Showing posts with label perennial. Show all posts
Showing posts with label perennial. Show all posts

2022/05/01

The Underlying Religion: An Introduction to the Perennial Philosphy (Perennial Philosophy Series) - Kindle edition by Lings, Martin. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.

The Underlying Religion: An Introduction to the Perennial Philosphy


The Underlying Religion: An Introduction to the Perennial Philosphy (Perennial Philosophy Series) Kindle Edition
by Martin Lings (Editor)  Format: Kindle Edition
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Part of: Perennial Philosophy (47 books)
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The Underlying Religion is an anthology of 25 essays by 14 of the leading exponents of the “perennialist” or “traditionalist” school of comparative religious thought, associated with René Guénon, Ananda Coomaraswamy, and Frithjof Schuon. 

This school is well known for its espousal of the “transcendent unity of religions”—the idea that religions are different paths leading to the same summit. Focusing its selection on the most accessible of the perennialist writings, and structured in such a way as to allow for the easiest possible comprehension, The Underlying Religion aims to be the most accessible introduction yet to the perspective of the Perennial Philosophy.

Print length
370 pages
Publication date
July 18, 2007
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Tim
Oct 18, 2013Tim rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: islam, islam-perennialism, islam-seyyed-hossein-nasr
306 highlights
When I came to Islam, I had come out of a period of searching that caused me to recognize a certain universal pattern to reality. This was particularly true after a near-fatal car accident in 2009, when I found that my consciousness had changed. I began to realize that for all of my life my vision had been narrowed. I had become insular in faith and life. Yet, how was I to proceed down a deeper spiritual path, and what road was I to take? I wanted something bigger, and at first that seemed to involve picking and choosing from different ideologies/faiths/philosophies. I didn't immediately understand that I was skimming an exoteric surface. This was not taking me any deeper, but was simply showing me the outward appearance of different manifestations of the ONE or the Absolute. 

After much searching, my commitment was to Islam, and as I often tell people when I'm asked about my conversion process, there are many factors which led to the decision, and had my life path been different, I might have easily adopted a different faith without falling out of step with the universal or ultimate "being". I realize this at my deepest level while being no less committed to the Islamic path. Yet I also know that to go deeper I needed to be on a specific path - one that had its roots in a universal reality that transcends all of the patterns and "progress" we see in human societies and existence.

My goal when committing to a particular faith path was/is awareness, knowledge, love and unity with the underlying divinity, the reality, the ONE, Allah, God, Being, whatever name we choose to call it. I believe that all of us are at base concerned with some sort of ultimate reality, whether we claim spirituality or not, and that ultimately we are searching for the same essence, whatever symbols, linguistic terminology or philosophies we use to describe it. For in the end, we all want authenticity, we want to know the true nature of things.

This also resonates with what has become known as the "Sophia Perennis" or Perennial Philosophy. There is nothing new about this "Philosophy" and I hesitate to even give it a label, but for purposes of commenting on the ideas contained in this book, it is necessary to do so. This Philosophy, as the excellent appendix describes is not concerned so much with what humanity can accomplish, but what it is meant or created to accomplish. The introduction defines it as: "both absolute Truth and infinite Presence. As absolute Truth it is the perennial wisdom (sophia perennis) that stands as the transcendent source of all the intrinsically orthodox religions of humankind." It is concerned with underlying truth - a truth that has been obscured by modernity in an overwhelming emphasis on the exoteric, down to the way that religion itself is manifested. Yet the perennial philosophy does not discard religion (or as it describes it "tradition"). In fact, the need for this new articulation of something that has never left us is - as Frithjof Schuon describes it - because of the "totalitarian rationalism" of modernity, post-modernity.

It is not a reactive philosophy, in the sense that the reactivity of the various fundamentalist strains - particularly as seen in certain quarters of the Abrahamic faiths - are reactive to modernity by becoming more insular and violently protective of exoteric notions of faith. This protection is lacking of the esoteric. The Perennial idea seeks to expand our vision by allowing us to realize that there is a universal truth expressed by one Creator. This Creator manifests itself in different exoteric ways throughout history in this lower world, the world of forms. Diversity is a part of the universal plan. Diversity in fact points to the true idea of unity, which is a unity of foundation if you will, or better a unity of a higher foundation. As we progress through levels of consciousness we realize how illusory are the forms through which we perceive our world. These forms though, serve as symbols pointing to the ultimate and can also serve as a delineation between those things that lead to the ultimate and what can pull us away from that ultimate into the illusory world of forms or the world of the ego. More simply expressed, these symbols serve as a guide to right and wrong, good and bad in this lower form of consciousness where forms assume a dualistic manifestation. So, precisely for that reason, there is truth in traditional forms, and the traditional forms in faith - Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., cannot be discarded. These faiths have survived throughout the centuries because they are of the nature of divine revelation. They are self-contained systems of living that share a universal truth.

The Sophia Perennis expresses the idea that a focus on forms in the modern world is to the detriment of the underlying symbolic truth of these revealed faiths. Yet there is a yearning in the modern world for this truth. We all look for purpose in life, and we all want to achieve a higher state of being, despite the language we might use to describe what "higher" means. From the equality of humanity expressed through the ideas of Socialism, to the attainment of success of the individual in Capitalism, we can see it in the world of economics and politics. There is equally a desire to return to a "purer" form of life, before "agrarian civilization" that we can find expressed in the ideas of Jared Diamond and others. What is lacking in this modern world is the esoteric. We are back to the totalitarian rationalism that Frithjof Schuon speaks of. The exoteric dominates our lives, and it is precisely this fact that is at the base of the argument which the Sophia Perennis makes against the idea of evolution as the nature of the universe. While it is true that humanity is making progression in the exoteric world through outward "innovation" in technology, it is at the expense of the esoteric, and in this sense there is a DE-evolution in humanity. We have lost the sense of who we are - of our humanity. This is exemplified in the way religions practice and clash in our world just as much as it is in the lack of the idea of the transcendent altogether.

The reason that there is conflict in our world is - as the book expresses - because form by nature will delimit parts of the universal archetype. Yet we live in this world, so we cannot escape form. Traditional faiths allow us to get past the form to the higher reality, and we cannot break these revealed forms. They are the sole route to truth in this world. Therefore, it cannot be stated enough how important it is to respect the revealed forms. As a Muslim who believes in an underlying unity, I must still practice my Islam. This is the key to Perennialism. It is not a new idea in that it proposes a new faith. Again, Sophia Perennis is not some system which brings a new faith, religion or tradition. It is more of an articulation of reality. It is pointing out more than ever why it is important to follow a revealed path. Yet it also equally emphasizes that there is a deeper understanding to a particular revealed path, and with this understanding comes a tension due - again - to the world of forms.

