#6 The School of Ibn al-ʿArabī with Dr Mukhtar Ali
Summary
Author, research fellow and lecturer of Islamic studies and metaphysics, Dr Mukhtar Ali shares with us how to go about studying the great thinker and gnostic Ibn al-ʿArabī, ash-Shaykh al-Akbar, in post-modern times. Specializing in Sufism, Dr Ali paves the way of understanding the spiritual dimension of Islam. He introduces us to Ibn al-ʿArabī, the great mystic of the Sufi tradition, and clarifies...
the dimensions of Sufi walking: الشريعة (ash-sharīʿa), الطريقة (at-ṭarīqa), and الحقيقة (al-ḥaqiqa). In discussing this basic framework, Dr Ali uses rhetorical speech to teach us how one goes about to ascertain inward truths and realities, planting the seed of the esoteric methodology of questioning and striving.In our discussion, considerations are given to: the essentials of Islamic theology and understanding the Qurʾān; the basis of attaining knowledge on the premise of unveiling; the four main commentators on Ibn al-ʿArabī and the gist of their work; the complexity of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s terminology and the potential benefit of studying English-Arabic translations alongside an instructor; acquiring and building a vocabulary in Arabic; the recommended trajectory of study for students new to metaphysics; and, the challenges of self-study and the value of approaching Ibn al-ʿArabī’s cosmology through a course or a layman’s book. This podcast also provides information on the upcoming courses on the Ḥikmah Project, and a modest overview of Dr Ali’s contemporary books, which, in his words, ‘are written as an introduction to the School of Ibn al-ʿArabī in simple language’.
SPEAKERS
Host: Saqib Safdar
Guest: Dr Mukhtar Ali
Saqib
As-salāmu ʿalaykum, welcome everyone, my name is Saqib Safdar and I'm your host in today's podcast. We will be talking to Dr Mukhtar Ali about ابن العربي (Ibn al-ʿArabī). Dr Mukhtar Ali is a research fellow at the Warburg Institute School of Advanced Studies University of London. He has recently been appointed as lecturer of Islamic Studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign. He specializes in Sufism, Islamic philosophy and ethics, and has published widely in various peer reviewed venues. He has translated several works on contemporary Islamic metaphysics around Ibn al-ʿArabī. He's also an advisor on the Ḥikmah Project so you can read more about him on our website, and I'm very delighted to say he'll be running some courses this summer, based on three books that he has published.
Saqib
The first book is Philosophical Sufism: An introduction to the School of Ibn al-ʿArabī, and this is a layman's introduction to some fundamental ideas around Ibn al-ʿArabī's metaphysics. The second one is The Horizons of Being: the Metaphysics of Ibn al-ʿArabī in the Muqaddimat Al-Qayṣarī. So, داود القيصري (Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī) wrote a classical commentary on Ibn al-ʿArabī's Fuṣūṣ and this work is a parallel English-Arabic text and Dr Ali will be delivering a separate course on this. And then the third book is a classical commentary by Jāmī on Ibn al-ʿArabī's own summary of the Fuṣūṣ. So Ibn al-ʿArabī's summary is called the Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ and Jāmī wrote a commentary on that called Naqd al-Nuṣūṣ (fī Sharḥ Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ) and again Dr Ali will be delivering a course on that. So if you're not sure what some of these books and terms and who Ibn al-ʿArabī was, do not worry, Dr Ali will be explaining all of this in the podcast. To learn more about the courses or to remain updated, please sign up to our newsletter, or via our website, thehikmaproject.com and as soon as details are finalized, we will let you know. So without further ado, here is the podcast.
Saqib
Dr Ali, welcome.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Thank you very much. As-salāmu ʿalaykum everyone. Thank you for having me on onboard.
