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Ibn al-Arabi Biography
Born in the Spanish township of
Murcia on 17th of Ramaḍān 561 AH (27th or 28th
of July 1165 AD) with respectable family roots of Banū Ṭayy,[1] this unique mystic of Islam, Muḥammad
ibn ‘Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn al-‘Arabī al-Ṭā’ī al-Ḥātmī is universally known
as al-Shaykh al-Akbar (The Greatest Master).
His father, ‘Ali ibn Muḥammad
served in the Army of Ibn Mardanīsh, and later when Ibn Mardanīsh
died in 1172 AD, he swiftly shifted his allegiance to the Almohad Sultan, Abū
Ya’qūb Yūsuf I, and became one of his military advisers. While still a lad
of eight years the family of Ibn ‘Arabī left Murcia and took Seville for their
home. In Stephen Hartenstein’s words: “Ibn ‘Arabī spent his youth age in the most
advanced city of that time, an atmosphere steeped in the most important ideas –
philosophical, scientific and religious – of his day. For the young Ibn ‘Arabī,
twelfth century Seville was no doubt the equivalent of today’s London, Paris and New York.”[2]
[1] An
important Arab tribe of Yemenite origin, related to which was Ḥātim at-Ṭā’ī who
was famed for his generosity in pre Islamic age.
[2] Hirtenstein,
Stephen. Unlimited mercifier the spiritual life and thought of Ibn ‘Arabī. Oxford: Anqa Pub., White Cloud, 1999, p 36.
Education
Ibn ‘Arabī’s dogmatic and intellectual training began in the cultural and civilized centre of Muslim Spain as Seville was known in 578 AH. Most of his teachers mentioned in the ijāza wrote to King al-Muẓaffar were the ‘ulamā’ of the Almohad era and some of them also held the official posts of Qāḍī or Khaṭīb.[1] He was just a young boy when his father sent him to the renowned jurist Abū Bakr ibn Khalaf to study Qur’ān. Ibn ‘Arabī learnt the recitation of the Qur’ān from the book of Al-Kāfī in the seven different readings (qirā’āt). The same work was also transmitted to him by another muqrī, ‘Abd al-Raḥmān ibn Ghālib ibn al-Sharrāt.[2] At the age of ten, he was well-versed in the Qira’āt; afterwards he learned the sciences of Ḥadīth and Fiqh from the famous scholars of the time. He studied Ḥadith and Sīra with the muḥaddith (Traditionist) ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Suhaylī, who taught him all of his works. He also attended lectures of Qāḍī Ibn Zarkūn, who transmitted to him Kitāb al-Taqaṣṣī of Al-Shāṭibī and issued him an Ijāza (permission of transmission to others.)
Later he studied under ‘Abd al-Ḥaqq al-Azdī al-Ishbilī his
works on Ḥadīth; these are Aḥkām al-Kubrā, al-Wuṣṭā and al-Ṣughrā.
In addition to his own works, he also transmitted to Ibn ‘Arabī the writings of
the famous Ẓāhirī scholar, Ibn Ḥazm al-Andalusī.[3] The complete list of his
teachers and masters can be found in a scholarly certificate Ijāza given
to Sultan al-Ashraf al-Muẓaffar, in this document Ibn Arabī mentioned 70
of his teachers and masters.[4]
[1] Addas,
Claude. Quest for the Red Sulphur The Life of Ibn 'Arabi (Islamic Texts
Society). Lahore: Suhail Academy, p 97.
[2] Ibid. 44.
[3] Ibid. 45.
[4] Ibn
‘Arabī. Rasā’il Ibn ‘Arabī (Ijāza li Malik al-Muẓaffar). Beirut: Dar
al-Kotob al-Ilmiyah. P, 7.
The Sufi Path
Ibn ‘Arabī was about sixteen when he went into seclusion. He
himself never explicitly mentioned the reasons behind it. Yet the following factors
are worth considering:
There goes a
story, heard after 150 years of his death, Ibn ‘Arabī was at a dinner party which
rounded off with wine. As he took the wine
cup to his lips, he heard a voice: “O Muḥammad, it was not for this that you were
created!”[1] This gave him an urge to quit worldly pursuits
and to embark upon the search of God.
Another important
cause of this retreat was a vision of the three great Prophets, Jesus, Moses
and Muḥammad (PBUT). Ibn ‘Arabī says: “When I turned to this path, it was
accomplished through a dream-vision (mubashshira) under the guidance of Jesus, Moses
and Muḥammad (PBUT). In it, Jesus urged him to take to asceticism (Zuhd),
Moses divulged to him that he would get to the infused knowledge called “al-‘ilm al-ludunnī” and the Prophet Muḥammad advised him to follow him step by step; “Hold
fast to me and you will be safe!”[2]
As a consequence of this retreat and the
spiritual insights granted to him, two things seem to have happened: firstly,
he began to study Qur’ān and Ḥadīth and secondly, Ibn ‘Arabī was
sent by his father to meet the great philosopher Ibn Rushd (Averroes,
1126-98). The meeting was very significant in the sense that Ibn ‘Arabī answered
his questions in ‘Yes’ and ‘No;’ and Ibn Rushd declared: “I myself was
of the opinion that such a thing (i.e. spiritual knowledge without learning) is
possible, but never met anyone who had experienced it.” [3]
[1] Addas,
36.
