Sparing no time and mincing no words Shaykh Pallavicini underscores the distinct challenges of living one’s spiritual tradition in the contemporary era: “[W]e do not reject life or the world in itself, but instead denounce the parts of the modern [and by extension postmodern] world that are anti-traditional and thus inhibit our spiritual development.” While this book is presented within the context of his own spiritual tradition, that of Islam and its inner dimension known as Sufism (tasawwuf), he never deviates his attention from the integral metaphysics of the —Primordial Tradition— the source from which all authentic traditions originate in divinis. The inner dimension, what is often referred to as the Heart of Islam, has a unique eschatological implication for seekers in this era, when understood in light of the Primordial Tradition: “Sufism, the living initiatory expression of the last revealed tradition, Islam.”
“Paradoxically, the good news is that the dissolution of the present world can be slowed down by the presence of integral spirituality which this work reaffirms and acts as a rich well for sincere seekers to drink from—the waters of the Primordial Tradition, the tributary from where all sapiential traditions derive. In closing, the significance of this much needed work of Shaykh Pallavicini dedicated to the remarkable figure of René Guénon could be summarized per the memorable saying of Prophet Muhammad: “God will not withdraw all knowledge with an act that will take it away from all men, but will withdraw it by reducing the number of the wise until no more are left.” And let it be known that René Guénon was regarded as such a one.” From a review by Samuel Bendeck Sotillos
