Hamza Alaoui

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Schuon's article

"Initiated by Sheikh Ahmad al-Alawī into the Sufi Shādhilī order, he founded the Tarīqa Maryamiyya. His writings strongly emphasize the universality of metaphysical doctrine, along with the necessity of practising a religion"... could you please elaborate a little on this for me? What does it really mean? I mean the hightlighted part? And how is this a consistent picture? Salaam. Mosesheron (talk) 16:29, 8 April 2023 (UTC)

Hello Mosesheron. The sentence you quote synthesizes the two indispensable elements of any religious (exoteric) path and of any spiritual (esoteric) path: 1) doctrine and 2) method, or theory and practice. In the case of the Perennialists, the doctrine is pure or essential metaphysics, which, for them, is common to and at the heart of all divine revelations. One can also call this doctrine "absolute esoterism", in order to distinguish it from the esoterisms specific to each religion (Sufism in the case of Islam, e.g.). As you well know, for those who have felt the call of the Divine – or who want to realize spiritually what doctrine taught them –, theory alone is ineffective: the actual relationship with God is primordial and it is His revelations that inform us of the necessary means for opening one’s soul to His presence (prayer, virtues, etc.). That is why the sentence you quote says: "along with the necessity of practising a religion". For the non-Perennialists, the approach is identical, the only difference being that, as they don’t accept the “transcendent unity of religions”, the formulation of the esoteric dimension of their own religion remains within the boundaries of that revelation and uses its language. But neither perspective is better or more effective than the other in relation to what only matters for the spiritual searcher: the return to God. My words or turn of phrases are probably not always well chosen as English is not my mother-tongue. Any comments from you – or from anyone else – are of course welcome, because if the sentence you quoted is not clear, we will have to think about improving it. Thank you,--Hamza Alaoui (talk) 17:53, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

While I am not an expert on perennial philosophy, I do have some familiarity with its principles. My primary concern here is Schuon's status as a Sufi and founder of a tariqa. Sufis adhere to sharia and advise others to do the same. However, the sentence I quoted gives the impression that Schuon was not a Sufi at all. In my opinion, anyone who reads the sentence and fails to see that is ignorant about Sufism. How do you evaluate that? Mosesheron (talk) 20:14, 9 April 2023 (UTC)

Hello Mosesheron. You quoted two sentences; I suppose you are referring to the second one when you say that it "gives the impression that Schuon was not a Sufi at all". This sentence starts with "His writings", thus his books, and his books were of course written for readers of all religions and not only for his disciples or for Muslims; it is therefore normal that he says that one must follow a religion and not that one must follow the Islamic religion. Does this answer your question or have I misunderstood you?--Hamza Alaoui (talk) 08:54, 10 April 2023 (UTC)

In fact, there have been varied interpretations of Schoun's teachings over time. Nasr, Schoun's primary student and successor, emphasizes the Islamic aspect of his teachings more strongly than others. I recently came across an article by Nasr titled "Frithjof-Schuon-and-the-Islamic-Tradition" that was written after Schoun's death. If my memory serves me well, I recall this approach is evident in Nasr’s previous writings as well. In my opinion, Nasr's depiction reconciles many of the differing viewpoints, and only within Nasr's framework Schoun can be considered a true Sufi master and an expositor of universal metaphysics. However, there are individuals such as Patrick Laude who disagree with Nasr on various aspects, including Schoun's Islamic orientation and teachings. It seems that Laude et al have gained more popularity in certain circles. Mosesheron (talk) 12:32, 11 April 2023 (UTC)

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