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 an international association with its headquarters in Oxford England and a branch 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.
Recently Added Quotation
Futūḥāt Translation Project
15 April 2021
What is this image in the mirror? Where is her location? She is something negated / something affirmed, something existent / something non-existent, known / unknown. God brings out this truth for His creature by drawing a similitude (parable), in order for you to learn and to verify for yourself that since you are incapable of and confused about perceiving a truth of this which is a part of the world – and you do not acquire knowledge of its truth – then about its Creator you are even more incapable and more ignorant and more confused.
Book 4, Chapter 63 (p. 649-50)
19 April 2021
When my Beloved brilliant shines,
by which eye do I see hu?
With the eye of hu, not with my eye.
Thus, none sees hu but hu.
Book 4, Chapter 63 (p. 652)
Featured Article
Michel Chodkiewicz
From the Risāla Qushayriyya to the Futūhāt Makkiyya
In the Rūh al-quds Ibn ‘Arabi tells how a book (the Risāla Qushayriyya) was handed to him by Yūsuf al-Qummī, who told him to read aloud: “I had never at that time seen the Risāla of al-Qushayrī, nor any similar work, and I was unaware of what the word tasawwuf signified.” In this paper Michel Chodkiewicz both shows how the structure of 115-chapter long second section of the Futūhāt Makkiyya, the fasl al-mu’āmalāt, is rigorously based on the Risāla Qushayriyya, and how is is anything but a simple recapitulation of that work.
List of all articles
Featured Podcast
Mahmud Erol Kiliç
We Sucked Milk From Two Mothers
A talk delivered in New York in 2011 by Mahmud Erol Kiliç at the Symposium entitled “Ibn Arabi and Rumi: Teachings for the Modern World”. It is sub-titled “Ibn ‘Arabi and Rumi as co-founders of Ottoman Sufi Thought”.
List of all podcasts
Featured Video
Luca Patrizi
Thus Spoke Adam: The Suryāniyya Language in Islamic Esotericism
There sometimes appear obscure references to a mysterious language, one which only a few great masters know and teach to a chosen few. It is known as suryāniyya, leading to a confusion between this and the historical Syriac language, both in old sources and contemporary studies. Esoteric suryāniyya is primordial (associated with Adam), and specifically linked to the language of the saints in Islamic esotericism. This talk explores references in the works of Ibn ʿArabī and other later masters, such as ʿAbd al-Wahhāb al-Shaʿrānī (d. 1565), and ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz al-Dabbāgh (d. 1719).
Latest News
April 10 to May 1, 2021
“Word and Letter, Book and Speech”
In 2021 the Society is planning three main online events. Each event will explore a different theme and will comprise four seminars run over consecutive Saturdays. The spring seminar series (beginning on April 10, 2021) is entitled ‘Word and Letter, Book and Speech’, and will feature talks by Dunja Rašić, Stephen Hirtenstein and Todd Lawson. The last seminar (on May 1) will be a panel discussion chaired by David Hornsby. More information
April – June 2021
“Embark therein: from Noah’s ark to Adam’s fall”
A ten-week online course with Dr Rim Feriani exploring the multi-layered meanings of the journey in Ibn Arabi’s teachings. We will read a selection of passages from Ibn Arabi’s The Secrets of Voyaging. More information
April 3, 2021
“Ibn Arabi’s Tomb and Spiritual Legacy in Damascus”
Prof Samer Akkach (Uni Adelaide, Australia) “Ibn Arabi’s Tomb and Spiritual Legacy in Damascus” 3rd April 2021, Saturday, 7-8 pm (Australian Eastern Daylight Time). The seminar is open-to-public and free, but registration is required. This talk is part of the series of online seminars on Ibn ʿArabi, entitled “The Hidden Treasure”, organised by the Ibn Arabi Interreligious Research Initiative (IAI) at Monash University, Australia. More information
Added to the Blog page, 5 March 2021
Ibn al-‘Arabî – Kitâb al-’Isrâ
A translation into French of Kitâb al-’Isrâ by Ibn ‘Arabi, which describes his spiritual ascension (mi‘râj). The translation draws on the commentary of his companion, Ibn Sawdakîn.
November 2020
Society Journal, Volume 68
Volume 68 of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society is now available. See the list of contents
June 2020
Futūḥāt Translation Project
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 2 has just appeared.
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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