René Guénon

René Jean-Marie-Joseph Guénon (15 November 1886 – 7 January 1951), also known as Abdalwahid Yahia (; ), was a French-Egyptian intellectual who remains an influential figure in the domain of metaphysics, having written on topics ranging from esotericism, "sacred science", then, in another translation, as ''Symbols of Sacred Science'', translated by Henry D. Fohr, Sophia Perennis, 2001, . There were two original French editions, both under the title ''Symboles fondamentaux de la Science sacrée'', Editions Gallimard, Paris. The first contained a foreword followed by notes and comments by Michel Valsan, the second did not contain these additions.}} and "traditional studies" to symbolism and initiation.

In his writings, he claims to hand down eastern religious traditions and adapt them to western readers "while keeping strictly faithful to their spirit".

Initiated into Islamic esotericism from as early as 1910 when he was 24, he mainly wrote and published in French, and his works have been translated into more than twenty languages; he also wrote in Arabic an article for the journal ''Al Marifah''. Provided by Wikipedia