The Spirits of Black Folk: Sages Through the Ages

Title: The Spirits of Black Folk: Sages Through the Ages
Author: Imam al-Suyuti / Translation by Imam Adéyínká Mendes
ISBN: 9781952306273
Publisher: Imam Ghazali Institute

These selections from The Excellence of Black People (Raf’u Sha’n Al-Ḥubshān) are intended to connect our hearts, minds, and communities to the healing wisdom of preeminent teachers from amongst the Black luminaries of the past who remain largely unknown or ignored.

Imam al-Suyuti (d. 911 AH / 1505 CE) delivers this message clearly through his insightful text, which includes the names and unique qualities of the Black Companions of the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Qur’anic verses regarding them, a commentary on African words in the Quran and Hadith, and much more.

Like Ibn al-Jawzi before him, al-Suyuti masterfully curated the narrators and narrations in this work to serve as keys to deeper truths, higher understanding, and a more meaningful and equitable spiritual practice. The annotations that have been added are meant to facilitate benefitting from these keys.

About the Author:

Imam Jalaludin al-Suyuti is hailed as a leading authority in Islamic Law and is widely considered to be a reviver of Islam in the 10th Islamic century. He is one of the foremost hadith masters, encyclopaedist, historian, biographer, and a prolific writer of highly influential Islamic texts. To this day, enormous numbers of his essays, treatises, and other writings are preserved.

About the Translator:

Imam Adéyínká Mendes is the founder of the Bilal Spiritual Center for Peace and the Arts and co-founder of the African-American Healing, Ancestry, and Development (AHAD) Collective, an international speaker, spiritual activist, educator, author, and translator of sacred literature. He is a recipient of the Center for Global Muslim Life "2020 Spiritual Impact Award".