Coleman Barks was born and raised in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and educated at the University of North Carolina and the University of California at Berkeley. He taught poetry and creative writing at the University of Georgia for thirty years. In 1976, Poet Robert Bly introduced Barks to the work of Jalaluddin Rumi. Barks has since translated more than a dozen volumes of Rumi’s poetry, including The Illuminated Rumi (1997) and The Essential Rumi (1995), often in collaboration with Persian scholar John Moyne. His work has resulted in an enormous recognition of Rumi in the United States. In 2006 the University of Tehran awarded Barks an honorary doctorate in recognition of his contributions to the field of Rumi translation.

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/coleman-barks [/]

Podcasts by Coleman Barks

Rumi’s Community: Celebrating the Eternal Rumi with Poetry and Music

David Darling is an American cellist and composer. In 2010, he won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. He has performed and recorded with Bobby McFerrin and Spyro Gyra and has released several solo albums.

In 1986, Darling joined Young Audiences, an organisation that seeks to educate children about music and the arts through school programs. In the same year, he founded Music for People, which seeks to encourage self-expression through musical improvisation.

In May 2008, he became part of a collaboration of music teacher and performers offering a training program in holistic and intercultural approaches to healing with sound and music at the New York Open Center Sound and Music School.

Podcasts by David Darling

Ibn Arabi and Rumi: Teachings for the Modern World

Rumi’s Community: Celebrating the Eternal Rumi with Poetry and Music

Interview on WBAI Radio

Pablo Beneito is currently Professor at the Department of Translation and Interpreting in the Faculty of Letters, University of Murcia, Spain.

He has been studying the works of Ibn Arabi since he chose to do his doctorate in Arabic philology at the Complutense University of Madrid, after which he spent nine years teaching at the University of Seville in the Department of Arab and Islamic Studies. He has also been a visiting professor at the Sorbonne in Paris (Ecole Pratique des Hauts Etudes), in Kyoto University (ASAFAS) and in Toledo (Escuela de Traductores). As a specialist in Sufi thought, he has given courses throughout the world, and helped organise more than 14 international conferences. He heads MIAS Latina [/], an independent organisation affiliated to the Ibn Arabi Society, for speakers of Spanish, Italian and Portuguese.

He has edited and translated (into Spanish) Ibn Arabi’s Mashahid al-asrar and Kashf al-ma’na. He is currently working on several of Ibn Arabi’s shorter treatises, including Kitab al-Abadilah.

Together with Stephen Hirtenstein he translated The Seven Days of the Heart - Ibn ʿArabi's Awrad al-usbu (Wird), and togther with Cecilia Twinch, Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries - Mashahid al-asrar al-qudsiyya.

Articles by Pablo Beneito

On the Divine Love of Beauty (PDF)

The Presence of Superlative Compassion

La Presencia De La Compasión Superlativa (Spanish)

The Servant of the Loving One – On the Adoption of the Character Traits of al-Wadud

The Time of Deeds and the Time of Spiritual Knowledge

The Prayer of Blessing [upon the Light of Muhammad] by Abd al-Aziz al-Mahdawi: Part 1, the Introduction; with Stephen Hirtenstein

The Prayer of Blessing [upon the Light of Muhammad] by Abd al-Aziz al-Mahdawi: Part 2, the Translation; with Stephen Hirtenstein

Podcasts and Videos by Pablo Beneito

Qurrat al-‘Ayn: the Maiden of the Ka‘ba

The Journey of the Heart

Ibn Arabi’s Vision of the Multiple Oneness of the Inner Human Kingdom

Past and Future of Knowledge: the Time of Gnosis in Ibn Arabi’s Writings

On the Spiritual Typologies in Ibn Arabi’s Kitab al-Abadilah

Naught but Love

Michael Sells is a professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago. He is an authority on Ibn al-'Arabi as well as one of the most distinguished contemporary translators of classical Arabic poetry. His books include: Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes (Wesleyan); Mystical Languages of Unsaying (Chicago); Early Islamic Mysticism (Paulist Press); The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia (California); Approaching the Quran (White Cloud); and The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Andalus (Cambridge) as two full translations of Ibn 'Arabi’s Tarjuman al-ashwaq, Stations of Desire (2000) and Bewildered (2018).

