Sufis

Ibn Arab (Arabic: ( ) Murcia July 28, 1165 Damascus November 10, 1240) was an Andalusian Moorish Sufi mystic andphilosopher. His full name was Ab 'Abdillh Muammad ibn 'Al ibn Muammad ibn `Arab. ibn Arab was born into a respectable family in Murcia, Taifa of Murcia on the 17th of Raman 561 AH (27th or 28 July 1165 AD). Muyiddin Muammad ibn Al ibn Muammad ibn Arab was widely known as al-Shaykh al-Akbar; in medieval Europe he was called Doctor Maximus. His father, Ali ibn Muammad, served in the Army of ibn Mardansh. When ibn Mardansh died in 1172 AD, Ali ibn Muammad swiftly shifted his allegiance to the Almohad Sultan, Ab Yaqb Ysuf I, and became one of his military advisers. His family then relocated from Murcia to Seville. ibn Arabs dogmatic and intellectual training began in Seville, then the cultural and civilized center of Muslim Iberia, in 578 AH. Most of his teachers were the clergy of the Almohad era and some of them also held the official posts of Qadi or Khatib. He was a young boy when his father sent him to the renowned jurist Ab Bakr ibn Khalaf to study the Qur'an. ibn Arab learned the recitation of the Qur'an from the book of Al-Kafi in the seven different Qira'at. The same work was also transmitted to him by another Abd al-Ramn ibn Ghlib ibn al-Sharrt. At the age of ten, he was well-versed in the Qirat; afterwards he learned the sciences of Hadith, Fiqh and Sirah from the famous scholars of the time such as Al-Suhayli. Ibn Arab was about sixteen when he went into seclusion. There is a story that ibn Arab was at a dinner party which ended with a round of wine. As he took the wine cup to his lips, he heard a voice: O Muammad, it was not for this that you were created! 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 Muammad. As a consequence of this retreat and the spiritual insights granted to him, ibn Arab was sent by his father to meet the great philosopher Averroes. The meeting was very significant in that ibn Arab answered his questions in Yes and No. Ibn Rushd declared: I myself was of the opinion that spiritual knowledge without learning is possible, but never met anyone who had experienced it.[citation needed] Ibn Arab claimed to have met with Khidr, The Green Man, a personification of an ancient fertility deity connected with spring, and a prophet in Islam, three times over the course of his life. The first occurred while `Ibn Arabi was a youth in the service of the king, Shaykh al-Uryab. Ibn Arab said of their encounter: I met Khidr in Qs al-haniyya in Seville, and he said to me: 'Accept what the Shaykh says!' I immediately turned to the Shaykh Uryab and before I spoke he said: 'O Muammad, does that mean that every time you contradict me, I will have to ask Khidr to instruct you in submission to the masters?' I replied: 'Master, was that person Khidr?' He answered: 'Yes!' (I, 331; Addas 63) In 1193 at the age of 28 Ibn Arab visited Tunis to meet the disciples of Abu Madyan, notably Abd al-Aziz alMahdaw and Ab Muammad Abdallh al-Kinn. He stayed there for less than a year. Ibn `Arabi met Khidr for the second time while he was returning from Tunis. One night, traveling by boat, he saw a man walking on the water towards him. Upon reaching the boat, Khidr stood on the sea and showed him that his feet were still dry. After that Khir conversed with Ibn Arab in a language which is peculiar to him (OY: III, 182). Ibn Arab had his third meeting with Khidr upon reaching Andalusia in late 590 AH. Khidr performed a miracle to provide evidence for a skeptical companion of Ibn Arab. In the year 586, while visiting the dying saint al-Qabili in Cordoba, Ibn Arab had a vision in which he met all the Prophets from the time of Adam to Muammad in their spiritual reality. Hud spoke to him and explained him the reason for their gathering: We came to visit Ab Muammad Makhlf al-Qabili (Ibn Arab, Rh al-Quds 116). However, according to a tradition among the direct disciples of Ibn Arab, Hd explained that the real reason for their gathering was to welcome him (Ibn Arab) as the Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood (khatm al-wilya almuammadiyya), the supreme heir (Addas 76). Stephen Hartenstein writes in his book Unlimited Mercifier: It is from his return from Tunis, we find the first evidence of Ibn Arab beginning to write; later in 1194, he wrote one of his first major works, Mashhid al-Asrr alQudusiyya (Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries) for the companions of al-Mahdaw and perhaps around the same time, in a space of four days, also composed the voluminous Tadbrt al-Ilhiyya (Divine Governance) in Mawrr for Shaykh Ab Muammad al-Mawrr. (Hirtenstein 91) The next five years were a time when Ibn Arab 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 Arab began to emerge and he became universal. Shortly after his return to Andalusia from North Africa in 1194 AD, Ibn Arabs 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 (Hirtenstein 110). It was a time of great uncertainty for Seville because of War. The third Sultan, Ab Ysuf Yaqb al Manr offered him a job but Ibn Arab refused both the job and an offer to marry off his sisters and within days he left Seville heading toward Fes, where they settled. In Fes Ibn Arab met two men of remarkable spirituality, one of them was a sufi Pillar (awtd), his name was Ibn Jadn. The second was known as al-Ashall (literally the withered, due to a withered hand). It was a happy period of his life, where he could utterly dedicate himself to spiritual work. In Fes in 593 AH, when he was leading a Prayer in the al-Azhar Mosque, he experienced a vision of light:

