Queen Belacane is dying. As a last act, she inscribes a book of counsels, or prince's mirror, to guide her newborn son on his life's path. The Queen's counsels illuminate the way of futuwwa, a tradition of mystical chivalry traced to the Prophet Abraham. If the Prince would unite the chivalries of both Christendom and Islam and attain the Cup Mixed with Camphor, he must fulfil the pillars of his faith, and uphold the universal virtues of wisdom, courage, temperance, and generosity.
Pir Zia Inayat-Khan, is a scholar and teacher of Sufism in the lineage of his grandfather, Hazrat Inayat Khan. He received his B.A. (Hons) in Persian Literature from the London School of Oriental and African Studies, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Religion from Duke University. Pir Zia is president of the Sufi Order International and founder of Suluk Academy, a school of contemplative study with branches in the United States and Europe. His first publication, the anthology A Pearl in Wine: Essays in the Life, Music and Sufism of Hazrat Inayat Khan, was published by Omega Publications in 2001. Together with Shaikh al-Mashaik Mahmood Khan he leads the Knighthood of Purity of the Hazrati Order.