The tension can be seen here in that while practicing my Islam, I also acknowledge that this might not be the path for everyone, and that there is truth in other paths. I respect my Christian heritage and family knowing that it also comes from the same truth as Islam. The Qur'an itself teaches this, telling Muslims that the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has come as the Seal of the Prophets and Islam has come as the culmination of all rightly guided faiths. Realizing and being able to hold this tension is key to the reduction of conflict through religion, and is key to the very fundamentals of the religion itself - virtue, love, humility, respect, etc...

There are three metaphysical truths which the Sophia Perennis expresses as doctrine, way and method. It describes doctrine as discernment of the truth from illusion. The way is a life "addressed to the soul" for conforming itself to the nature of the Real. The method is the technique that one uses to concentrate and focus on the real as one's ultimate life goal. When dealing with an Absolute that is bigger than any of us can conceive, there will be different manifestations of the Real in our world. We cannot follow all of these manifestations. Yet we can attain to the true reality while still realizing and respecting that there are other equally valid ways of attaining to that reality.
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Essam Qais
Jul 11, 2015Essam Qais rated it really liked it  ·  review of another edition
The Underlying Religion attempts to summarize the main tenets of the Perennial Philosophy. This philosophy appeared in an age where religion is treated as the residue of primitivism; and people should or must replace it with modernism and science.In fact, in many parts of the world, many people follow this prescription directly or indirectly. The book is divided into seven parts and they are as follows:

  1. Tradition and Modernity
  2. Traditional Cosmology and Modern Science
  3. Metaphysics
  4. Symbolism
  5. The Perennial Philosophy
  6. Beauty
  7. Virtue and Prayer

The book presents religion in a different way which is might seem strange to some readers. The understanding of perennial philosophers of religion is deep, esoteric and sometimes shocking. They dig deeper into the essence of almost all great religions in order to show us that all religions are from the same source, they are different only exoterically .

The book is a heavy read, and I personally skipped two parts, namely Evolution and I don't understand evolution and honestly I'm not interested in the evolution theory. 

The Symplegades is very dense and contains many of Hindu terms that I don't understand. The book has advantages and disadvantages. The advantages of this book lie in its ability to tell implicitly the reader, mostly Western reader, that religion is not merely the result of fear or the stupidity of our ancestors, on the contrary; religion is a message from heaven to save humanity. The disadvantage of this lies in difficulty of its language. Its language replete with classical words and sometimes you have to read one passage several times in order to understand it. Furthermore, there is no glossary of terms, which is very significant in this book, instead the editors refer the reader to a web site. They could have included a glossary of terms at the end of every chapter, since this book contains many terms from several languages and religion. Finally, I recommend this book for those who want to deepen his/er knowledge of the esoteric aspect of religions, and I also recommend this book for those who think that religion is only the result of fear and stupidity. (less)


 
Alan
Feb 21, 2017Alan rated it it was ok  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: give-away
Tedious - gave it up by page 48.


 
Bramha Raju
Nov 25, 2015Bramha Raju rated it really liked it
My first insight into Perennial Philosophy, something which always held my thoughts without the supply of the noun. This book emphasizes the strength and power that constitutes the underlying the common bond of all religions. Not a book for an average reader, given the theological complexity and I had to force myself and repeatedly read to comprehend the in-depth analysis of the author. From Section five onwards, I could not put the book down when the explanation on revision and expansion on perennial philosophy as the true transcendence of all religions. I particularly loved the chapters on spiritual guidance which clearly articulated that it is incumbent upon anyone on a spiritual path to live within a context of beauty for spiritual support vis-á-vis highlighting the inherent the dangers and pitfalls of not having such an integral milieu. (less)

 
Ryan
Jan 02, 2008Ryan rated it it was amazing  ·  review of another edition
Shelves: philosophy, vital-books
"We live in an age of confusion and thirst in which the advantages of communication are greater than those of secrecy." -Frithjof Schuon

A great work, and as my categorization states I think an indispensable book for our times. If I ever again need to find common ground with anyone I will think of this collection. (less)

Editorial Reviews
Review
“Perennialist/traditionalist thought strives for a unity that transcends each individual religion and its unique doctrines. This look at primordial religion edited by the late Lings (Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources) and Minnaar, a professional editor in the field of religious studies, is an anthology of 25 essays of the leading 14 exponents of sophia perennis: 
  • Frithjof Schuon, 
  • René Guénon, 
  • Ananda Coomaraswamy, and 
  • Titus Burckhardt, 
to name a few (there are biographical notes on all). . . . 

The authors discuss Truth, Prayer, Virtue, and Beauty in a way that crosses cultural, linguistic, and ethnic boundaries . . . [and] go deep into an esoteric and mystical realm most readers rarely get the opportunity to visit. This insightful and amazing glimpse into Eastern thought as interpreted by Eastern and Western scholars deserves second and third readings. Recommended for academic and public libraries.”


About the Author
Martin Lings (1909-2005) was a renowned British scholar who taught at several European universities and the University of Cairo. He was the keeper of Oriental manuscripts in the British Museum and the British Library and the author of numerous books on religion and spirituality, including "The Book of Certainty, What is Sufism?, Ancient Beliefs and Modern Superstitions", and the internationally acclaimed "Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources". --This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Customer Reviews: 4.7 out of 5 stars    19 ratings

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David L. Roberts - Servant of All
4.0 out of 5 stars The Common Bond
Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2008
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This book is a summary and has emphasis on the common bond that underlies the strength and power of all religions. It also forms the basis of the depth that is found in religion and value of its traditions for all cultures. 

It has a great depth that shows us how the common virtues of wisdom,justice,compassion, courage, etc. are seen in all religions and that the traditions of all cultures act as a strength and a stabizing force to religious faith. 

Of course, hatred, irritability, war, rigidity, and lack of acceptance of each other should not be a feature of religion, and such distortions by human nature do not mean that we have to give up the core values of our own religion. 

It may not be a book for the average reader, because of the verbal excess at times and the theological complexity, but that does not make its topic any less important. It is an important book. 

It reminds me of the more secular commentary of the Handbook of Character Strengths and Virtues of Martin Seligmen, and books about the truths that are found in mythical symbols by Joseph Campbell. 