Articles by Michael Sells

Ibn Arabi’s Poem 18 (Qif bi l-Manazil) from the Translation of Desires

Ibn Arabi’s “Gentle Now, Doves of the Thornberry and Moringa Thicket” (ala ya hamamati l-arakati wa l-bani), Poem 11 from the Translation of Desires

Selections from Ibn Arabi’s Tarjuman al-ashwaq (Translation of Desires)

Podcasts and Videos by Michael Sells

Bewildered – A New Translation of Ibn Arabi’s Tarjuman Poems

Selected Readings from the Poetry of Ibn Arabi

Life in Ibn Arabi’s “Ringsetting of Prophecy in the Word of Jesus”

Ibn Arabi's Lyric Mysticism and the Persian-Arabic Love Affair

Interview with on WBAI Radio

The Poetry of Ibn Arabi – Recitations from the Tarjuman al-ashwaq

The Young Woman at the Kaaba – Love and Infinity

Podcasts by Fatemeh Keshavarz

How Sweetly with a Kiss Is the Speech Interrupted: The Dynamism of Silence in Rumi’s Lyric Poetry

Recitation of Rumi’s Poetry in Persian and English

Interview: Ibn Arabi and Rumi: Teachings for the Modern World

Podcasts and Videos by Mahmud Erol Kiliç

“We Sucked Milk From Two Mothers” – Ibn Arabi and Rumi as Co-founders of Ottoman Sufi Thought

If You See Ibn Arabi in Damascus...

Podcasts by Fatemeh Keshavarz

How Sweetly with a Kiss Is the Speech Interrupted: The Dynamism of Silence in Rumi’s Lyric Poetry

Recitation of Rumi’s Poetry in Persian and English

Interview: Ibn Arabi and Rumi: Teachings for the Modern World

James W. Morris (Boston College) has taught and published widely on Islamic and religious studies over the past 40 years at the Universities of Exeter, Princeton, Oberlin, and the Institute of Ismaili Studies in Paris and London, serving recently as visiting professor in Istanbul, Paris, and Jogjakarta. He has lived and studied in regions from Morocco to Indonesia, and he lectures and leads workshops in many countries on Islamic philosophy and theology, Sufism, the Islamic humanities (poetry, music, and visual arts), the Quran and hadith, and esoteric Shiism. Recently he has led interfaith study-abroad programs centering on sacred sites, pilgrimage, sainthood, and related arts and architecture in Turkey and France.

His publications include: Openings:From the Qur’an to the Islamic Humanities (forthcoming); Approaching Ibn ‘Arabi : Foundations, Contexts, Interpretations (forthcoming); Ma‘rifat ar-Rūh in Nur Ali Elahi's Knowing the Spirit (2007), and The Reflective Heart: Discovering Spiritual Intelligence in Ibn ‘Arabī’s "Meccan Illuminations"(2005).

Articles by James W. Morris

Introduction to The Meccan Revelations

Ibn ‘Arabi’s “Short Course” on Love

How to Study the Futuhat: Ibn Arabi’s Own Advice

Hur Man Studerar Futuhat: Ibn Arabis Egna Råd (Swedish)

Ibn Arabi: Spiritual Practice and Other Translations – Overview of the ten following articles:

Some Dreams of Ibn Arabi (PDF)

Body of Light (PDF)

Introducing Ibn Arabi’s “Book of Spiritual Advice” (PDF)

“Book of the Quintessence of What is Indispensable for the Spiritual Seeker” (PDF)

Ibn Arabi on the Barzakh – Chapter 63 of the Futuhat (PDF)

The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn Arabi and the miraj – Chapter 367 of the Futuhat (PDF)

The Mahdi and His Helpers – Chapter 366 of the Futuhat (PDF)

Ibn Arabi’s ‘Esotericism’: The Problem of Spiritual Authority (PDF)

Communication and Spiritual Pedagogy: Methods of Investigation (tahqiq) (PDF)

Rhetoric & Realisation in Ibn Arabi: How Can We Communicate Meanings Today? (PDF)

Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 1

Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 2

Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 3

Listening for God: Prayer and the Heart in the Futuhat | Part 4

Divine Calling, Human Response – Scripture and Realization in the Meccan Illuminations | Part 1