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). (II, 486)

In Fes 594 AH, Abdallh Badr al-Habshi first met Ibn Arab and for the rest of his life became a soul mate and a faithful friend, accepting Ibn Arab as his master and guide. Al-Shaykh al-Akbar said about him in Futt:

[He is a man] of unadulterated clarity, a pure light, he is a abash named Abdallh, and like a full moon (badr)
without eclipse. He acknowledges each persons 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 (OY: I, 72; Hirtenstein 123). In the year 595 AH Ibn Arab returned to the Iberian Peninsula for the last time and it seems he had two intentions: to introduce al-Habash to his friends and masters and to depart finally from the land of his birth. In December 595 AH, Ibn Arab 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 Arab said the following verse on that day: "Here the master, there his works Would that I know if his hopes have been fulfilled!" From Cordoba they traveled to Granada and met with Abdallh al-Mawrr and Ab Muammad al-Shakkz. From Granada to Murcia, the town of his birth and stayed with an old friend Ab Ahmed Ibn Saydabn, a famous disciple of Ab Madyan who at the time of their meeting was evidently going through a period of fatra or suspension. They traveled again to Almeria, where they spent the month of Ramadan in 595 AH and Ibn Arab wrote Mawqi alNujm over a period of eleven nights. Perhaps in Almeria also, he started writing Anq 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 adr al-dn al-Qnaw:

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, Isq ibn Muammad, would be my companion and you as well (Hirtenstein 127). In the year 597 AH/1200 AD, he was in Morocco and took his final leave from his master Ysuf al-Km, who was living in the village of Sal 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 (maqm al-qurba). I entered this station in the month of Muarram 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 (II, 261). Later Ibn Arab finds Ab Abd al-Ramn al-Sulam in it and he told Ibn Arab that this station is called, the station of proximity (maqm al-qurba) (Hirtenstein 128).

Having left behind all the traces of his past, Ibn Arab began his long journey to the East from Marrakesh where he had a marvelous 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 Arab, saying that he should take him as his companion to the East. This companion was Muammad al-Har of Fes. He started travelling with his friends

towards the East. After visiting the tombs of his uncle Yay and Ab Madyan in Ubbd near Tlemcen, he stopped at Bijya (Bougie) during Raman 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 (Ibn Arab, Kitb al-B 10-11). This dream was later interpreted as the great Divine knowledge which was bestowed upon Ibn Arab. His next stop was Tunis 598 AH where he happened to see Syakh Abd al-Aziz al-Mahdaw whom he had met about six years before. At the same time he continued writing works like Insh al-Dawir for his friend alabash. Resuming his travels, he arrived in Cairo in 598 AH/1202 AD where he met his childhood friends, the two brothers, Abdallh Muhammad al-Khayyt and Ab al-Abbs Amad al-arrr and stayed at their house in the month of Raman. That was a period of great devastation, terriblefamine and plague for Egypt. Perhaps the death of his companion Muammad al-Har was due to this plague. Ibn Arab saw this devastation with his own eyes and a passage of Rh al-Quds tells us that when people made light of Allhs statutes He imposes the strictures of His Law upon them (ysuf 240). Ibn Arab resumed travelling toward Palestine, and his route took him to all the major burial places of the great Prophets: Hebron, where Abraham and other Prophets are buried; Jerusalem, the city of David and the later Prophets; and then Medina, the final resting place of Prophet Muhammad.

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 Arabs 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-Futt 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 Kaba; (Hirtenstein 148) it was in Makkah that the love of women was first evoked in his heart by the beautiful Nim, (Hirtenstein, 149) 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 Fima bint Ynus and their first son Muammad Imduddin was probably born in Makkah (Hirtenstein 150). Again it was in Makkah that he produced the very best of his works, like the first chapters of Futt, the R al-Quds, the Tj alRasil, the ilyat al-Abdl and a collections of hadth quds named Mishkat al-Anwr. It is also worth mentioning that in Makkah he met some of the eminent scholars of adth of his time. Amongst them was Ab Shuj hir bin Rustam, father of the beautiful Nim and Ynus ibn Yay al-shim, who had been a pupil of the great Abd al-Qdir al-Jln in Baghdad. He not only introduced Ibn Arab to the Prophetic tradition but also transmitted to him the teachings of the most famous saint in Egypt in the ninth century, Dhl-Nn al-Mir. Ynus ibn Yay also invested him in front of the Kaba with the Khirqa (Mantle) of Abd al-Qdir al-Jln. (Ibn Arab, Nasab al-Khirqa; Elmore Mantle of Initiation 1-33). It is believed that after wearing this Khirqa Ibn Arab formally joined the Qadriyya Tarqa.