Saqib
Absolute pleasure. Do you want to tell us firstly about Ibn al-ʿArabī: Who was he? And why should we read him today?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Now, Shaykh Ibn al-ʿArabī was one of the greatest spiritual thinkers, mystics, or gnostics as many terms that we have but in Arabic we say is عارف (ʿārif) when he's one of the عرفاء (ʿūrafāʾ); and he was also a very prolific author who wrote extensively on mysticism and spiritual things. So Ibn al-ʿArabī is one of the great thinkers in the tradition of Sufism, which started early on in the early days of Islam, even though it wasn't called Sufism. There were always thinkers and companions of the Prophet ﷺ, and you know, the generations that followed, who were constantly trying to delve into the esoteric dimension of Islam, the spiritual dimension of Islam. So, that's the first sort of framework we're working with, that there is two—there are several dimensions, but the most basic framework is an exterior external dimension, which is known as theشريعة (sharīʿa), and an internal esoteric dimension, which is known as the طريقة (ṭarīqa). Finally, there's a third dimension, which is really the dimension which is the one which the Prophets (ʿalayhim as-salām, a.s.) encompassed and embodied and this is called the حقيقة (ḥaqiqa)—the reality; and this is what every individual is striving to reach, they're trying to reach the ḥaqiqa through walking on the ṭarīqa, which means path, and being safeguarded by the sharīʿa. And so Ibn al-ʿArabī is one of the best representatives of Islamic esoteric thinking or Islamic mysticism, عرفان (ʿirfān).
Saqib
So does he write about these various dimensions? Or does he simply focus on the inner aspect of theدين (dīn), of the religion?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Yeah, I mean, these things are intertwined in his writings; remember, that Ibn al-ʿArabī was first and foremost a ʿārif and so he's looking at things from an inward perspective, he's looking at the inner meanings of things. And when we say sharīʿa, sharīʿa doesn't necessarily mean that it's only external. It has, sharīʿa itself, has an inward meaning. So for example, if we say that it is واجب (wājib), it is incumbent on the believer to offer the five prayers, well, those five prayers have an interior and spiritual meaning. What is the standing? What do the postures mean? Why does one pray at a certain time? What is the meaning of وضو (wudu) of the ablution? What are all these? What do all of these acts in the sharīʿamean? So the esoteric methodology strives to ascertain those inward truths and realities, the meaning behind the postures, the meaning behind the acts of worship. And so if we say the sharīʿa has been designed to safeguard the person, it also relates to the bodily acts of worship, such as prayer (صلاة ; ṣalāt) and fasting (صوم ; ṣawm) and حج (Ḥajj) and so on. And the ṭarīqa refers to the inward acts of worship, such as rectifying one's intention (نية ; niyya), creating a spiritual environment in the soul, cleansing the soul, the remembrance of God, contemplation, and all of those things, which is the function of the soul and the heart and the spirit and so on, and the intellect. So this is this is all intertwined and all interrelated. They're not separate studies.
Saqib
Dr Ali could you tell us why Ibn al-ʿArabī is calledالـشـيـخ الأكـبـر (ash-Shaykh al-Akbar), I mean, there's a long tradition and line of Islamic thinkers and scholars who've written works ranging from the Masnavi Rumi (مثنوي جلال الدين الرومي ; Mathnawi Rumi), الحكم للإمام ابن عطاء الله السكندري (the Ḥikam of ibn ʿAṭā Allāh), الامام الغزالي (al-ʾImam al-Ghazālī) hisإحياء علوم الدين (ʾIḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn), for example, just to name a few; so in this long line of scholars, where does even Ibn al-ʿArabī fit in?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So Ibn al-ʿArabī, he was a prolific author, as I mentioned, and he described the spiritual worlds like no one else had described—in detail. And he's getting... where is he deriving this knowledge from? He derives it from inspiration and it's called كشف (kashf) or إلهام (ʾilhām) and these are terms that are used in the القرآن الكريم (Qurʾān), you know, 'We have unveiled for them the covering', الغطاء (al-ghiṭāʾa), or it says, ʾilhām is a term that's routinely used in the Qurʾān. Of course, the Prophetﷺ had وحي (waḥy) which is the highest form of kashf and ʾilhām; it the highest form which is specific for the Prophets (a.s.).
