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.
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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
14 June 2022
God sent down zakāt,* as we said, as a ṭahārah* for assets. It is difficult for the neglectful ones, the ignorant ones, because they believe that what God designated for these categories on which is due zakāt are their possessions – and that they are part of their wealth. They do not realize that what is designated is not theirs, and that it is in with their wealth, not part of their wealth. So all that is designated for them is that it be extracted. When they differentiate it, at that moment they realize that it is not part of their wealth; rather, it is in with their wealth, co-mingling. This is what they verify for themselves.
* zakāt: that which purifies; a form of alms-giving; one of the five pillars of Islam, next after the prayer.
* ṭahārah: becoming ritually pure. The word is primarily spiritual, with bodily cleanliness described by another word.
Book 8, Chapter 70 (p. 319)
15 June 2022
He says, And spend from what He made you to be agents over (al-ḥadīd 57:7) – that is, you own nothing of this wealth except what you expend therefrom, and you are only the executors of it, like agents. The wealth belongs to God, so do not be miserly about it, because you would be being miserly about something you do not actually own – given that you are toward it khulafāʾ (agents behind whom One acts), and you are trustees toward what is in your hands.
Book 8, Chapter 70 (p. 320)
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Featured Article
Souad Hakim
The Paths to God: A Journey through the Spiritual Experience of Ibn Arabi and His Writings
“The paths to God” is a phrase which carries within it a paradox because, firstly, it gives the reader the impression that God (praise be to Him) is far away, absent, or even the expectation that the seeker (salik) travels the path to arrive at the Holy Threshold. However, according to the scriptures, God (praise be to Him) is close to His servants – He is with them wherever they are. In truth, He is the Seeker in the one who reaches out to Him (praise be to Him), and He hastens towards the one who walks towards Him. This begs the question as to why the Sufi seeks a way to reach God (praise be to Him), all the while being certain that God is with him and close to him.
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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.
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Featured Video
Sadiyya Shaikh
Intimate Echoes of Self: Gender & Sexuality in Ibn Arabi’s Cosmology
Sa’diyya Shaikh is Associate Professor in the Department for the Study of Religions at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Her research is situated at the intersection of Islamic Studies and Gender Studies. She has a special interest in Sufism and its implications for Islamic feminism and feminist theory. Her book “Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn ʿArabī, Gender and Sexuality” is published by the University of North Carolina Press (2012).
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Latest News
June 2022
Translation Prize Competition – Final Call
The Society has announced an MIAS Translation Prize competition. For this first competition, submissions are invited for original translations of prose texts by Ibn ‘Arabi. Entries are due by 1 September 2022.
The Prize of US$ 3,000 is being sponsored by the Ibn ‘Arabi Societies in the UK and the USA, by MIAS AP (Asia Pacific), the Monash University Ibn Arabi Interreligious Research Initiative (IAI), and by private donors.
More information
May to July 2022
“With which eye do I see Him”
The ‘Ocean 2’ course “With which eye do I see Him” is open for bookings. It is an online course exploring the multi-layered meanings of the journey in Ibn ‘Arabi’s teachings and writings.
Go to the Course calendar
February to December 2022
Looking forward – Online events in 2022
There is a listing of Online events planned by the Society, from February to December 2022, with the possibility that more will be added.
Go to the Events page
December 2021
Society Journal, Volume 70
Volume 70 of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society is now available. It includes articles by Mukhtar H. Ali, Stephen Hirtenstein, Omar Benaissa and Elif Emirahmetoglu.
See the list of contents
Added to the Blog page, 1 July 2021
Critical Edition of Ibn ‘Arabi’s Diwān
A critical edition of the text of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Diwān, produced by ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Sulṭān al-Manṣūb, has been published by Ninawa, Damascus, Syria, in five hardback volumes. The printed Diwāns available up till now have been reproductions of the “Bulaq edition” (1855), containing about 25% of the total.
June 2021
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 3 (comprising Books 5 and 6) has just been launched.
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