Over the years, a particular voice has taken shape in my teachings. A vision, a terminology, and an approach have emerged—distinct from those offered by the majority of Sufi shuyukh or other figures of spiritual transmission. A proposal has revealed itself: singular and new.
I am now convinced that this proposal carries within it the potential to found a new school—a path, a current of thought and spiritual development—deeply rooted in the Prophetic way, yet fully contemporary. A contribution that I believe has become necessary: to respond to the true existential and spiritual questions of today’s seekers. Necessary also for the Muhammadan heritage to remain alive, vibrant, and in resonance with our time—without sinking into anachronism or obsolescence.
I have come to understand, over time, that this mission—the one I must never betray—is also the very reason for my existence. A destiny to which the universe itself has contributed: through encounters, opportunities, and the education I have received. A mission that consists in offering an inspired and inspiring alternative in religious teaching and spiritual formation, in the Muhammadan path.
To contribute actively to this vast movement of renewal of structures, recreation of cultures, and elevation—or rather regeneration of essence—of the collective human consciousness.
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After traversing and experiencing different structures and models, it became clear to me that existing formats do not allow for a sound, just, and fruitful transmission of the message I carry.
• The model of classical Sufi tariqas, in which I actively participated during my first decade (2002–2012), proved too narrow and dogmatic to carry a universal vision.
It often fosters—despite sincere intentions—the cult of personality, a certain sentimentality, and a deficit in rational development. The collective unconscious shaped by the literature, jargon, and habits of these circles ends up, in my view, imposing limits that stifle the emergence of a true culture of consciousness and intentionality.
• The model of spiritual da‘wa inspired by the Hadramawt school in Tarim is also familiar to me. Its ambition is noble: to unite the three Prophetic functions—‘ilm, da‘wa, and tazkiya—that is, to teach religious knowledge, to call to the Divine way, and to accompany souls in their elevation.
But in practice, I have observed a troubling reality: most people involved in this model lack depth in each of these spheres, while attempting to embrace them all at once. One often becomes the distraction from the other.
The recurring profile? Someone with superficial religious knowledge, yet with disproportionate veneration for fiqh, which they sacralize without critical thought. For them, fiqh is not a rational tool or a contextual product of the human intellect, but an idol to be followed blindly.
At the same time, they claim an attachment to Sufism: they attend dhikr gatherings, participate in mawlid celebrations, visit tombs, read al-Ghazali… but without a clear methodological framework, without genuine spiritual progression, and without real accompaniment beyond an occasional contact with the Shaykh’s hand during large ceremonies.
The discourse then becomes guilt-inducing, centered on nostalgia for an idealized past and on the accumulation of devotional acts: supererogatory prayers, intensive fasting, long litanies of dhikr. The student often ends up crushed under the weight of their shortcomings—in a double movement: paralyzed by guilt on one side, and almost hypocritically lax on the other—just to remain part of the “club.”
This model nurtures a self-centered spiritual path, without real impact on society.
One never speaks of adopting an orphan, planting trees, or cleaning a neighborhood as acts of purification of the heart.
The shortcomings of the first model are found here as well, in a different form.
In both cases, the inconsistencies of the message and the incompleteness of the methods inevitably produce inconsistent and incomplete individuals: capable of fiery speeches on divine love, yet unable to avoid throwing a banana peel in front of their brother…
And when some wish to become da‘i—preachers—they launch into it with no psychological training, no sociological understanding, no study of the cultures they claim to invite. The risk of falling into pride, ostentation, or the obsession to please becomes almost inevitable once one begins to speak publicly.
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It is from the conjunction of these two realizations that an evidence was born:
I must innovate. Invent. Create.
To make alchemy of all the colors and knowledges I have received, to offer a new form adapted to our time. A form that unites intellectual depth with authentic spiritual experience.
A space where critical thinking is nourished by love of the truth.
Where rational development and spiritual journey enrich one another.
I deeply believe that the true need of the human being today is not to cling to reassuring beliefs, nor to take refuge in a fixed religious identity.
Even if the majority seem to seek this—this is not their fundamental need.
It is an escape. An escape from the Real.
The contemporary human being, if they wish to remain faithful to their quest, must acknowledge that they have grown—in consciousness, in capacity, in possibility.
And this, including—and especially—in the spiritual domain.
What was once reserved for an initiated elite is now within the reach of all.
One day, I said to my Shaykh:
“Such-and-such a saint prayed Fajr in Tunisia and arrived at ‘Arafat by sunset.”
He replied:
“That’s within everyone’s reach today, isn’t it?”
Today I understand.
He was speaking of the evolution of the spiritual capacities of modern humankind.
Rational development and critical thinking are not enemies of spirituality—contrary to what antimodernists claim.
They have, on the contrary, opened a new space for the soul and offered it new horizons.
It would be neither just nor respectful to teach today using medieval words and frameworks—in a world that has known Spinoza, Ibn ‘Arabi, and Jung.
That would be to betray humanity.
And to betray the Real.
Al-Hakîm — The Wise.
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This is why our proposal, through Alchemya, is one of alchemy:
An alchemy between the modern and the premodern.
Between the rational and the spiritual.
Between the human being and their own heart.
Between traditions, in order to rediscover the Self, the unity of existence, the Whole and the One.
