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The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn Al-Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination
Ibn al-'Arabi is still known as "the Great Sheik" among the surviving Sufi orders. Born in Muslim Spain, he has become famous in the West as the greatest mystical thinker of Islamic civilization. He was a great philosopher, theologian, and poet.
William Chittick takes a major step toward exposing the breadth and depth of Ibn al-'Arabi's vision. The book offers his view of spiritual perfection and explains his theology, ontology, epistemology, hermeneutics, and soteriology. The clear language, unencumbered by methodological jargon, makes it accessible to those familiar with other spiritual traditions, while its scholarly precision will appeal to specialists.
Beginning with a survey of Ibn al-'Arabi's major teachings, the book gradually introduces the most important facets of his thought, devoting attention to definitions of his basic terminology. His teachings are illustrated with many translated passages introducing readers to fascinating byways of spiritual life that would not ordinarily be encountered in an account of a thinker's ideas. Ibn al-'Arabi is allowed to describe in detail the visionary world from which his knowledge derives and to express his teachings in his own words.
More than 600 passages from his major work, al-Futuhat al-Makkivva, are translated here, practically for the first time. These alone provide twice the text of the Fusus al-hikam. The exhaustive indexes make the work an invaluable reference tool for research in Sufism and Islamic thought in general.
William Chittick takes a major step toward exposing the breadth and depth of Ibn al-'Arabi's vision. The book offers his view of spiritual perfection and explains his theology, ontology, epistemology, hermeneutics, and soteriology. The clear language, unencumbered by methodological jargon, makes it accessible to those familiar with other spiritual traditions, while its scholarly precision will appeal to specialists.
Beginning with a survey of Ibn al-'Arabi's major teachings, the book gradually introduces the most important facets of his thought, devoting attention to definitions of his basic terminology. His teachings are illustrated with many translated passages introducing readers to fascinating byways of spiritual life that would not ordinarily be encountered in an account of a thinker's ideas. Ibn al-'Arabi is allowed to describe in detail the visionary world from which his knowledge derives and to express his teachings in his own words.
More than 600 passages from his major work, al-Futuhat al-Makkivva, are translated here, practically for the first time. These alone provide twice the text of the Fusus al-hikam. The exhaustive indexes make the work an invaluable reference tool for research in Sufism and Islamic thought in general.
Hardcover
First published June 1, 1989
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About the author
William C. Chittick
51 books313 followersis a philosopher, writer, translator and interpreter of classical Islamic philosophical and mystical texts. He is best known for his work on Rumi and Ibn 'Arabi, and has written extensively on the school of Ibn 'Arabi, Islamic philosophy, and Islamic cosmology.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
May 19, 2024
February 2014
"And say: 'My Lord, Increase me in knowledge" Qur'an 20:114. As this book has walked with me throughout my first year as a Muslim, that verse has become my prayer, and Ibn Al-Arabi has very much been a Sheikh and guide in the faith.
Two key words in the title of this book are "Knowledge" and "Imagination". Chittick interprets imagination according to Al-Arabi as designating "the intermediary realm between the spiritual and corporeal worlds. But sometimes he means existence per se." Throughout, the distinction between nondelimited imagination (existence as such) and delimited imagination (the imaginal world) becomes of vital importance when referring to transcendent concepts.
As to knowledge, it "is more excellent than love, which is why God commanded His Prophet to seek increase in it from Him. It is identical to the divine friendship whereby God takes charge of His servants and ennobles them. Through knowledge they come to know that He cannot be known." (380).
Islam is the religion of knowledge. Knowledge is often described as light, and there is no knowledge manifested in the universe but that of God. God is in all and through all. Ibn Al-Arabi talks of God/not-God in the sense that the cosmos are manifestations of the divine - reflections of God. God is in all we see, all we do, yet not God in that the creation is not the Real in its essence. We can know God through the divine names or attributes that are mentioned in the Qur'an. But this concept of "not-God" is where the ego inserts itself - through created free will and our ability to step away from the divine law. Put another way, Al-Arabi states that we cannot BUT worship God as all is God behind the world of forms. Yet "the mistake of him who associates others with God is that he devises for himself an original form of worship which God did not set down for him in a law, so he worships something he has created." (350)
Hence why Chittick carefully addresses how much Ibn Al-Arabi emphasizes the sacred law. God will take a different form for every individual being, a different manifestation, a different attribute, but the common reference points are the Qur'an and Sunna (which contain the divine law). These comprise the foundation of both the human and the cosmos.
