Keys to Sacred Science

Book excerpt: Keys to Sacred Science is written in a unique style, which may be unfamiliar to many readers. In this book the author introduces knowledge traditions in Islam, in particular focusing on one of the key sacred sciences, mastered by a select few, namely the science of numerology. The first part of the book describes how the path to acquiring sacred knowledge is unlike the contemporary approach to learning. The author makes reference to the account in the Quran of how Allāh bestowed total knowledge upon Adam, and the consequent significance for humankind, then the account of the quest for sacred knowledge by Moses, and his encounter with al-Khiḍr, the Wise.Numerology plays a key role in interpreting sacred texts, as in the Arabic language each letter has a numerical equivalent, according to the Abjad system. The author uses this approach to explain these Quranic passages, and sacred words and phrases, demonstrating meanings which lie hidden beneath the surface. He then applies the science of numerology to elucidate the form of the canonical prayer, one of the pillars of Islam. Making use of traditional tools of sacred science, such as the 'magic square', or Wafaq, and the Tetraktys, he provides remarkable demonstrations of the geometric and numerological structure manifested in the sacred rites, and he shows how each movement and detail related to the prayer is designed with perfect precision.Understanding more about the divine wisdom contained within these acts of worship, and how they are established in harmony within the universal system that underlies all creation, will not only serve to increase the faith of the believer, it will open the reader's eyes to new dimensions, which were traditionally the privilege of only a select few.