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.
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
3 March 2023
The Divine command is circular, and because of this the command of God for things never ends. The circle has no first and no last, only the property of being notched to mark an arbitrary beginning.
Book 9, Chapter 71
6 March 2023
The human being is made innately to be forgetful. Messenger of God ﷺ said, ‘Adam was forgetful, so his children are forgetful; and Adam refused (the truth) and so his children refuse.’ This ḥadīth is a good tiding from the Prophet ﷺ to the people, all of them – because God was kind to Adam, so his children will have kindness too, wherever they may be. Kindness is provided to them, singled out for them – in whatever abode (Fire or Garden) God sends them to, because the matter is secondary. The roots (forgetfulness, kindness) rule over the branches.
Book 9, Chapter 71
Go to the Quotations page
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.
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
Featured Video
Latest News
Some MIAS online events
Looking forward in 2023
- Altaf Bhimji – Interdisciplinary Research Hub Forum, 6 May, 2023
- Grégory Vandamme – Online Seminar, 24 June, 2023
- Hany Ibrahim – Interdisciplinary Research Hub Forum, 5 August, 2023
- MIAS Italia Conference in Torino, 1 July, 2023
- MIAS USA Symposium Columbia University, New York, October 2023
More information
18 February, 2023 | Lecture in Arabic
Ibn ʿArabī’s Cosmology
Professor Samer Akkach, of The University of Adelaide will deliver an online talk entitled “Reading Sufism with Reference to History of Science: Ibn ʿArabī’s Cosmology”
More information
December 2022
Society Journal, Volume 72
Volume 72 of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society is now available. It includes articles by Michel Chodkiewicz, Alison Roberts, Noah H. Taj, Dunja Rašić, and an interview by Hany Ibrahim and Mohammed Rustom.
See the list of contents
21 January, 2023 — 11 AM Morocco time
Monthly lectures in Arabic
Dr. Monzer Hayek will speak on 21 January 2023. on Ibn Arabi and the City of Damascus, and Samir Akkach on 18 February 2023, on Reading of Sufi Thought in the Context of the History of Science: Ibn Arabi’s Cosmology.
For more information
November 2022
Winner of first Translation Prize
Professor Matthew Melvin-Koushki is awarded the inaugural MIAS Translation Prize on a prose text by Ibn ‘Arabi.
Go to the Events page
December 2023
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 4 was published in 2022 and further volumes are expected in 2023.
1 October 2022
Creative encounters with Ibn ‘Arabi
A website is launched by MIAS Education featuring expressive individual responses to Ibn ‘Arabi’s writing.
Go to the web site
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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