Divine Calling, Human Response – Scripture and Realization in the Meccan Illuminations | Part 2

Opening the Heart: Ibn Arabi on Suffering, Compassion and Atonement

Ibn Arabi and his Interpreters – Overview of 28 articles and reviews in this section

Ibn ‘Arabi and his Interpreters I – Four overviews, description of the following:

Ibn Arabi; in the “Far West” (PDF)

Except His Face: The Political and Aesthetic Dimensions of Ibn Arabi’s Legacy (PDF)

Situating Islamic ‘Mysticism’ (PDF)

Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters — Introduction:
Historical Contexts and Contemporary Perspectives (overview of 28 articles and reviews in this collection)

Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters — Grouping I:
Overviews

Ibn Arabi; in the “Far West” (PDF)

Except His Face: The Political and Aesthetic Dimensions of Ibn Arabi’s Legacy (PDF)

Situating Islamic ‘Mysticism’ (PDF)

“Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters”, JAOS article 1986 (PDF) | Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 1 (HTML)

Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters — Grouping II:
Influences in the Pre-Modern Islamic World (all the following 7 articles in one PDF)

Theophany or “Pantheism” – The Importance of Balyani’s Risalat al-Ahadiya

The Continuing Relevance of Qaysari’s Thought: Divine Imagination and the Foundation of Natural Spirituality

Review: La destinée de l’homme selon Avicenne: Le retour à Dieu (maad) et l’imagination by Jean Michot

Review: Kitab al-inbah ‘ala Tariq Allah de ‘Abdallah Badr al-Habashi

Review: La Risala de Safi al-Din ibn Abi l-Mansur ibn Zafir

Review: Manjhan, Madhumalati: An Indian Sufi Romance

Review: Mirror of the Intellect: Essays on Traditional Science and Sacred Art

Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters — Grouping III:
Later Muslim Critics and Polemics (all the following 4 articles in one PDF)

An Arab “Machiavelli”? – Rhetoric, Philosophy and Politics in Ibn Khaldun’s Critique of “Sufism”

Review: Islamic Mysticism Contested: Thirteen Centuries of Controversies and Polemics

Review: Ibn Arabi and the Later Islamic Tradition: The Making of a Polemical Image in Medieval Islam

Review: Theodicy in Islamic Thought: The Dispute over al-Ghazali’s “Best of All Possible Worlds”

Ibn Arabi and His Interpreters — Grouping IV:
Reviews of More Recent Works by and about Ibn Arabi (1985–2002)

Ibn Masarra: A Reconsideration of the Primary Sources (PDF)

Podcasts and Videos by James W. Morris

Beyond Belief: Ibn ‘Arabi on the Perennial Challenges of Realization

Inspiration and Discernment: Ibn Arabi’s Introduction to the Challenges of Spiritual Sensitivity and Judgement

“As for your Lord’s blessings, recount them!”: Ibn ‘Arabi’s Storytelling and Spiritual Communication

Becoming Real: Realization and Revelation in Rumi and Ibn Arabi

Whose calling, whose response? Ibn 'Arabi on Divine and Human Responsiveness

Opening the heart in the Futuhat

The “Instruments of Divine Mercy”

“Whoever knows himself...” in the Futuhat

Ahmed Eissawi, a noted, widely published Sufi poet and former Arabic language instructor at Ain Shams University in Cairo, is: on the faculty of the Foreign Languages Program at the U.N. (since 1991); an adjunct instructor in the Foreign Languages and Translation Department at NYU; founder and director of the Arabic Language Institute in NY; and a major figure in Arab-American culture and print and televised media.

Podcasts by Ahmed Eissawi

Recitation of Ibn Arabi’s Poetry in Arabic and English

Aaron Cass has been an actor, musician, composer and co-founder of the Vastearth Orchestra, with whom he produced two albums issued by Beshara Publications. A Garden Amidst Flames is a recording of 31 extracts from four works by Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi and two followers. In Green Bird the musical content was extended, with some of the texts set as songs and some purely instrumental pieces.

Aaron studied Ibn Arabi and Rumi, amongst others, at the Beshara School in Scotland, where he was both a student and correlator.

