Michel Valsan ( ro, Mihai Vâlsan; 1 February 1907, Brăila,

Kingdom of Romania The Kingdom of Romania ( ro, Regatul României) was a constitutional monarchy that existed in Romania from 13 March ( O.S.) / 25 March 1881 with the crowning of prince Karl of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen as King Carol I (thus beginning the Romanian ...

– 25/26 November 1974,

Antony, Hauts-de-Seine Antony () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. Antony is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the arrondissement of Antony. Watered by the Bièvre, a tributary of the ...

) was a Muslim scholar and master of a

Shadhiliyya The Shadhili Order ( ar, الطريقة الشاذلية) is a tariqah or Sufi order of Sunni Islam founded by al-Shadhili in the 13th century and is followed by millions of people around the world. Many followers (Arabic ''murids'', "seekers") ...

tariqah in Paris under the name ''Shaykh Mustafa 'Abd al-'Aziz''. As well, he was a

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

n diplomat and a prolific translator who specialized in translating and interpreting the works of the Sufi theoretician

Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , ' Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influen ...

. A follower of

René Guénon René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as ''Abdalwâhid Yahiâ'' (; ''ʿAbd al-Wāḥid Yaḥiā'') was a French intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having writte ...

, Valsan considered

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

and Islam as "the three main forms of the present traditional world, representing the Middle-East, the Far-East, and the Near-East, as reflections of the three aspects of the Lord of the World."M. Valsan, "La fonction de René Guénon et le sort de l’Occident" (1951), p. 218 Valsan introduced the study of Islamic esoteric doctrine, in particular that of

and his school, into the context of the "traditional studies" based around the work of

(''Shaykh 'Abd al-Wahid Yahya''), of which he was a constant and effective defender. Although initially a disciple of

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, spiritual ...

, he later distanced himself from Schuon and the

Traditionalist School The Traditionalist or Perennialist School is a group of 20th- and 21st-century thinkers who believe in the existence of a perennial wisdom or perennial philosophy, primordial and universal truths which form the source for, and are shared by, al ...

, declaring his independence in 1950. Valsan served as the director and editor of, and regular contributor to, the journal ''Etudes Traditionnelles'' from 1948 until his death in 1974. Valsan died in

Paris, France Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

at the age of 63. A collection of his articles was republished in a posthumous compendium entitled ''L'Islam et la Fonction de René Guénon'' (Editions de l'Oeuvre, Paris).

References

External links

Complete bibliography"Notes on the Shaikh al-‘Alawi", an essay by Michel Vâlsan
French Sufis 1911 births 1974 deaths Traditionalist School Romanian diplomats Romanian scholars Translators from Arabic Arabic–French translators 20th-century translators French Arabists Ibn Arabi scholars {{France-writer-stub