Apart from all this, several visions were granted to him in Makkah. The first took place at night during his circumambulations of the Kaaba when he met a young beautiful girl Qurrat al-Ayn (Hirtenstein 148). In the second vision, during his circumambulations of the Kaaba, he met the mysterious figure who had appeared at the beginning of his ascension and here at Makkah. He said to Ibn Arab, 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 (OY: I, 218). The third vision also occurs at Kaaba in a spiritual conversation with the aram and the Zamzam stream; Kaaba ordered him to circumambulate it and the Zamzam told him to drink this pure water but a soft refusal made Kaaba angry and he took revenge on a cold and rainy night in the year 600 AH. Shaykh heard the voice of Kaaba loud and clear; later in a meditation God taught him the lesson and to express this gratitude Ibn Arab composed a collection of letters in rhymed prose, entitled the Tj al-Rasil, in homage to the Kaaba. The next vision is also related to Kaaba, in the year 599 AH in Makkah Ibn Arab 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 Kaaba. 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 (Addas 213). In the year 599 AH during circumambulating the Kaaba, he encountered the son of Caliph Hrn al-Rashd, who had been dead for four centuries and was famous for choosing Saturday for work to gather food for rest of the week. Ibn Arab asked him: Who are you? He replied: I am al-Sabt ibn Hrn al-Rashd. Later Ibn Arab 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(This is refuted by the Quranic verse "We created the heavens and the earth and all that is between them in six days, nor did any sense of weariness touch Us" (50:38)), so I, as His servant worked on Saturday and devoted myself to worshipping Lord for the rest of the week. In another glorious vision at Kaaba Ibn Arab saw his forefathers and asked one of them his time, he replied he had been dead around forty thousand years ago. Finally, at Kaaba, behind the wall of Hanbalites, Ibn Arab was granted the privilege of being able to join a meeting of the seven Abdl (Addas 216).

The message was clear and it was from God; in a passage of Kitab al-Mubashshirt Ibn Arab 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 (Addas 218). 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 R al-Quds, written following this revelational order mentions it vividly. According to Osman Yahia; Ibn Arab 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.

Ibn Arabs 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 Hejaz, 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 Majduddn Isq ibn Ysuf, a native of Malatya and a man of great standing at the Seljuk court. This time Ibn Arab was travelling north; first they visited the city of Muammad 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-Qdir Jln. Ibn Arabi stayed there only for 12 days because he wanted to visit Mosul to see his friend Al ibn Abdallh ibn Jmi, a disciple of Qab al-Bn. There he spent the month of Ramaan and composed Tanazzult al-Mawiliyya, Kitb al-Jall wal-Jaml and Kunh m l Budda lil-MurdMinhu (Hirtenstein 176). Here he was invested with the khirqa of Khir , transmitted to him by Al ibn Abdallh ibn Jmi. Later the group travelled north and arrived at Malatya, Majduddns hometown and then to Konya. In Konya Ibn Arab met with Awaduddn amd Kirmn, who became his friend like Majduddn. He transmitted to Ibn Arab teachings and stories of the many great spiritual masters of the East. Over the next 20 years Ibn Arab and Kirmn remained close friends and companions (Hirtenstein 179). After spending 9 months in Konya, he returned to Malatya where Kayks, one of the Kaykhusraws sons, had been made ruler of Malatya. Majduddn was appointed as his tutor and Ibn Arab also became involved in the young princes education.

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: Kitb al-B, Ishrt al-Qur'an. In May 602 AH he visited Hebron, where he wrote Kitb al-Yaqn at Masjd al-Yaqn near the tomb of Ibrhm (Ysuf 307). The following year he headed toward Cairo, staying there with his old Andalusian friends , including Ab al-Abbs al-arrr, his brother Muammad al-Khayyt and Abdallh alMawrr. In Cairo R al-Quds and Kitb Ayym al-Shan were read again before Ibn Arab, with the reader this time being a young man named Ismil ibn Sawdakn al-Nr (Ysuf 309). Like Badr al-abash, Ibn Sawdakn attached himself to Ibn Arab forever. He left value-oriented commentaries on the works of Ibn Arab notably Mashhid al-Asrr, Kitb al-Isr and the Kitb al-Tajalliyt. His house in Aleppo was often used for the reading of Ibn Arabs works over the next 40 years (Ysuf 311). Later in 604 AH he returned to Makkah where he continued to study and write, spending his time with his friend Ab Shuj bin Rustem and family, including the beautiful Nim (II, 376; Hirtenstein 181). The next 4 to 5 years of Ibn Arabs life were spent in these lands and he also kept travelling and holding the reading sessions of his works in his own presence.

In the year 608 we find him in Baghdad with his friend Majduddn Isq and there he met the famous historian Ibn al-Dubayth and his disciple Ibn al-Najjr. 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 in Baghdad Ibn Arab met with the famous Sufi Shihbuddn Suharward (d. 632), author of the Awrif al-marif who was personal advisor to Caliph al-Nir. In this meeting, they stayed together for a while, with lowered heads and departed without exchanging a single word. Later Ibn Arab said about Suharward: He is impregnated with the Sunna from tip to toe and Suharward said about Ibn Arab: He is an ocean of essential truths (bar al-aqiq).

