Ibn Al Arabi: The Bezels of Wisdom

The Classics of Western Spirituality

by Ibn ʿArabi, R.W.J. Austin (Editor)

Called by Moslems "the greatest master," Ibn Al-'Arabi was a Sufi born in twelfth-century Spain. The Bezels of Wisdom was written during the author's later years and was intended to be a synthesis of his spiritual doctrine. Bezel means a setting in which a gem, engraved with one's name, is set to make a seal ring. The setting in which Ibn Al-'Arabi has placed his spiritual wisdom are the lives of the prophets. It was in Damascus that he had the vision that prompted him to write this book. He describes it in his preface: "I saw the Apostle of God in a visitation…He had in his hand a book and he said to me, 'This is the book of the bezels of Wisdom; take it and bring it to men that they might benefit from it.'"

The book portrays the wisdom of love through Abraham, of the unseen through Job, of light through Joseph, of intimacy through Elias and so on. Ibn Al-'Arabi invites us in these pages to explore the inner spiritual meanings of the Quran, its heartful meanings. In one of his poems he stated, "Love is the creed I hold: wherever turns His camels, Love is still my creed and faith."

Genres: Philosophy, Islam, Religion, Spirituality, Mysticism, Nonfiction, Theology

302 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1229

About the author

Note to arabic readers : For the original arabic version of the books, check "other editions" in the book that interests you)

Universally known by the title of "Muhyi al-Din" (The Reviver of the Religion) and "al-Shaykh al-Akbar" (The Greatest Shaykh) Ibn 'Arabī (Arabic: ابن عربي‎) (July 28, 1165 - November 10, 1240) was an Arab Sufi Muslim mystic and philosopher. His full name was Abū 'Abdullāh Muḥammad ibn 'Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn al-`Arabī al-Hāṭimī al-Ṭā'ī (أبو عبد الله محمد بن علي بن محمد بن العربي الحاتمي الطائي).

Muhammad ibn al-Arabi and his family moved to Seville when he was eight years old. In 1200 CE, at the age of thirty-five, he left Iberia for good, intending to make the hajj to Mecca. He lived in Mecca for some three years, where he began writing his Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Illuminations). In 1204, he left Mecca for Anatolia with Majd al-Dīn Isḥāq, whose son Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qunawī (1210-1274) would be his most influential disciple.

In 1223, he settled in Damascus, where he lived the last seventeen years of his life. He died at the age of 76 on 22 Rabi' II 638 AH/November 10, 1240CE, and his tomb in Damascus is still an important place of pilgrimage.

A vastly prolific writer, Ibn 'Arabī is generally known as the prime exponent of the idea later known as Waḥdat al-Wujūd (literally Unity of Being), though he did not use this term in his writings. His emphasis was on the true potential of the human being and the path to realising that potential and becoming the perfect or complete man (al-insān al-kāmil).

Some 800 works are attributed to Ibn 'Arabā, although only some have been authenticated. Recent research suggests that over 100 of his works have survived in manuscript form, although most printed versions have not yet been critically edited and include many errors.

Reviews

[Abrar Shahi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Needs more than one reading. I will soon make a critical edition and translate it into Urdu by the will of Allah.

[Ali Reda · Rating 2 out of 5]

يمثل الكتاب كل ما أرفضه في الفلسفات غير العقلية، ميتافيزقيا تقوم على التناقضات المنطقية وهرمنيوطيقا تأويلية للغة النصوص قادرة على تحويل التبر إلى تراب. لكني أعترف ببراعة ابن عربي الأدبية وسعة علمه وقوة عقله في الربط بين الأفكار الفلسفية المتنافرة، وبراعته اللغوية في تأويل النصوص للوصول لمراده. لكن يظل الصرح الفلسفي الذي يبنيه بدون أساس عقلاني أو أساس منطقي، مما يجعله قصرًا رائعًا لكن تم تشيده على الماء أو في الهواء.

[محمد النعمه · Rating 4 out of 5]

يبدأ ابن عربي كتابه بقوله : "أما بعد فإني رأيت رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم في مبشرة أريتها في العشر الآخر من محرم سنة سبع وعشرون وستمائة بمحروسة دمشق وبيده صلى الله عليه وسلم كتاب فقال لي: هذا كتاب فصوص الحكم خذه واخرج به إلى الناس ينتفعون به، فقلت السمع والطاعة لله ولرسوله ولأولي الأمر منا"
يعتبر كتاب فصوص الحكم للشيخ الأكبر ابن عربي من أهم الكتب التي كتبها وهو خلاصة ماتوصل إليه
وهو مرجع للعقيدة الصوفية ليس في الاسلام فحسب بل في كل الأديان والمعتقدات والمسالك الروحية
ففيه يستمد ابن عربي من القرآن والسنة وعلوم المنطق والفلسفة والأديان السماوية ومن المتصوفة السابقين في اديان قديمة ومن فلسفات اسلامية كالإسماعيلية وغيرها
ليعطي لنا صورة كاملة عن منهجه وعقيدته التي يختصرها في الباب الاول كلمة آدم من هذا الكتاب بقوله "ولولا سريان الحق في الموجودات بالصورة ما كان للعالم وجود" والحق هنا هو الله
كما تظهر عقيدته في الله في الفصل الثاني كلمة نوح حيث قال :

فإن قلت بالتنزيه كنت مقيداً .. وإن قلت بالتشبيه كنت محددا
وإن قلت بالأمرين كنت مسدداً .. وكنت إماما في المعارف سيدا



