The Al-Hikam is the work of Sheikh Ibn Atha'illah, the third murshid of Tariqah Syadziliyah. The first founder of Syadziliyah was Sheikh Abu Hasan Ali Asy-Syadzili, a Moroccan who later settled in Alexandria, Egypt and died in 1258 AD His successor was Sheikh Abu Abbas Al-Mursi, who came from Murcia, Andalusia, Spain (died in 1287 M), who afterwards was continued by Sheikh Ibn Atha'illah.

Sheikh Ibn Atha'illah lived in Egypt during the reign of the Mamluk Dynasty. He was born in the city of Alexandria (Alexandria), Egypt, then moved to Cairo. In this city he spent his life teaching Jurisprudence at the Maliki Schools at various intellectual institutions.

Ibn Atha'illah was a productive cleric. No less than 20 works that he has produced. The work includes the fields of Sufism, interpretation, aqeedah, hadith, nahwu, and usul fiqh. From some of his works the most famous is the Book of Al-Hikam which is touted as his magnum opus.

Al-Hikam is a book intended for travelers (salik), in which contains further guidance for each traveler to take a spiritual journey. Al-Hikam contains various strict terminology, which refers to various terms in the Qur'an.