The Book of Halts, by 'Abd al-Kader Al-Jazâ'iri , Translated by A . Khurshid

If the memory of ABD AL-KADER (1808-1883) continues to be honored today on both shores of the Mediterranean, it is certainly because he is one of the most extraordinary and complexes of the last century. Far from the battlefields and worldly salons, the one who received in Damascus the deserved title of Prince among the Saints and Saint among the Princes will devote a large part of his life to commenting for his disciples on the work of the greatest of Masters, Muhyî Al-Dîn ' Arabi .

From these lessons, addressed to a limited audience, a book will be born: the Kitâb Al-Mawâqif : this work unquestionably calls into question the image of Epinal presenting us exclusively the Emir as a magnanimous warrior who later became the friend of the France. Even if he was all that, we guess through this text a very different character from the one who is studied in school textbooks. So much so that at the risk of repeating a known formula, one could say that the Emir was above all admired for what he was not.