واختتمها بقوله :
فما أنت هو: بل أن هو وتراه في .. عيد الأمور مسرحاً ومقيدا



ويقول ابن عربي في كتابه " ولا يعرف ما قلناه إلا من كان قرآناً في نفسه فإن المتقي الله ( يجعل له فرقاناً ) " ويقول :


ويشرح ابن عربي عقيدته في دار الشقاء " جهنم " ويستشهد بالآية ( ويتجاوز عن سيئاتهم ) ، ويقول : ( فلا تحسبن الله مخلف وعده رسله ) ولم يقل ووعيده مع أنه توعد على ذالك " ويوضح رأيه بالأبيات التالية :


ونختم بهذه الأبيات للأمام الأكبر ابن عربي حيث يقول :

لقد كنت قبل اليوم أنكر صاحبي .. إذا لم يكن ديني إلى دينه داني

فقد صار قلبي قابلاً كل صورة .. فمرعى لغزلان وديراً لرهبانِ

وبيتاً لأوثانٍ وكعبة طائفٍ .. وألواح توراة ومصحف قرآنِ

أدين بدين الحب أنى توجهت .. ركائبه فالحب ديني وإيماني

[Jimmy Ele · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuminating text on Ibn Arabi's understanding of the essence of the different seals of wisdom represented by some of the major prophets. The seals of the divine wisdoms of Ibrahim (Abraham) , Yusuf (Joseph), Da'ud (David), Sulayman (Solomon) , Isa (Jesus), Musa (Moses), and Muhammad (peace be upon them all) were my favorites this first time reading this text through. I have quoted this text significantly in Good Reads in order to capture some of the gems that struck me as important. Ibn Arabi is known as a highly elevated teacher (in rank and position) and was a proponent of the idea of active imagination and a believer in the spiritual reality and symbols behind manifest creation. Some of the things he believed in would probably be scoffed at nowadays but find their place applauded in the science fiction universe of Star Wars. He spoke of the apparition of mystical teachers ala Obi Wan Kenobi, except in this case it would be Islamic teachers and Prophets. It is said that when he had an important question dealing with life, reality, and the spiritual reality behind existence he would ask for the answer and a teacher or prophet would appear to him, either in actuality or in his dreams or in the presence between this world and the world of imagination. I will not go any further on the subject but have only touched lightly on the subject so that the idea of this book could be somewhat understood. His depth of understanding in certain matters and unique takes on our beliefs leaves me with a sense of admiration and deep respect even if others would not entirely agree with him. There were instances in the lives of the prophets which I was able to look at through a deeper lens than the one I had been looking through. I believe that this was the culmination of his life's work and it certainly shows. Not everything I read, I could entirely understand at this moment in time, but what I could understand struck me as inspired, original and having as its focal point, the Quran and the Sunnah. There were only very rare instances that I did not understand what was being said, and this could just have been a fault of the translation or in the transmission of deep spiritual realities that could not be accessed at this point in my life. I highly recommend this book to anyone searching for deeper meaning within their own lives or in the lives of the Prophets, the Quran, Existence, God, the Universe, Different (Hadarat) presences, Dimensions, etc.

[Yousef Nabil · Rating 5 out of 5]

توقفت كثيراً عند قراء ةابن عربى ، فهو يختلف تماماً ن كافة المتصوفين برؤاه الثاقبة وتجاربه الروحية الحقيقية ، التى لا تتوق إلى الزهد بل تتجاوزه حتى المعرفة بدرجات لاهوتية وأمور فائقة .
كتاب رائع

[Ahmedasal · Rating 5 out of 5]

هذا الكتاب هو اروع ما كتب الإمام في وجهة نظري و هو ملخص لفلسفة الإسلام من وجهة نظر الصوفية على لسان أمامها الأكبر و فيه تفسير باطني لدعوة الأنبياء و رسالة الإسلام منذ ادم إلى خاتم الأنبياء عليهما الصلاة و السلام.

[Raqib]

one of the heaviest book I have ever picked up. Insight could only be attained by experience not by reading.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some seriously crazy shit.

[الزهراء الدمشقية · Rating 5 out of 5]

كلام الشيخ لا يحتاج مدحا من اناس مثلنا

[Kat]

This is what you might call very heavy reading. Fascinating, but deeply philosophical. I've decided to return it to the library before finishing it. I think it would be a better book to discuss in a class with a Sufi Master. One bezel that I did garner was: "The Reality wanted to see the essences of His Most Beautiful Names or, to put it another way, to see His own Essence, in an all-inclusive object encompassing the whole [divine:] Command, which, qualified by existence, would reveal to Him his own mystery. For the seeing of a thing, itself by itself, is not the same as its seeing itself in another, as it were in a mirror; for it appears to itself in a form that is invested by the location of the vision by that which would only appear to it given the existence of the location and its [the location's:] self-disclosure to it."

[Firdous · Rating 5 out of 5]

Tip for reading - Before starting the book one can listen (youtube) or read lectures by Professor William Chittick on Arabi’s philosophy.

Here’s the link which has helped me a lot

https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ib...