It will also help fervent, faithful thinking Christians, and people of other religions who have an interest in theology and the ultimate reality that(God, Allah, Atman, self-transcendance, Jesus, enlightenment,etc.) is our foundation.
30 people found this helpful


Denny
4.0 out of 5 stars good place to begin learning
Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2018
Verified Purchase
Like another reviewer, my response to the essays by different authors to be uneven, some were so polemical that I just skipped them. Since this is an introduction, I found myself looking for additional books for authors that resonated more with my own beliefs. This is a great place to begin learning though as there are essays by the major proponents of this school.


Samuel Bendeck Sotillos
5.0 out of 5 stars The Underlying Religion: An Introduction to the Perennial Philosophy
Reviewed in the United States on December 10, 2009
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The following summary of the sections in The Underlying Religion were excerpted from a review in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 2009:

"[Section One] describes the hiatus that divides the sacred orientation of the traditional world from that of the secular and progress driven modern and post-modern world.... [Section Two] underscores the implicit limitations of modern science, its failures and destructive tendencies for not receiving its directives from divine principles utilized since time immemorial in both East and West....[Section Three] gives a clear exposition on what is and what is not integral metaphysics according to the perennial philosophy which has nothing to do with `New Age' spiritualities....[Section Four] contextualizes symbols outside the pale of modern psychology or that of the ``unconscious'' from which they are commonly thought to originate rather than that of their true origin in divinis as are `archetypes'....[Section Five] provides a revision and an expansion, mutatis mutandis of what has been commonly attributed and often wrongly so as the perennial philosophy or the `transcendent unity of religions'. It is through the perennial philosophy that true and authentic interfaith dialogue can precede for both the differences and similarities are taken into account without compromising the integrity of each tradition.... [Section Six] makes it clear that it is incumbent upon anyone on a spiritual path to live within a context of beauty for spiritual support vis-á-vis highlighting the inherent the dangers and pitfalls of not having such an integral milieu....[Section Seven] provides important notes on spiritual guidance, complementing the previous chapters dealing predominantly with that of traditional doctrine."
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12 people found this helpful
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on January 11, 2017
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Awesome Book. I love it.
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Elena
4.0 out of 5 stars half and half
Reviewed in the United States on October 14, 2014
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I was satisfied with about half of the essays in this book. There was actually a lot of hidden Romanticism i.e. longing to return to the garden of Eden/the noble savage etc. Still, if you're looking to delve into perennial philosophy for the first time, this is a good jumping off point for finding which direction you'd like to continue in.
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IJ
4.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
Reviewed in Canada on August 23, 2013
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This book is a collection of essays from some of the most important perennialist authors on some of the most important topics of the Perennial philosophy. Anyone interested in this philosophy must read this book. I would recommend reading it before getting into any other Perennialist works as it will provide a great foundation to tackle the more complex (not complicated) ideas of Guenon, Schuon, Lings, Nasr etc.

 




2022/04/18

*** Ibn Arabi - Wikipedia

Ibn Arabi - Wikipedia

Ibn Arabi

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al-Shaykh al-Akbar

Ibn ʿArabi
إبن عربـي
Ibn Arabi.jpg
Ibn Arabi
Born28 July 1165
Died16 November 1240 (aged 75)
SchoolFounder of Akbariyya
Main interests
Influences
Influenced
Arabic name
Personal (Ism)Muḥammad
Patronymic (Nasab)ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibnʿArabī
Teknonymic (Kunya)Abu Abdullah
Epithet (Laqab)Ibn ʿArabi
Toponymic (Nisba)al-Ḥātimī aṭ-Ṭāʾī

Ibn ʿArabi (Arabicابن عربي‎) (1165 – 1240; full name: Muhyī al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn ʿAlī ibn Muḥammad ibn al-ʿArabī al-Ḥātimī al-Ṭāʾī al-Andalusī al-Mursī al-Dimashqī; Arabic: محي الدين أبو عبد الله محـمـد بن علي بن محمـد بن العربي الحاتمي الطائي الأندلسي المرسي الدمشقي; nicknamed al-Qushayri and Sultan al-ʿArifin), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholarmysticpoet, and philosopher, extremely influential within Islamic thought. Out of the 850 works attributed to him, some 700 are authentic while over 400 are still extant. His cosmological teachings became the dominant worldview in many parts of the Muslim world.[3]

He is renowned among practitioners of Sufism by the names al-Shaykh al-Akbar ("the Greatest Shaykh"; from here the Akbariyya or Akbarian school derives its name), Muḥyiddin ibn Arabi, and was considered a saint.[4][5] He is also known as Shaikh-e-Akbar Mohi-ud-Din Ibn-e-Arabi throughout the Middle East.[6] In medieval Europe, he was known as Doctor Maximus (Greatest Teacher).[7]

Biography[edit]

'Abū 'Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn 'Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn `Arabī al-Ḥātimī aṭ-Ṭāʾī (أبو عبد الله محمد ابن علي ابن محمد ابن العربي الحاتمي الطائي) was Sufi mysticpoet, and Arab philosopher from the Tayy tribe[8][9] born in MurciaAl-Andalus on the 17th of Ramaḍān 560 AH (28 July 1165 AD).[10]

Ibn Arabi was Sunni, although his writings on the Twelve Imams were also popularly received among Shia.[11] It is debated whether or not he ascribed to the Zahiri madhab which was later merged with the Hanbali school.[12]

After his death, Ibn Arabi's teachings quickly spread throughout the Islamic world. His writings were not limited to the Muslim elites, but made their way into other ranks of society through the widespread reach of the Sufi orders. Arabi's work also popularly spread through works in Persian, Turkish, and Urdu. Many popular poets were trained in the Sufi orders and were inspired by Arabi's concepts.[13]

Others scholars in his time like al-MunawiIbn 'Imad al-Hanbali and al-Fayruzabadi all praised Ibn Arabi as ''A righteous friend of Allah and faithful scholar of knowledge'', ''the absolute mujtahid without doubt'' and ''the imam of the people of shari'a both in knowledge and in legacy, the educator of the people of the way in practice and in knowledge, and the shaykh of the shaykhs of the people of truth though spiritual experience (dhawq) and understanding''.[14]

Family[edit]

Ibn Arabi's paternal ancestry was from the South Arabian tribe of Tayy,[15] and his maternal ancestry was North African Berber.[16] Al-Arabi writes of a deceased maternal uncle, Yahya ibn Yughan al-Sanhaji, a prince of Tlemcen, who abandoned wealth for an ascetic life after encountering a Sufi mystic.[17] His father, ‘Ali ibn Muḥammad, served in the Army of Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad ibn Saʿd ibn Mardanīsh, the ruler of Murcia.[18] When Ibn Mardanīš died in 1172 AD, his father shifted allegiance to the Almohad Sultan, Abū Ya’qūb Yūsuf I, and returned to government service. His family then relocated from Murcia to Seville.[6] Ibn Arabi grew up at the ruling court and received military training.[18]

As a young man Ibn Arabi became secretary to the governor of Seville. He married Maryam, a woman from an influential family.[18]

Education[edit]

Seville, where Ibn Arabi spent most of his life and education

Ibn Arabi writes that as a child he preferred playing with his friends to spending time on religious education. 