[2] Addas, 41.
[3] Ibn
Arabī. Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, Vols. 1–14, editor: Osman Yahya. Cairo: al-hay’a
al-miṣriyya al-‘āma lil kitāb. (Futūḥāt. 2:372)
Spiritual Masters
Ibn ‘Arabī’s contact with
spiritual masters began in Seville. At that time the pursuit of the spiritual
life normally involved keeping company with many different masters instead of
only one master. Ibn ‘Arabī has described brief biographies of his masters in
his book Rūḥ al-Quds. Al-‘Uryabī[1] of ‘Ulya[2] was one of those masters who visited Seville nearly
in 1184, and Ibn ‘Arabī met him at that stage of his life when he had already
embarked on the Path. One can call al-‘Uryabī as his first teacher (al-murshad
al-awwal), a
relationship which is always of significance in Sufism. Shaykh al ‘Uryabī had reached the high spiritual state of total servitude (‘ubūdiyya),
which in Ibn ‘Arabī’s eyes surpass all others. Later
on meetings with his Shaykh transformed Ibn ‘Arabī’s life so quickly
that he wrote in Futūḥāt: “While our Shaykh al-‘Uryabī was ‘Isawī
at the end of his life. I
was ‘Isawī at the beginning of my life on this path. I was
then taken to the states of Mūsawī sun illumination. Then I was taken to Hūd, and after that to
all the Prophets, there after I was taken to Muḥammad. That was the
order for me in this path.” [3] Some of his masters are:
1.
Abū al-Abbās al-‘Uryabī
2.
Abū al-Ḥajjāj al-Shubarbulī
3.
Abū Ya’qūb Yūsuf al-Kūmī
4.
Abū Yaḥyā al-Ṣanhājī
5.
Abū ‘Abd Allāh Ibn Qassūm
6.
Abū ‘Abd Allāh al-Sharafī
7.
Abū ‘Abbās al-Kashshāb
8.
Abū ‘Imrān al-Mīrtulī
9.
Ṣāliḥ
al-‘Adawī
10. ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Mahdawī
11. ‘Abd Allāh al-Mawrūrī
12. Abū
Madyan al-Ghawth
Detail about his masters and their
relationship with Ibn ‘Arabī can be found in Rūḥ al-Quds, Durrat al-Fākhira
and Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya.
[1] There
are two version of his nisba mentioned in the books some says it Al-‘Uraynī and
other Al-‘Uraybī but the autograph copy of Futūhāt al –Makkiyya and manuscript
sources of Rūḥ al-Quds clearly mention the nisba as Al-’Uraybī.
[2] Now a
days called Loulé, near Silves in Portugal.
[3] Futūḥāt.
3:361-2 (OY)
Meetings with Khiḍr
Factually speaking, Shaykh
al-‘Uryabī initiated
Ibn ‘Arabī’s contact with Khiḍr in Seville, when he was only a youth. Ibn ‘Arabī
says: “I met Khiḍr in Qūs al-haniyya in Seville, and he said to me: “Accept
what the Shaykh says!” I immediately turned to the Shaykh [‘Uryabī] and
before I spoke he said: “O Muḥammad, does that mean that every time you
contradict me, I will have to ask Khiḍr to instruct you in submission to the
masters?” I replied: “Master, was that person Khiḍr?” He answered: “Yes!”[1] That was his first meeting with Khiḍr. Later
Ibn ‘Arabī met Khiḍr several times. In 1193 at the age of 28 Ibn ‘Arabī
visited Tunis and the main intention behind this visit was to meet with the
great disciples of Abū Madyan, notably ‘Abd
al-‘Aziz al-Mahdawī
and Abū Muḥammad ‘Abdallāh al-Kinānī. He stayed there for less than a year during
which he realized the station of pure servant-hood and the Muhammadian
inheritance. On return from Tunis, he met Khiḍr for the second time; it happened when
he was returning from Tunis by boat, on a lunar night he saw a man walking on
the water towards him. On reaching the boat, Khiḍr stood on the sea and showed him that
his feet were still dry. After that Khiḍr conversed with Ibn ‘Arabī in a
language which is peculiar to him.[2]
On reaching
Andalusia in late 590 AH, Ibn ‘Arabī had his third meeting with Khiḍr, this
time Khiḍr performed a miracle to provide evidence to a
companion of Ibn ‘Arabī who denies the existence of miracles. A common feature
of all these meetings with Khiḍr was that they took place in the
presence of a high rank spiritual master initiating Ibn
‘Arabī into the knowledge
of Divine mysteries.
