ancient city of Alexandria

Sufism in the Atmosphere of Alexandria

Our focus will be on the legendary Sufi saint known as Dhul-Nun al-Misri (796 -859) who was an alchemist, a thaumaturge, a reputed reader of hieroglyphs, and a Hermetic/Neoplatonic philosopher, called by Suhrawardi “the leaven of the Pyrthagoreans.” Dhul-Nun is regarded by many as the founder of Sufism, and is credited with introducing the concept of Gnosis into Islam. We will also explore the transmission and absorption of the wisdom of Alexandria — including Platonism, Hermeticism, Alchemy, and Pythagoreanism — in the Sufi and mystical Jewish traditions. We will end our quest with the Brethren of Purity, who were possibly a medium of transmission of this wisdom back into the West