--- page_title: "Ahmad al-Buni's 80 Divine Names: His Forgotten Masterpiece" summary: "Overshadowed by the Shams, Ahmad al-Buni's Mudih al-Tariq gives 80 chapters to the divine names, the 99 names of Allah. Inside his forgotten 571-page work." html_url: https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/80-divine-names-80-chapters-al-buni-life-work.html text_url: https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/80-divine-names-80-chapters-al-buni-life-work.md revised: 2026-10-09 publisher: John Friend Publishing --- Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection — Volume VII # 80 Chapters, 80 Divine Names — The Forgotten Masterpiece Ahmad al-Buni Wrote Before the Shams May 21, 2026 · 14 min read The Shams al-Ma’arif made al-Buni infamous. But the Mudih al-Tariq — 571 pages, 80+ chapters, entirely devoted to the operative science of the divine names — may be the greater work. Now in English for the first time. **[Mudih al-Tariq](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/books/al-buni-manuscripts-collection/mudih-al-tariq.html)** · The Clarifier of the Path · Vol. VII — Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection Formats: - [Kindle — Free with KU](https://urlgeni.us/amazon/Ues4Gm) - [Read the Translation](https://urlgeni.us/amazon/mgEql4) - [Read Free Sample](https://read.amazon.com/sample/B0H2QBLDZF?clientId=share) Ask anyone who knows the name al-Buni and they will tell you about the *Shams al-Ma’arif*. The cursed book. The forbidden grimoire. The 40-chapter encyclopedia of Arabic magic that has been banned, burned, and whispered about for eight centuries. The [Shams al-Ma’arif](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/what-is-shams-al-maarif.html) is the text that made Ahmad ibn ʿAli al-Buni (d. 622 AH / ~1225 CE) a legend — and a villain, depending on who you ask. It is the work for which he is remembered. But it may not be the work for which he should be remembered. Because before the *Shams* — or alongside it, or after it, the chronology is debated — another text attributed to al-Buni appeared. Longer. More focused. More ambitious in its singular purpose. A text that takes the divine names of God — the *asma’ al-husna* that form the theological heart of Islamic worship — and subjects them to the most exhaustive operative analysis ever attempted in any language. Eighty chapters. Eighty divine names. Five hundred and seventy-one pages. A work that scholars who have examined the Arabic manuscript tradition consider al-Buni’s definitive treatment of his most important subject. Its name is *Mudih al-Tariq*. And until Volume VII of the Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection, it had never been published in English. --- ## The Shadow of the Shams The *Shams al-Ma’arif* cast such a long shadow that it obscured everything else al-Buni wrote. This is understandable. The Shams is dramatic, comprehensive, and terrifying — a text that combines letter science, magic square construction, lunar mansions, divine names, and operational conjurations into a single encyclopedic work. It earned fatwas, inspired legends, and generated a fear that has persisted for eight centuries. But encyclopedic works, by their nature, sacrifice depth for breadth. The *Shams* addresses the divine names in Part II of its four-part structure, alongside magic squares and numerical science. The treatment is substantial but compressed — constrained by the need to cover many subjects within a single work. The result is that the English-language understanding of al-Buni’s approach to the divine names has been shaped by a treatment that represents, at best, a summary of his actual thinking. The *Mudih al-Tariq* is the unsummarized version. --- ## Ahmad al-Buni: A Brief Biography The *Shams* made al-Buni a legend, but the established facts of his life are few. Ahmad ibn ʿAli al-Buni was a Sufi scholar from Buna — modern Annaba, in Algeria, the town that gives him his name — who lived and worked primarily in Cairo and died around 622 AH / 1225 CE, in the same generation as Ibn Arabi. His name became attached to a large body of writing on the letters, the magic squares, and the divine names, known as the *corpus Bunianum*; how much of it he wrote himself, and how much later editors contributed, is still debated. A fuller account of his life and death, with the fatwas and the burnings, is in [the Ahmad al-Buni biography](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/magic-book-banned-burned-al-buni.html); for every al-Buni volume now in English, see [the Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/collection.html). --- ## Structure of the Masterpiece The volume opens with “Counsel to Seeking Wayfarers” (p. 8) — a preparatory section that establishes the spiritual and ethical framework for studying the divine names. This is not a preamble to be skipped. Al-Buni is explicit: the divine names are not tools to be picked up casually. They are dimensions of divine reality, and approaching them without proper preparation — without humility, without purification, without genuine spiritual aspiration — is not merely ineffective but actively dangerous. From page 19 onward, the text moves through its 80+ named chapters. Each is titled with a specific divine name and structured consistently: the name’s meaning and theological significance, its *abjad* numerical value, its elemental and planetary correspondences, the conditions for its invocation, the number of repetitions for different purposes, and the specific spiritual effects attributed to its deployment. ### The Arc from Power to Unity The chapter sequence is not alphabetical. It follows a theological and cosmological logic that traces an arc from the supreme name through various categories of divine attribute and back to divine unity. The opening chapters address the names of absolute divine power: *Allah* (19 pages), *al-Samad* (p. 39), *al-Hayy* (p. 47), *al-Qayyum* (p. 52). These are the names that carry the weight of divine sovereignty — the names that practitioners invoke when they need to access the highest levels of spiritual authority. The middle chapters move through names of mercy, knowledge, and creative power. *Al-Rahman*, *al-Rahim*, *al-Latif* — the gentle names that govern healing, compassion, and the softening of hearts. *Al-’Alim*, *al-Khabir*, *al-Basir* — the names of perception that open the practitioner’s awareness to hidden dimensions of reality. The final chapters arrive at *al-Ghani* (p. 563) — divine self-sufficiency — and the closing section “He Begets Not” (p. 565), which seals the entire work with the affirmation of divine transcendence. The arc is complete: from unity through multiplicity and back to unity. From the supreme name through all its expressions and back to the singularity from which they emerged. ### Eighty Chapters and the 99 Names of Allah Readers often ask how eighty chapters square with the 99 names of Allah. The *Mudih al-Tariq* states the classical count at the outset, quoting the hadith that “God has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one; whoever enumerates them enters the Garden.” But it is not built as a numbered list. Several chapters treat two names together — al-Jawad and al-Jabbar, al-Mubdi’ and al-Mu’id, al-Qabid and al-Basit, al-Ghafur and al-Ghafir — and the eightieth chapter is devoted to “The Two Names — He Begets Not, and He Is Not Begotten.” For a closer look at individual names, including al-Wahhab and al-Qabid, see [the 99 names of Allah: what al-Buni actually wrote](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/99-names-of-god-what-al-buni-actually-wrote.html); for the book itself, the divine names manuscript at the heart of al-Buni’s teaching on the 99 names of God, see [Mudih al-Tariq](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/books/al-buni-manuscripts-collection/mudih-al-tariq.html). --- ## What Makes This a Masterpiece, Not a Catalog A catalog lists items. A masterpiece reveals a system. The *Mudih al-Tariq* is a masterpiece because every chapter connects to every other chapter through the framework of *’ilm al-huruf* (letter science), *abjad* numerology, and planetary cosmology that al-Buni had been developing across his entire corpus. Each divine name is not an isolated entry but a node in a network. Its numerical value connects it to specific magic square configurations. Its planetary association connects it to specific timing requirements. Its elemental correspondence connects it to [specific incenses and planetary fumigation materials](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/incense-recipes-arabic-grimoires-planetary-fumigation.html). And its operative purpose connects it to specific categories of spiritual work. For practitioners already familiar with [the boundary between spiritual science and sorcery in the Arabic tradition](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/difference-between-spiritual-science-sorcery-arabic.html), the *Mudih al-Tariq* represents the most systematic expression of the “science” side of that boundary. To read a single chapter is to encounter a divine name. To read the entire volume is to encounter a cosmology — a complete model of the relationship between human intention, divine reality, and the mechanisms that connect them. --- ## The Relationship to Other Volumes Volume VII does not exist in isolation. It is the reference work that other volumes in the Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection draw upon. Volume I — the [Shams al-Ma’arif](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/first-complete-shams-al-maarif-english-translation.html) — introduces the divine names within its broader encyclopedic framework. Volume III connects divine names to magic square construction, showing how names are embedded within numerical grids. Volume IV deploys specific divine names for protective purposes through the Hijab Azim system. Volume VIII will connect the divine names to letter science and astronomical timing. In each case, the *Mudih al-Tariq* provides the definitive treatment that the other volumes assume. It is the deep well from which the shallower treatments draw. And its availability in English for the first time means that readers of the entire collection now have access to the foundational layer that makes everything else cohere. --- ## Why “Before the Shams” Whether the *Mudih al-Tariq* was composed before, after, or concurrently with the *Shams al-Ma’arif* is a matter of scholarly debate. The manuscript tradition does not provide firm dates for individual works within the *corpus Bunianum*, and the question is further complicated by the possibility that later editors