Great vision in Cordoba
In the year
586, Ibn ‘Arabī had a rare vision in Cordoba, in which he met all
the Prophets from the time of Adam to Muḥammad (PBUT) in their spiritual reality. Prophet
Hūd (AS) spoke to him and explained him the reason for their gathering. We can
trace what Hūd told him in Rūḥ
al-Quds when Abū Muḥammad Makhlūf al-Qabā’ili – a saint of Cordoba – died, the Prophet Hūd said:
“We came to visit Abū Muḥammad Makhlūf al-Qabā’ili.”[1] According to a tradition among the direct
disciples of Ibn ‘Arabī, Hūd (AS) explained that the real reason
for their gathering was to welcome him (Ibn ‘Arabī) as the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood (khatm
al-wilāya al-muḥammadiyya), the supreme heir.[2]
Stephen Hartenstein writes in Unlimited
Mercifier: “It is from his return from Tunis, we find the first evidence of
Ibn ‘Arabī beginning to write; later in 1194, he wrote one of his first major works, Mashāhid al-Asrār al-Qudusiyya (Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries) for the
companions of al-Mahdawī and perhaps around the same time, in a space of
four days, also composed the voluminous Tadbīrāt al-Ilāhiyya[3] (Divine Governance) in Mawrūr (Moron[4]) for Shaykh Abū Muḥammad al-Mawrūrī.”[5]
[1] Ibn, Al-‘Arabī. Sharḥ
Risālat Rūḥ Al-quds Fī Muḥāsabat Al-nafs. Compiled by: Mahmud al-Ghurab.
2nd ed. Dimashq: Naḍar, 1994. Print. P 116.
[2] Addas,
76 with reference to Mu'ayyad al-Din Jandi, Sharḥ Fuṣuṣ al-Ḥikam.
[3] We can
say that he started writing this work or wrote it in this year but some
evidences like the name of other later works – i.e. Insha’ al-Dawā’ir written
in 598 according to OY mentioned – in it supports this argument that Ibn ‘Arabī
reviewed and amended his works years after they were written.
[4] A town
near Seville.
[5] Hirtenstein,
91.
Ibn ‘Arabī in Fez
The next five years were a time when Ibn ‘Arabī
entered into a different world. Having been brought up under the instruction and
guidance of various spiritual masters of the West, he now came into his own as
a Muhammadan heir. As from this point the real genius of Ibn ‘Arabī began
to emerge and he became universal. Shortly after his return to Andalusia from
North Africa in 1194 AD, Ibn ‘Arabī’s father died and within a few months
his mother also died. Now the responsibility of the upbringing of his two young
sisters fell upon his shoulders. His cousin came to him with the request that
he should take up his wordly duties, and give up the spiritual life.[1] It was a time of great uncertainty for Seville
because of War. The third Sultan, Abū Yūsuf Ya’qūb
al Manṣūr offered him
a job but Ibn ‘Arabī refused both the job and an offer to marry off
his sisters and within days he left Seville heading toward Fez, where they settled.
In Fez Ibn ‘Arabī met two men of remarkable
spirituality, one of them was a sufi Pillar (awtād), his name was Ibn Ja’dūn
and the second one known as al-Ashall (literally, “the withered” for the
reason that he had a withered hand) who was the Pole (quṭb) of
his time. It was a happy period of his life, where he could utterly dedicate
himself to spiritual work. In Fez in 593 AH, he entered a new degree of vision
in the form of light. In that vision, when he was leading a Prayer in the al-Azhar Mosque,
he saw a light which was more visible than what was in front of him, he says:
“I lost the
sense of behind [or front]. I no longer had a back or the nape of a neck. While
the vision lasted, I had no sense of direction, as if I had been completely
spherical (dimensionless).”[2]
The Mi’raj
This light vision is a kind of foretaste of his
great journey of light; in 594 AH at the age of 33, Ibn
‘Arabī was taken on one of
the most extraordinary journeys of all: the ascension (al-mi’rāj).
Ibn ‘Arabī wrote a book named Kitāb al-Isrā (Book of the Night Journey) immediately
after this spiritual experience. Some sections of Futūḥāt and Risālat
al-Anwār (Epistle of
Light) also elaborate the hidden meaning of these ascensions. It is quite
interesting that Ibn ‘Arabī’s (the Muhammadan heir) ascension is an
exact and faithful replication of the Prophet Muhammad's ascension; while the Prophet’s
ascension took place bodily, his ascension was a dream, vision of a heart or
the vision of forms. These divine events are determining the way forward for
his ultimate role as the Seal of Muhmmadian Sainthood. Ibn
‘Arabī tells us that in
594 AH, in Fez Allah laid bare to him its true import and showed him the signs
of his function. In al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya Chapter 43 starts with an open claim
to the Seal of Muhammadian Sainthood, he says:
I am the Seal of Sainthood without any doubt, أنا ختم الولاية دون شك
by virtue of
the inheritance of the Hashimite, لورثي الهاشمي مع المسيح
These lines have no possible room for doubt: Ibn ‘Arabī is
identifying himself categorically and explicitly with the Muhammadan Seal like
Jesus (AS).
[1] Futūḥāt 4:71
(OY), Elmore, Gerald T. Islamic sainthood in the fullness of time Ibn
al-‘Arabī's
Book of the fabulous gryphon. Leiden: Brill, 1999. P 56.
