I am reading Sheikh Muhammad Nawawi al-Jawi’s Maraqi al-‘Ubudiyyah, a commentary on Imam al-Ghazali’s Bidayat al-Hidayah. Even though it’s just as good at exposing my self for the sick creature that it is and giving guidance for its training, I do not find myself feeling constantly on the verge of spiritual distraction and despair as I do every time I revise my translation of Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami’s ‘Uyub al-Nafs. One of the reasons I delay finishing ‘Uyub al-Nafs is that it so difficult to work on without feeling the need to work on my self first and my utter incapacity to do so. Perhaps this trip through Maraqi al-‘Ubudiyyah will make it easier.
See this post for more information about al-Sulami’s Infamies of the Soul and their Treatment.