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So, Ibn al-ʿArabī's methodology is unveiling, and from those unveilings, which is in other words, a spiritual experience, he receives knowledge from God directly or from an angel or from the spiritual domains. And when you receive that type of knowledge, that knowledge is not like rational knowledge where one needs to study extensively to compose, you know, an article or a book, that type of knowledge which God gives you comes in the form of إجمال (ʾajmāl), or it comes in the form of—it's extremely great in content and also in terms of its weight. So, this is why the Qurʾān says, 'He who has been given wisdom has been given a great good'. So one piece of wisdom leads to many different branches of knowledge, different ways of looking at the world. So wisdom is that type of condensed knowledge, knowledge which is compacted and then a person unfolds it. So wisdom is different from knowledge, معرفه (maʿarifa) is different from علم (ʿilm) and so on. So that's why—that's one reason. So for one thing, Ibn al-ʿArabī created a whole system of metaphysics which no one else has done in the past before him and no one else did after him. No one could replicate the amount and the quality of spiritual truths that he put down on paper. That was the first thing. And second, the second thing is that the ʿūrafāʾ, or the the saints of God, have مقامات (maqāmāt), they have stations. And, you know, just like even the prophets have stations, Mūsa a.s. wasكليم الله (kalīm Allāh), ʿIsa a.s. was روح الله (rūḥ Allāh), Muḥammad ﷺ, peace be upon all of them, was حبيب الله (ḥabīb Allāh) and he reached maqām قاب قوسين (qāba qawsayn). So the Prophet ﷺ in the معراج (miʿrāj) reached a particular maqām, a station, and that station was described in the Qurʾān as 'Two bows length away or nearer', or ادنی (ʿadnā). So, the Prophet's ﷺ miʿrāj is the ultimate maqām where a person can reach, namely the Prophet ﷺ, and is reserved for him.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So similarly, the saints also have their stations in maqāmāt, and Ibn al-ʿArabī had a great maqām. His maqām was extremely high, he was able to communicate with the prophets in the unseen, he was able to, you know, really go very, very far in the spiritual world. So this is why he's considered Shaykh al-Akbar.
Saqib
Dr Ali how much of Ibn al-ʿArabī's work is imbued with the Qurʾān and حديث (ḥadīth)?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Ibn al-ʿArabī's works is essentially a تفسير (tafsīr) or an exposition of the Qurʾān. Everywhere you find that Ibn al-ʿArabī is resorting to a verse of the Qurʾān or a ḥadīth to prove his point,to establish his point. Now he sees things through unveiling, he has spiritual experience, but he finds the relevant verse, which explains his point. So for example, we take this idea that God says in the Qurʾān, بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم (bismi llāhi ar-Raḥmāni ar-Raḥīm), كل يوم هو في شأن (Q55:29, kulla yawmin huwa fī shaʿin): Every day God is in a new manifestation. So this is a whole philosophy behind this verse. What does that mean? He's in a new—'kulla yawmin'—what is yawm first of all? Is that a day? Is that a moment? Is it an hour? Or is it just as a moment in time? Every instant God is in: شأن (shaʿin); and شئونات (shaʿunāt), that's a very tricky word to translate. Shaʿin means affair, state, condition, حكم (ḥukum) and so on. So, every moment, every instant God is perpetually manifesting Himself, His Being, so this whole concept of Being and its manifestations is the core of Ibn al-ʿArabī's theosophy or metaphysics, what have you, his cosmology, different terms to describe it. But you can take one verse and you can explain the whole of creation with that one verse: kulla yawmin huwa fī shaʿin. God is constantly manifesting Himself. So this is: وجود (wujūd) is manifestation.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Or we take for example, قل هو الله احد (Q112:1 qul Huwa Allāhu ʾAḥad). Qul: say, say 'Allāhu ʾAḥad.' So what is Allāhand what is ʾAḥad? Why is there a difference between Allāhu ʾAḥad? But then Allāh is preceded by Huwa. So there's three different terms; three different words the Qurʾān is using to describe Divine Unity. Says: 'qul huwa', say He, and then He is Allah and that Allāh is One. So Ibn al-ʿArabī says, 'Okay, this refers to three degrees of Divinity.' The first degree is the هويه (huwiyya), the identity, the essence, the unknown, so it doesn't have a name. But Allāh just refers to Himself as Huwa, ha, and the basic particle in Arabic is, is the ha, so hu, it's hu, it doesn't have any restrictions by the tongue and the teeth, it's just air flowing. And so this is indicative of the essence. Allāh is the name which represents all the Divine Names. So it is the Comprehensive Name. So when we say Allāh, then we're referring to the Divine Names in their totality and this is, you might say, it represents the essence, but at the level of the Names, so it is one degree removed, it is one level of Being that is, that emanates from the essence. And then that collectivity is also known as the الأحدية (al-aḥadīyyah).
