The Chapters of Mary and Ta Ha From The Immense Ocean (al-Bahr al-Madid fi Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Majid)

The Chapters of Mary and Ta Ha center on the key figures of Islam’s two sister monotheisms, Mary, mother of Christ, and Moses. Ibn ‘Ajiba’s commentaries on these two surahs give reader access not only to the traditional Islamic view of these prophetic figures, but also on metaphors and symbols to be found in their stories that can of use to anyone following an inner path to God. The Chapter of Mary, in particular, gives readers access to the story of Christ through the perspective of the woman who was chosen to bear him. The Immense Ocean from which this is an excerpt, is a prime example of writing from the North African Sufic tradition. Al-Bahr al-Madid, from which this translation is an excerpt, is the only traditional Quranic commentary in existence which gives both exoteric exegesis and mystical “spiritual allusion” for each verse of the Sacred Book. Since the completion of its publication in 2002, the Arabic version of al-Bahr al-Madid, which existed only in manuscript form before a small excerpt was printed in the 1950s, has sold out three editions. This is a testimony both to its popularity and to a revival of interest in Sufic thought throughout the Muslim world.

After growing up in a traditional Marrakesh family, the son of an Arabic teacher and grandson of one of the most renowned Quran teachers in Marrakesh, Fouad Aresmouk completed his degree in Islamic Studies and Arabic at Qadi Ayyad University, Marrakesh. He is the author of al-Rashad fi zabdati al-awrad, a mystical commentary on the litany of the Habibiyya Sufic order of Morocco, as well as co-translator of several other works by Ibn 'Ajiba as well as The Letters of a Spiritual Master by Mulay Al-Arabi al-Darqawi. Ahmad ibn ‘Ajiba was an 18th-century Moroccan saint in the Darqawa Sufi Islamic lineage. He was the author of numerous works, including The Autobiography of a Moroccan Sufi. Originally from California, Abdurrahman Fitzgerald and his wife migrated to Morocco in the late 1970s. Since that time, Abdurrahman has been involved in education and the study of Arabic, Islam, and Sufism for the past thirty years. He is also the translator and co-translator of over ten works of Sufism. Abdurrahman holds degrees from the University of California and Shenandoah University, Virginia, and is a co-founder of The Center for Language & Culture, Marrakesh.

Foreword v Introduction viii Notes to Introduction xiii Ibn ‘Ajiba’s Introduction to al-Bahr al-Madid Notes The Chapter of the All-Merciful (Surat al-Rahman) Notes The Chapter of the Event (Surat al-Waqi‘a) Notes The Chapter of Iron (Surat al-Hadid) Notes Biographical index of persons mentioned in the text Index of Quranic verses Index of Hadith Bibliography General Index