He had his first vision of God in his teens and later wrote of the experience as "the differentiation of the universal reality comprised by that look". 

Later he had several more visions of Jesus and called him his "first guide to the path of God".[citation needed] His father, on noticing a change in him, had mentioned this to philosopher and judge, Ibn Rushd (Averroes),[19] who asked to meet Ibn Arabi. 

Ibn Arabi said that from this first meeting, he had learned to perceive a distinction between formal knowledge of rational thought and the unveiling insights into the nature of things. 

He then adopted Sufism and dedicated his life to the spiritual path.[19] 

When he later moved to Fez, in Morocco, where Mohammed ibn Qasim al-Tamimi became his spiritual mentor.[20] In 1200 he took leave from one of his most important teachers, Shaykh Abu Ya'qub Yusuf ibn Yakhlaf al-Kumi, then living in the town of Salé.[21]

Pilgrimage to Mecca[edit]

Opening pages of the Konya manuscript of the Meccan Revelations, handwritten by Ibn Arabi.

Ibn Arabi left Andalusia for the first time at age 36 and arrived at Tunis in 1193.[22] After a year in Tunisia, he returned to Andalusia in 1194. His father died soon after Ibn Arabi arrived at Seville. When his mother died some months later he left Andalusia for the second time and travelled with his two sisters to Fez, Morocco in 1195. He returned to Córdoba, Andalusia in 1198, and left Andalusia crossing from Gibraltar for the last time in 1200.[23] While there, he received a vision instructing him to journey east. After visiting some places in the Maghreb, he left Tunisia in 1201 and arrived for the Hajj in 1202.[24] He lived in Mecca for three years,[6] and there began writing his work Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya (الفتوحات المكية) – 'The Meccan Illuminations'.

Journeys north[edit]

Medieval list of Ibn Arabi's books.

After spending time in Mecca, he traveled throughout SyriaPalestineIraq and Anatolia.[6]

In 1204, Ibn Arabi met Shaykh Majduddīn Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf (شيخ مجد الدين إسحاق بن يوسف), a native of Malatya and a man of great standing at the Seljuk court. This time Ibn Arabi was travelling north; first they visited Medina and in 1205 they entered Baghdad. This visit offered him a chance to meet the direct disciples of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir Jīlānī. Ibn Arabi stayed there only for 12 days because he wanted to visit Mosul to see his friend ‘Alī ibn ‘Abdallāh ibn Jāmi’, a disciple of the mystic Qaḍīb al-Bān (471-573 AH/1079-1177 AD; قضيب البان).[25] There he spent the month of Ramaḍan and composed Tanazzulāt al-Mawṣiliyya (تنزلات الموصلية), Kitāb al-Jalāl wa’l-Jamāl (كتاب الجلال والجمال, "The Book of Majesty and Beauty") and Kunh mā lā Budda lil-MurīdMinhu.[26]: 176 

Return south[edit]

In the year 1206 Ibn Arabi visited Jerusalem, Mecca and Egypt. It was his first time that he passed through Syria, visiting Aleppo and Damascus.

Later in 1207 he returned to Mecca where he continued to study and write, spending his time with his friend Abū Shujā bin Rustem and family, including Niẓām.[26]: 181 

The next four to five years of Ibn Arabi's life were spent in these lands and he also kept travelling and holding the reading sessions of his works in his own presence.[27]

Death[edit]

Ibn Arabi's tomb in Damascus

On 22 Rabī‘ al-Thānī 638 AH (8 November 1240) at the age of seventy-five, Ibn Arabi died in Damascus.[6]

Islamic law[edit]

Although Ibn Arabi stated on more than one occasion that he did not blindly follow any one of the schools of Islamic jurisprudence, he was responsible for copying and preserving books of the Zahirite or literalist school, to which there is fierce debate whether or not Ibn Arabi followed that school.[28][29] Ignaz Goldziher held that Ibn Arabi did in fact belong to the Zahirite or Hanbali school of Islamic jurisprudence.[30] Hamza Dudgeon claims that Addas, Chodkiewizc, Gril, Winkel and Al-Gorab mistakenly attribute to Ibn ʿArabī non-madhhabism.[31]

On an extant manuscript of Ibn Ḥazm, as transmitted by Ibn ʿArabī, Ibn ʿArabī gives an introduction to the work where he describes a vision he had:

“I saw myself in the village of Sharaf near Siville; there I saw a plain on which rose an elevation. On this elevation the Prophet stood, and a man whom I did not know, approached him; they embraced each other so violently that they seemed to interpenetrate and become one person. Great brightness concealed them from the eyes of the people. ‘I would like to know,’ I thought, ‘who is this strange man.’ Then I heard some one say: ‘This is the traditionalist ʿAlī Ibn Ḥazm.’ I had never heard Ibn Ḥazm’s name before. One of my shaykhs, whom I questioned, informed me that this man is an authority in the field of science of Hadeeth.”

— Goldziher, The Ẓāhirīs: Their Doctrine and Their History (1971)

Goldziher says, “The period between the sixth (hijri) and the seventh century seems also to have been the prime of the Ẓāhirite school in Andalusia.”[32]

Ibn Arabi did delve into specific details at times, and was known for his view that religiously binding consensus could only serve as a source of sacred law if it was the consensus of the first generation of Muslims who had witnessed revelation directly.[33]

Ibn Arabi also expounded on Sufi Allegories of the Sharia building upon previous work by Al-Ghazali and al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi.[34]

Al-Insān al-kāmil[edit]

The doctrine of perfect man (Al-Insān al-Kāmil) is popularly considered an honorific title attributed to Muhammad having its origins in Islamic mysticism, although the concept's origin is controversial and disputed.[35] Arabi may have first coined this term in referring to Adam as found in his work Fusus al-hikam, explained as an individual who binds himself with the Divine and creation.[36]

Taking an idea already common within Sufi culture, Ibn Arabi applied deep analysis and reflection on the concept of a perfect human and one's pursuit in fulfilling this goal. In developing his explanation of the perfect being, Ibn Arabi first discusses the issue of oneness through the metaphor of the mirror.[37]

In this philosophical metaphor, Ibn Arabi compares an object being reflected in countless mirrors to the relationship between God and his creatures. 

