Swedenborg and Esoteric Islam

by Henry Corbin, Leonard Fox (Translator)

This volume makes two essays by Henry Corbin, the eminent French scholar of Islam, available in English for the first time. Although his primary interest was the esoteric tradition of Islam, Corbin was also a lifelong student of the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The first essay, " Mundus Imaginalis , or The Imaginary and the Imaginal," clarifies Corbin's use of the term he coined, mundus imaginalis , or "the imaginal world." This important concept appears in both Swedenborgian and esoteric Islamic spirituality. The second piece, "Comparative Spiritual Hermeneutics," compares the revelation of the internal sense of the sacred boks of two distinct religions, Christianity and Islam.

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

172 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 1995

About the author

Henry Corbin was a philosopher, theologian and professor of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne in Paris, France. As a boy he revealed the profound sensitivity to music so evident in his work. Although he was Protestant by birth, he was educated in the Catholic tradition and at the age of 19 received a certificate in Scholastic philosophy from the Catholic Institute of Paris. Three years later he took his "licence de philosophie" under the great Thomist Étienne Gilson. In 1928 he encountered the formidable Louis Massignon, director of Islamic studies at the Sorbonne, and it was he who introduced Corbin to the writings of Suhrawardi, the 12th century Persian mystic and philosopher whose work was to profoundly affect the course of Corbin’s life. The stage was then set for a personal drama that has deep significance for understanding those cultures whose roots lie in both ancient Greece and in the prophetic religions of the Near East reaching all the way back to Zoroaster. Years later Corbin said “through my meeting with Suhrawardi, my spiritual destiny for the passage through this world was sealed. Platonism, expressed in terms of the Zoroastrian angelology of ancient Persia, illuminated the path that I was seeking.”
Corbin is responsible for redirecting the study of Islamic philosophy as a whole. In his Histoire de la philosophie islamique (1964), he disproved the common view that philosophy among the Muslims came to an end after Ibn Rushd, demonstrating rather that a lively philosophical activity persisted in the eastern Muslim world – especially Iran – and continues to our own day.

Reviews

[maelstrom · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to Corbin for the uninitiated.

[Erin Aslami]

finally warming up to the term “hermeneutics”

[Jason · Rating 5 out of 5]

This instantly became a favorite after I read the first section and it only got better after that. I don't think I'm quite up to the task of a proper review yet, as this book has infinitely widened my perspective on spiritual matters while simultaneously narrowing (or better, refining) my current line of study (which is a good thing). I will re-read this book next December after I feel I have caught up on a deeper understanding of some of the concepts touched on and attempt a real review then. But yeah, this one is a doozy, and the fact that it's only on 5 other people's shelves here is ridiculous.

[Frater · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great synthesis between Swedenborg and Shia/Ismaili Islam and how to understand scripture. Totally mind-opening.

[Christian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really want to read more of Henry Corbin now. His concept of the "mundus imaginalis" blew my mind.