Print this article Ibn ‘Arabi: Spiritual Practice and Other Translations
James Winston Morris
James W. Morris (Boston College) has taught and published widely on Islamic and religious studies over the past 40 years at the Universities of Exeter, Princeton, Oberlin, and the Institute of Ismaili Studies in Paris and London, serving recently as visiting professor in Istanbul, Paris, and Jogjakarta. He has lived and studied in regions from Morocco to Indonesia, and he lectures and leads workshops in many countries on Islamic philosophy and theology, Sufism, the Islamic humanities (poetry, music, and visual arts), the Quran and hadith, and esoteric Shiism. Recently he has led interfaith study-abroad programs centering on sacred sites, pilgrimage, sainthood, and related arts and architecture in Turkey and France.
His publications include: Openings:From the Qur’an to the Islamic Humanities (forthcoming); Approaching Ibn ‘Arabi : Foundations, Contexts, Interpretations (forthcoming); Ma‘rifat ar-Rūh in Nur Ali Elahi's Knowing the Spirit (2007), and The Reflective Heart: Discovering Spiritual Intelligence in Ibn ‘Arabī’s "Meccan Illuminations"(2005).
Articles by James W. Morris
Introduction to The Meccan Revelations
Ibn ‘Arabi’s “Short Course” on Love
How to Study the Futuhat: Ibn Arabi’s Own Advice
Hur Man Studerar Futuhat: Ibn Arabis Egna Råd (Swedish)
Ibn Arabi: Spiritual Practice and Other Translations – Overview of the ten following articles:
Some Dreams of Ibn Arabi (PDF)
Introducing Ibn Arabi’s “Book of Spiritual Advice” (PDF)
“Book of the Quintessence of What is Indispensable for the Spiritual Seeker” (PDF)
Ibn Arabi on the Barzakh – Chapter 63 of the Futuhat (PDF)
The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn Arabi and the miraj – Chapter 367 of the Futuhat (PDF)
The Mahdi and His Helpers – Chapter 366 of the Futuhat (PDF)
Ibn Arabi’s ‘Esotericism’: The Problem of Spiritual Authority (PDF)
Communication and Spiritual Pedagogy: Methods of Investigation (tahqiq) (PDF)
Rhetoric & Realisation in Ibn Arabi: How Can We Communicate Meanings Today? (PDF)
Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 1
Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 2
Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 3
Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 4
Divine Calling, Human Response – Scripture and Realization in the Meccan Illuminations | Part 1
Divine Calling, Human Response – Scripture and Realization in the Meccan Illuminations | Part 2
Opening the Heart: Ibn Arabi on Suffering, Compassion and Atonement
Ibn Arabi and his Interpreters – Overview of 28 articles and reviews in this section
Ibn ‘Arabi and his Interpreters I – Four overviews, description of the following:
Ibn Arabi; in the “Far West” (PDF)
Except His Face: The Political and Aesthetic Dimensions of Ibn Arabi’s Legacy (PDF)
Situating Islamic ‘Mysticism’ (PDF)
Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters — Grouping I:
Overviews
Ibn Arabi; in the “Far West” (PDF)
Except His Face: The Political and Aesthetic Dimensions of Ibn Arabi’s Legacy (PDF)
Situating Islamic ‘Mysticism’ (PDF)
“Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters”, JAOS article 1986 (PDF) | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 1 (HTML)
Theophany or “Pantheism” – The Importance of Balyani’s Risalat al-Ahadiya
The Continuing Relevance of Qaysari’s Thought: Divine Imagination and the Foundation of Natural Spirituality
Review: La destinée de l’homme selon Avicenne: Le retour à Dieu (maad) et l’imagination by Jean Michot