In the year 611 he was again in Makkah, where his friend Ab Shuj had died two years before. Ibn Arab performed ajj and started compilation of his most famous poetic work the Tarjumn al-Ashwq. After ajj Ibn Arab left Makkah, travelling north towards the Roman lands, probably Konya or Malatya and in the year 610/611 he returned toAleppo. 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 Aleppo 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 Sawdakn and Badr al-abash he wrote a commentary on these poems by the title of Dhakhir al-Alq in a great hurry. It was completed in Anatolia in 612. When the jurists heard this commentary, they felt sorry for unjustly exposing Ibn Arab to scathing criticism (Ysuf 335).

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 Kayks 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 Arab returned to Malatya and according to Stephen Hartenstein he met Bahuddn Walad, father of the famous Persian Poet Jallaluddin Rumi, the famous Persian poet of that time. Little Rm was with his father and after the meeting when Bahuddn left with his son tagging along behind him, Shaykh al-Akbar said: What an extraordinary sight, a sea followed by an ocean! (Hirtenstein 188). His reading and writings continued in Malatya, where in 615 AH, we find hearings of R al-Quds, finalization of The Tarjumn al-Ashwq and compilation of a short epistle on the technical terms of Sufism: the Iilht al-fiyya. The year 617 was the year of mourning for him as he lost one of his best friends Majduddn Isq, Ibn Arab took charge of the upbringing of the young adruddn and married the widow as it was necessary according to the customs of the time. (Hirtenstein 189). Lastly his close companion and valet, friend and fellow, traveller on the way of God Badr al-abash died.

After criss-crossing the east for a period of 20 years Ibn Arab 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 Zak. 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. Kitb al-Tajalliyt was one of these first books to record such a certificate (sima) in the presence of his disciple Ibn Sawdakn. In the year 621 AH eight more works bore these hearing certificates, among these were: Kitb al-Yaqn, Al-Maqsid alAsm, Kitb al-Mm wal-Ww wal-Nun, Mafth al-Ghayb and Kitb al-aqq. At the same time, Ibn Arab devoted his attention to complete the lengthy Futt, 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 adruddn alQnaw. He was brought up alongside Ibn Arab own family in Malatya and after the death of his real father Qnaw joined Shaykh al-Akbar in Damascus. He accompanied and served Kirmn on his travels in Egypt, Hijaz and Iran. In his private collection adruddn wrote that he had studied 10 works of Ibn Arab under him and later Ibn Arab gave him a certificate to freely relate them on his authority. He studied and discussed with Ibn Arab no less than 40 works, including the whole text of Futt in 20 volumes.

Ibn Arab had several visions of Muammad at Damascus. In 624 AH he had been told by Muhammad that angels are superior to men. In the same year, he had another discussion with Muammad, this time Muammad replied to him regarding the resurrection of animals: Animals will not be resurrected on the Day of Judgement. (I, 527;

Addas 275) In the third vision he was ordered by the Prophet to write a poem in favour of al-Anr. In this vision Ibn Arab was informed that his mother was from al-Anrs tribe (I, 267). In the fourth vision, at the end of Muarram 627 AH the Prophet came to him once again and handed him the book Fu al-ikam (The Bezels of Wisdoms). Ibn Arab 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 (Ibn Arab, Fu alikam 47). In the same year just over two months after receiving the book of the Fu he had a vision of Divine Ipseity, its exterior and interior which he had not seen before in any of his witnessings.

In 629 AH the first draft of al-Futt 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 Arab dedicated it to his eldest son, Imduddn Muammad. 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: 13. Spiritual Knowledge (al-marif) 14. Spiritual Behaviour (al-malmt) 15. Spiritual States (al-awl) 16. Spiritual Abodes (al-manzil) 17. Spiritual Encounters (al-munzalt) 18. Spiritual Stations (al-maqmt) Chapter 559 contains the mysteries and secrets of all the chapters of the book (some may deem it a summary of the whole Futt). In the 48th chapter of the Futht, 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 Muarram, Ibn Arab embarked on a second draft of the Futt; 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 (Addas 286). 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 Futt was a primary document of his concepts and was widespread in his life in comparison with the Fu al-Hikam, which has only one Sam given to only adruddn al-Qnaw.

Finally on 22 Rab al-Thn 638 AH at the age of seventy-five, Ibn Arabs terrestrial life came to an end. He was present at the house of Qa Ibn Zak at the time of death, Jamluddn ibn Abd al-Khliq, Imd Ibn Nas and his son Imduddn performed his funeral rites. He was buried in the family tomb of the Ban Zak in the small beautiful district of Al-Salihiyah at Jabal Qsiyn.

Some 800 works are attributed to Ibn Arabi, 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.[1] The Ringstones of Wisdom (also translated as The Bezels of Wisdom), or Fusus al-Hikam. The Meccan Illuminations (Al-Futt al-Makkiyya), his largest work in 37 volumes originally and published in 4 or 8 volumes in modern times, discussing a wide range of topics from mystical philosophy to Sufi practices and records of his dreams/visions.