[فيصل كركري · Rating 5 out of 5]

بغض النظر عما تظنه في الرجل، ابن عربي يقدم كتابا قيما رقائقيا قل نظيره. رحلتي معه كانت كالتالي:
بداية واجهت صعوبة في فهم مغازي الكاتب. وكدت أن اتركه سعيا وراء كتاب (تقليدي) يسهل فهمه والاستمتاع به. لكني قررت متابعة القراءة وانتهاج الاستمرارية في قراءة الصفحات دون التوقف المتكرر لمحاولة فهم بعض المصطلحات الغريبة والمعاني الخفية (وهي كثيرة). بعدها لاحظت أن الأمور بدأت تتضح أكثر فأكثر، وغدت المعاني أسهل في الهضم والمصطلحات أقل ضبابية. وبمجرد وصوليل لممنتصف الكتاب، أصبحت متعلقا به أكثر وتحول النفور من قراءته إلى انجذاب له. طبعا إلى هذه اللحظة لا أجد سببا منطقيا لهذا الأمر. وما أن ختمت الصفحات وأزلت الـ (book mark) حتى انتابتني رغبة عارمة في إعادة قراءته تارة أخرى. لم أفعل ذلك حتى الآن، ولكنه من الكتب التي لا بد لك من إعادة قراءتها واكتشاف جمالها وروعة معانيها وسلاسة تدفق أفكارها.

القاشاني قدم شرحا وافيا وتكاد لا تفرق بين الكاتب ابن عربي وبين الشارح القاشاني. وكأن الاثنان يتكلمان بلسان واحد وقلب مشترك.

قد يكون هذا الكتاب غير مألوف ولكنه بلا شك قيمة عظيمة لقراء العربية.

[هومن · Rating 5 out of 5]

به نظر ابن‌عربی بت‌پرست اگر کافر است نه از آن‌جاست که بت می‌پرستد، از آن‌جاست که تنها بتِ خود را می‌پرستد. کفرِ مسیحیان نیز از آن‌جاست که خدا را تنها در قالبِ عیسی می‌بینند. مسلمانی که تنها کعبه را خانهٔ خدا می‌پندارد کافر است نه مسلمان. خدا را در هر جا و در هر سو می‌شود دید و در هیچ‌جا و در هیچ‌سو چیزی جز باورهای گوناگونِ مردم نیست. مردم باورهای خود را می‌پرستند و همه بر صراطِ مستقیم‌اند.
https://hooman.bio.link/

[Lionkhan-sama · Rating 5 out of 5]

In all honesty, I am nowhere near the level of this book. The information contained is of the highest caliber, and not for the normal person. I have much to go before I can understand even a decent portion of Ibn AlArabi's words.

However, what tiny little pieces I did understand I enjoyed immensely. Ibn AlArabi gives an incredible perspective, and is most certainly worth trying to understand.

The translation is absolutely wonderful. Although translated from Arabic to English, I feel that the message and meanings of the original author were not faded.

[Mohammad Ali Shamekhi]

من دیباچه و مؤخره ی کتاب را خوانده ام و به نظرم دیباچه شایسته ی مقدمه ی یک اثر محوری نیست. مچ گیری یا نشان دادن ضعف های سنت عرفان نظری گرچه در ایران ضروری است اما نباید آن را در مقدمه ی چاپ یک اثر مثل فصوص گنجاند

[Robert Sheppard · Rating 4 out of 5]

CLASSICAL ARABIC AND ISLAMIC MASTERPIECES OF WORLD LITERATURE FROM THE ISLAMIC GOLDEN AGE-----"THE KORAN," AL-KHANSA, HAFIZ, ABU-NAWAS, RUMI, AL-JAHIZ, "ONE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS," IBN SINA (AVICENNA), IBN RUSHD (AVERROES),IBN ARABI, IBN-TUFAIL (ABUBACER) & AL-HALLAJ---FROM THE WORLD LITERATURE FORUM RECOMMENDED CLASSICS AND MASTERPIECES SERIES VIA GOODREADS—-ROBERT SHEPPARD, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF




"THE INK OF THE SCHOLAR"---THE ISLAMIC GOLDEN AGE



The "Islamic Golden Age" was an historical period beginning in the mid-8th century lasting until the Mongol conquest of Baghdad in 1258, generally associated with the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate around 750 AD, and the moving of the capital from Damascus to Baghdad, but also including contributions from remnant Ummayad kindgoms in Iberia (modern Spain and Portugul) and North-West Africa. The Abbasids were influenced by the Qur'anic injunctions and Hadith such as "the ink of a scholar is more holy than the blood of a martyr" that stressed the value of knowledge and reason, and were also more cosmopolitan than the Umayyads, being allied with the Persian Barmacids and less ethnocentrically focused on the narrower tribal culture of the Kureysh, the original tribe of Muhammad.

The rise of Islam was instrumental in uniting the warring Arab tribes into a powerful empire. The Abbasids claimed authority as belonging to the same family and tribe to which the Prophet Muhammad belonged, and were for that reason considered holy. During this period the Arab world became an intellectual center for science, philosophy, medicine and education; the Abbasids championed the cause of knowledge and established the House of Wisdom (Bait-ul-Hikmat) at Baghdad, where both Muslim and non-Muslim scholars sought to translate and gather all the world's knowledge into Arabic, and also the second court language Persian.

The Arabs displayed a remarkable capacity of assimilating the scientific knowledge of the civilizations they had overrun. Many classic works of antiquity that might otherwise have been lost were translated into Arabic and Persian and later in turn re-translated into Turkish, Hebrew and Latin. St. Thomas Aquinas, for example, gained crucial familiarity with the works of Aristotle through translations into Arabic and then into Latin accompanied by the commentary of the great Muslim Aristotelian scholar Ibn Sina (Avicenna).