A Lifetime Friend
In Fez 594
AH, ‘Abdallāh Badr al-Habshi first met Ibn
‘Arabī and for the rest of
his life became a soulemate and a faithful friend, accepting Ibn ‘Arabī as
his master and guide. Al-Shaykh al-Akbar said about him in Futūḥāt:
“[He is a
man] of unadulterated clarity, a pure light, he is a Ḥabashī named ‘Abdallāh,
and like a full moon (badr) without eclipse. He acknowledges each
person’s right and renders it to him; he assigns to each his right, without
going further. He has attained the degree of true discrimination. He was
purified at the time of fusion like pure gold. His word is true, his promise
sincere.”[1]
In the year 595
AH Ibn ‘Arabī returned to the Iberian Peninsula for the last time and it seems
he had two intentions: to introduce al-Habashī to his friends and masters and
to depart finally from the land of his birth. In December 595 AH, Ibn ‘Arabī
was in Cordoba, at the funeral of Ibn Rushd, whom once he met some 18 years
earlier. When the coffin was loaded upon a beast of burden, his works were
placed upon the other side to counterbalance it. Ibn ‘Arabī said the following
verse on that day:
Here the
master, there his works – هذا
الإمام و هذه أعماله
Would that I
know if his hopes have been fulfilled!
يا ليت شعري هل أتت آماله
From Cordoba they travelled to Granada and
met with ‘Abdallāh al-Mawrūrī and Abū Muḥammad al-Shakkāz. From
Granada to Murcia, the town of his birth and stayed with an old friend Abū
Ahmed Ibn Saydabūn, a famous disciple of Abū Madyan who at the time
of their meeting was evidently going through a period of fatra or suspension.
They travelled again to Almeria, where they spent the month of Ramadan
in 595 AH and Ibn ‘Arabī wrote Mawāqi‘ al-Nujūm (The Setting of the Stars)
over a period of eleven nights. Perhaps in Almeria also, he started writing ‘Anqā’
Mughrib where full explanation about the Seal of Saints can be found.
These were his last days in the West, where
he started visiting his masters for the last time, and he collected his
writings and ensured that he must at least have a single copy of all of his
works as now he was departing toward the East forever. When he left Andalusia
for the last time he appeared to have a vision of his future destiny at the
shores of the Mediterranean as he later told his stepson Ṣadr al-dīn al-Qūnawī:
“I turned towards God with total
concentration and in a state of contemplation and vigilance that was perfect:
God then showed me all of my future states, both internal and external, right
through to the end of my days. I saw that your father, Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad,
would be my companion and you as well.”[2]
In the year 597 AH/1200 AD, he was in Morocco
and took his final leave from his master Yūsuf al-Kūmī, who was living
in the village of Salé at that time. This shows that he had finally completed
his training under the teachers of his early years and was now ready to go to a
new world. On his way to Marrakesh of that year he entered the Station
of Proximity (maqām al-qurba).
“I entered
this station in the month of Muḥarram in 597 AH… In joy I began to
explore it, but on finding absolutely no one else in it, I felt anxiety at the
solitude. Although I was realized in [this station], but I still did not know
its name.” Later Ibn ‘Arabī finds Abū ‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Sulamī[3] in it and he told Ibn ‘Arabī that this station
is called, the station of proximity (maqām al-qurba) .[4]
[1] Futūḥāt,
1:72 (OY), Hirtenstein, 123.
[2] Hirtenstein,
127.
[3] Famous
Sufi and the author of the Tabaqāt al-Awliya’. who died in 421/1030.
[4] Hirtenstein,
128.
Voyage to centre of earth
Having left
behind all the traces of his past, Ibn ‘Arabī began his long journey to the
East from Marrakesh where he had a marvellous vision of the Divine
Throne. In that vision, he saw the treasures beneath the Throne and the
beautiful birds flying about within them. One bird greeted Ibn ‘Arabī, saying
that he should take him as his companion to the East. This companion was Muḥammad
al-Haṣṣār of Fez. He started travelling with his friends towards the East.
After visiting the tombs of his uncle Yaḥyā and Abū Madyan in ‘Ubbād
near Tlemcen, he stopped at Bijāya (Bougie) during Ramaḍān and
saw a remarkable dream about the secrets of letters and stars. He saw himself united
like the union in marriage with all the stars of heavens, after the stars the
letters were given his union, and he united with all of them.[1] This dream was later interpreted as the great
Divine knowledge which was bestowed upon Ibn ‘Arabī.
His next
stop was Tunis 598 AH where he happened to see Syakh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Mahdawī
whom he had met about six year ago. At the same time he continued writing works
like Inshā’ al-Dawā’ir[2] for his friend al-Ḥabashī. Resuming his
travels, he arrived in Cairo in 598 AH/1202 AD where he met his childhood
friends, the two brothers, ‘Abdallāh Muhammad al-Khayyāt and Abū
al-Abbās Aḥmad al-Ḥarrārī and stayed at their house in the month of Ramaḍān.
That was a period of great devastation, terrible famine and plague for Egypt.
Perhaps the death of his companion Muḥammad al-Haṣṣār was due to this
plague. Ibn ‘Arabī saw this devastation with his own eyes and a passage of Rūh
al-Quds tells us that when people made light of Allāh’s statutes He imposes
the strictures of His Law upon them.[3]
Ibn ‘Arabī
resumed travelling toward Palestine, and his route took him to all the major
burial places of the great Prophets: Hebron, where Abraham (AS) and other Prophets
are buried; Jerusalem, the city of David (AS) and the later Prophets; and then
Madīna, the final resting place of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH).
