Six Printed Editions of al-Futūḥāt al Makkīyah

A brief survey by Julian Cook and Claude Addas

Ibn ʿArabi wrote two versions of his magnum opus, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkīyah. He completed the first in 629H and began writing the second in 632H, completing that in 636H. The original manuscripts of the first version appear to have been lost, although partial copies still exist. The 37 volumes that make up the second version holographs (manuscripts in the author’s own hand) exist to this day, with the exception of volume 9, which is a defective replacement.

Late manuscripts of the Futūḥāt tended to contain hybrids of the two versions, presumably because scribes and collators were more or less ignorant of the fact that Ibn ʿArabi had written two versions. Ever since the 3rd edition (the standard Cairo edition) modern editors have attempted to bring their editions as close as possible to the second version holographs, the “Konya” manuscripts, once part of Sadr al-Din Qunawi’s waqf, and now in Istanbul (Evkaf Muzesi 1845-1881).

First edition published by Būlāq (1269-1274H)

In four volumes : 1st volume in Dhū al-Ḥijja 1269/1853 (802 pages; ch.0-72) ; 2nd volume Shawwāl 1270/1854 (772 pages; ch.73-299) ; 3rd volume Dhū al-Qaʿda 1272/1856 (630 pages; ch.300-400); 4th volume Muḥarram 1274/1857 (619 pages; ch.401-560).

An example of this edition is held by the University of Toronto, shelfmark : BP189.26 I24 1852 v.1-v.4. Digital reproductions are available on the Internet : http://search.library.utoronto.ca/details?1587700&uuid=4c818d9e-8e57-4593-afae-706d23097621

The editors indicated (v.1, p.801) this was based upon a number of manuscripts (nusakh ʿadīda).

This first edition appears to be a mixture of first and second versions of the Futūḥāt (unpublished research).

Second edition published by Būlāq (1293H)

An example of this edition is held by the Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, as al-Juzʼ … min kitāb al-Futūḥāt al Makkīyah (1293/1876; Dār al-Ṭibāʿah). Shelfmark: Arab d.27… d.34 (4 volumes in 8 parts; 960, 916, 743 and 719 pages per volume, respectively; FM ch.0-72, ch.73-299, ch. 300-400, ch. 401-560 – the same divisions as the first edition). Digital reproductions are available on the Internet : http://solo.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/ (search for al-Futūḥāt al Makkīyah 1293 and follow the links for ‘View Online’)

This second edition of 1293H is also a mixture of the two versions of the Futūḥāt (unpublished research).

Third edition published by Būlāq (1329H) – standard Cairo edition

The famous third edition of Būlāq (1329/1911) reproduced the second version of the Futūḥāt thanks to the investigative efforts of the Emir ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jazāʾirī.

Once again published in 4 volumes and with the same divisions as the first two editions: v.1 (763 pages; ch.0-72); v.2 (693 pages; ch.73-299); v3. (568 pages; ch.300-400); v.4 (561 pages – but colophon is on p.553-4; ch.401-560).

A fully digitized version of an edition which appears to be a page-for-page reprint of standard Cairo edition is available at http://www.noorlib.ir/View/en/Book/BookView/Image/10850 … /10853. Published by Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, Beirut. /10850 is vol 1 (pp.2-763); /10851 is vol 2 (pp.1-693); /10852 is vol 3 (pp.2-568); /10853 is vol 4 (pp.2-561).

This edition of 1329H has been the object of numerous reproductions in Beirut since 1968. One 9 volume reissue, which saw the light of day in Beirut in 1999, contains a number of very useful indices: Dār al-Kutub al-ʿIlmiyyah. Beirut 1420/1999. Editor: Aḥmad Shams al-Dīn. 9 volumes. Volume 9 contains the indices and is downloadable from http://www.sufi.ir/books/download/arabic/ibn-arabi/fotoohat-9-jeldi-aks/fotoohat-9-9-ar.pdf

Edition of Osman Yahia in 14 volumes (1972-1992) up to and including ch. 161

This is available as 14 separate files on the Internet with filenames similar to الفتوحات 14.pdf

The main text reproduces on the whole the second version. (We say ‘on the whole’ because Osman Yahia does not systematically follow the text of the holograph but opts in some cases to follow the reading of other manuscripts – as a result he provides a hybrid text). But above all he took great pains to make note of variants he found in other manuscripts, in particular the Beyazid manuscripts which correspond to the first version.

On v.1 p.12 OY lists some of the abbreviations he uses in his footnotes to indicate variants:

• K – the Konya ms – the 37-volume 2nd version holograph now known as Evkaf Muzesi 1845+
• B – the Beyazid mss – Beyazid 3743-3746 (1st version from original in IA’s hand)
• C – the standard Cairo edition of 1329H

Edition of ʿAbd al-ʿAzīz Sulṭān al-Manṣūb (2010; 2013) in 12 volumes

Based upon the holograph manuscript of the second version (now known as Evkaf Muzesi 1845+; 37 volumes; OY’s ‘K’). First published in 2010. Contains useful indices for all the poetry, whether by Ibn ʿArabī himself or by earlier poets.

MIAS hold a copy of this 12 volume set (3 parts of the holograph per volume, with 4 in the last). We know of no digitized versions of the text. A supplementary volume comprising a number of indices was published separately and in digital format – downloadable from http://ibn-alarabi.yolasite.com/resources/all.pdf