Widely used for centuries in Sufi circles, the prayer known as "The Most Elevated Cycle" ("al-Dawr al-a la") or "The Prayer of Protection" ("Hizb al-wiqaya"), written by the great Sufi master Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, has never before been available in English. This book provides a lucid English translation and an edited Arabic text of this beautiful and powerful prayer. It includes a transliteration for those unable to read Arabic, who wish to recite the prayer in the original language. Showing the importance of Ibn Arabi s devotional teaching, the book explores the prayer s contemporary life,...

Some eighty per cent of Muslims in the contemporary world speak languages other than Arabic, the language of the Qur'an. To respond to the needs of their communities, Muslim scholars and laypersons must increasingly explain and communicate the meanings of the Qur'an in their own languages - including through the medium of Qur'an commentary and translation.

The Qur'an and its Readers Worldwide provides an introduction to this rich and expanding field of endeavour. It brings together a selection of Qur'an commentaries and translations produced across the twentieth century to the...