The book is divided into eight main sections:
1. Introduction (to Al-Arabi's life and an intellectual history of his work in Islam as well as the West)
2. An Overview of his thought
3. Theology
4. Ontology
5. Epistemology
6. Hermeneutics
7. Soteriology
8. Consummation
Ibn Al-Arabi is known as "The Great Sheikh" in Sufi circles, and is also known as one of the primary expositors of the doctrine of Tawhid or "Oneness of God". He places great emphasis on the Islamic concepts of "veils" between us and The Real, both through describing the veils, and how they're removed through self-disclosure of The Real, which is accomplished through the knowledge of the attributes or Divine Names.
This is a book which requires effort to internalize and/or study, but the effort is nowhere close to what it would take to individually research the canon of Ibn Al-Arabi's work. Chittick has done the English-speaking world a huge favor by compiling the thought of this great Sufi into an accessible format, which is incredibly rewarding for the reader.
"And say: 'My Lord, Increase me in knowledge" Qur'an 20:114. As this book has walked with me throughout my first year as a Muslim, that verse has become my prayer, and Ibn Al-Arabi has very much been a Sheikh and guide in the faith.
Two key words in the title of this book are "Knowledge" and "Imagination". Chittick interprets imagination according to Al-Arabi as designating "the intermediary realm between the spiritual and corporeal worlds. But sometimes he means existence per se." Throughout, the distinction between nondelimited imagination (existence as such) and delimited imagination (the imaginal world) becomes of vital importance when referring to transcendent concepts.
As to knowledge, it "is more excellent than love, which is why God commanded His Prophet to seek increase in it from Him. It is identical to the divine friendship whereby God takes charge of His servants and ennobles them. Through knowledge they come to know that He cannot be known." (380).
Islam is the religion of knowledge. Knowledge is often described as light, and there is no knowledge manifested in the universe but that of God. God is in all and through all. Ibn Al-Arabi talks of God/not-God in the sense that the cosmos are manifestations of the divine - reflections of God. God is in all we see, all we do, yet not God in that the creation is not the Real in its essence. We can know God through the divine names or attributes that are mentioned in the Qur'an. But this concept of "not-God" is where the ego inserts itself - through created free will and our ability to step away from the divine law. Put another way, Al-Arabi states that we cannot BUT worship God as all is God behind the world of forms. Yet "the mistake of him who associates others with God is that he devises for himself an original form of worship which God did not set down for him in a law, so he worships something he has created." (350)
Hence why Chittick carefully addresses how much Ibn Al-Arabi emphasizes the sacred law. God will take a different form for every individual being, a different manifestation, a different attribute, but the common reference points are the Qur'an and Sunna (which contain the divine law). These comprise the foundation of both the human and the cosmos.
The book is divided into eight main sections:
1. Introduction (to Al-Arabi's life and an intellectual history of his work in Islam as well as the West)
2. An Overview of his thought
3. Theology
4. Ontology
5. Epistemology
6. Hermeneutics
7. Soteriology
8. Consummation
Ibn Al-Arabi is known as "The Great Sheikh" in Sufi circles, and is also known as one of the primary expositors of the doctrine of Tawhid or "Oneness of God". He places great emphasis on the Islamic concepts of "veils" between us and The Real, both through describing the veils, and how they're removed through self-disclosure of The Real, which is accomplished through the knowledge of the attributes or Divine Names.
This is a book which requires effort to internalize and/or study, but the effort is nowhere close to what it would take to individually research the canon of Ibn Al-Arabi's work. Chittick has done the English-speaking world a huge favor by compiling the thought of this great Sufi into an accessible format, which is incredibly rewarding for the reader.
