Book excerpt: Since its completion in the seventeenth century, this book has been lauded as a valuable textbook on Islamic spirituality and ethics as well as a spiritually enlightening read. This ground-breaking translation brings to light how Fayd Kashani engages with the Sunni Sufi tradition – particularly the ideas of al-Ghazzali – for the benefit of a Shi‘a audience. In addition to presenting the inner mysteries of Islamic ritual practices, Fayd also explains the nature of the human character and how to cultivate, balance, and eliminate various traits. Fayd Kashani centres his discussion on verses of the Qur’an and narrations (hadiths) from the Prophet Muhammad (S) and the twelve Imams (A). Serving as a useful reference work, this book includes the original Arabic narrations for the reader’s convenience. ‘This is a masterpiece…a must read book for all those who value spiritual morality.’ - Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour ‘ICAS Press is to be greatly thanked for making this key work on ethics by this important Safavid-period scholar available in such a fine translation, together with such a useful introduction and notes.’ - Andrew Newman, University of Edinburgh