Review: Kitab al-inbah ‘ala Tariq Allah de ‘Abdallah Badr al-Habashi
Review: La Risala de Safi al-Din ibn Abi l-Mansur ibn Zafir
Review: Manjhan, Madhumalati: An Indian Sufi Romance
Review: Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Science and Sacred Art
An Arab “Machiavelli”? – Rhetoric, Philosophy and Politics in Ibn Khaldun’s Critique of “Sufism”
Review: Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and Polemics
Review: Ibn Arabi and the Later Islamic Tradition: The Making of a Polemical Image in Medieval Islam
Review: Theodicy in Islamic Thought: The Dispute over al-Ghazali’s “Best of All Possible Worlds”
Ibn Masarra: A Reconsideration of the Primary Sources (PDF)
Podcasts and Videos by James W. Morris
Beyond Belief: Ibn ‘Arabi on the Perennial Challenges of Realization
“As for your Lord’s blessings, recount them!”: Ibn ‘Arabi’s Storytelling and Spiritual Communication
Becoming Real: Realization and Revelation in Rumi and Ibn Arabi
Whose calling, whose response? Ibn 'Arabi on Divine and Human Responsiveness
Opening the heart in the Futuhat
This volume includes a variety of shorter, partial translations of short treatises by Ibn ‘Arabi or selections from his ‘Meccan Illuminations’, most of which should eventually appear in more complete form in two forthcoming volumes now in preparation: Ibn ‘Arabî’s Divine Comedy: an Introduction to Islamic Eschatology; and Spiritual Practice and the Spiritual Path: Ibn ‘Arabî’s Advice for the Seeker. The first two short excerpts are included because of their special ‘autobiographical’ nature and relevance to Ibn ‘Arabî’s own life. The original places of publication for these versions are indicated below.
Some Dreams of Ibn Arabi (PDF) (from his Risâlat al-Mubashshirât), pp. 1-3 in the Newsletter of the Muhyiddîn Ibn ‘Arabî Society (Oxford), Autumn, 1993.
Body of Light (PDF) Ibn ‘Arabi’s Account of His Father’s Death. In Newsletter of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society, Oxford, Spring 1999, p. 4.
Introducing Ibn Arabi’s “Book of Spiritual Advice” (PDF). In Journal of the Muhyiddîn Ibn ‘Arabî Society, vol. XXVIII (2000), pp. 1-18.
Partial new translation (full one to be included in Spiritual Practice…) of Ibn ‘Arabî’s “Book of the Quintessence of What is Indispensable for the Spiritual Seeker” (PDF)
Spiritual Imagination and the “Liminal” World [Chapter 63 of the Futūhāt] :Ibn Arabi on the Barzakh – Chapter 63 of the Futuhat (PDF). In POSTDATA (Madrid), vol. 15, no. 2 (1995), pp. 42-49 and 104-109 [Spanish}
The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn Arabi and the miraj – Chapter 367 of the Futuhat (PDF). [Chapter 367 of the Futūhāt] In Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107 (1987), pp. 629-652, and vol. 108 (1988), pp. 63-77.
Chapter 366 of the Futūhāt, on The Mahdi and His Helpers – Chapter 366 of the Futuhat (PDF)] Included in section II, ‘At the End of Time’, in Ibn ‘Arabî: The Meccan Revelations (co-author with W. Chittick). New York, Pir Press, 2002.
A commentary on the fundamental issues raised in Chapter 366 of the Futūhāt, with new translations from throughout the Futūhāt. Ibn Arabi’s ‘Esotericism’: The Problem of Spiritual Authority (PDF) In Studia Islamica, LXXI (1990), pp. 37-64.
Rhetoric & Realisation in Ibn Arabi: How Can We Communicate Meanings Today? (PDF) To appear in the Proceedings of the International Conference on ‘Ibn ‘Arabî and the World Today‘, Rabat.
Communication and Spiritual Pedagogy: Methods of Investigation (tahqiq) (PDF) .To appear in Time, Space and Motion in Islam, ed. H. Ahmed. Washington, Islamic Thought and Science Institute, 2003.