God's essence is seen in the existent human being, 

as God is the object and human beings the mirrors. 

Meaning two things; 

  • that since humans are mere reflections of God there can be no distinction or separation between the two and, 
  • without God the creatures would be non-existent. 

When an individual understands that there is no separation between human and God they begin on the path of ultimate oneness

The one who decides to walk in this oneness pursues the true reality and responds to God's longing to be known

The search within for this reality of oneness causes one to be reunited with God, as well as, improve self-consciousness.[37]

The perfect human, through this developed self-consciousness and self-realization, prompts divine self-manifestation. This causes the perfect human to be of both divine and earthly origin. 

Ibn Arabi metaphorically calls him an Isthmus. Being an Isthmus between heaven and Earth, the perfect human fulfills God's desire to be known. 

God's presence can be realized through him by others. Ibn Arabi expressed that through self manifestation one acquires divine knowledge, which he called the primordial spirit of Muhammad and all its perfection. 

Ibn Arabi details that the perfect human is of the cosmos to the divine and conveys the divine spirit to the cosmos.[37]

Ibn Arabi further explained the perfect man concept using at least twenty-two different descriptions and various aspects when considering the Logos.[37] He contemplated the Logos, or "Universal Man", as a mediation between the individual human and the divine essence.[38]

Ibn Arabi believed Muhammad to be the primary perfect man who exemplifies the morality of God.[39] 

Ibn Arabi regarded the first entity brought into existence was the reality or essence of Muhammad (al-ḥaqīqa al-Muhammadiyya), master of all creatures, and a primary role-model for human beings to emulate. 

Ibn Arabi believed that God's attributes and names are manifested in this world, with the most complete and perfect display of these divine attributes and names seen in Muhammad. 

Ibn Arabi believed that one may see God in the mirror of Muhammad. He maintained that Muhammad was the best proof of God and, by knowing Muhammad, one knows God.[40]

Ibn Arabi also described Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all other prophets and various Anbiya' Allah (Muslim messengers) as perfect men, 

but never tires of attributing lordship, inspirational source, and highest rank to Muhammad.[40][41] 

Ibn Arabi compares his own status as a perfect man 

as being but a single dimension to the comprehensive nature of Muhammad.[41] 

Ibn 'Arabi makes extraordinary assertions regarding his own spiritual rank, 

but qualifying this rather audacious correlation by asserting his "inherited" perfection is only a single dimension of the comprehensive perfection of Muhammad.[41]

Reaction[edit]

The reaction of Ibn 'Abd as-Salam, a Muslim scholar respected by both Ibn Arabi's supporters and detractors, has been of note due to disputes over whether he himself was a supporter or detractor. All parties have claimed to have transmitted Ibn 'Abd as-Salam's comments from his student Ibn Sayyid al-Nas, yet the two sides have transmitted very different accounts. Ibn TaymiyyahAl-Dhahabi and Ibn Kathir all transmitted Ibn 'Abd as-Salam's comments as a criticism, while FairuzabadiAl-SuyutiAhmed Mohammed al-Maqqari and Yusuf an-Nabhani have all transmitted the comments as praise.[42]

Creed[edit]

His best-known book, entitled 'al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya' (The Meccan Victories or Illuminations) which begins with a statement of doctrine (belief) about which al-Safadi (d. 764/1363) said: "I saw (read) that (al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya) from beginning to end. It consists of the doctrine of Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari without any difference (deviation) whatsoever."[43][44]

Works[edit]

Page from Ibn Arabi's six-volume Dīwān, copied by the author. Khalili Collection of Islamic Art

Some 800 works are attributed to Ibn Arabi, although only some have been authenticated. Recent research suggests that over 100 of his works have survived in manuscript form, although most printed versions have not yet been critically edited and include many errors.[45] A specialist of Ibn 'Arabi, William Chittick, referring to Osman Yahya's definitive bibliography of the Andalusian's works, says that, out of the 850 works attributed to him, some 700 are authentic while over 400 are still extant.[46]

  • The Meccan Illuminations (Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya), his largest work in 37 volumes originally and published in 4 or 8 volumes in modern times, discussing a wide range of topics from mystical philosophy to Sufi practices and records of his dreams/visions. It totals 560 chapters.[6] In modern editions it amounts to some 15 000 pages.[47]
  • The Ringstones of Wisdom (also translated as The Bezels of Wisdom), or Fusus al-Hikam. Composed during the later period of Ibn 'Arabi's life, the work is sometimes considered his most important and can be characterized as a summary of his teachings and mystical beliefs. 
  • It deals with the role played by various prophets in divine revelation.[48][49][50] The attribution of this work (Fusus al-Hikam) to Ibn Arabi is debated and in at least one source[51] is described as a forgery and false attribution to him reasoning that there are 74 books in total attributed to Sheikh Ibn Arabi of which 56 have been mentioned in "Al Futuhat al-Makkiyya" and the rest mentioned in the other books cited therein. However many other scholars accept the work as genuine.[52][53]
  • The Dīwān, his collection of poetry spanning five volumes, mostly unedited. The printed versions available are based on only one volume of the original work.
  • The Holy Spirit in the Counselling of the Soul (Rūḥ al-quds), a treatise on the soul which includes a summary of his experience from different spiritual masters in the Maghrib. Part of this has been translated as Sufis of Andalusia, reminiscences and spiritual anecdotes about many interesting people whom he met in al-Andalus.
  • Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries (Mashāhid al-Asrār), probably his first major work, consisting of fourteen visions and dialogues with God.
  • Divine Sayings (Mishkāt al-Anwār), an important collection made by Ibn 'Arabī of 101 hadīth qudsī
  • The Book of Annihilation in Contemplation (K. al-Fanā' fi'l-Mushāhada), a short treatise on the meaning of mystical annihilation (fana).
  • Devotional Prayers (Awrād), a widely read collection of fourteen prayers for each day and night of the week.
  • Journey to the Lord of Power (Risālat al-Anwār), a detailed technical manual and roadmap for the "journey without distance".
  • The Book of God's Days (Ayyām al-Sha'n), a work on the nature of time and the different kinds of days experienced by gnostics
  • The Fabulous Gryphon of the West ('Unqā' Mughrib), a book on the meaning of sainthood and its culmination in Jesus and the Mahdī
  • The Universal Tree and the Four Birds (al-Ittihād al-Kawnī), a poetic book on the Complete Human and the four principles of existence
  • Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection ('al-Dawr al-A'lā), a short prayer which is still widely used in the Muslim world
  • The Interpreter of Desires (Tarjumān al-Ashwāq), a collection of nasībs which, in response to critics, Ibn Arabi republished with a commentary explaining the meaning of the poetic symbols.
  • Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom (At-Tadbidrat al-ilahiyyah fi islah al-mamlakat al-insaniyyah).
  • The Four Pillars of Spiritual Transformation (Hilyat al-abdāl) a short work on the essentials of the spiritual Path