February 11, 2019
It is amazing to me that someone as inspired as Ibn Arabi ever lived and it is almost equally amazing that there is someone like William Chittick living during our time who is brilliant and perceptive enough to translate his work. This is a difficult book to review, but to put it shortly it is a book about contemplative knowledge — the necessary counterpart to the ratiocinative knowledge that most people are familiar with. It took me about a year to read it, portion by portion, but in sum it was very rewarding. Ibn Arabi famously said that his works were given to him whole by God, rather than being the outcome of some course of research. Reading his bewildering, inspired thoughts, I genuinely believe him.
This book is one meant to be experienced rather than read in the normal way. It is the product of Ibn Arabi's gnostic experiences, which were geared towards the attainment of divine knowledge. The "Path of Knowledge" is in contrast to the path of love famously associated with Jalaludin Rumi. To call Ibn Arabi brilliant would somehow be inapt and I don't expect he himself w0uld desire to be referred to as such. The truer compliment, one that he would be more likely to recognize the wisdom of, would be to say that he did not exist. Rather he was a man who has annihilated in the Truth and in the knowledge that he sought and attained. I am grateful that we have this book, the result of a heroic effort by Chittick to translate and interpret Ibn Arabi's "The Meccan Revelations." I hope there will be people in the coming generation able to translate and make accessible more of Ibn Arabi's writings.
This book is one meant to be experienced rather than read in the normal way. It is the product of Ibn Arabi's gnostic experiences, which were geared towards the attainment of divine knowledge. The "Path of Knowledge" is in contrast to the path of love famously associated with Jalaludin Rumi. To call Ibn Arabi brilliant would somehow be inapt and I don't expect he himself w0uld desire to be referred to as such. The truer compliment, one that he would be more likely to recognize the wisdom of, would be to say that he did not exist. Rather he was a man who has annihilated in the Truth and in the knowledge that he sought and attained. I am grateful that we have this book, the result of a heroic effort by Chittick to translate and interpret Ibn Arabi's "The Meccan Revelations." I hope there will be people in the coming generation able to translate and make accessible more of Ibn Arabi's writings.
July 6, 2008
If your into mysticism of any kind this is an amazing read. Dr. Chittick was my religious studies professor at Stony Brook. I was lucky to have him guide me through the text. His office hours were usually filled with students sitting around, drinking black tea, and discussing Ibn-Arabi's powerful interpretations of Islam. I wish I could have bottled the experience and sold it but that would have been heresy!
November 14, 2007
I read this at the same time as Heidegger's Contributions to Philosophy, and I really wish someone would take up the task of a dissertation on the profound resonance between Ibn Arabi's metaphysics and Heidegger's elucidation of Being. I'm too lazy.
February 28, 2013
The book itself is a translation of portions of Ibn Arabi's al-Futuhat al-Makkivva by William Chittick. It comprises 329 pages of closely spaced double columns which don't make for easy reading. Plus there are also extensive notes and several indexes, making a grand total of 478 pages.
Chittick arranges Ibn Arabi's text along with his own notes to make clearer certain concepts that Ibn Arabi uses throughout his other works. It is certainly a deep book for those who are more serious about not only Ibn Arabi's work, but that of many others of his ilk. It explains many concepts not easily found in English elsewhere.
A test for me is to say: "Would I read it again?", the answer has to be "yes", because though it was definitely not easy reading, frequently requiring re-reading many passages several times to extract a fuller meaning, it is a book that operates on the principle of what one puts into it, bears fruit according to one's labors.
Chittick arranges Ibn Arabi's text along with his own notes to make clearer certain concepts that Ibn Arabi uses throughout his other works. It is certainly a deep book for those who are more serious about not only Ibn Arabi's work, but that of many others of his ilk. It explains many concepts not easily found in English elsewhere.
A test for me is to say: "Would I read it again?", the answer has to be "yes", because though it was definitely not easy reading, frequently requiring re-reading many passages several times to extract a fuller meaning, it is a book that operates on the principle of what one puts into it, bears fruit according to one's labors.