During this period the Arab world was a collection of cultures which put together, synthesized and significantly advanced the knowledge gained from the ancient Roman, Chinese, Indian, Persian, Egyptian, Greek, Byzantine and Phoenician civilizations. The decimal system and "zero" travelled from India into Arabic culture during this time and in 9th century it was popularized in the Islamic regions by the Persian mathematician al-Khwarizmi. Later in 12th century the renown Western monk Abelard introduced what Westerners call "Arabic Numerals" to Europe, but which the Arabs themselves termed "Hindsi" or "Indian Numerals," indicating their true origin. They also began the use of Algebra and advanced logarithims in order to solve complex mathematical problems.

There is little agreement on the precise causes of the decline in Arabic creativity and intellectual leadership ending the Islamic Golden Age, but in addition to the devastating invasion by the Mongols and crusaders with the destruction of libraries and madrasahs, it has also been suggested that political mismanagement and the stifling of "Ijtihad" (independent reasoning) in the 12th century in favor of institutionalised "Taqleed" (imitation and uncritical following of precedent) played a part.



THE KORAN (QURAN) IN WORLD LITERATURE



Any understanding of the literatures of Islamic nations must begin with a familiarity with the Koran, just as any understanding of of Western Literature must include a basic familiarity with the Bible. Muslims believe the Quran to be verbally revealed through Angel Gabriel (Jibril) from God to Muhammad gradually over a period of approximately 23 years beginning from 609 AD, when Muhammad was 40, to 632 AD, the year of his death.

Muslims regard the Quran as the main miracle of Muhammad, the proof of his prophethood and the culmination of a series of divine messages to humanity that started with the messages revealed to Adam, regarded in Islam as the first prophet, and continued with the Scrolls of Abraham (Suhuf Ibrahim), the Tawrat (Torah) of Moses, the Zabur (Tehillim or Psalms) of David, and the Injil (Gospels) of Jesus. The Quran assumes familiarity with major narratives recounted in Jewish and Christian scriptures, summarizing some, dwelling at length on others and in some cases presenting alternative accounts and interpretations of events. The Quran describes itself as a book of guidance, sometimes offering detailed accounts of specific historical events, and often emphasizing the moral significance of an event.


Regardless of whether one believes or disbelieves in the Koran, equally as in the case of whether one believes or disbelieves in the Christian or Jewish Bible, it is an inescapable necessity for every educated person to read and be familiar with these works as literature if one has any hope of understanding World Literature, Western Literature, Islamic and Arabic Literature, English, French, German, Russian or any national literature of any culture affected by their influence. No one can understand English or American Literature without familiarity with the King James and other versions of the Bible, the words, phrases, style and stories and themes of which permeate and recur in Shakespeare, Donne, Milton, and a thousand believing and unbelieving authors and works. Similarly, any understanding of German Literature is impossible without knowledge of the Bible of Luther. The Koran thus takes its place in World Literature by virtue of its shaping influence on the mindset and consciousness of over one billion Muslims across dozens of nations, cultures and literatures as well as the cultural foundation of dozens of Muslim authors and works of worldwide importance such as Rumi, Attar, Hafiz, the Thousand and One Nights, Mafouz Naguib, Ghalib and others. Thus it is required reading, at least in part, for any Citizen of the Republic of Letters or of the modern world, alongside the Bible, the Buddhist Sutras such as the Fire Sermon, the Bhagavad Gita and the Dao De Ching, as part of the common heritage of mankind.

Compared to the Bible, the Koran is a much shorter work, lacking the extended historical accounts and chronicles of the Old Testament and the multiple repetitive Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John of the New Testament, and can be read in a relatively short time in translation by most people for basic familiarity.

The basic theme of the Koran is that of monotheism, an invocation to belief and adherence to the single God, Allah, of Muhammad, who is also conceived as the same God of the Christian and Jewish Abrahamic tradition, albeit with differences of understanding with the other religions. A good deal of the Koran is concerned with laying down rules of behaviour in common life, religious practice and society, as the Suras were broadly used for instruction of the Ummah, or new congregation of Islam in Mecca and Medina during Muhammad's life as he recited them. The Koran also contains repetitions of many famous Bible stories such as Adam and Eve, the Flood, Genesis, Exodus and life of Moses, the conception of Jesus by Mary and others. In the Koran Moses and Jesus are considered fellow prophets of Allah, though Jesus is not considered as the son of God as in the Bible. A large part of the Koran contains exhortations to belief in its one God Allah and adherence to its rules of behaviour, with the bliss of paradise as promised reward and certain damnation in Hell as the consequence of failure to do so. Similar to the Bible, a significant part of the Koran focuses on the coming Apocalypse, or end of time and the consequent Last Judgment of all souls.



PRE-ISLAMIC ARABIC POETRY---AL-KHANSA, CELEBRATED WOMAN POET



Even before Muhammad and the rise of Islam Arabic literature had developed a strong poetic tradition. At that time Arabic culture was largely based on oral tradition, with poetry at its center. For a nomadic people such as the Bedoin Arabs, poetry was the main reservoir of the people's knowledge and expression of their very existence. Poets were highly honored, attaining even what today we might term "superstar" status. The poetry was the poetry of the tribe or clan, articulating its legends, heroes, geneology, iteration of its strong "tribal code" of norms and exploits. Celebrated poets included traditionalists such as Imru 'al-Qays, the "Brigand Poets" or poets who individualistically broke with the control of their tribes and lived outside the tribal system, and the celebrated Pre-Islamic woman poetess Al-Khansa.

