[The Book of Ascension] The Book of Ascension
To the Essential Truths of Sufism
Miʿrāj al-tashawwuf ilā ḥaqāʾiq al-taṣawwuf
A Lexicon of Sufic Terminology
by Aḥmad ibnʿAjība
Translated and Annotated by
Mohamed Fouad Aresmouk &
Michael Abdurrahman Fitzgerald
The Book of Ascension to the Essential Truths of Sufism is a lexicon of Sufic terminology compiled by the Moroccan scholar and mystic, Aḥmad ibn 'Ajība. It was first begun around the time he entered the Darqawī Order at the hand of its founder, in 1208/1793, and then re-written twelve to thirteen years later after he himself had travelled the Path and became one of its teachers.
The final work, dated 1220/1806 contains 143 Sufic terms for which Ibn 'Ajība gives succinct but profound definitions, usually including what the term means for someone at the beginning, middle, and end of the spiritual journey.
The main text is enriched by twenty more passages from other works by the same author as well as by the complete text of al-Mirʿāj in vowelled Arabic text, extensive notes, and indices of persons, terms, Quranic verses, and ḥadīth mentioned.