software, with all relevant copyrights fully secured.

Thank you for supporting!
 

David J. McCartney
Author, poet, and psychologist from Trinidad & Tobago, West Indies
BSc. Psychology — The University of the West Indies (2023)
MSc. Clinical Psychology — Chinmaya University, Kerala, India (2025)

Website: https://djmctt1.wixsite.com/silkcotton
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Email: djmctt1@gmail.com