This book consists of 45 discourses that were given by Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani in his school in Baghdad. These discourses, like the ones found in some of his other books, would have been transcribed by some of his listener. There are a number of surviving manuscripts of the book. The language of Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir's discourses is often permeated by symbolic refere This book consists of 45 discourses that were given by Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir Al-Jilani in his school in Baghdad. These discourses, like the ones found in some of his other books, would have been transcribed by some of his listener. There are a number of surviving manuscripts of the book. The language of Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir's discourses is often permeated by symbolic references, metapho r ical images, a nd poetic expressions. This style, which is characteristic of the Shaikh's discourses, reflects a number of facts. First, the Shaikh often speaks about spiritual matters that are completely unfamiliar to the layperson a nd which the language is incapable of describing with accuracy. These, in the Shaikh's wo r ds, are states, stations, visions, a nd experiences that ",no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, a nd has never occurred to any human being.", Second, the Shaikh's wo r ds spring as much fr om his heart as fr om his mind, describing feelings as well as thoughts. He is fo r ced to use common wo r ds to describe feelings that are known only to those who have had those spiritual experiences. No language is equipped enough to describe these feelings, in the same way that no wo r ds can assist in describing colo r to one bo r n blind because it requires visual experience. Third, the Shaikh often speaks about secret a nd intimate spiritual issues that he does not want to o r cannot fully disclose, thus wrapping his wo r ds in metapho r s. The wo r ds of Shaikh Al-Jilani do not describe one spiritual state a nd are not targeted at one person. They paint a fascinating picture of a myriad of spiritual states a nd stations a nd apply to people of very different beginnings, paths, a nd ends. The destination is the same, but the routes are different. Also different wayfarers end their journeys at different points. What is good fo r someone might not good fo r another, a nd what is required of two different people might be completely different, even though both have the same goal. This is why understa nding the Shaikh's wo r ds a nd their applications is a science in its own right. As Sufis say: ",The ways to Allah are as many as the creatures.", The wo r ds of the Shaikh remain as relevant to the seeker of the truth a nd nearness to God as they were when he uttered them almost one thousa nd years ago. Fo r sure, the wo r ld has changed a lot, but man's nature has not, a nd the diseases of his heart remain the same. The Shaikh's wo r ds address these diseases a nd show man the way to salvation. His wo r ds lived a thousa nd years a nd will live to the day when this transient wo r ld is no mo r e a nd is replaced by the permanent one. Like all beacons of truth, the Shaikh has been the target of attacks of the igno r ant, the narrow minded, a nd the misguided. As happened to others who understood Islam to be about wo r ks of the heart not acts of the body, this pious servant, whose life was fully dedicated to serving his Lo r d, has often been accused of disto r ting the message of Prophet Muhammad by those who wanted to hijack Islam a nd turn it into a spiritless, legalistic system to serve their wo r ldly ambitions. But, as histo r y has been confirming everyday, the voice of truth can never be silenced a nd the wo r ds of wisdom will remain inerasable. It is igno r ance of this fact, as well as mistaking falsehood fo r truth, that must have made some misguided individuals to use terro r ism against the Shaikh as they bombed his shrine in Baghdad on 28thMay 2007, damaging parts of it. These a nd similar criminals do not realize that what made great masters such as Shaikh 'Abd Al-Qadir live fo r ever is not buildings that commemo r ate them o r books written about them, but the teachings a nd examples they set that live in people's minds a nd love fo r God that they helped them develop in their hearts. This is why almost one thousa nd years after his departure fr om this wo r ld people still feel immensely hono r ed to serve the Shaikh a nd his sacred cause, including making his wo r ds mo r e accessible to people.