October 19, 2014
This was of seminal importance for me. Mysticism has always interested me. My Granfdather himself had mystical prowess. This book gives an insight into the inner world of the mystic. Obscure at times, it is also a very rewarding read. For the very simple reason it gives you an insight into the philosophy of a saint. Ibn Arabi brings a new dimension to mystical understanding. His theosophy is dominated by his concept of the Divine Names and at first I could not really see the rationale in entifying these Divine Names; to the point where he gives credence to the idea of manyness which I felt was contradictory to the concept of tawhid in Islam. But having read the book I have come to realise that the perspective of mystic will not always be understood by the common man. Ibn Arabi's thought processes are not bound by logic or common sense and some of his opinions may seem at variance with orthodox beliefs. An example is when Ibn Arabi validates idol worshipping by asserting that pagans were simply trying to construct a body which personified their concept of God. Like many Sufi's the disregard for logic and reason echoes repeatedly throughout this book. Unlike Ghazali, Ibn Arabi does not really try to use logic to validate his beliefs. In fact part of the problem of unravelling his thought is due to his efforts to describe concepts that can not be ideated. But the very fact that he tries at all is the reason why this book is worth reading. Ibn Arabi actively affirms the existence of possibility and the introduction of barzakh in his philosophy is fascinating. A depository of possibility in which exist entities yet to be realised within existence. Equally intriguing is his revelation of hadith that I had not ever heard of. A difficult read but an essential one for anyone who wishes to glimpse an insight into the mind of a Sufi master
October 26, 2018
"Every teacher knows that a classroom full of students represents as many different receptivities for understanding the subject matter as there are individuals, whatever may be the reasons for the discrepancies in aptitude...Being is One, and It discloses Itself to all things in Its Oneness. Each receives Being's self-disclosure to the measure of its own capacity...
In the following passage Ibn al-'Arabi explains the important role played by preparedness in the context of addressing the practical problem of why prayers are often not answered...
God says, "The giving of thy Lord can never be walled up" Koran 17:20. God is saying that He gives constantly, while the loci receives in the measure of their preparedness. In the same way we say that the sun spreads its rays over the existent things. It is not miserly with its light toward anything. The loci receives the light in the measure of their preparedness. The person with a cold temperament enjoys the sun's heat, while the person with a hot temperatement suffers from its heat. In respect of its essence the light is one, while each of the two people suffers from what the other enjoys...The sun blackens the face of the washerman, while it whitens the clothing. The sun whitens the clothing because of the clothing's preparedness, while it blackens the face of the washerman. In the same way, with a single blowing of air a person extinguishes a lamp and ignites a fire in tinder; but the air itself is one. A single verse from God's Book reaches the listener as one entity. One listener understandings one thing from it, another listener does not understand that thing but understands something else, while a third understands many things...
Once you understand this, you will know that the gift of God is not withheld. But you want Him to give you something that your preparedness cannot receive. Then you attribute the withholding to Him in that which you seek from Him, and you do not turn your attention toward the preparedness."
In the following passage Ibn al-'Arabi explains the important role played by preparedness in the context of addressing the practical problem of why prayers are often not answered...
God says, "The giving of thy Lord can never be walled up" Koran 17:20. God is saying that He gives constantly, while the loci receives in the measure of their preparedness. In the same way we say that the sun spreads its rays over the existent things. It is not miserly with its light toward anything. The loci receives the light in the measure of their preparedness. The person with a cold temperament enjoys the sun's heat, while the person with a hot temperatement suffers from its heat. In respect of its essence the light is one, while each of the two people suffers from what the other enjoys...The sun blackens the face of the washerman, while it whitens the clothing. The sun whitens the clothing because of the clothing's preparedness, while it blackens the face of the washerman. In the same way, with a single blowing of air a person extinguishes a lamp and ignites a fire in tinder; but the air itself is one. A single verse from God's Book reaches the listener as one entity. One listener understandings one thing from it, another listener does not understand that thing but understands something else, while a third understands many things...
Once you understand this, you will know that the gift of God is not withheld. But you want Him to give you something that your preparedness cannot receive. Then you attribute the withholding to Him in that which you seek from Him, and you do not turn your attention toward the preparedness."