The Meccan Illuminations (Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya)[edit]

According to Claude Addas, Ibn Arabi began writing Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya after he arrived in Mecca in 1202. After almost thirty years, the first draft of Futūḥāt was completed in December 1231 (629 AH), and Ibn Arabi bequeathed it to his son.[54] Two years before his death, Ibn ‘Arabī embarked on a second draft of the Futūḥāt in 1238 (636 AH),[54] of which included a number of additions and deletions as compared with the previous draft, that contains 560 chapters. The second draft, which the most widely circulated and used, was bequeathed to his disciple, Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi. There are many scholars attempt to translate this book from Arabic into other languages, but there is no complete translation of Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya to this day.

The Bezels of Wisdom (Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam)[edit]

There have been many commentaries on Ibn 'Arabī's Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam: Osman Yahya named more than 100 while Michel Chodkiewicz precises that "this list is far from exhaustive."[55] The first one was Kitab al-Fukūk written by Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qunawī who had studied the book with Ibn 'Arabī; the second by Qunawī's student, Mu'ayyad al-Dīn al-Jandi, which was the first line-by-line commentary; the third by Jandī's student, Dawūd al-Qaysarī, which became very influential in the Persian-speaking world. 

A recent English translation of Ibn 'Arabī's own summary of the Fuṣūṣ, Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ (The Imprint or Pattern of the Fusus) as well a commentary on this work by 'Abd al-Raḥmān JāmīNaqd al-Nuṣūṣ fī Sharḥ Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ (1459), by William Chittick was published in Volume 1 of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society (1982).[56]

Critical editions and translations of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam[edit]

The Fuṣūṣ was first critically edited in Arabic by 'Afīfī (1946) that become the standard in scholarly works. Later in 2015, Ibn al-Arabi Foundation in Pakistan published the Urdu translation, including the new critical of Arabic edition.[57]

The first English translation was done in partial form by Angela Culme-Seymour[58] from the French translation of Titus Burckhardt as Wisdom of the Prophets (1975),[59] and the first full translation was by Ralph Austin as Bezels of Wisdom (1980).[60] There is also a complete French translation by Charles-Andre Gilis, entitled Le livre des chatons des sagesses (1997). The only major commentary to have been translated into English so far is entitled Ismail Hakki Bursevi's translation and commentary on Fusus al-hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, translated from Ottoman Turkish by Bulent Rauf in 4 volumes (1985–1991).

In Urdu, the most widespread and authentic translation was made by Shams Ul Mufasireen Bahr-ul-uloom Hazrat (Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri -Hasrat), the former Dean and Professor of Theology of the Osmania UniversityHyderabad. It is due to this reason that his translation is in the curriculum of Punjab University. Maulvi Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui has made an interpretive translation and explained the terms and grammar while clarifying the Shaikh's opinions. A new edition of the translation was published in 2014 with brief annotations throughout the book for the benefit of contemporary Urdu reader.[61]

In fiction[edit]

In the Turkish television series Diriliş: Ertuğrul, Ibn Arabi was portrayed by Ozman Sirgood.[62] In 2017, Saudi Arabian novelist Mohammed Hasan Alwan won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction for his novel A Small Death, a fictionalized account of Ibn Arabi's life.[63]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Sources[edit]

As of this edit, this article uses content from "A Concise biography of Ibn 'Arabi", which is licensed in a way that permits reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, but not under the GFDL. All relevant terms must be followed.

Citations[edit]

