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
19 September 2024
The body bows down onto the earth that is his root, and the spirit bows down onto the All-Soul whence he originated, and your secret heart bows down to his Lord, by whom the step-level was bestowed. The roots – all of them – are unseen. Do you see them (body, spirit, secret heart) having appeared for the tree, but their roots are unseen? Indeed, the process of creation is unseen – not seen by any one. The fetus undergoes creation in the interior of his mother, so he is unseen. Another animal is formed in the egg; and when he is complete, he breaks out. The True is the root being of the things, and He is unseen by them.
Book 12, Chapter 73
17 September 2024
The end result of guidance is felicity in the Garden.
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 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
Murcia – October 19-20
Ibn Arabi Poetry in Motion Spain – MIAS Summer School Symposium
Join MIAS Latina & MIAS Education in Murcia for two days filled with beautiful poetry and thoughtful insights. Speakers include: Pablo Beneito, Cecilia Twinch, Amina Gonzales, Fabrizio Boscaglia, Federico Salvaggio and Omar Zein. The symposium will be held in the English language.
More information
Online talk October 26
The Heart of Azrael
Dunja Rašić will speak on, ‘The Heart of Azrael: Angelification and Angelomorphism in Akbarian Sufism’. Presented by MIAS USA
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Online talk November 2
Dissolving into Being: The Wisdom of Sufi Philosophy
William Rory Dickson, will present his latest book “Dissolving into Being: The Wisdom of Sufi Philosophy” in an online conversation on 2nd November 2024, 5:00 PM (London time)
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
Social Media
The Society in the USA maintains a Facebook Page, and the Society in the UK maintains a Facebook Group. Both provide news about Society events, and the Facebook Group can be a good place to ask questions.
Contact
The Society is administered from two centres: Oxford (UK) and Berkeley (USA). The Society in the UK is responsible for everywhere outside North America.
Making a Donation
As a non-profit organisation, the Society welcomes donations of any size. Donations help underwrite the many activities of the Society.
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