May 30, 2021
One of the most insightful books I have read on Ibn Arabi's school of thought. It is going into my Foundation shelf. I will probably want to return to this continuously throughout my life. There are passages in the book that demand you to put the book down and return to it later, which is one of the reasons why it took me 4 months to read. There are many metaphysical philosophical questions that are answered in this book, and it sheds light on the argument for God, and the Reality of the world in which we reside. The Incomparability and Similarity of God relative to the Cosmos is explained brilliantly throughout, as well as Man's relationship to the Divine side of God and the Essence of God. Questions dealing with non-existent objects and their relationship to the Divine which makes them manifest are answered and explained thoroughly. If you are a student of knowledge and want to understand the subtleties having to do with the deep questions about God and certain seemingly paradoxical quandaries that arise when thinking about the existence of the Cosmos, yourself, and God, then I highly recommend this book.
December 7, 2009
you get the ore knowledge
February 15, 2018
A treasure of a text, one to linger over and meditate on...a luxury which I couldn’t indulge in, having it for only three weeks...
March 31, 2022
In the Fūthāt he constantly discusses words and technical terms that were employed by theologians, philosophers, and Sufis before him. For example, he has chapters devoted to many of the states (ahwāl) and stations (māqāmat) that are discussed in detail in Sufi works. These represent the psychological, moral, and spiritual attributes and perspectives that mark degrees of spiritual growth which travelers on the path to God must experience, assimilate, and in most cases pass beyond.
Examples include attributes that are paired and usually must be actualized together, such as hope and fear, expansion and contraction, intoxication and sobriety, annihilation and subsistence; and other attributes which are viewed as marking a kind of ascending hierarchy, such as awakening, repentance, self—examination, meditation, ascetic discipline, abstinence, renunciation, desire, refinement, sincerity, confidence, satisfaction, gratitude, humility, joy, certainty, courtesy, remembrance, good— doing, wisdom, inspiration, love, jealousy, ecstasy, tasting, immersion, realization, and unity.
Examples include attributes that are paired and usually must be actualized together, such as hope and fear, expansion and contraction, intoxication and sobriety, annihilation and subsistence; and other attributes which are viewed as marking a kind of ascending hierarchy, such as awakening, repentance, self—examination, meditation, ascetic discipline, abstinence, renunciation, desire, refinement, sincerity, confidence, satisfaction, gratitude, humility, joy, certainty, courtesy, remembrance, good— doing, wisdom, inspiration, love, jealousy, ecstasy, tasting, immersion, realization, and unity.
September 18, 2018
Ibn Arabi is, in my opinion, a must read for any serious muslim, and I say this despite the fact that he has many defractors who are, quite ironically, muslims themselves. As it should be, exoterism has it's rights. The teachings of the Sheikh Al-Akbar are profoundly esoteric and are for this very reason not for everyone. They can however greatly deepen the faith of any muslim who can understand them.
Professor Chittick exposes here some of the most important aspects of Ibn Arabi's doctrine with unprecedented clarity. He lets the Sheikh speak for himself and replace each element in it's proper context since, as he has remarked, it is extremely easy to take a passage from the Futuhat, Ibn Arabi's magnum opus, out of it's context and to make claims. In the last analysis, that's what most of his detractors have done.
A true gem for the english reader.
Professor Chittick exposes here some of the most important aspects of Ibn Arabi's doctrine with unprecedented clarity. He lets the Sheikh speak for himself and replace each element in it's proper context since, as he has remarked, it is extremely easy to take a passage from the Futuhat, Ibn Arabi's magnum opus, out of it's context and to make claims. In the last analysis, that's what most of his detractors have done.
A true gem for the english reader.
October 15, 2022
Excellent book. Very thorough dive into ibn al-Arrabi. Such a great dive into metaphysics. From a Sufi perspective where you don't have spend all the time disproving materialism, so much more energy can be focused on loftier philosophical concepts.
June 25, 2020
What is the utmost end of need? Finding what has no needs. What is the utmost end of seeking. Finding what is sought. What is the utmost end of the sought? Finding the seeker.
