Its authorship was in the year 1354 AH at the request of Sheikh "Dawud Badr"

As for what follows (Amma ba'd).. When it was the year one thousand three hundred and fifty-four of the Muhammadan Hijrah—upon its legislator be the best of prayers and greetings—one of the gnostic brethren and trustworthy believers, who are firm in the steadfast word—namely, Sheikh (Dawud Badr), may God forgive him and the believers—asked me to author a clear epistle proving the esoteric aspects (Bawatin) of the five acts of worship, and negating the belief in establishing their exoteric aspects (Zawahir) in seclusions (Khalwat) and among the gnostic believers. This is because some of our brethren believe in and religiously practice their establishment in seclusions, while others hold the opposite view.

And each of the two groups brings forth proofs, narrations, and transmitted and rational evidences against what the other brings. At that time, my thoughts were preoccupied with authoring the book (Al-Jawharah al-Diniyyah), which is a subject worthy of attention, so I preferred to postpone it to another time. However, his insistence upon that stirred up within me the dormant religious zeal to strive in clarifying the meaning of the two opposing views regarding the establishment of the exoteric acts of worship and the rejection thereof. For I used to observe the believing brethren gathering with my natural master and father,