[1] Ibn
‘Arabī. Kitāb al Bā’. Cairo: Maktabat Al-Qāhira, 1954.
[2] Risāla
Inshā’ al-Dawā’ir describes the fundamentals of his metaphysics, discussion
about existence and nonexistence, manifestation and nonmanifestation and the
rank of human being in this world.
[3] Ibn
‘Arabī, Rûh Al-Quds.
Pilgrim at Makkah
At the end of his long journey he finally arrived at Makkah, the mother of all cities, in 598 AH (July 1202 AD). The Makkan period of Ibn ‘Arabī’s life can be viewed as the fulcrum of his earthly existence; he spent 36 years of his life in the West and the upcoming 36 years in the East, with about 3 years in Makkah in between. This three year period both connects and differentiates the two halves of his life. It was in Makkah that he started writing the very best of his works Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, It was in Makkah that his status as Seal of Muhammadian sainthood was confirmed in the glorious vision of the Prophet; it was in Makkah that he had the dream of the two bricks and his encounter with the Ka‘ba;[1] it was in Makkah that the love of women was first evoked in his heart by the beautiful Niẓām,[2] who became the personification of wisdom and beauty. It was in Makkah that he first savoured the pleasures of married life, marrying and becoming a father. His first wife was Fāṭima bint Yūnus and their first son Muḥammad ‘Imāduddin was probably born in Makkah.[3] Again it was in Makkah that he produced the very best of his works, like the first chapters of Futūḥāt, the Rūḥ al-Quds, the Tāj al-Rasā’il, the Ḥilyat al-Abdāl and a collections of hadīth qudsī named “Mishkat al-Anwār”. It is also worth mentioning that in Makkah he met some of the eminent scholars of Ḥadīth of his time. Amongst them was Abū Shujā’ Ẓāhir bin Rustam, father of the beautiful Niẓām and Yūnus ibn Yaḥyā al-Ḥāshimī, who had been a pupil of the great ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī in Baghdad. He not only introduced Ibn ‘Arabī to the Prophetic tradition but also transmitted to him the teachings of the most famous saint in
Egypt in the ninth century, Dhū’l-Nūn al-Miṣrī. Yūnus ibn Yaḥyā also invested him in front of the Ka‘ba with the Khirqa (Mantle) of ‘Abd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī.[4] It is believed that after wearing this Khirqa Ibn ‘Arabī formally joined the Qadriyya Traīqa.
[1] Hirtenstein, 148.
[2] Hirtenstein, 149.
[3] Hirtenstein, 150.
[4] Elmore, Gerald. "Ibn Al-‘Arabī’s Testament on the Mantle of Initiation (al-Khirqah)." Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society XXVI (1999): 1-33. Print. A copy of the Mss dated 814, copied from Ibn ‘Arabī’s hand is present at Ibn ‘Arabī Foundation.
Visions at Ka‘ba
Apart from all this, several visions were granted
to him in Makkah. The first took place at night during his
circumambulations of the Ka‘ba when he met a young beautiful girl Qurrat
al-‘Ayn.[1] In the second vision, during his
circumambulations of the Ka‘ba, he met the mysterious figure who had
appeared at the beginning of his ascension and here at Makkah. He said
to Ibn ‘Arabī, you should circumambulate in my footstep and observe me in the
light of my moon, so that you may take from my constitution that which you
write in your book and transmit to your readers.[2] The third vision also occurs at Ka‘ba in
a spiritual conversation with the Ḥaram and the Zamzam stream; Ka‘ba
ordered him to circumambulate it and the Zamzam told him to drink this
pure water but a soft refusal made Ka‘ba angry and he took revenge on a
cold and rainy night in the year 600 AH. Shaykh heard the voice of Ka‘ba
loud and clear; later in a meditation God taught him the lesson and to express
this gratitude Ibn ‘Arabī composed a collection of letters in rhymed prose,
entitled the Tāj al-Rasā’il, in homage to the Ka‘ba. The next vision
is also related to Ka‘ba, in the year 599 AH in Makkah Ibn ‘Arabī
saw a dream which confirms once again his accession to the office of the Seal
of the Muhammadian Sainthood. He saw two bricks – one of Gold and the other of
Silver – were missing from two rows of the wall of Ka‘ba. He says: “In
the mean time I was observing that, standing there, I feel without doubt that I
was these two bricks and these two bricks were me …. And perhaps it is through
me that God has sealed sainthood.” [3] In the year 599 AH during circumambulating the
Ka‘ba, he encountered the son of Caliph Hārūn al-Rashīd, who had
been dead for four centuries and was famous for choosing Saturday for work to
gather food for rest of the week. Ibn ‘Arabī asked him: “Who are you?” He
replied: “I am al-Sabtī[4] ibn Hārūn al-Rashīd.” Later Ibn ‘Arabī
asked him: “What was the reason of choosing Saturday for work?” He replied: “As
God has made this universe in six days from Sunday to Friday, and he rested on Saturday,
so I, as His servant worked on Saturday and devoted myself to worshiping Lord
for the rest of the week.”[5] In another glorious vision at Ka‘ba Ibn
‘Arabī saw his forefathers and asked one of them his time, he replied he had
been dead around forty thousand years ago.[6] Finally, at Ka‘ba, behind the wall of
Hanbalites, Ibn ‘Arabī was granted the privilege of being able to join a
meeting of the seven Abdāl.[7]
[1] Hirtenstein,
148.
