Kashf al-Manaa [Asmaye Ilahiya ke asrar]
Author: Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi
Editor: Ahmed Muhammad Ali, Abrar Ahmed Shahī
Translated by: Abrar Ahmed Shahi
Price Rs 2000/- Int'l US $ 50.
Pages: 444
ISBN: 9789699305078
Dimensions: 255 × 165 mm
Edition: June 2014
Editor: Ahmed Muhammad Ali, Abrar Ahmed Shahī
Translated by: Abrar Ahmed Shahi
Price Rs 2000/- Int'l US $ 50.
Pages: 444
ISBN: 9789699305078
Dimensions: 255 × 165 mm
Edition: June 2014
Muhyiddin Ibn al-'Arabi's Kashf al-Ma'na' has been composed in the East at Abu Hamid al-Ghazzali's northern corner in the Mosque of Damascus in 621/1224, as we can infer from the conclusion of the book. In this book each of the ninety-nine names of God have been divided into three subsection, it follows a programatic work following a uniform pattern thourghout. Each name was treated in the modes of three key concepts:
ta'alluq (dependence)
that is your absolute dependence upon this name, in the sense where it indicate towards the essence.
tahaqquq (realization)
gaining a deeper understanding and realization of the meaning of each name of God, both in relation to God and to humanity.
takhalluq (assimilation)
the adoption of this Divine name which is appropriate for you, as the Essense is associated with it which is appropriate to it.
Manuscript details
The book Kashf al-Ma'na' by Muhyiddin Ibn al-'Arabi has been meticulously edited and translated with a high standard of scholarship. To establish the Arabic text, five manuscripts were used, which include all the best sources listed by Osman Yahia (Histoire et classification, r.g. no. 338). The earliest manuscript, Ulu Cami 1581, dates back to the late-8th/14th century. The book was apparently dictated extemporaneously during sessions in Imam al-Ghazzali's zawiyah to one Sharaf al-Din Abu Muhammad 'Abd al-Wahid b. Abi Bakr of Hama in Syria, during the fast of Ramadan in the year 621 AH. The manuscripts used for establishing the text are:
1- Ulucami 1451- Ulu Cami 1581: This manuscript is a clear copy with strong black headings for each Name and its three sections of taʿalluq, taḥaqquq and takhalluq. On 140b/141a, there is a note by IA about the composition of the work, which suggests that it was based on the work of al-Ghazālī and written in Ramadan 621H for a disciple, Sharafuddīn Abū Muḥammad ʿAbd al-Wāḥid b. Abū Bakr b. Sulaymān al-Ḥamawī. It is likely that this copy was made from the original.
2- Fatih 1452- Fatih 5298: This manuscript is dated 6 Ramadan 783H on 81b, and is the earliest copy of the text. There is no provenance given, but it is from a good collection which contains two texts taken from originals held in Aleppo (in the possession of Shaykh Badr Muḥammad al-Zāhidī; see al-Fanārī’s copies, Beyazit 3750).
3- Yeni Cami 1453-Yeni Cami 705: This manuscript is considered to be a good copy, with each chapter heading in red. At the end of the manuscript, it is mentioned that it was copied in Ramadan 865 AH.
4- Khurasni 1454- Fakhr al-din al-Khurasani’s copy: This manuscript is a collection of more than 60 works of Shaykh al-Akbar copied in the year 814 by an admirer of Shaykh al-Akbar Fakhr al-Din Khurasani in Zubaid Yemen. This collection is very important, as some works bear notes of copying from the original, and overall, it is a good collection of Ibn al-Arabi’s works.
5- Majlis 145 5- Majlis e Shoora Milli Iran: This manuscript does not mention a date and place of copy. In comparison to the other manuscripts, it is not an accurate copy of the text, with mistakes and word skippings in many places. It has only been included for verification.
Additionally, the text has been verified and checked against the published edition by Pablo Beneito, Murcia 1996, which is a beautiful edition. For further details about this edition, see the review by Gerald Elmore (Book Reviews: Las Contemplaciones de los misterios; Commentaries on Meister Eckhart Sermons; Ibn 'Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition; The Unlimited Mercifier; El Secreto de los nombres de Dios; Le Livre des chatons des sagesses).
3- Yeni Cami 1453-Yeni Cami 705: This manuscript is considered to be a good copy, with each chapter heading in red. At the end of the manuscript, it is mentioned that it was copied in Ramadan 865 AH.
4- Khurasni 1454- Fakhr al-din al-Khurasani’s copy: This manuscript is a collection of more than 60 works of Shaykh al-Akbar copied in the year 814 by an admirer of Shaykh al-Akbar Fakhr al-Din Khurasani in Zubaid Yemen. This collection is very important, as some works bear notes of copying from the original, and overall, it is a good collection of Ibn al-Arabi’s works.
5- Majlis 145 5- Majlis e Shoora Milli Iran: This manuscript does not mention a date and place of copy. In comparison to the other manuscripts, it is not an accurate copy of the text, with mistakes and word skippings in many places. It has only been included for verification.
Additionally, the text has been verified and checked against the published edition by Pablo Beneito, Murcia 1996, which is a beautiful edition. For further details about this edition, see the review by Gerald Elmore (Book Reviews: Las Contemplaciones de los misterios; Commentaries on Meister Eckhart Sermons; Ibn 'Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition; The Unlimited Mercifier; El Secreto de los nombres de Dios; Le Livre des chatons des sagesses).
Abrar Ahmed