“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

10 March 2025

If you ask, ‘What is the traveler?’ – We answer, They are the ones who walk over the stations with their state (ḥāl), not with their knowledge – and that is the action; thus, the knowledge they have is ‘a state of the station itself’.

Book 13, 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

Grenville Collins : March 18th, 2025

It is with great sadness that we announce the peaceful death of Grenville Collins, Life President of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society, on March 18th, 2025, at the age of 83.

Known as Kerim, he was a dear friend to many and cultivated a generous fineness of spirit throughout his long life.

A Founder of the Society, and its active Chairman for 45 years until 2022, at his request Bulent Rauf agreed to render the Fusus into English.

Our deepest condolences to his family and to all those who love him and hold him in high esteem.

At his wish there will be a private family burial. No flowers. Donations please to The Presidents’ Fund.

How to support the Presidents’ Fund

April 12 – Online seminar

The Ultimate Vision of Life: Ibn ‘Arabi and the Anthropocosmic Self

Muhammad U. Faruque will speak on “The Ultimate Vision of Life: Ibn ‘Arabi and the Anthropocosmic Self” on 12 April 2025, between 4:00 – 5:30 PM (London time). Booking is open now.

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. Booking is open now.

More information

Online in Arabic, 4-25 April 2025

Online study circle for Arabic speakers

Between 4 and 25 April 2025 Dr Mounir Achki (Kingdom of Morocco) will conduct four weekly Zoom meetings of 1.5 hours, based on Ibn ‘Arabi’s text, Divine Governance in the Cultivation of the Human Kingdom.

More information

Online course – Feb 4 – Apr 15 2025

“Like the Break of Dawn”

An online MIAS Education course exploring dreams in a selection of texts by Ibn Arabi.

More information

Online courses 2025

Education Courses Calendar

Upcoming MIAS Education courses and events are listed on the Courses Calendar page.

More information

January 2025

Society Journal, Volume 76

Volume 76 of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society (the second issue for 2024) is out now. It includes articles by Farah Akhtar, Elif Emirahmetoğlu, and Hamza Dudgeon.

More about the Society Journal

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