December 7, 2022
This is a commentary, not the original text. It’s complicated (lots of philosophical jargon) but I think I got the main ideas by the end of it.
Read it if you are into Islamic philosophy/theology
Read it if you are into Islamic philosophy/theology
January 3, 2026
Jesus H. Christ, why am I doing this to myself?
Here's an excerpt from Ch. 5 Existence and Nonexistence:
"Ibn al-'Arabi is known as the founder of the school of the Oneness of Being (wahdat al-wujud). Though he does not employ the term, the idea permeates his works. Simply stated, there is only Being, and all existence is nothing but the manifestation or outward radiance of that One Being. Hence "everything other than the One Being"—that is, the whole cosmos in all its spatial and temporal extension—is nonexistent in itself, though it may be considered to exist through Being."
An effin beast of a book. A textbook about a textbook, which is al-Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination. That said, I don't know how I could've navigated what I did manage to navigate without Chittick's extensive commentary and walking-by-the-hand through page-long excerpts of al-Arabi's infamous theological/philosophical treatise. But to say "I'm studying Sufism" and not at least attempt to understand what Ibn al-Arabi is all about is to make a non-statement, a false statement, that is, linguistically at least, a statement that is not a statement at all but ultimate bogusness. Al-Arabi is like the Aristotle of Sufism, you might say, but I kind of hate Westernizing things like that because al-Arabi stands like a pinnacle all on his own. But good luck taking a philosophy or a theology course anywhere and ever hearing about him.
Anyhoo—no, I did not even try to read the whole thing. Got about halfway through. Putting it back on the shelf for now. Jesus! (Or Muhammad!) my mind is cooked...
Here's an excerpt from Ch. 5 Existence and Nonexistence:
"Ibn al-'Arabi is known as the founder of the school of the Oneness of Being (wahdat al-wujud). Though he does not employ the term, the idea permeates his works. Simply stated, there is only Being, and all existence is nothing but the manifestation or outward radiance of that One Being. Hence "everything other than the One Being"—that is, the whole cosmos in all its spatial and temporal extension—is nonexistent in itself, though it may be considered to exist through Being."
An effin beast of a book. A textbook about a textbook, which is al-Arabi's Metaphysics of Imagination. That said, I don't know how I could've navigated what I did manage to navigate without Chittick's extensive commentary and walking-by-the-hand through page-long excerpts of al-Arabi's infamous theological/philosophical treatise. But to say "I'm studying Sufism" and not at least attempt to understand what Ibn al-Arabi is all about is to make a non-statement, a false statement, that is, linguistically at least, a statement that is not a statement at all but ultimate bogusness. Al-Arabi is like the Aristotle of Sufism, you might say, but I kind of hate Westernizing things like that because al-Arabi stands like a pinnacle all on his own. But good luck taking a philosophy or a theology course anywhere and ever hearing about him.
Anyhoo—no, I did not even try to read the whole thing. Got about halfway through. Putting it back on the shelf for now. Jesus! (Or Muhammad!) my mind is cooked...
May 10, 2015
This book is incredible you can pick this up and read it and always be energized to be a living growing fallible human being. i said the shahadah in a mosque there is no god but god . Non Muslims need to read this book to understand how Quranic centric Muslims are. Hadith literature Sayings of the Prophet Muhammad Peace be upon him are also helpful but this book goes into great detail of how similar the Abrahamic religion views God , sin , and paths to the eternal. Namely that god is he not he and to know God is to know how you will never really know God.It helps you always be grateful for the beauty and ugliness of life because God creates both to appreciate the other.
March 11, 2021
William Chittick does a great job in introducing the complexity of the thought of Sufi mystic Ibn al-Arabi to readers in the West. Any serious student of mysticism or the 'Inner spiritual path' should have this weighty reference work on their bookshelf.
Want to read
November 21, 2007I bought this years ago, but I never did get around to reading it.
January 30, 2008
For those of us who've yet to read Arabic and who are rusty in french, the first chance in English to have access to some of the Knowledge in the Meccan revelations
January 1, 2011
it's wine....begitu memabukkan...
July 15, 2012
Basic book on Ibn Arabi.
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