Sufism a branch of magical practice and literature that originated in the medieval Islamic world. It was a discipline that combined spiritual sciences with occult practices, and it was practiced by both the pious and the illiterate.

This type of writing was criticized by a handful of premodern scholars as sorcery, but it became widely read and copied throughout the centuries. It is still a major source of inspiration for those engaged in magical practices today, Middle East Eye reports.

During this period, a partnership was established between humanity and the created things. It honored the sacred energies of life, and helped awaken magic within the physical world.

Sufi Magic and the Power of Intention: Manifesting Your Desires

The science of the secrets of the letters was born out of this relationship. The scholar who learns the secrets of the letters comes to know the inner workings of creation and nature. He also comes to know things that he would not be able to learn with the help of any other science in the world.

Al-Buni, Ibn al-‘Arabi and others in their wake wrote numerous works on letter magic. In their works, they argued that the secrets of the letters are alive in the created things.

These scholars used the term “letter magic” to distinguish it from ordinary sorcery, which is deemed forbidden in Islam. They drew their theories from the Qur’an and other sources. But their methods were strange and disapproved.