M. Ali Lakhani, (born 1955) is a writer, lawyer, and editor whose works focus on metaphysics and the perennial principles found in the wisdom traditions of the world. He is married to Nazlin N. Lakhani and lives in Vancouver, Canada.

Biography

Born in England in 1955, Lakhani was educated at

The King's School, Canterbury The King's School is a public school (English independent day and boarding school for 13 to 18 year old pupils) in Canterbury, Kent, England. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and the Eton Group. It is Britain's ...

before receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees in law from

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. He immigrated to

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

in 1973, and was called to the Bar in British Columbia in 1979. He practises law in Vancouver as a trial lawyer. In 2015, he was conferred the designation of "Queen's Counsel" by the Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia to recognize his work as a lawyer. In 1998, he founded the Traditionalist journal, ''Sacred Web: A Journal of Tradition and Modernity''. The bi-annual journal has included contributions by many leading traditionalists including

Titus Burckhardt Titus Burckhardt (24 October 1908 – 15 January 1984) was a Swiss writer and a leading member of the Perennialist or Traditionalist School. He was the author of numerous works on metaphysics, cosmology, anthropology, esoterism, alchemy, Sufism ...

Ananda K. Coomaraswamy Ananda Kentish Muthu Coomaraswamy ( ta, ஆனந்த குமாரசுவாமி, ''Ānanda Kentiś Muthū Kumāraswāmī''; si, ආනන්ද කුමාරස්වාමි ''Ānanda Kumārasvāmī''; 22 August 1877 − 9 Septem ...

Jean-Louis Michon Jean-Louis Michon (April 13, 1924- February 22, 2013) was a French traditionalist and translator who specialized in Islamic art and Sufism. He worked extensively with the United Nations to preserve the cultural heritage of Morocco. Biography Bo ...

Seyyed Hossein Nasr Seyyed Hossein Nasr (; fa, سید حسین نصر, born April 7, 1933) is an Iranian philosopher and University Professor of Islamic studies at George Washington University. Born in Tehran, Nasr completed his education in Iran and the United St ...

Frithjof Schuon Frithjof Schuon (, , ; 18 June 1907 – 5 May 1998) was a Swiss metaphysician of German descent, belonging to the Perennialist or Traditionalist School of thought. He was the author of more than twenty works in French on metaphysics, spirituali ...

Huston Smith Huston Cummings Smith (May 31, 1919 – December 30, 2016) was an influential scholar of religious studies in the United States, He authored at least thirteen books on world's religions and philosophy, and his book about comparative religion, ' ...

, and

the Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers o ...

. In 2001, Lakhani was invited to address the International Congress on Imam 'Ali in

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

where he presented his essay on ''The'' ''Metaphysics of Human Governance''. This essay garnered the First Prize in English at the conference. The prize was awarded at a special ceremony in Tehran in March 2002. A revised version of Lakhani's essay is included in ''The Sacred Foundations of Justice in Islam''. The anthology was described by Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr, as "among the best writings on this extraordinary figure in Western languages and are obligatory reading for anyone interested in ‘Ali but not familiar with Islamic languages. In May 2016, at the invitation of the Temenos Academy, Lakhani presented a talk at the Royal Asiatic Society in London, England, titled ‘The Integral Vision of the Aga Khan’. The talk focused on a question asked by the

Aga Khan Aga Khan ( fa, آقاخان, ar, آغا خان; also transliterated as ''Aqa Khan'' and ''Agha Khan'') is a title held by the Imām of the Nizari Ismāʿīli Shias. Since 1957, the holder of the title has been the 49th Imām, Prince Shah Karim ...

in 2006: "How, in an increasingly cynical time, can we inspire people to a new set of aspirations - reaching beyond rampant materialism, the new relativism, self-serving individualism, and resurgent tribalism?" Lakhani's book, ''Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat'' was published by I.B. Tauris in association with The Institute of Ismaili Studies in 2018. The book examines how the ideas and actions of the current

Ismaili Isma'ilism ( ar, الإسماعيلية, al-ʾIsmāʿīlīyah) is a branch or sub-sect of Shia Islam. The Isma'ili () get their name from their acceptance of Imam Isma'il ibn Jafar as the appointed spiritual successor (imām) to Ja'far al-Sa ...

Imam, and fourth Aga Khan, Prince Karim al-Husseini, provide an Islamic response to the challenges that face Muslims in the modern era. The book provides an extensive survey of the Aga Khan's aspirations, showing how the values of integrity and dignity are at the forefront of his work, with the traditional Muslim concepts of cosmopolitanism and social justice guiding his response to the stark challenges of the modern age. In 2021, The Matheson Trust published an anthology of spiritual aphorisms by Lakhani, titled ''When the Rose Blooms''.

Bibliography

*''The Sacred Foundations of Justice'' (

World Wisdom World Wisdom is an independent American publishing company established in 1980 in Bloomington, Indiana. World Wisdom publishes religious and philosophical texts, including the work of authors such as Frithjof Schuon, Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus Bu ...

, 2006), edited anthology, where he contributed with a prize-winning essay *''The Betrayal of Tradition: Essays on the Spiritual Crisis of Modernity'' (

, 2005) *''The Timeless Relevance of Traditional Wisdom'' (World Wisdom, 2010) *''Faith and Ethics: The Vision of the Ismaili Imamat'' (

I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non- ...

, 2018) * ''When the Rose Blooms'' (The Matheson Trust, 2021) *''Compassion in Traditional and Secular Morality'' (Religions: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 1, 2011, published by the Doha International Center for Interfaith Dialogue) *''Aesthetic Foundations of Ecological Responsibility'' (Religions: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 4, 2012) *''Integral Pluralism as the Basis for Harmony: The Approach of His Highness the Aga Khan'' (Religions: A Scholarly Journal, Issue 9, 2016) *‘The Clash of Fundamentalisms’ in ''Clashing Fundamentalisms: When Rival Truth Claims Meet Head-On'' (Centre for Studies in Religion and Society, Community Seminar Volume 14, University of Victoria, Canada)

References

External links

M. Ali Lakhani: Life and WorkSacred Web“Not a Clash of Civilizations, A Clash of Ignorance”. Article by Douglas Todd in Vancouver Sun, September 4, 2012“Sacred Web Conference contemplates the role of religion in a secular age”. Article from Vancouver Observer, April 27, 2014
* YouTube (Interview by Iain T Benson, conducted at The Ismaili Centre, Toronto, on his book ''Faith and Ethics'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Lakhani Living people Traditionalist School English editors Canadian editors English philosophers Canadian philosophers English spiritual writers Canadian spiritual writers Pakistani philosophers 1955 births Alumni of the University of Cambridge Canadian King's Counsel