The Dwn, his collection of poetry spanning five volumes, mostly unedited. The printed versions
available are based on only one volume of the original work.

The Holy Spirit in the Counselling of the Soul (R al-quds), a treatise on the soul which includes a
summary of his experience from different spiritual masters in the Maghrib. Part of this has been translated as Sufis of Andalusia, reminiscences and spiritual anecdotes about many interesting people whom he met in al-Andalus. Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries Mashhid al-Asrr probably his first major work, consisting of fourteen visions and dialogues with God. Divine Sayings Mishkt al-Anwr, an important collection made by Ibn 'Arab of 101 hadth quds The Book of Annihilation in Contemplation (K. al-Fan' fi'l-Mushhada), a short treatise on the meaning of mystical annihilation (fana).

Devotional Prayers Awrd, a widely read collection of fourteen prayers for each day and night of the week. Journey to the Lord of Power (Rislat al-Anwr), a detailed technical manual and roadmap for the "journey without distance". The Book of God's Days (Ayym al-Sha'n), a work on the nature of time and the different kinds of days experienced by gnostics

The Fabulous Gryphon of the West ('Unq' Mughrib), a book on the meaning of sainthood and its
culmination in Jesus and the Mahd The Universal Tree and the Four Birds al-Ittihd al-Kawn, a poetic book on the Complete Human and the four principles of existence Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection ('al-Dawr al-A'l, a short prayer which is still widely used in the Muslim world The Interpreter of Desires (Tarjumn al-Ashwq) love poetry (ghazals) which, in response to critics, Ibn Arabi republished with a commentary explaining the meaning of the poetic symbols. Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom (At-Tadbidrat al-ilahiyyah fi islah al-mamlakat al-insaniyyah). The Four Pillars of Spiritual Transformation Hilyat al-abdl a short work on the essentials of the spiritual Path

There have been many commentaries on Ibn 'Arab's Fu al-ikam: the first, al-Fukk, was written by his stepson and heir, adr al-Dn al-Qunaw, who had studied the book with Ibn 'Arab; the second by Qunaw's student, Mu'ayyad al-Dn al-Jand, which was the first line-by-line commentary; the third by Jand's student, Dawd al-Qaysar, which became very influential in the Persian-speaking world. There were many others, in the Ottoman world (e.g. 'Abdullah al-Bosnaw), the Arab world (e.g. 'Abd al-Ghan al-Nabulus) and the Persian world (e.g. Haydar mol). It is estimated that there are over fifty commentaries on the Fu, most of which only exist in manuscript form. The more famous (such as Qunaw's Fukk) have been printed in recent years in Iran. A recent English translation of Ibn 'Arab's own summary of the Fu, Naqsh al-Fu (The Imprint or Pattern of the Fusus) as well a commentary on this work by 'Abd al-Ramn Jm, Naqd al-Nu f Shar Naqsh al-Fu (1459), by William Chittick was published in Volume 1 of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society (1982).[2] The Fu was first critically edited in Arabic by 'Aff (1946). The first English translation was done in partial form by Angela Culme-Seymour from the French translation ofTitus Burckhardt as Wisdom of the Prophets (1975), [3] and the first full translation was by Ralph Austin as Bezels of Wisdom (1980).[4] There is also a complete French translation by Charles-Andre Gilis, entitled Le livre des chatons des sagesses (1997). The only major commentary to have been translated into English so far is entitled Ismail Hakki Bursevi's translation and commentary on Fusus al-hikam by Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, translated from Ottoman Turkish by Bulent Rauf in 4 volumes (19851991). In Urdu, the most widespread and authentic translation was made by Bahr-ul-uloom Hazrat Muhammad Abdul Qadeer Siddiqi Qadri Hasrat, the former Dean and Professor of Theology of the Osmania University, Hyderabad. It is due to this reason that his translation is in the curriculum of Punjab University. Maulvi Abdul Qadeer Siddiqui has made an interpretive translation and explained the terms and grammar while clarifying the Shaikh's opinions.

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Sahl al-Tustari (or al-Tustari, born Abu Muhammed Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah (c818 C.E. (203 AH) - c896 C.E.(283 AH)), was a arab Muslim scholar and early classical Sufi mystic.[1] He founded the Salimiyah Muslim theological school, which was named after his disciple Muhammad ibn Salim.[2] Tustari is most famous for his controversial claim that "I am the Proof of God for the created beings and I am a proof for the saints (awliya) of my time"[1] and for his well-known Tafsir, a commentary on and interpretation of the Qur'an.

