Arabic manuscript on sufism; Kitab al-Tanwir fi isqat al-tadbir التنوير في إسقاط التدبير Illuminating Guidance on dropping Self-Direction by Ibn Ata' Allah al-Iskandari (al Sakandari) ابن عطاء الله السكندري d. 709 AH, 1311 AD - 1450

80 p. of Arabic Naskh script by Muhammad b. Abi Bakr b. Ali b. Muhammad b. Ali ... al Hariri in 848 AH. 1450 AD. with a " Sama' سماع " written by the scribe and annotated by Shihab ud Din b. Ahmad al Qadiri al Mawsili al iqna'i in 849 AH. In a Mamluk style, possibly contemporary binding. Abu al-Fadl Ibn `Ata Allah al-Iskandari (d. 709), one of the great sufi imams, also known as a muhaddith, preacher, and Maliki jurist. He was Abu al-`Abbas al-Mursi's (d. 686) student and the second successor of Imam Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili, and he was the first to spread the Shadhili teachings in writing. Ibn Ata' Allah al-Iskandari was born in the middle of the 7th century AH/13th century CE and grew up in Alexandria during the Mamluk era. Although not much is known about his life, he had the best teachers in all branches of traditional sciences and became known as a great master of Islamic law of the Maliki School. His lifetime witnessed the great flourishing of several Sufi brotherhoods, including the Shadhiliyya, the Mawlawiyya, the Chishtiyya and the Ahmadiyya. His father was a student of Imam al-Shadhili, though it is unlikely he ever met him. Initially Ibn Ata'Allah was not so drawn to the Sufi path, preferring to concentrate his energies on jurisprudence. Yet, in spite of his early antipathies, he did become a disciple of Shaykh Abu 'l-Abbas al-Mursi, (d. 686/1288). As his most important and principal work, the Hikam, attests, he had become a Sufi master in his own right, and was already a shaykh when al-Mursi died. He became the third great master of the Shadhiliyya order, which grew from Morocco and spread throughout North Africa and beyond. With his career as a scholar in Cairo under the Mamluks in full flourish, he died at around 60 years of age in 709 AH/ 1309 CE and was buried there in the Qarafa cemetery.