[2] Futūḥāt,
1:218 (OY) That book was al-Futūhāt al-Makkiyya, a faithful transcription of
all the things he was allowed to contemplate on that particular day in the form
of the Spirit he encountered. It has been claimed by Ibn ‘Arabī that in Futūhāt,
the content of the message and the form of its presentation has been determined
by Divine Inspiration. Regarding Chapter 88 he writes that: it would have been
preferable to place this chapter before the one I wrote on the ritual acts of
worship, but it was not of my choosing.
[3] Addas,
213. To understand we need to remember that
599 was the year when Shaykh Akbar entered in the 40th year of his
life which is quite similar to Prophet Muḥammad, as he received his first
revelation in the 40th year of his life. (Claude Addas)
[4] Ibn
‘Arabī explained his name to be called al-Sabtī because he worked only
on Saturday (al-Sabt) to gather food for the rest of the week.
[5] Addas,
216.
[6] ibid.
[7] ibid.
Counsel my Servants
The message
was clear and it was from God; in a passage of Kitab al-Mubashshirāt[1] Ibn ‘Arabī admits that one evening in Makkah
he experienced a brief spell of despondency on the face of his disciples, he
thought of leaving all counselling, abandon men to their fate and to devote his
future efforts to himself alone as those who truly enter the Path are rare. On
the same night, he saw himself in dream facing God on the Day of Judgment. In
that dream, He said: “I was standing in front of my Lord, head lowered and
fearing that He would punish me for my short comings but he said to me: “Servant
of Mine, fear nothing! All I ask of you is that you should counsel My
servants.” Faithful to this assurance he would spend the rest of his life
giving advice to people from all walks of life, direct disciples, religious
authorities and political rulers. This vision probably occurred in the year 600
AH at Makkah, as the very first page of the Rūḥ al-Quds, written
following this revelational order mentions it vividly. According to Osman Yahia;
Ibn ‘Arabī produced 50 of his works after this Divine order, some of which are
short epistles of less than 10 pages but all of these are rooted in the Divine
order: “Counsel My servants.”
Journeys to the North
Ibn Arabī’s
life, spanning between 600 to 617 AH is full of journeys, he frequently kept
crossing and re-crossing Syria, Palestine, Anatolia, Egypt, Iraq and the Ḥijāz,
yet this physical activity stood in no way in his spiritual pursuits and
obligations. The two dimension activity had indeed the same spiritual
provenance and was motivated by the sublime purpose of higher life unrelated to
egocentricity. The year 600 AH witnessed a meeting between Ibn Arabi and Shaykh
Majduddīn Isḥāq ibn Yūsuf, a native of Malatya and a man of great standing
at the Seljuk court. This time Ibn ‘Arabī was travelling north; first they
visited the city of the Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH) and in 601 AH they entered
Baghdad. This visit besides other benefits offered him a chance to meet the
direct disciples of Shaykh ‘Abd al-Qādir Jīlānī. Shaykh al-Akbar
stayed there only for 12 days because he wanted to visit Mosul to see his
friend ‘Alī ibn ‘Abdallāh ibn Jāmi’, a disciple of Qaḍīb al-Bān. There
he spent the month of Ramaḍan and
composed Tanazzulāt al-Mawṣiliyya, Kitāb al-Jalāl wa’l-Jamāl and Kunh
mā lā Budda lil-MurīdMinhu.[1] Here he was invested with the khirqa of
Khiḍr (AS), transmitted to him by ‘Alī ibn ‘Abdallāh ibn Jāmi’. Later
the group travelled north and arrived at Malatya, Majduddīn’s hometown
and then to Konya. In Konya Ibn ‘Arabī met with Awḥaduddīn Ḥamīd Kirmānī,
who became his friend like Majduddīn. He transmitted to Ibn ‘Arabī
teachings and stories of the many great spiritual masters of the East. Over the
next 20 years Ibn ‘Arabī and Kirmānī remained close friends and
companions.[2]
After spending 9 months in Konya, he returned
to Malatya where Kaykā’ūs, one of the Kaykhusraw’s sons, had been
made ruler of Malatya. Majduddīn was appointed as his tutor and Ibn
‘Arabī also became involved in the young prince’s education.