Sahl Al-Tustari was born in the fortress town of Tustar (Arabic) or Shushtar (arabistan) in Khzestn Province in what is now southwestern Iran.[1] From an early age he led an ascetic life with frequent fasting and study of the Qur'an and Hadith, the oral traditions, of the Prophet Muhammad. He practised repentance (tawbah) and, above all, constant remembrance of God (dhikr). This eventually culminated in a direct and intimate rapport with God with whom he considered himself a special friend and one of the spiritual elect.[1]

Tustari was under the direction of the Sufi saint Dhul-Nun al-Misri for a time, and Tustari in his turn was one of the Sufi mystic and later martyr Mansur Al-Hallaj's early teachers.[3] In these early days when the Sufis were becoming established mostly in Baghdad (the capital of modern Iraq), the most notable Sufis of the time elsewhere were: Tustari in southwestern Iran, Al-Tirmidhi in Central Asia and the Malamatiyya or "People of Blame".[4] An Islamic scholar who commented on and interpreted the Qur'an, Tustari maintained that the Qur'an "contained several levels of meaning", which included the outer or zahirand the inner or batin. Another key idea that he unravelled was the meaning of the Prohet Muhammad's saying "I am He and He is I, save that I am I, and He is He", explaining it "as a mystery of union and realization at the center of the Saint's personality, called the sirr ('the secret'), or the heart, where existence joins Being."[5] Tustari also "was the first to put" the Sufi exercise of remembrance of God, Dhikr, "on a firm theoretical basis."[6]
[Tustari] maintained that ultimately [...] it became clear to the recollector that the true agent of recollection was not the believer engaged in recollection but God Himself, who commemorated Himself in the heart of the believer. This realisation of God's control over the heart led the believer to the state of complete trust in the Divine.[1]

Works

al-Tustari, Sahl ibn 'Abd Allah; Meri, Yousef (editor), Keeler, Annabel and Keeler, Ali (translators) (Dec.
Sayings
2009). Tafsir Al-Tustari: Great Commentaries of the Holy Qur'an. Fons Vitae. ISBN 1891785192.

"I am the Proof of God for the created beings and I am a proof for the saints (awliya) of my time"[1] Asked "What is food?" Tustari replied: "Food is contemplation of the Living One."[7] "Whoever wakes up worrying about what he will eat -- shun him!"[8] "If any one shuts his eye to God for a single moment, he will never be rightly guided all his life long"[9] .............................
The Malmatiyya ( )or Malamatis are a Sufi (Muslim mystic) group that was active in 8th-century Samanid Iran (Encyclopdia Britannica). Believing in the value of self-blame, that piety should be a private matter, and that being held in good esteem would lead to worldly attachment, they concealed their knowledge and made sure their faults would be known, reminding them of their imperfection (Encyclopdia Britannica). The Arabic word malma ( )means "to blame". According to Annemarie Schimmel, "the Malmats deliberately tried to draw the contempt of the world upon themselves by committing unseemly, even unlawful, actions, but they preserved perfect purity of thought and loved God without second thought" (Schimmel 86). Schimmel goes on to relate a story illustrative of such actions: "One of them was hailed by a large crowd when he entered a town; they tried to accompany the great saint; but on the road he publicly started urinating in an unlawful way so that all of them left him and no longer believed in his high spiritual rank" (quoted in Schimmel 86). In fact, the Malmats are considered, by one of the better known Sufi Masters, Ibn al-'Arabi, as the ultimate Sufis, people whose deep inward piety is concealed not only from the eyes of men but ultimately from themselves, the attachment to the perception of one's own piety constituting a formidable barrier to genuine self-realisation. The Malamati is one for whom the doctrine of "spiritual states" is fraught with subtle deceptions of the most despicable kind; he despises personal piety, not because he is focused on the perceptions or reactions of people, but as a consistent involuntary witness of his own "pious hypocrisy". God in turn wishes to keep him preserved and sheltered in divine occultation. The nature of this sheltering may be occasioned by a "public fall from grace" or a scandal that involves public opprobrium. Farid, in one of his Odes quoted by R.A. Nicholson in his Studies in Islamic Mysticism, describes the Malamatiyya thus: "My fellows in the religion of love are those who love; and they have approved my ignominy and thought well of my disgrace". Ibn al-'Arabi, by contrast, calls the Malamatiyya "the most perfect of the gnostics", those who "know and are not known". The Malamati's "sins" are considered to be on the outward shell of his being whereas the "pious" but ignorant man sins in the kernel of his. The Malmatiyya were first written about by Abu Abd ar-Rahman as-Sulam and Shaykh Abu al-Hasan al-Hujwr in the 11th century AD (4th5th century AH). Sulam is much more positive about them than Hujwr, who according to Schimmel mistakenly accuses them of spiritual ostentation, saying: "The ostentatious men purposely act in such a way as to win popularity, while the malmat purposely acts in such a way that people reject him. Both have their thought fixed on mankind [as opposed to God] and do not pass beyond that sphere" (quoted in Schimmel 87). But as already observed, the term Malamati if used to denote a set of unconventional, unorthodox

or even antinomian practices, includes involuntary acts that do not arise from individual self-will or decisionmaking and therefore cannot serve to define the term as is commonly perceived by the rudimentary standards of popular Islamic mysticism or Sufism. The distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic sincerity, between outward "spirituality" and subtle wordliness, is a sharp one from a Malamati point of view; this additional demarcation is confirmed by the most learned of the greatest Sufi Masters as the single most important distinction in the movement towards the penultimate stages of the Sufi spiritual hierarchy. In their actions, the malamati bore much resemblance to the Greek Cynics, such as Diogenes of Sinope and Dionysius the Areopagite, as well as to certain of the EasternSyriac Christians, such as Isaac the Syrian. Within the Islamic tradition, some of the tales concerning Nasreddin bear some similarity to the practices of the Malmatiyya, insofar as Nasreddin's wisdom is rather well hidden behind a foolish faade.