Al-Khansa (575-646) put women in a central place in her poetry. A traditionalist in one sense, she wrote poems of lament for brave fallen heroes of her tribe, such as her fallen brothers, yet celebrated the women who remained alive and powerful in keeping life going and honoring and transmitting the proud warrior values to their children, despite the vicissitudes of battle, defeat and victory. She made women's role in the symbolic order potent and visible, even in a patriarchal tribal society.




HAFIZ---FATHER OF THE GHAZAL GENRE OF LOVE POETRY



Hafiz is the pen name of the Persian poet Shams al-Din Muhammad Shirazi who is celebrated as the originating master of the "ghazal," a form of poetic artistic unity which is neither thematic nor dramatic in the Western sense, but consists in the creation of a poetic unity by weaving imagery and allusions round one or more central concepts, of which both divine and sexual love are the most common. Hafiz was a master of interweaving the erotic and the mystic through superb linguistic craftsmanship and intuitive insight. Some stanzas from his "The House of Hope" give some feel for his themes, often sensual and melancholy:

The house of hope is built on sand,
And life's foundations rest on air;
Then come, give wine into my hand,
That we may make an end of care.

Look not to find fidelity
Within a world so weakly stayed;
This ancient crone, ere flouting thee,
A thousand bridegrooms had betrayed.

Take not for sign of true intent
Nor think the rose's smile sincere;
Sweet, loving nightingale, lament:
There is much cause for weeping here.

What envying of Hafiz's ease,
Poor poetaster, dost thou moan?
To make sweet music, and to please,
That is a gift of God alone.




ABU-NAWAS---EROTIC COURT POET OF THE CALIPH HAROUN AL-RASHID OF THE THOUSAND AND ONE NIGHTS



Abu-Nawas (755-815) is perhaps the most beloved of Arab poets of any period. He appears repeatedly as a character in the classic "One Thousand and One Nights," or "Arabian Nights" along with the renown Abbasid Caliph Haroun al-Rashid and his Barmacid Vizir Jafar. He is the archetypal sensual, erotic and profligate poet and Baghdad court favorite of the Caliph. He wrote pangyric poetry as well as heterosexual and homosexual ghazals, and handled Bacchic poems of "wine, women and song" with incomparable skill. He wrote with an existential edge to his Epicurean ethos that embraced every kind of pleasure and satisfaction. His death is a subject of legend, some saying he died in prison for writing blasphemous verse, others that he died in a whorehouse, some saying he was murdered in reprisal for lampooning a powerful court personage, and still others that he died peacefully in his sleep in the home of a learned Shi'ite scholar.




RUMI----SUFI MYSTIC POET OF THE ECSTASY OF LOVE



Jalal al-Din Rumi (1207-1273) was renown as both the foremost Sufi mystic poet and the founder of the Mavlevi sect of Sufi dancing dervishes. Originally an academic scholar and professor, he was persuaded by a wandering Sufi mystic, Shams al-Din Tabrizi, to take up the Sufi life and put the love of God at the center of his existence. Striving after divine illumination in diverse ways, from devout meditation to the ecstatic pleasures of wine, sexuality and the Dervish entrancement of dance, he emphasized a devotion to a spiritualized love that disregards rites and convention and concentrates on inner feeling and approach to the ecstatic infinite. His odes have been chanted by Hadjj pilgrims on the road to Mecca for centuries and are sung with the greatest reverence even today.




AL-JAHIZ---THE GREATEST PROSE WRITER OF CLASSICAL ARAB CULTURE



Abu Uthman 'Amr ibn Bahr (776-868) of Basra, Iraq was known as "Al-Jahiz" or "the goggle eyed" due to a malformation of his eyes and was one the dynamic personalities in the Mu'tazilite circles, which met regularly in Basra reminiscent of the famous "salons" of Paris. Basra was also the location of the annual Al-Mirbad literary festival of Arab and Islamic culture that took place yearly featuring competitions and debates on philosophical issues, and at which he was renown for his wit, cutting humor, endless anecdotes and depth of knowledge. His book "Spiritual Leadership" was praised at the court in Baghdad by the Caliph al-Mamun, who appointed him as court scribe, personal secretary and speech writer. His monumental work the "Book of Animals" is the first encyclopedia on animals and zoology. His most famous work is the "Book of Misers" which is a unique portrait gallery of human characters rich in their contradictions and ironies. It features an acute analysis of the passion of avarice, satirical and comic narratives, and cutting insight into human psychology. If the Eighteenth Century is sometimes called the Age of Voltaire, the Ninth Century in the Abbasid Caliphate could be called the "Age of Al-Jahiz"
through his dominance of prose writing in Arabic.




THE GREAT PHILOSOPHERS OF THE ARAB GOLDEN AGE



If Classical Greece had the great triumvirate of Aristotle, Plato and Socrates in the realm of philosophy, the Islamic Golden Age featured Ibn Sina (Avicenna), Ibn Rushd (Averroes) and Ibn Arabi. Ibn Rushd and Ibn Sina played a major role in saving the works of Aristotle, whose ideas came to dominate the non-religious thought of both the Christian and Muslim worlds. They would also absorb ideas from China and India, adding to them tremendous knowledge from their own studies. Ibn Sina and other speculative thinkers such as al-Kindi and al-Farabi combined Aristotelianism and Neoplatonism with other ideas introduced through Islam. Avicenna argued his famous "Floating Man" thought experiment, concerning self-awareness, where a man prevented of sense experience by being blindfolded and free falling would still be aware of his existence, perhaps a forerunner of Descartes "cogito ergo sum"----"I think therefore I am."