Articles by Aaron Cass

The Ransom and the Ruin

Podcasts by Aaron Cass

Recitation of Ibn Arabi’s Poetry in Arabic and English

The Poetry of Ibn Arabi – Recitations from the Tarjuman al-ashwaq

Podcasts by Fatemeh Keshavarz

How Sweetly with a Kiss Is the Speech Interrupted: The Dynamism of Silence in Rumi’s Lyric Poetry

Recitation of Rumi’s Poetry in Persian and English

Interview: Ibn Arabi and Rumi: Teachings for the Modern World

David Darling is an American cellist and composer. In 2010, he won the Grammy Award for Best New Age Album. He has performed and recorded with Bobby McFerrin and Spyro Gyra and has released several solo albums.

In 1986, Darling joined Young Audiences, an organisation that seeks to educate children about music and the arts through school programs. In the same year, he founded Music for People, which seeks to encourage self-expression through musical improvisation.

In May 2008, he became part of a collaboration of music teacher and performers offering a training program in holistic and intercultural approaches to healing with sound and music at the New York Open Center Sound and Music School.

Podcasts by David Darling

Ibn Arabi and Rumi: Teachings for the Modern World

Rumi’s Community: Celebrating the Eternal Rumi with Poetry and Music

Interview on WBAI Radio

Nick Yiangou holds a Master’s degree in Transpersonal Psychology and currently works as an IT manager in the software industry in California. He is a director of the United States branch of the Ibn Arabi Society, which promotes the teachings and translations of this great spiritual teacher. He also studied at the Beshara School of Intensive Esoteric Education in Scotland, which is based on the principles and teachings of the way of oneness and unification, and previously served on the board of the Beshara Foundation in the US.

Podcasts by Nikos Yiangou

Ibn Arabi and Rumi: Teachings for the Modern World

Ibn Arabi, Human Potential and the Postmodern Self

Interview on WBAI Radio

Michael Sells is a professor of Islamic Studies and Comparative Literature at the University of Chicago. He is an authority on Ibn al-'Arabi as well as one of the most distinguished contemporary translators of classical Arabic poetry. His books include: Desert Tracings: Six Classic Arabian Odes (Wesleyan); Mystical Languages of Unsaying (Chicago); Early Islamic Mysticism (Paulist Press); The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia (California); Approaching the Quran (White Cloud); and The Cambridge History of Arabic Literature: Andalus (Cambridge) as two full translations of Ibn 'Arabi’s Tarjuman al-ashwaq, Stations of Desire (2000) and Bewildered (2018).

Articles by Michael Sells

Ibn Arabi’s Poem 18 (Qif bi l-Manazil) from the Translation of Desires

Ibn Arabi’s “Gentle Now, Doves of the Thornberry and Moringa Thicket” (ala ya hamamati l-arakati wa l-bani), Poem 11 from the Translation of Desires

Selections from Ibn Arabi’s Tarjuman al-ashwaq (Translation of Desires)

Podcasts and Videos by Michael Sells

Bewildered – A New Translation of Ibn Arabi’s Tarjuman Poems

Selected Readings from the Poetry of Ibn Arabi

Life in Ibn Arabi’s “Ringsetting of Prophecy in the Word of Jesus”

Ibn Arabi's Lyric Mysticism and the Persian-Arabic Love Affair

Interview with on WBAI Radio

The Poetry of Ibn Arabi – Recitations from the Tarjuman al-ashwaq

The Young Woman at the Kaaba – Love and Infinity

Nargis Virani is Assistant Professor of Arabic at The New School, University Liberal Studies in New York. She received her PhD in 1999 in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Harvard University. She studied the Quran with the Shaykh of al-Azhar Mosque in Cairo and holds a shahadah (certificate) and an ijazah (permission to teach the Quran). Her doctoral dissertation, entitled I am the Nightingale of the Merciful Macaronic or Upside Down?, analyzed the mulammaat, the mixed-language poems, in Rumi’s Diwan and she is currently converting this into a book which will also include a translation into English of all of Rumi’s multilingual verses in Arabic, Persian, Turkish, Greek and Armenian. Dr Virani’s second book project is tentatively entitled Quran in Muslim Literary Memory.

Podcasts by Nargis Virani

“A Donkey’s Tail With Angel’s Wings”: Being Fully Human According to Rumi

Interview on WBAI Radio