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Dhul-Nun al-Misri (Arabic: ; born in 796 in Akhmim, Sohag Governorate; died 859) was an Egyptian Sufi saint. He was considered the Patron Saint of the Physicians in the early Islamic era of Egypt, and is credited with having specialized the concept of Gnosis in Islam. His full name is Dhul-Nun Abu Faid Thawban ibn Ibrahim . Dhul-Nun, literately "Of the Nun", is a name that is also given to the Prophet Jonah in Islamic folklore, as "nun" in ancient Arabic meant "big fish"/"whale", as it did in Aramaic where it also means "fish" (See also Nun (Bible) and Nun (letter)). His nickname al-Misri means 'the Egyptian', a name apparently given to him by his fellows who were not themselves of Coptic descent as he was, or during his travels outside of Egypt.

Dhul-Nun al-Misri is considered among the most prominent saints of early Sufism and holds a position in the Sufi chronicles as high as Junayd (d. 910) and Bayazid (d. 874). He studied under various teachers and travelled extensively in Arabia and Syria. The Muslim scholar and Sufi Sahl al-Tustari was one of Dhul-Nun al-Misri's students.[1] In 829 he was arrested on a charge of heresy and sent to prison in Baghdad, but after examination he was released on the caliph's orders to return to Cairo, where he died in 859; his tombstone has been preserved.[2] A legendary alchemist and thaumaturge, he is supposed to have known the secret of the Egyptian hieroglyphs. His sayings and poems, which are extremely dense and rich in mystical imagery, emphasize knowledge or gnosis (marifah) more than fear (makhafah) or love (mahabbah), the other two major paths of spiritual realization in Sufism. None of his written works have survived, but a vast collection of poems, sayings, and aphorisms attributed to him continues to live on in oral tradition.[3]

...................
Mansur al-Hallaj (Arabic: Mansr al-Hallj; Persian: Mansr-e allj; full name Ab al-Mu Husayn Manr al-all) (c. 858 March 26, 922) (Hijri c. 244 AH-309 AH) was a

Persian[1] mystic,

revolutionary writer and pious teacher of Sufism most famous for his poetry, accusation of heresy and for his execution at the orders of the Abbasid Caliph Al-Muqtadir after a long, drawn-out investigation.[2]

Contents
[hide]

1 Earl y life 2 Teac hings, arrest and impris onmen t 3 Wor ks 4 Belie fs and princip les 4 4 4 5 Deat h 6 Cont empor ary views 7 Possi ble influen ce on Mason ic guilds 8 See also 9 Refe rences 10 Fur ther readin g 11 Ext ernal links
[edit]Early

life

Al-Hallaj was born around 858 in Fars province of Persia to a cotton-carder (Hallaj means "cotton-carder" in Arabic). His grandfather was a Zoroastrian.[3] His father lived a simple life, and this form of lifestyle greatly

interested the young Al-Hallaj. As a youngster he memorized the Qur'an and would often retreat from worldly pursuits to join other mystics in study. Al-Hallaj later married and made a pilgrimage to Mecca, where he stayed for one year, facing the mosque, in fasting and total silence. After his stay at the city, he traveled extensively and wrote and taught along the way. He traveled as far as India andCentral Asia gaining many followers, many of whom accompanied him on his second and third trips to Mecca. After this period of travel, he settled down in the Abbasid capital of Baghdad. During his early lifetime he was a disciple of Junayd Baghdadi and Amr al-Makki, but was later rejected by them both. Sahl al-Tustari was also one of Al-Hallaj's early teachers.[4] [edit]Teachings,

arrest and imprisonment

Among other Sufis, Al-Hallaj was an anomaly. Many Sufi masters felt that it was inappropriate to share mysticism with the masses, yet Al-Hallaj openly did so in his writings and through his teachings. He thus began to make enemies. This was exacerbated by occasions when he would fall into trances which he attributed to being in the presence of God. During one of these trances, he would utter Arabic: An l-aqq "I am The Truth," which was taken to mean that he was claiming to be God, since al-aqq "the Truth" is one of the Ninety Nine Names of Allah. In another controversial statement, al-Hallaj claimed "There is nothing wrapped in my turban but God," and similarly he would point to his cloak and say, M f jubbat ill l-Lh "There is nothing in my cloak but God." These utterances led to a long trial, and his subsequent imprisonment for 11 years in a Baghdad prison. He was publicly executed on March 26, 922. [edit]Works Hallaj wrote many works in both prose and poetry. His best known written work is the Kitab al Tawasin, Arabic ( ,) which includes two brief chapters devoted to a dialogue of Satan (Iblis) and God, where Satan refuses to bow to Adam, although God asks him to do so. His refusal is due to a misconceived idea of God's uniqueness and because of his refusal to abandon himself to God in love. Hallaj criticizes the staleness of his adoration (Mason, 51-3). Al-Hallaj stated in this book[5]: If you do not recognize God, at least recognise His sign, I am the creative truth -Ana al-Haqq-, because through the truth, I am eternal truth. [edit]Beliefs