Return to South
In the year
602 AH he visited Jerusalem, Makkah and Egypt. It was his first time that he
passed through Syria, visiting Aleppo and Damascus. In Jerusalem, he continued
writing, and 5 more works were completed. These are: Kitāb al-Bā’, Ishārāt
al-Qur’ān. In May 602 AH he visited
Hebron, where he wrote Kitāb al-Yaqīn at Masjīd al-Yaqīn near the
tomb of Prophet Ibrāhīm (AS).[1] The following year he headed toward Cairo,
staying there with his old Andalusian friends , including Abū al-‘Abbās al-Ḥarrār,
his brother Muḥammad al-Khayyāt and ‘Abdallāh al-Mawrūrī. In
Cairo Rūḥ al-Quds and Kitāb Ayyām al-Sha’n were read again before
Ibn ‘Arabī, with the reader this time being
a young man named Ismā’il ibn Sawdakīn al-Nūrī.[2] Like Badr al-Ḥabashī, Ibn Sawdakīn
attached himself to Ibn ‘Arabī forever. He left value-oriented commentaries on
the works of Ibn ‘Arabī notably Mashāhid al-Asrār, Kitāb al-Isrā’ and
the Kitāb al-Tajalliyāt. His house in Aleppo was often used for the
reading of Ibn ‘Arabī’s works over the next 40 years.[3]
Later in 604
AH he returned to Makkah where he continued to study and write, spending his
time with his friend Abū Shujā bin Rustem and family, including the
beautiful Niẓām.[4] The next 4 to 5 years of Ibn ‘Arabī’s life were
spent in these lands and he also kept travelling and holding the reading
sessions of his works in his own presence.
Baghdad, The city of Saints
In the year
608 we find him in Baghdad with his friend Majduddīn Isḥāq and there he met
the famous historian Ibn al-Dubaythī and his disciple Ibn al-Najjār.
In Baghdad, he had a terrifying vision regarding the Divine deception (makr),
In which he saw the gates of heaven open and the treasures of Divine deception
fell like rain on everyone. He awoke terrified and looked for a way of being
safe from these deceptions. The only safe way he found is by knowing the
balance of the Divine law.
According to
Osman Yahia[1] in Baghdad Ibn ‘Arabī met with the famous Sufi
Shihābuddīn Suharwardī (d. 632), author of the ‘Awārif al-ma’ārif
who was personal advisor to Caliph al-Nāṣir. In this meeting, they
stayed together for a while, with lowered heads and departed without exchanging
a single word. Later Ibn ‘Arabī said about Suharwardī: “He is
impregnated with the Sunna from tip to toe” and Suharwardī said
about Ibn ‘Arabī: “He is an ocean of essential truths (baḥr
al-Ḥaqāiq).
[1] Osman,
Yahya. Histoire et classification de l'oeuvre d'Ibn 'Arabî. Damascus, 1964.
Originally written in French and later rendered in Arabic.
Tarjumān al-Ashwāq
In the year 611 he was again
in Makkah, where his friend Abū Shujā had died two years before.
Ibn ‘Arabī performed Ḥajj and started compilation of his most famous
poetic work the Tarjumān al-Ashwāq (Interpreter of Desires). After Ḥajj
Ibn ‘Arabī left Makkah, travelling north towards the Roman lands,
probably Konya or Malatya and in the year 610/611 he returned to Aleppo. In
Aleppo this work caused uproar and consternation in certain quarters, since he
came under the blame of writing erotic verses under the cover of poetic
allusions. The jurists from Allepo severely criticized the claim that this
poetry was a mystical or expresses Divine realities, which made his disciples very
upset. Later on the request of his two disciples, Ibn Sawdakīn and Badr
al-Ḥabashī he wrote a commentary on these poems by the title of “Dhakhā’ir
al-A’lāq” in a great hurry. It was completed in Anatolia in 612. When the jurists
heard this commentary, they felt sorry for unjustly exposing Ibn ‘Arabī to scathing
criticism.[1]
In Sivas and Malatya
The period
of extensive travelling came to an end and for the next few years he seems to
have made his home in the Seljuk Kingdom. In the year 612 AH, at Sivas he had a
vision anticipating Kaykā’ūs victory at Antioch over the Franks. He
wrote a poem in which he enlightened the Sultan of the vision and his future victory.
Later Ibn ‘Arabī returned to Malatya and according to Stephen Hartenstein he
met Bahā’uddīn Walad, father of the famous Persian Poet Jallaluddīn Rūmī.
the famous Persian poet of that time. Little Rūmī was with his father
and after the meeting when Bahā’uddīn left with his son tagging along behind
him, Shaykh al-Akbar said: “What an extraordinary sight! A sea followed
by an ocean.”[1]
His reading
and writings continued in Malatya, where in 615 AH, we find hearings of Rūḥ
al-Quds, finalization of The Tarjumān al-Ashwāq and compilation of a
short epistle on the technical terms of Sufism: the Iṣṭilāhāt al-ṣūfiyya.
The year 617 was the year of mourning for him as he lost one of his best friends
Majduddīn Isḥāq, Ibn ‘Arabī took charge of the upbringing of the young Ṣadruddīn
and married the widow as it was necessary according to the customs of the time.[2] Lastly his close companion and valet, friend
and fellow, traveller on the way of God Badr al-Ḥabashī died.
Damascus, the last days
After
criss-crossing the east for a period of 20 years Ibn ‘Arabī now decided to
settle in Syria and spent the last 17 years of his life in Damascus, the city
was already known quite well to him, he had several contacts with leading
notables there. He was greeted in Damascus as a spiritual master and a spacious
house was provided to him by the Grand Qadi of the town Ibn Zakī. In Damascus,
he devoted himself to writing and teaching to fulfil the commandment of his
Lord: “Counsel My servants.” The first thing he did was to collect and
disseminate the works which had already been written, copies were made and
reading sessions took place in his house. Kitāb al-Tajalliyāt was one of
these first books to record such a certificate (sima‘) in the presence
of his disciple Ibn Sawdakīn. In the year 621 AH eight more works bore these
hearing certificates, among these were: Kitāb al-Yaqīn, Al-Maqsad
al-Asmá, Kitāb al-Mīm wal-Wāw wal-Nun, Mafātīh al-Ghayūb and Kitāb
al-Ḥaqq. At the same time, Ibn ‘Arabī devoted his attention to complete the
lengthy Futūḥāt, many volumes of this book came into being in this
period.