contributed to both texts. But the pedagogical relationship is clear. The *Mudih al-Tariq* reads as foundational work — the detailed treatment of a subject that the *Shams* then integrates into a broader system. Whether the focused treatment attributed to al-Buni preceded the synthesis or followed it, the *Mudih al-Tariq* occupies the position of the master source. It is the text you would study if you wanted to understand the divine names completely. The *Shams* is the text you would study if you wanted to understand how the divine names fit into everything else. Both are essential. But the *Mudih al-Tariq* is the one that has been missing from the English-language conversation until now. --- ## Now in English Volume VII of the Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection presents the complete *Mudih al-Tariq* in English translation for the first time. All 571 pages. All 80+ chapters. From “Counsel to Seeking Wayfarers” through “al-Ghani” to “He Begets Not.” Nothing redacted, nothing summarized, nothing left to the reader’s speculation. The translation is in paperback format with full IJMES romanization and diacritical marks for all Arabic terms. It is the largest single volume in the collection, reflecting the scale of al-Buni’s ambition in addressing the subject he clearly considered most important. The *Shams al-Ma’arif* made al-Buni famous. The *Mudih al-Tariq* may be the work that makes him understood. **[Mudih al-Tariq](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/books/al-buni-manuscripts-collection/mudih-al-tariq.html)** · The Clarifier of the Path · Vol. VII — Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection Formats: - [Read the Translation — Kindle & Paperback](https://urlgeni.us/amazon/mgEql4) ### Related Topics in This Article - [Mudih al-Tariq — al-Buni’s 571-page treatise on the divine names](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/books/al-buni-manuscripts-collection/mudih-al-tariq.html) - [What al-Buni wrote on the divine names al-Wahhab and al-Qabid](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/99-names-of-god-what-al-buni-actually-wrote.html) - [The Shams al-Ma’arif’s 40 chapters, for scope](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/first-complete-shams-al-maarif-english-translation.html) - [Spiritual preparation before the work](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/5-steps-every-grimoire-requires-before-magic.html) - [Corpus Bunianum and the authorship debate](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/articles/what-is-shams-al-maarif.html) - [Ilm al-huruf: al-Buni’s science of letters](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/books/al-buni-manuscripts-collection/usul-ilm-al-huruf.html) - [The Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection](https://johnfriendpublishing.com/collection.html) The Complete Mudih al-Tariq in English The *Mudih al-Tariq* appears in full for the first time in English as Volume VII of the Al-Buni Manuscripts Collection, available in paperback from John Friend Publishing. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Is the Mudih al-Tariq different from the Shams al-Ma’arif? Yes. The Shams is a comprehensive work covering multiple subjects across 40 chapters. The Mudih al-Tariq is a focused 571-page treatise devoted entirely to the divine names — 80+ chapters providing far more depth on each name than the Shams could accommodate. ### Why is the Mudih al-Tariq considered al-Buni’s forgotten masterpiece? The Shams al-Ma’arif’s notoriety overshadowed al-Buni’s other works. While the Shams became the most feared text in Arabic magic, the Mudih al-Tariq — a longer and more detailed work — remained unknown outside specialist circles. Volume VII is its first English translation. ### What categories of divine names does the Mudih al-Tariq cover? Names of power (al-Malik, al-Qahhar, al-Jabbar), mercy (al-Rahman, al-Rahim, al-Latif), knowledge (al-’Alim, al-Khabir, al-Basir), and divine unity. Each category receives extensive treatment with operative applications, timing requirements, and practical instructions. ### How does the Mudih al-Tariq relate to other volumes in the collection? Volume VII provides the definitive divine names treatment that other volumes reference. Volume I introduces names within its broader framework. Volume III connects names to magic squares. Volume IV deploys names for protection. The Mudih al-Tariq is the master reference they all draw upon. ### Who was Ahmad al-Buni? Ahmad ibn ‘Ali al-Buni was a Sufi scholar from Buna (modern Annaba, Algeria) — hence the name al-Buni — who lived and worked primarily in Cairo and died around 622 AH / 1225 CE. He is remembered for the Shams al-Ma’arif, but the Mudih al-Tariq, attributed to him, is the most focused treatment of the divine names in his corpus. ### Does the Mudih al-Tariq cover all 99 names of Allah? It quotes the hadith that “God has ninety-nine names, one hundred less one,” but it is organized as 80 chapters rather than a numbered list of ninety-nine. Several chapters treat two names together — al-Qabid and al-Basit, for example — and the last is devoted to “The Two Names — He Begets Not, and He Is Not Begotten.” ### What does Mudih al-Tariq mean? Mudih al-Tariq means “The Clarifier of the Path.” The full Arabic title is Muḍīḥ al-Ṭarīq wa-Aṣl al-Taḥqīq.