Ibn Arabi was the foremost advocate of metaphysical Sufism, as expressed in his magnum opus "Bezels of Wisdom" which transformed Islam's personal God into a principle of absolute being, where all is God and God is all, in which humanity in his Sufist interpretation, occupies a central role as revealed divine being, perhaps reminiscent of Bishop Berkeley's pan-idealism.

The Arab philosophers of the Islamic Golden Age also stimulated other non-Muslim philosophers such as Jewish philosopher Moses Maimonides.




IBN TUFAIL AND IBN AL-NAFIZ---FATHERS OF THE ARABIC PHILOSOPHIC AND SCIENCE FICTION NOVELS



Ibn Tufail (Abubacer) and Ibn al-Nafis were pioneers of the philosophical novel. Ibn Tufail wrote the first fictional Arabic novel "Hayy ibn Yaqdhan" ("Philosophus Autodidactus") as a response to al-Ghazali's "The Incoherence of the Philosophers," and then Ibn al-Nafis also wrote a fictional novel "Theologus Autodidactus" as a response to Ibn Tufail's "Philosophus Autodidactus." Both of these narratives had protagonists (Hayy in Philosophus Autodidactus and Kamil in Theologus Autodidactus) who were autodidactic feral children living in seclusion on a desert island, both being the earliest examples of a desert island story, a forerunner of Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe." However, while Hayy lives alone with animals on the desert island for the rest of the story, like Mowgli in Kipling's "Jungle Book" in "Philosophus Autodidactus," the story of Kamil extends beyond the desert island setting in "Theologus Autodidactus," developing into a story of his re-entry into civilization, the earliest known coming of age plot and eventually becoming the first example of a science fiction novel.




AL HALLAJ---SUFI MARTYR



Al-Hallaj (857-922) was a great Sufi mystic, poet and theologian whose life and spiritual mission was reminiscent of the fate of Jesus Christ. A great spiritual searcher, he attended debates and salons in Basra and Baghdad, then embarked on thirty years of wandering, perpetual fasting, meditation, contemplation and silence in search of Sufi enlightenment. His pilgrimage to Mecca led to further enlightenment and he began to attract large numbers of followers, breaking the normal Sufi practice of esoteric secrecy by public preaching, including reform of corrupt clerics. His movement was perceived as a threat by the highly corrupt religious establishment, and he suffered a fate similar to Jesus and the Apostles. Corrupt clerics accused him of blasphemy and he was imprisoned in Baghdad eight years, tortured, half-killed and exhibited on a scaffold. The Caliph, failing to force him to recant his beliefs, finally had him decapitated, burnt and his ashes scattered into the Tigris River.




SPIRITUS MUNDI AND THE ISLAMIC GOLDEN AGE



The Islamic Golden Age is also reflected in my own work, the contemporary and futurist epic Spiritus Mundi. One of its characters Mohammad ala Rushdie is a novice Sufi of the Mevlevi Order, writer and also an activist for the creation of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly. He is taken hostage by terrorists and meets the Supreme Leader of Iran, later reciting to him a short story he has written "The Supreme Leader and the Three Messiahs," reminiscent of Dostoyevski's "The Grand Inquisitor" set in an Islamic setting. Part of the plot of the novel involves a geopolitical conspiracy of an allied China-Russia-Iran to execute a Pearl Harbor-like sneak attack invasion of the Middle-East oil reserves to sever the "oil jugular" of the West, leading to a threatened WWIII. It is foiled by a cosmic quest of the protagonists intoa mythic dimension and a change of heart in the Iranian Supreme Leader following a visit of the Angel Jibreel (Gabriel) who commands him to "Open the Gates of Ijtihad" or creative reasoning against the tradition of blind precedent and conformity to the past as a means giving rebirth to the spirit of the lost Islamic Golden Age and preventing Armageddon and World War III.


For a fuller discussion of the concept of World Literature you are invited to look into the extended discussion in the new book Spiritus Mundi, by Robert Sheppard, one of the principal themes of which is the emergence and evolution of World Literature:


For Discussions on World Literature and n Literary Criticism in Spiritus Mundi: http://worldliteratureandliterarycrit...


Robert Sheppard


Editor-in-Chief
World Literature Forum
Author, Spiritus Mundi Novel
Author’s Blog:
http://robertalexandersheppard.wordpr...
Spiritus Mundi on Goodreads:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
Spiritus Mundi on Amazon, Book I: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CIGJFGO
Spiritus Mundi, Book II: The Romance http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00CGM8BZG


Copyright Robert Sheppard 2013 All Rights Reserved

[Elizabeth L'Abate · Rating 5 out of 5]

best translation. Each prophet as a different Gnosis and practice....

[Maram]

دكتور الفلسفة أتاح لي أن أختار موضوع الدراسة في أحد المقررات، فاقترحت دراسة ابن عربي، لأنني صادفت مفهوم “فناء النار” لديه، وقد أثار ذلك اهتمامي به وبالتصوف عمومًا. وهكذا، قضيت فصلًا دراسيًا كاملًا تقريبًا أدرس ابن عربي، وقرأنا خلاله هذا الكتاب.

