Book excerpt: Fayd al-Haram stands in history a unique gem, that until now was nearly a lost treasure of intellectual thought in Islamic pedagogy. Shaykh Ahmed bin Lutfullah penned this book toward the end of his academically and spiritually rich life. Sitting in front of the Ka¿bah, he wrote the following text with the intention that it may serve as a source of revival or preservation of the deep analytical Islamic tradition in matters of education. Shaykh Ahmed was, without doubt, a polymath, having mastered the Islamic sciences, such as, jurisprudence and exegesis. He also excelled and mastered several other fields, where he was also seen as an authority, having authored books in history, math, and astronomy. Shaykh Ahmed bin Lutfullah states in the beginning of this great work that his main motivating reason for writing this book was the lack of attention given to the proper manner of perusing books or Mutala¿a. His primary goal is to teach and preserve the concept of ¿deep reading¿. Fayd al-Haram is a fresh reminder about the classical scholarly approach to learning.