Podcasts and Videos

A Living Legacy – Ibn Arabi in Today’s World

USA Ibn Arabi Conference, New York 2015

Sa’diyya Shaikh

Sa’diyya Shaikh is Associate Professor in the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. Her research is situated at the intersection of Islamic Studies and Gender Studies. She has a special interest in Sufism and its implications for Islamic feminism and feminist theory. Her book Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn Arabi, Gender and Sexuality was published by the University of North Carolina Press (2012); and co-published again in 2013 by both University of Cape Town Press and Munshiram Manoharl Publishers (New Delhi). Her areas of research include gender-sensitive readings of hadith, Quranic exegesis and Sufi texts; theoretical and political debates on Islam and feminism; religion and gender-based violence; contemporary Muslim women’s embodied, experiential and everyday modes of understanding Quranic teachings (“tafsir of praxis”). Shaikh has also completed an empirical project focussed on sexuality, marriage, and reproductive choices amongst South African Muslim women.

http://www.religion.uct.ac.za/religion/staff/academicstaff/sadiyyashaikh [/]

 

Podcasts and Videos by Sa’diyya Shaikh

Ibn Arabi and Reimagining Gender

Intimate Echoes of Self: Gender & Sexuality in Ibn Arabi’s Cosmology

Animal World and Perfect Man: Ibn Arabi and the Metaphysics of Ecology

Pierre Lory

Pierre Lory pursued his studies in political science and in Arabic literature in Paris. He moved to the Middle East, where he lived in Lebanon and Syria while completing advanced coursework in Arabic. He decided to focus his research on the history of Islamic spirituality and Sufism. He earned a Masters on mystical exegesis in the Koran, and a PhD on Arabic alchemical texts (1981). He then pursued further post-graduate work in Islamic Studies, receiving a "Doctorat d’état". He became Professor at the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes (Sorbonne) in 1991. His participation in international conferences, panels, and research groups frequently takes him to the Middle East, North Africa, Iran… He was also director of the department of Arabic studies at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient, in Damascus, from 2007 to 2011. He has published several books and many articles on Sufism, Arabic alchemy, Islamic esotericism.

 

Articles by Pierre Lory

The Symbolism of Letters and Language in the Work of Ibn Arabi

 

Podcasts by Pierre Lory

Animal world and Perfect Man: Ibn Arabi and the metaphysics of ecology

The Mark of Friendship and the Structure of Sanctity in the Teachings of Ibn Arabi

Todd Lawson

Todd Lawson  is Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Dept. of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. He has published widely on Quran commentary (tafsir), the Quran as literature, Sufism, Shi’i Islam and the Babi and Bahai traditions. His book Jesus in Islamic thought, The Crucifixion and the Quran was published in 2009 (Oneworld), his Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam in 2011 (Routledge). This and other of his publications are listed at www.toddlawson.ca [/].

 

Podcasts and Videos by Todd Lawson

Water, Light, Knowledge: Towards an Ecology of Imagination

The Mark of Friendship and the Structure of Sanctity in the Teachings of Ibn Arabi

Selected Readings from the Poetry of Ibn Arabi

Being Human According to the Quran

Consciousness, Imagination and Gratitude: The Inexhaustible Sources of the Self

Ibn Arabi’s Joseph: Imagination as Holy Communion

“And My Mercy Encompasses All”: Peace in Light of Akbarian Metaphysics of Compassion

Zahra’ Langhi

Zahra’ Langhi is a researcher in Islamic history, Sufism, metaphysics, and female spirituality in comparative religions. She has an MA from the American University in Cairo on Sitt Ajam’s Commentary of Ibn Arabi’s Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries and the Rising of the Divine Lights. She is also the co-founder of of the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace, a socio-political movement which aims at peace building, inclusivity and gender equality. Her MA thesis Sitt Ajam, A Muslim Woman Gnostic of the Middle Ages, is to be published by Fons Vitae.