هل فهمت حقًا ما كان ابن عربي يقوله؟ لا على الإطلاق.

لكن هل حصلت على
A واستمتعت بالمقرر؟ نعم.

أعتقد أنني بحاجة إلى قراءة هذا الكتاب عدة مرات لأتمكن من فهمه، أو حتى الاقتراب من فهمه، كما أنني بحاجة إلى التعمق أكثر في الفلسفة الإسلامية و التصوف.

[Serdar Tutal · Rating 5 out of 5]

(Sendeki) Soruların yerine başka sorular koyan bir garip kitap. Biraz güncel olduğu için burada bir alıntı bulunsun.

Davud aleyhisselam, Beyt-i Mukaddes’i inşa etmeyi dileyip, onu defalarca inşa ettiyse de inşaatı biten bina her seferinde yıkıldı. Bu durumu Allahu Teala’ya şikayet edince, Allahu Teala ona şöyle vahyetti: “Benim bu evim kan döken bir kişinin iki eli üzerinde ayakta duramaz.” Davud şöyle dedi: “Yarabbi, ben senin yolunda kan dökmedim mi?” Hak Teala şöyle buyurdu: “Evet, ama onlar Benim kullarım değiller mi?”

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

During the period when Ibn Al' Arabi wrote this book, he faced a general climate of backlash against Sufism from the orthodox majority. It is both a description and a commentary on psychological type, couched as a study of the twenty-seven prophets mentioned in the Koran. It is a difficult and powerful book written by the greatest Sufi theorist. The copy I read, translated by R.W.J. Austin, was superior to the other translations I have seen.

[Özge Kurbetoglu · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was an amazing to read sufi teachings and the way of reaching Allah by all Prophets' stories, abilities.
Moreover than this, I have read in one of the sufi book that ibn arabi's fususul hikem couldnot be understood by 2-3 people through the years, it was saying. In any case, it was worth to read

[Kooshan]

کتاب فصوص یا فصوص‌الحکم اثر شیخ اکبر ابن عربی از کتب مشهور تصوف و عرفان نظری است.

به خاطر اهمیت و ارزش والای آن، تا کنون، بیشتر از صد و ده شرح مختلف، به زبان‌های گوناگون، بر فصوص‌الحکم نوشته شده است.

[oludamini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Best translation and critical edition available of oen of the masterpieces of Islamic mystical thought

[Hytham · Rating 4 out of 5]

من أفضل ما قرأت في 2012 ..

[Hend · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I ever read. Every time you read it, you gain new wisdom. Ibn Al Arabi has a unique style and unique knowledge; controversial, but absolutely great thinker.

[Mazen Alloujami · Rating 5 out of 5]

خلاصة حكمة ابن عربي وفلسفته الصوفية.
كتاب رائع لكن يصعب فهمه للقارئ غير المعتاد على التجربة الصوفية.

[Fatma · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the question u have in yourself will be replaced by new ones.

[Maziar MHK]

نتها کتابی که اسم ابن عربی آدمو میکشونه پای بساطی خوانش اما متن ثقیل آدمو بدرقه میکنه

[میثم موسوی نسیم‌آبادی]

کتاب «فصوص‌الحکم»، اثری در حیطۀ عرفان نظری یا همان فلسفۀ آمیخته با تصوّف است که از آن به‌عنوان ژرف‌ترین و جامع تمام آراء محیی‌الدین محمد بن علی عربی اندلسی یاد می‌شود (ابن‌عربی، ۱۳۸۷: ذیل «مقدمۀ مترجم»، ۲۵-۲۶).
فصوص جمعِ واژۀ فص به‌معنای نگین و فصوص‌الحکم به‌معنای نگین‌های حکمت است. این کتاب که شامل ۲۷ فص یا فصل است، دربردارندۀ مهم‌ترین اندیشۀ محیی‌الدین بن‌ عربی، یعنی وحدتِ وجود است. اندیشه‌ای که کیان فقهی و شرعی هر دینی را ویران می‌کند و بنابر نظر برخی انکار خدا در لباس ادب است. ابن‌عربی عالَم را سایۀ خدا می‌داند که فی‌ذاته وجود ندارد و تجلّی دائم حق در صورت‌های مختلف است. لذا در فص هارونی می‌نویسد:

بعضی از مردم بنی‌اسرائیل به پیروی سامری، گوساله را پرستش کردند. از این‌روی هارون ترسید که این پراکندگی بین آنان بدو نسبت یابد، درحالی‌که موسی از هارون به حقیقت امر داناتر بود، زیرا می‌دانست که گوساله‌پرستان چه کسی را پرستش می‌کردند؛ چون او عالِم بود که خداوند حکم فرموده که جز او پرستش نشود و خداوند به چیزی حکم نمی‌کند مگر آنکه واقع می‌شود. بنابراین نکوهش موسی برادرش هارون را از آن‌جهت بود که چون امر واقع شد، انکار سر زد و گشادگی و اتساع نداشت؛ زیرا عارف کسی است که حق‌تعالی را در هر چیزی مشاهده می‌کند، بلکه او را عین هر چیزی می‌بیند (همان: ذیل «متن کتاب»، ۳۵۵).
آیت‌الله حسن‌زاده آملی نیز در کتابِ «ممدالهمم در شرح فصوص‌الحکم»، در ذیل مطلب فوق می‌آورد:

