“It is He who is revealed in every face, sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye, worshipped in every object of worship, and pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a single one of His creatures can fail to find Him in its primordial and original nature.”

Ibn ‘Arabi: al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, Ch. 372

Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi

Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi (1165–1240) was one of the world’s great spiritual teachers.

Ibn Arabi was born in Murcia in Arab al-Andalus, and his writings had an immense impact throughout the Islamic world and beyond. The universal ideas underlying his thought are of immediate relevance today.

The Society

The Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society (MIAS) was founded in 1977 to promote a greater understanding of the work of Ibn Arabi and his followers.

It is represented by non-profit organisations in Oxford, England and in Berkeley, California. The Society is funded by the annual subscriptions of its members. It collaborates with affiliated societies in Spain and Australia.

Activities

» Publications: The Society has published a Journal since 1982, which is now peer-reviewed and appears twice a year. It has published books, particularly a translation into English of the Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. Its website provides over 200 articles, mainly from the Journal.

» Events: The Society has organised conferences in the UK and the USA since 1984. Podcasts and videos of more than 100 talks from Society events are available on this website.

» Historic manuscript project: Since 2002 the Society has been engaged in collecting copies of historic manuscripts of the works of Ibn Arabi. A version of the catalogue is available on this website.

Society Membership

If you are interested in Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, his work and his teachings, you are welcome to join the Society. Among other benefits, Members receive the Society Journal, have discounted entry to Society events, and free admission to live online talks.

Supporting the Society

For information about some of the Society’s planned developments over the next three years, and how it makes use of regular donations, one-off gifts and bequests, please see the page on supporting the Society.

Recently Added Quotation

Futūḥāt Translation Project

29 October 2024

An address of the True through the mediation of the spirit confers awe.

Book 12, Chapter 73

30 October 2024

The greatest of blessings favored – no, it is an absolute blessing – is that the created beings be nourished with willing obedience to God, because for this they were created.

Book 12, Chapter 73

31 October 2024

Whoever is given the Qurʾān has been given the perfectly complete knowledge.

Book 12, Chapter 73

Go to the Quotations page

Featured Article

William C Chittick

The Religion of Love Revisited”

“Ibn al-ʿArabī and Rūmī – not to mention countless other teachers, Muslim and non-Muslim – looked at human beings as works in progress. Many of them would have been happy to call the path of becoming fully human ‘the religion of love.’” This article reviews ‘the religion of love’ in Ibn ʿArabī and three other authors, and relates it finally to what Ibn ‘Arabi says about the “Station of No Station”.

List of all articles

Featured Podcast

Éric Geoffroy

Spiritual Realization (al-tahqiq) through Daily Awakening

This is a meditation on the meaning of al-tahqiq (verification or realisation) which is central to the writing of Ibn ‘Arabi, and drawing on the writings of Sufis before Ibn ‘Arabi, such as Junayd (d. 911 AD, the “Leader of the Sufis”, sayyid al-ta’ifa), and others after him, such as Shaykh al-‘Alawi. Junayd said, “I have achieved al-tahqiq by staying in the presence of God for thirty years under these stairs”, by which he meant the stairs of his house. The paper later published in the Journal of the Society can be found here.

List of all podcasts

Latest News

Online talk 16 November

Monthly lecture for Arabic speakers

Dr. Mohammed Mrani from Morocco will speak at 12 noon Morocco local time on Saturday 16th November. The title of his lecture is, “Muhyiddin Ibn Al Arabi and Sheikh Ahmad bin Qusy: A Reading of the Book Commentary on Removing the Sandals by Ibn Al Arabi.”

More information

Belo Horizonte, Brazil – November 28-29

The Second International Symposium on Islamic Mysticism

The symposium will be held over 28-29 November, with a very full programme. The first morning is concerned with Ibn ‘Arabi and the importance of his thought in the contemporary world.

More information

Online talk – Saturday December 7

The Secret of God’s Most Beautiful Names

Pablo Beneito will introduce his translation into English of the book by Ibn ‘Arabi, The Secret of God’s Most Beautiful Names (Kashf al-ma’nā ‘an sirr asmā’ Allāh al-ḥusnā) at 5:00 PM UK time.

More information

July 25 – 26, 2025 London

The Body as Metaphor of Divine Self-Revelation

A two-day MIAS symposium will be held in 2025 under the title “Mirrors of the Transcendent in the Cosmos of Ibn Arabi: The Body as Metaphor of Divine Self-Revelation” at the Warburg Institute, London.

More information

Online courses 2024-25

Education Courses Calendar

Upcoming MIAS Education courses and events are listed on the Courses Calendar page. “With which eye do I see Him” is an online course beginning on October 8, exploring imagination in The Meccan Openings.

More information

July 2024

Society Journal, Volume 75

Volume 75 of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society has come out. It includes articles by Pablo Beneito and Stephen Hirtenstein, Faris Abdel-hadi, Peter Coates and Mohammed Rustom, and reviews of Love in Sufi Literature: Ibn ʿAjiba’s Understanding of the Divine Word and Islamic Thought and the Art of Translation: Texts and Studies in Honor of William C. Chittick and Sachiko Murata.

See the list of contents

April 2024

Young Writer Award

The judges have announced the results of Young Writer competition for 2023

About the young writers

December 2023

The Futuhat Foundation

Dr Eric Winkel is engaged in a translation into English of Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Futūḥāt al-Makkīyah, from beginning to end. It is being published progressively by the Pir Press, and Volume 4 was published in 2022 and further volumes are expected in 2023.
More information