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
18 February 2021
He is nearer to all of you than the jugular vein.
Book 4, Chapter 54 (p. 538)
Featured Article
Souad Hakim
Invocation and Illumination according to Ibn ‘Arabī
“One may observe that before Ibn ‘Arabi the interest of the Sufi was focused on acquisition through action, which explains their many writings on spiritual exertion and struggle… And if we follow the Sufi in his struggles, we see him train his soul, breaking it with hunger, wakefulness, silence and retreat, until he can advance in the stations without being a prisoner of nature, self or desire.” In this paper of wonderful clarity, Souad Hakim lets Ibn ‘Arabi show how, besides spiritual training, the treatment for these sicknesses of the heart is invocation; it is through invocation that the heart shines and becomes tender and its locks are opened.
List of all articles
Featured Podcast
Eric Geoffroy
Spiritual Realization (al-tahqiq) through Daily Awakening
A talk delivered in Oxford in 2012 at the Symposium entitled “Spiritual Realisation – Knowledge and Practice”. The text is also available here.
List of all podcasts
Featured Video
Cyrus Ali Zargar
The Ambiguities of Union
Claims of mystical union have often been met with suspicion and criticism. Within an Islamic context, identifying a person’s actions with God’s has raised an important question: would such a person still be liable for his or her actions? Outside of a strictly Islamic context, a key question surrounding union has been one of objectivity, namely, the relationship between reality and perception. This talk addresses ways in which Ibn ʿArabī has addressed such ambiguities.
Latest News
March 6, 2021
“Ibn ‘Arabi and the World of the Imagination”
Cecilia Twinch (Ibn Arabi Society, UK) will speak on “Ibn ‘Arabi and the World of the Imagination” on Saturday 6 March, 2021, 8-9pm (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
January – March 2021
“In each thing He has a sign”
A ten-week online course with Dr Rim Feriani introducing the multi-layered meanings in Ibn ‘Arabi’s spiritual teaching. More information
Added to the Blog page, 6 February 2020
Shaykh Mahmud Ghurab
We have learned of the death of Shaykh Mahmud Ghurab in Cairo on 31st January 2021. His books in Arabic brought the life and work of Ibn ‘Arabi within reach of a broad public.
October 2020
Online talks MIAS-Latina
Online talks in Spanish, Portuguese and Italian, are presented by MIAS-Latina, underthe title International Ibn Arabi Reading Circle 2020. This this the second series. More information
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.
Donate to the Society in the UK
Donate to the Society in the USA