 

Articles by Zahra’ Langhi

Ajami Mysteries of Sitt Ajam bint al-Nafis: A Feminine Hermeneutic of an Heiress of Ibn Arabi

 

Podcasts by Zahra’ Langhi

“And My Mercy Encompasses All”: Peace in light of Akbarian metaphysics of Compassion

Selected Readings from the Poetry of Ibn Arabi

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

James Winston Morris

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

Zahra’ Langhi

Zahra’ Langhi is a researcher in Islamic history, Sufism, metaphysics, and female spirituality in comparative religions. She has an MA from the American University in Cairo on Sitt Ajam’s Commentary of Ibn Arabi’s Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries and the Rising of the Divine Lights. She is also the co-founder of of the Libyan Women’s Platform for Peace, a socio-political movement which aims at peace building, inclusivity and gender equality. Her MA thesis Sitt Ajam, A Muslim Woman Gnostic of the Middle Ages, is to be published by Fons Vitae.

 

Articles by Zahra’ Langhi

Ajami Mysteries of Sitt Ajam bint al-Nafis: A Feminine Hermeneutic of an Heiress of Ibn Arabi

 

Podcasts by Zahra’ Langhi

“And My Mercy Encompasses All”: Peace in light of Akbarian metaphysics of Compassion

Selected Readings from the Poetry of Ibn Arabi

Todd Lawson

Todd Lawson  is Associate Professor, University of Toronto, Dept. of Near and Middle Eastern Civilizations. He has published widely on Quran commentary (tafsir), the Quran as literature, Sufism, Shi’i Islam and the Babi and Bahai traditions. His book Jesus in Islamic thought, The Crucifixion and the Quran was published in 2009 (Oneworld), his Gnostic Apocalypse and Islam in 2011 (Routledge). This and other of his publications are listed at www.toddlawson.ca [/].

 

Podcasts and Videos by Todd Lawson

Water, Light, Knowledge: Towards an Ecology of Imagination

The Mark of Friendship and the Structure of Sanctity in the Teachings of Ibn Arabi

Selected Readings from the Poetry of Ibn Arabi

Being Human According to the Quran

Consciousness, Imagination and Gratitude: The Inexhaustible Sources of the Self

Ibn Arabi’s Joseph: Imagination as Holy Communion

William C. Chittick

William C. Chittick is a philosoper, writer, translator and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts. He is best known for his work on Rumi and Ibn Arabi, and he has written extensively on the school of Ibn Arabi, Islamic philosophy and Islamic cosmology.

Born in Milford, Connecticut, Chittick finished his BA at the College of Wooster in Ohio, and then went on to complete a PhD in Persian literature at University of Tehran under the supervision of Seyyed Hossein Nasr in 1974. He taught comparative religion at Tehran’s Aryamehr Technical University and left Iran before the revolution. Chittick is currently Distinguished Professor in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at Stony Brook University. He was awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship for his academic contributions in 2014.

To pick out a few books from the 22 listed on his website, the following have been hugely important contributions to modern studies of Ibn 'Arabi: Imaginal Worlds: Ibn al-‛Arabī and the Problem of Religious Diversity (1994, translated into German, Indonesian, Persian, Spanish, Turkish); The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-‛Arabī’s Metaphysics of Imagination (1989, translated into Persian, Turkish, and partially into Indonesian); The Self-Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-‛Arabī’s Cosmology (1998); Ibn ‛Arabi: Heir to the Prophets (2005, translated into Albanian, Arabic, German, Persian, Turkish). The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms (2009, with Sachiko Murata and Tu Weiming);

https://www.williamcchittick.com/ [/]

 

Articles by William C. Chittick

Ibn Arabi’s own Summary of the Fusus (PDF)

The Chapter Headings of the Fusus (PDF)

Two Chapters from the Futuhat (PDF)

The Last Will and Testament of Sadr al-Din Qunawi – Translation

The Central Point – Qunawi’s Role in the School of Ibn Arabi

Jami on Divine Love and the Image of Wine

The Divine Roots of Human Love

Presence with God

The Wisdom of Animals

Death and the Afterlife (PDF, Arabic)

The Anthropology of Compassion

The Religion of Love Revisited

Ibn Arabi: The Doorway to an Intellectual Tradition

Qunawi on the One wujud

Commentary on a Hadith by Sadr al-Din Qunawi

 

Podcasts by William C. Chittick

Ibn Arabi: The Doorway into an Intellectual Tradition

The Religion of Love Revisited

The Anthropology of Compassion in Ibn Arabi’s Futuhat

Interview of 2009 on the Radio Show “Science, Health and Healing”

The Wisdom of Animals