غرض شیخ از این موضوعات بیان اسرار برای اهل سرّ می‌باشد. هرچند به‌حسب نبوت تشریع باید توده مردم را از عبادت اصنام بازداشت. چنان‌چه انبیاء عبادت اصنام را انکار می‌کردند (حسن‌زاده آملی، ۱۳۷۸: ۵۱۴). و چون به دقت بنگری آنچه در دارِ وجود است وجوب [خدا] است و بحث در امکان [انسان] برای سرگرمی است (همان: ۱۰۷).
ابن‌عربی در ادامه در فص محمدی، همسر را مَظهر حق‌تعالی دانسته و جماع با او را جماع با خدا معرفی کرده است؛ زیرا بر آن اعتقاد است که خدا غیورتر از آن است که اجازه دهد مرد فکر کند از غیرخدا لذت می‌برد (ابن عربی، ۱۳۸۷: ذیل «متن کتاب»، ۴۱۷). او در فص موسوی نیز از ایمان آوردن فرعون در آخرین لحظات زندگی و وفات وی در کمال ایمان سخن می‌گوید و می‌نویسد:

باآن‌که خداوند در قرآن آورده است: و هنگامی که عذاب ما را دیدند ایمان آوردنشان سودشان نبخشید، اما این دلالت بر آن ندارد که در آخرت سودشان نبخشد. از این‌روی [جان] فرعون را با وجود ایمان‌آوردنش اخذ کرد. و علاوه بر آن فرعون درحال ایمان‌آوردن به هلاکت یقین نداشت؛ زیرا مؤمنان را مشاهده کرد که با زدن عصای موسی بر دریا، در خشکی راه می‌روند (همان: ۴۰۱).

این فیلسوف و عارف اسپانیایی، که بیش از پانصد جلد کتاب به او نسبت داده‌اند، در سال ۶۲۷ هجری به نوشتن کتاب فصوص‌الحکم مبادرت ورزید (همان: ۳) و در مقدمۀ آن ضمن اشاره به این‌که کتاب حاضر را به سبب دیدن خواب پیامبر اسلام و دستور او نگاشته است، می‌آورد:

من در این کتاب چیزی نمی‌نویسم جز آنچه را که بر من نازل می‌شود. هرچند من نه پیغمبرم و نه رسول، اما وارث رسول‌الله هستم (همان: ۳-۵).

منابع:

_ ابن‌عربی، محیی‌الدین، ۱۳۸۷، فصوص‌الحکم، ترجمه و تصحیح محمد خواجوی، تهران، مولی.

_ حسن‌زاده آملی، حسن، ۱۳۷۸، ممدالهمم در شرح فصوص‌الحکم، تهران، وزارت فرهنگ و ارشاد اسلامی.

[Jagdish · Rating 5 out of 5]

he Bezels of Wisdom is a profound and intricate work of Islamic philosophy, mysticism, and cosmology. This text, often considered one of his most significant works, delves into the nature of reality, the divine, and the human soul.

The Unity of Being: At the heart of Ibn 'Arabi's philosophy is the concept of wahdat al-wujud, or the Unity of Being. This tenet posits that all creation is ultimately a manifestation of the divine essence. There is no fundamental distinction between the Creator and the created, but rather a continuum of being.

The Divine Names: Ibn 'Arabi explores the significance of the divine names as attributes of God. He argues that these names are not mere descriptions but rather active forces that shape and govern reality. The seeker's journey towards divine knowledge involves understanding and experiencing these names.

The Human Soul: The human soul is a microcosm of the divine. Ibn 'Arabi emphasizes the soul's potential for spiritual growth and its ultimate return to the divine source. The soul's journey involves stripping away the veils of illusion and attaining a state of divine consciousness.

Cosmology and Symbolism: The Bezels of Wisdom is rich in cosmological symbolism. Ibn 'Arabi uses metaphors and analogies to describe the divine realm and its relationship to the created world. He often employs alchemical and astrological imagery to convey spiritual truths.

A deeper analysis of The Bezels of Wisdom requires a careful examination of its symbolism and allegories, its philosophical foundations, its mystical experiences, and its place within the broader context of Islamic thought.

Symbolism and Allegory: Ibn 'Arabi's use of symbols and allegories is a key to understanding the depth of his thought. These symbols often serve as vehicles for conveying mystical experiences and spiritual truths.

Philosophical Foundations: Ibn 'Arabi's work is deeply rooted in Islamic philosophy, particularly the Neoplatonic tradition. Examining his engagement with these philosophical sources can provide valuable insights into his thought.

Mystical Experience: Ibn 'Arabi's writings are often based on his own mystical experiences. Understanding his approach to mysticism and his claims of divine revelation is essential for appreciating the unique nature of his thought.

Comparative Studies: Comparing The Bezels of Wisdom to other works of Islamic philosophy and mysticism can help to highlight its distinctive contributions and place it within a broader intellectual context.

The Bezels of Wisdom is a complex and multifaceted work that offers a profound exploration of the divine, the human soul, and the nature of reality. Ibn 'Arabi's unique blend of philosophy, mysticism, and cosmology continues to captivate and inspire scholars and seekers of spiritual truth. A deep analysis of this text requires a careful examination of its symbolism, philosophical foundations, mystical experiences, and place within the broader context of Islamic thought.