 In his Sufi writings, Suhrawardī employs both allegory and didactic language to advise the novice how to follow the Sufi path, often with specific instructions regarding ascetic practices. Practical wisdom constitutes an inseparable component of the ishrāqī doctrine, so much so that in the introduction to his magnum opus, The Philosophy of Illumination, Suhrawardī warns the reader that the secrets of the book will remain hidden to the reader unless he fasts for forty days and avoids consuming meat. Suhrawardī, similar to Ibn ‘Arabī, uses symbolism from nature and animals to offer a spiritual hermeneutic (ta’wīl) which begins with discursive philosophy but ends in gnosis and the spiritual return of man to his original abode.