and principles
universalism

[edit]Mystical

His method was one of "universalist mystical introspection: It was at the bottom of the heart that he looked for God and wanted to make others find Him. He believed one had to go beyond the forms of religious rites to reach divine reality. Thus, he used without hesitation the terminology of his opponents, which he set right and refined, ready to make himself hostage of the denominational logic of others." (Massignon: "Perspective Transhistorique," p. 76) Even beyond the Muslim faith, Hallaj was concerned with the whole of humanity, as he desired to communicate to them "that strange, patient and shameful, desire for God, which was characteristic for him." (Massignon, p. 77) This was the reason for his voyage beyond the Muslim world (shafa'a) to India and China. [edit]Spiritual

meaning of the pilgrimage to Mecca

In the trial that led to his execution, he was accused of preaching against the pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj), which he, however, had performed three times. In reality, his concern was more with the spiritual meaning of Hajj, and he thus "spoke of the spiritual efficacy and legitimacy of symbolic pilgrimage in one's own home." (Mason, 25) For him, the most important part of the pilgrimage to Mecca was the prayer at Mount Arafat, commemorating the sacrifice of Abraham in an offering of oneself. [edit]Re-interpretation

of the tawhid and desire for unification with God

Al-Hallaj believed that it was only God who could pronounce the Tawhid, whereas man's prayer was to be one of kun, surrender to his will: "Love means to stand next to the Beloved, renouncing oneself entirely and transforming oneself in accordance to Him." (Massignon, 74) He spoke of God as his "Beloved," "Friend" "You," and felt that "his only self was (God)," to the point that he could not even remember his own name." (Mason, 26)

[edit]Death Mansur believed in union with the Divine, that God was within him, and that he and God had become one and the same. Mansur was cut into many pieces because in the state of ecstacy he exclaimed Ana al Haq "I am the truth". He was executed in public in Baghdad. They cut him into pieces and then they burnt his remains. He kept repeating "I am the Truth" as they kept cutting his arms, legs, tongue and finally his head. He was smiling, even as they chopped off his head. Al-Hallaj wanted to testify of this relationship to God to others thus even asking his fellow Muslims to kill him (Massignon, 79) and accepting his execution, saying that "what is important for the ecstatic is for the One to reduce him to oneness." (Massignon, 87) He also referred to the martyrdom of Christ, saying he also wanted to die "in the supreme confession of the cross" (Olivier Clment.Dio carita, p. 41) Like Christ, he gave his execution a redemptive significance, believing as he did that his death "was uniting his beloved God and His community of Muslims against himself and thereby bore witness in extremis to the tawhid (the oneness) of both." (Mason, 25) For his desire of oneness with God, many Muslims criticized him as a "'crypto-Christian' for distorting the monotheistic revelation in a Christian way." (Mason, 25). His death is described by Attar as a heroic act, as when they are taking him to court, a Sufi asks him:"What is love?" He answers: "You will see it today, tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow." They killed him that day, burned him the next day and threw his ashes to the wind the day after that. "This is love," Attar says. His legs were cut off, he smiled and said, "I used to walk the earth with these legs, now there's only one step to heaven, cut that if you can." And when his hands were cut off he paints his face with his own blood, when asked why, he says: "I have lost a lot of blood, and I know my face has turned yellow, I don't want to look pale-faced (as of fear)... ." [edit]Contemporary

views

The writings of al-Hallaj are important to Sufi groups. His example is seen by some as one that should be emulated, especially his calm demeanor in the face of torture and his forgiving of his tormentors. Many honor him as an adept who came to realize the inherent divine nature of all men and women. While many Sufis theorize that Hallaj was a reflection of God's truth, scholars of the other Islamic schools of thought continue to see him as a heretic and a deviant.[6] The supporters of Mansur have interpreted his statement as meaning, "God has emptied me of everything but Himself." According to them, Mansur never denied God's Oneness and was a strict monotheist. However, he believed that the actions of man when performed in total accordance with God's pleasure, lead to a blissful unification with him.[7] His life was studied extensively by the French scholar of Islam, Louis Massignon. [edit]Possible

influence on Masonic guilds

In his book The Sufis, the Afghan scholar Idries Shah suggested that Mansur al-Hallaj might have been the origin of the character Hiram Abiff in the Freemasonic Master Mason ritual. The link, he believes, was through the Sufi sect Al-Banna ("The Builders") who built the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem. This fraternity could have influenced some early masonic guilds which borrowed heavily from the Oriental architecture in the creation of the Gothic style.[8]}