Answering questions from scholars and travelers on the Sufi path, this core statement of Sufi belief explains confusing and obscure points of devoted practice. The discussion covers the beliefs of the Pole of Time and the Circle of Saints, the states of extinction and subsistence, the nature of universal existence, and technical points concerning the relationship between master and novice. There are also rulings on more practical questions about the respective merits of fame and obscurity, the correct way to worship the spirits of the dead, and the causes of civil war. The book is also notable for a fascinating stylistic technique: the curt and pitiless dismissals of all questions not on the traveler's path.
