Al-Hikam - "The easy" Commentary on wisdom, epistles and asides, by Ibn Atâ Allah as-Sakandari, Translated and commented by Mohamed Benchili, Héritage editions

“ Never has a book so small in size acquired such great notoriety for its content. » Al-Buti

Renowned for their conciseness, eloquence and relevance, the Hikam are among the most famous esoteric works in Islam. As such, they have given rise to several comments in the Arab world and in the West. However, the fact that they are of Sufi inspiration , as well as his comments, does not prevent us from thinking that they can benefit other people and be the subject of non-esoteric analyses. They are , nevertheless , read and very appreciated by Muslims of persuasions sometimes very far from Sufism. And it is in this spirit of openness and spiritual plurality that we have worked for this work , striving to translate the author's thought as well as possible, while leaving it to the reader to seek in himself his own applications, according to his experience. We thus hope to deliver to a wider audience than that of the brotherhoods, a commentary, far from the often very complex explanations of the mystics, more prosaic, more accessible, and above all closer to the realities of our society and the concerns with which the Muslim is confronted in his daily life. That's why we called it “The Easy”. In summary, a useful book for all believers in search of spirituality. Isn't it the essence of wisdom to benefit everyone?

The fact remains that undertaking the commentary on wisdom as subtle as the Hikam requires a minimum of humility. Shaykh 'Abd Al-Majîd Ash- Sharnûbî ( d . 1989 ) to whom we referred in 2009 in our uncommented translation, seemed to us, for its pragmatism, to best correspond to the goal we have set ourselves. Note that this is not a translation, but a commentary freely inspired by his work.