  1. ^ Ozgur, Koca. Said Nursi's Synthesis of Ash'arite Occasionalism and Ibn 'Arabi's Metaphysical Cosmology: "Diagonal Occasionalism," Modern Science", and "Free Will". UMI Dissertations Publishing. p. 217. ISBN 9781303619793.
  2. ^ Ramin JahanbeglooIn Search of the Sacred : A Conversation with Seyyed Hossein Nasr on His Life and ThoughtABC-CLIO (2010), p. 59
  3. ^ Ibrahim Kalin, Salim Ayduz The Oxford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Science, and Technology in Islam, Vol. 1 (Oxford University Press, 2014 ISBN 9780199812578), p. 162
  4. ^ Chittick, William C. (April 2007). Ibn 'Arabi: Heir to the Prophets. Oxford: Oneworld Publications. p. 1ISBN 978-1851685110.
  5. ^ Al-Suyuti, Tanbih al-Ghabi fi Tanzih Ibn ‘Arabi (p. 17-21)
  6. Jump up to:a b c d e f "The Meccan Revelations"World Digital Library. 1900–1999. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  7. ^ Arabi, Ibn (2020). IBN 'ARABI 》 'Doctor Maximus' & 'The Great Master' SELECTED POEMS (Translation & Introduction by Paul Smith)ISBN 978-10-78-41521-7. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Ibn al-ʿArabī | Muslim mystic".
  9. ^ "Names and Titles of Ibn Arabi".
  10. ^ Chittick, William (Summer 2018). "Ibn Arabi". In Zalta, Edward N. (ed.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Stanford: Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University. Retrieved 19 July 2018Ibn ‘Arabî referred to himself with fuller versions of his name, such as Abû ‘Abdallâh Muhammad ibn ‘Alî ibn al-‘Arabî al-Tâ’î al-Hâtimî (the last three names indicating his noble Arab lineage)
  11. ^ Hossein Nasr, Seyyed (1 Jan 1999). Sufi Essays. Chicago: Kazi Publications, Inc. p. 116. ISBN 978-1871031416It is well known that Ibn 'Arabi, from the point of view of his madhhab was a Sunni...but it is also known that he wrote a treatise on the twelve Shiite imams which has always been popular among Shiites.
  12. ^ Chodkiewicz, Michel (1993). An Ocean Without Shore: Ibn Arabi, the Book, and the Law. SUNY Press. p. 55. ISBN 978-0791416259.
  13. ^ Chittick 2007, p. 2-3.
  14. ^ Ibn, Khafif (1999). Correct Islamic Doctrine/Islamic Doctrine. ISCA. ISBN 978-1-930409-01-9.
  15. ^ "Ibn al-ʿArabī | Muslim mystic"Encyclopedia Britannica.
  16. ^ Hirtenstein, Stephen (1999). The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn 'Arabi. Oxford: Anqa Publishing. p. 32. ISBN 978-1883991296Like many Andalusians, he came of mixed parentage: his father's name indicates an Arab family, which had probably emigrated to Andalusia in the early years of the Arab conquest, while his mother seems to have come from a Berber family...
  17. ^ Hirtenstein, Stephen C. (September 1999). The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn 'Arabi. p. 252. ISBN 978-1905937387.
  18. Jump up to:a b c Chittick 2007, p. 4.
  19. Jump up to:a b Chittick 2007, p. 5.
  20. ^ John Renard (18 May 2009). Tales of God's Friends: Islamic Hagiography in Translation. University of California Press. p. 35. ISBN 978-0-520-25896-9. Retrieved 11 February 2012.
  21. ^ Elmore, Gerald T. (1999). Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness of Time: Ibn Al-ʻArabī's Book of the Fabulous Gryphon. Brill. p. 69. ISBN 978-90-04-10991-9.
  22. ^ Addas, Claude (2019). Ibn Arabi: The Voyage of No Return (Second ed.). Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society. p. 51. ISBN 9781911141402.
  23. ^ Addas, Claude (2019), p.68-69
  24. ^ Chittick 2007, p. 5
  25. ^ Testament to Qaḍīb al-Bān's life exists in a manuscript at the University of Baghdad (no. 541).
  26. Jump up to:a b Hirtenstein, Stephen (1999). The Unlimited Mercifier, The Spiritual life and thought of Ibn 'Arabi. Anqa Publishing & White Cloud Press. ISBN 978-0953451326.
  27. ^ Islaahe Nafs ka AAiena e Haq
  28. ^ Mohammed Rustom, Review of Michel Chodkiewicz's An Ocean without Shore
  29. ^ Hamza Dudgeon, "The Counter-Current Movements of Andalusia and Ibn ʿArabī: Should Ibn ʿArabī be considered a Ẓāhirī?" 2018, Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society Vol. 64. https://www.academia.edu/36173562/The_Counter_Current_Movements_of_Andalusia_and_Ibn_%CA%BFArab%C4%AB_Should_Ibn_%CA%BFArab%C4%AB_be_considered_a_%E1%BA%92%C4%81hir%C4%AB
  30. ^ Ignaz Goldziher, The Ẓāhirīs: Their Doctrine and Their History, ed. and trans. by Wolfgang Behn (Leiden: Brill, 1971), 169.
  31. ^ Dudgeon, "The Counter-Current Movements of Andalusia and Ibn ʿArabī: Should Ibn ʿArabī be considered a Ẓāhirī?," 104.
  32. ^ Goldziher, The Ẓāhirīs, 170-171
  33. ^ Chiragh Ali, The Proposed Political, Legal and Social Reforms. Taken from Modernist Islam 1840-1940: A Sourcebook, pg. 281. Edited by Charles KurzmanNew York CityOxford University Press, 2002.
  34. ^ Hamza Dudgeon, "The Revival of Sharia’s Allegories," 2019 Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society Vol. 66. https://www.academia.edu/40585698/The_Revival_of_Sharia_s_Allegories
  35. ^ Chittick, William C. "Ebn al-‘Arabi Mohyi-al- Din Abu ‘Abd-Allah Mohammad Ta’I Hatemi." Encyclopedia Iranica (1996): Web. 3 Apr 2011. <http://iranica.com/articles/ebn-al-arabi>
  36. ^ Fitzpatrick, Coeli; Walker, Adam Hani (2014). Muhammad in History, Thought, and Culture. Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO. p. 440. ISBN 978-1610691772.
  37. Jump up to:a b c d Little, John T. (January 1987). "Al-Insān Al-Kāmil: The Perfect Man According to Ibn Al-'arabi". The Muslim World77 (1): 43–54. doi:10.1111/j.1478-1913.1987.tb02785.x.
  38. ^ Dobie, Robert J.date=17 November 2009 (2010). Logos and Revelation: Ibn 'Arabi, Meister Eckhart, and Mystical Hermeneutics. Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press. p. 225. ISBN 978-0813216775For Ibn Arabi, the Logos or "Universal Man" was a mediating link between individual human beings and the divine essence.
  39. ^ Fitzpatrick and Walker 2014, p. 445
  40. Jump up to:a b Fitzpatrick and Walker 2014, p. 446
  41. Jump up to:a b c Gregory A. Lipton (2018-04-02), Rethinking Ibn 'Arabi, Oxford University Press, p. 15, ISBN 9780190684518
  42. ^ Alexander D. Knysh, Ibn 'Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition: The Making of a Polemical Image in Medieval Islam, pg. 64. AlbanyState University of New York Press, 1999. ISBN 9780791439678
  43. ^ Ibn Khafif (1999). Correct Islamic Doctrine/Islamic Doctrine. Translated by Gibril Fouad HaddadAs-Sunna Foundation of America. p. 4. ISBN 9781930409019.
  44. ^ Gibril Fouad Haddad (2015). The Biographies of the Elite Lives of the Scholars, Imams and Hadith Masters. Zulfiqar Ayub. p. 233.
  45. ^ "Ibn Arabi (560-638/1165-1240)". Cis-ca.org. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  46. ^ William C. Chittick, Ibn 'Arabi: Heir to the Prophets, Oneworld Publications (2012), p. 7
  47. ^ Michel Chodkiewicz, introduction in The Spiritual Writings of Amir 'Abd al-Kader, SUNY Press (1995), p. 7
  48. ^ Naqvi, S. Ali Raza, THE BEZELS OF WISDOM (Ibn al-'Arabī's Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam) by R.W.J. Austin (rev.), Islamic Studies, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Summer 1984), pp. 146-150
  49. ^ Chittick, William C. "The Disclosure of the Intervening Image: Ibn 'Arabî on Death", Discourse 24.1 (2002), pp. 51-62
  50. ^ Almond, Ian. "The Honesty of the Perplexed: Derrida and Ibn 'Arabi on 'Bewilderment'", Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 70, No. 3 (Sep., 2002), pp. 515-537
  51. ^ Al Futuhat Al Makkiyya, Dar Sader, Beirut, Lebanon, Book 1, pg 7
  52. ^ Chittick, William C. "The Disclosure of the Intervening Image: Ibn 'Arabi on Death" Discourse 24.1 (2002) 51-62
  53. ^ Notes on Fusus ul HikamReynold A. NicholsonStudies in Islamic Mysticism
  54. Jump up to:a b Addas, Claude. (2000). Ibn ʻArabī, the voyage of no return. Cambridge, CB, UK: Islamic Texts Society. ISBN 0946621748OCLC 41925362.
  55. ^ Michel Chodkiewicz, An Ocean Without Shore: Ibn Arabi, the Book, and the Law, SUNY Press (1993), p. 59
  56. ^ "Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society". Ibnarabisociety.org. Retrieved 2018-11-05.
  57. ^ Sultan al-Mansub, Abd al-Aziz; Shahī, Abrar Ahmed, eds. (2015). Fusus al-Hikam. translator: Abrar Ahmed Shahi. Ibn al-Arabi Foundation.
  58. ^ "Angela Culme-Seymour"The Daily Telegraph. February 3, 2012. Archived from the original on 2022-01-12.
  59. ^ Culme-Seymour, A.(tr.)(1975),"The Wisdom of the Prophets", Gloucestershire, U.K.:Beshara Publications
  60. ^ Austin, R.W.J.(tr.)(1980),"Ibn Al'Arabi: The Bezels of Wisdom", Mahwah, NJ: The Paulist Press, ISBN 0-8091-2331-2
  61. ^ Fusus Al Hikam Archived 2015-07-04 at the Wayback Machine, Translated by Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui, Annotated by Mohammed Abdul Ahad Siddiqui, 2014 Kitab Mahal, Darbar Market, Lahore, Online Version at guldustah.com
  62. ^ "Osman Soykut Kimdir? - Güncel Osman Soykut Haberleri"www.sabah.com.tr. Retrieved 12 June 2020.
  63. ^ "Saudi wins award for novel on Ibn Arabi"Dawn. 26 April 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2021.