During this
period of his life, he imparted direct instructions to many of his disciples
including Ṣadruddīn al-Qūnawī. He brought up alongside Ibn ‘Arabī own
family in Malatya and after the death of his real father Qūnawī joined
Shaykh al-Akbar in Damascus. He accompanied and served Kirmānī on his
travels in Egypt, Hijaz and Iran. In his private collection Ṣadruddīn
wrote that he had studied 10 works of Ibn ‘Arabī under him and later Ibn ‘Arabī
gave him a certificate to freely relate them on his authority. He studied and
discussed with Ibn ‘Arabī no less than 40 works, including the whole text of Futūḥāt
in 20 volumes.
Visons at Damascus
Ibn ‘Arabī
had several visions of the Prophet Muḥammad (PBUH) at Damascus. In 624 AH he
had been told by the Messenger of Allah that angles are superior to men. In the
same year, he had another discussion with the Prophet, this time Prophet replied
to him regarding the resurrection of animals: “Animals will not be resurrected
on the Day of Judgement.”[1] In the third vision he was ordered by the Prophet
to write a poem in favour of al-Anṣār. In this vision Ibn ‘Arabī was informed
that his mother was from al-Anṣār’s tribe.[2] In the fourth vision, at the end of Muḥarram
627 AH the Prophet came to him once again and handed him the book Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam
(The Bezels of Wisdoms). Ibn ‘Arabī started writing this book with all the
purity of his intentions and his deepest aspirations. He said: “I state nothing
that has not been projected toward me; I write nothing except what has been inspired
in me. I am not a Prophet nor a Messenger but simply an inheritor; and I labour
for my future life.”[3] In the same year just over two months after
receving the book of the Fuṣūṣ he had a vision of Divine Ipseity, it’s exterior
and interior which he had not seen before in any of his witnessings.
The Futuhat al-Makkiyya
In 629 AH the
first draft of al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya was completed. The book has
hundreds of manuscript in various libraries of the world, the most important of
them is the manuscript of Konya, written by its author. This book had taken the
best part of his thirty years and Ibn ‘Arabī dedicated it to his eldest son, ‘Imāduddīn
Muḥammad. It contains 560 chapters of esoteric knowledge and is truly the encyclopaedia
of Islamic Sufism. The book is divided into six sections and these are:[1]
1. Spiritual
Knowledge (al-ma‘ārif)
2. Spiritual Behaviour
(al-ma‘lūmāt)
3. Spiritual States (al-aḥwāl)
4. Spiritual Abodes (al-manāzil)
5. Spiritual
Encounters (al-munāzalāt)
6. Spiritual Stations
(al-maqāmāt)
Chapter 559 contains the mysteries and
secrets of all the chapters of the book, so we can say that it is like a
summary of the whole Futūḥāt. In the 48th chapter of the Futūhāt,
he says that the content of the message and the form of its presentation have been
determined by Divine Inspiration.
Three years later in 632 AH, on the first
of Muḥarram, Ibn ‘Arabī embarked on a second draft of the Futūḥāt;
this he explained, included a number of additions and a number of deletions as
compared with the previous draft. This revision completed in the year 636.[2] After completion of this 2nd draft,
he started teaching it to his disciples. Dr. Osman Yahia has mentioned hundreds
of these hearings or public readings that occur between the year 633 AH and 638
AH. These hearings show that the Futūḥāt was a primary document of his
concepts and was widespread in his life in comparison with the Fuṣūṣ al-Hikam,
which has only one Samā’ given to only Ṣadruddīn al-Qūnawī.
Later in the same year he wrote an Ijāza
for Sultan Al-Ashraf al-Muẓaffar, and a booklist; the Fihrist
al-Mu’allafāt. These two documents contain lists of his works. The Ijāza
was a teaching certificate in which Ibn ‘Arabī listed 290 works alongside 70 of
his spiritual teachers.[3] According to Osman Yahia, who compiled the
first detailed study of Ibn’Arabī’s works in 1964 AD, there are 317 works cited
by Ibn ‘Arabī in his books of which only one-third are known in manuscript form
at present. [4]
Departing this world
Finally on 22 Rabī‘ al-Thānī 638 AH at
the age of seventy-five, Ibn ‘Arabī’s terrestrial life came to an end. He was
present at the house of Qaḍī Ibn Zakī at the time of death, Jamāluddīn
ibn ‘Abd al-Khāliq, ‘Imād Ibn Naḥḥās and his son ‘Imāduddīn performed
his funeral rites. He was buried in the family tomb of the Banū Zakī in
the small beautiful district of Ṣāliḥiyya at Jabal Qāsiyūn.[1]