Bibliography[edit]

Books by Ibn Arabi[edit]

This is a small selection of his many books.

In Arabic[edit]
  • Ibn ‘Arabī. Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, Vols. 1–4. Beirut: n.p.; photographic reprint of the old edition of Bulaq 1329/1911 which comprises four volumes each about 700 pages of 35 lines; the page size is 20 by 27cm. Print.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī, Ibrāhīm Madkūr, and ʻUthmān Yaḥyá. Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, Vols. 1–14,. al-Qāhirah: al-Hayʼah al-Miṣrīyah al-ʻĀmmah lil-Kitāb, 1972. Print. this is the critical edition by Osman Yahya. This version was not completed, and the 14 volumes correspond to only volume I of the standard Bulaq/Beirut edition.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī, Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam. Beirut: Dar al-Kitab al-'Arabī. Print.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī. Sharḥ Risālat Rūḥ Al-quds fī Muḥāsabat Al-nafs. Comp. Mahmud Ghurab. 2nd ed. Damascus: Naḍar, 1994. Print.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī. Inshā’ al-Dawā’ir, Beirut: Dar al-kutub al-‘Ilmiyya. 2004. Print.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī. Rasā’il Ibn ‘Arabī (Ijāza li Malik al-Muẓaffar). Beirut: Dar al-kutub al-‘Ilmiyya, 2001. Print.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī. Rasā'il Ibn al-'Arabî (Kitāb al-Jalāla). Hyberadad-Deccan: Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya, 1948. Print.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī. Kitāb al Bā’. Cairo: Maktabat al-Qāhira, 1954. Print.
  • Ibn ‘Arabī, Risālat ila Imām al-Rāzī. Hyberadad-Deccan: Dā’irat al-Ma‘ārif al-‘Uthmāniyya, 1948. Print.
In English[edit]

Books about Ibn 'Arabi[edit]

  • Addas, Claude, Quest for the Red SulphurIslamic Texts Society, Cambridge, 1993. ISBN 0-946621-45-4.
  • Addas, Claude, Ibn Arabi: The Voyage of No Return, Cambridge, 2019 (second edition), Islamic Texts Society. ISBN 9781911141402.
  • Akkach, Samer, Ibn 'Arabî's Cosmogony and the Sufi Concept of Time, in: Constructions of Time in the Late Middle Ages, ed. Carol Poster and Richard Utz. Evanston, IL: Northwestern University Press, 1997. Pp. 115-42.
  • Titus Burckhardt & Bulent Rauf (translator), Mystical Astrology According to Ibn 'Arabi (The Fons Vitae Titus Burckhardt Series) ISBN 1-887752-43-9
  • Henry CorbinAlone with the Alone; Creative Imagination in the Sūfism of IbnʿArabī, Bollingen, Princeton 1969, (reissued in 1997 with a new preface by Harold Bloom).
  • Elmore, Gerald T. Ibn Al-'Arabī’s Testament on the Mantle of Initiation (al-Khirqah). Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society XXVI (1999): 1-33. Print.
  • Elmore, Gerald T. Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness of Time: Ibn Al-‘Arabī's Book of the Fabulous Gryphon. Leiden: Brill, 1999. Print.
  • Hirtenstein, Stephen (1999). The Unlimited Mercifier, The Spiritual life and thought of Ibn 'Arabi. Anqa Publishing & White Cloud Press. ISBN 978-0953451326.
  • Hirtenstein, Stephen, and Jane Clark. Ibn 'Arabi Digital Archive Project Report for 2009 Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi 1165AD - 1240AD and the Ibn 'Arabi Society. Dec. 2009. Web. 20 Aug. 2010.
  • Knysh, Alexander. Ibn 'Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition: The making of a polemical image in medieval Islam. Albany, NY: SUNY Press, 1999.
  • Torbjörn Säfve, "Var inte rädd" ('Do not be afraid'), ISBN 91-7221-112-1
  • Yahia, Osman. Mu'allafāt Ibn ʻarabī: Tārīkhuhā Wa-Taṣnīfuhā. Cairo: Dār al-Ṣābūnī, 1992. Print.
  • Yousef, Mohamed Haj. Ibn 'Arabi - Time and Cosmology (London, Routledge, 2007) (Culture and Civilization in the Middle East).
  • Yūsuf, Muhammad Haj. Shams Al-Maghrib. Allepo: Dār al-Fuṣṣilat, 2006. Print.
  • Kiliç, M.Erol; Caradaş, Cağfer; Kaya, Mahmut (1999). İBNÜ'l-ARABÎ, Muhyiddin - An article published in Turkish Encyclopedia of Islam (in Turkish). Vol. 20 (Ibn Haldun - Ibnu'l Cezeri). Istanbul: TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi. pp. 493–522. ISBN 978-975-389-447-0.

External links[edit]