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So, three words of the Qurʾān he takes and he builds an entire cosmology; he calls them: مقام الهوية (maqām al-huwīyya), theمقام الأحدية (maqām al-aḥadīyyah), the مقام الواحدية (maqām al-waḥidīyyah). You know, there's the exclusive unity, which is the aḥadīyyah, and then there's the inclusive unity, which is the the waḥidīyyah.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
And if we go further into this, then you have, you know, some of his commentators like Kāshānī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī, and Qūnawī and whatnot, they comment and say, الله الصمد (Q112:2 Allāhu as-Ṣamad), the ṣamadiyyah,صمد (ṣamad) itself refers to—it literally it means: that which is not hollow; it means solid. And so you would think, 'What does that mean? Why would God choose the word ṣamad?' And translators use the word 'Eternal' and this is one of its meanings; it means eternal, it means that which is solid or not hollow. And the third meaning, or among the meanings, is the recourse, the refuge; so God as a refuge, that's understood. What about the second meaning, where God is not hollow? So if you actually contemplate on this word, you'll find that the next verse explains that: what does that mean, God is not hollow? That's why he says, 'لم يلد ولم يولد (Q112:3 lam yalid walam yūlad) so it's saying that things do not originate from God as they would originate from the womb of a mother. So this is why use ولد (walada), يلد (yalid), things are not, existence is not born from Him, nor is he born from something else. So He doesn't have a womb or a belly through which something comes out of. This is why this سوره (sūra) is سورة التوحيد (Sūra at-Tawḥīd) and this tawḥīd is the fundamental thesis and principle of Ibn al-ʿArabī's cosmology. His is the School of Divine Unity, and this is why the concept of the Oneness of Being has been attributed to him, وحدة الوجود (waḥdat al-wujūd), his most famous sort of doctrine, whether he used the term or not, it's there, implicitly. And this is all he talks about: the Oneness of Being, Divine Unity, how do we understand Divine Unity. And the Qurʾān speaks about? Divine Unity in Sūra at-Tawḥīd.
Saqib
Brings us very nicely onto my next question, which is about your new book, Philosophical Sufism: An Introduction to the School of Ibn al-ʿArabī'. Could you tell us more about this book?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So this book came out of my dissertation, which was a translation of the مقدمة القيصري (Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī). Now, Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī, al-Qayṣarī was one of the commentators who was a student of al-Kāshānī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī. Al-Kāshānī was a student of مؤيد الدين جندي (Muʾayyid al-Dīn Jandī) and Jandī was a student of صدر الدین قونوی (Ṣadr al-Dīn Qūnawī). Qūnawī was a student of Ibn al-ʿArabī. So we're looking at, you know, about four generations of student-master-disciple, in very close proximity to Ibn al-ʿArabī himself.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Now, al-Qayṣarī wrote a commentary on Ibn al-ʿArabī's work Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam; this is an amazing commentary, it's very clear, it's very well written, and it's considered probably one of the best commentaries out there. Now, the beginning of this commentary, he writes an introduction, a very lengthy introduction, a مقدمة (muqaddama). The muqaddama outlines all of the major principles of his thinking, of his doctrines; beginning with with wujūd, the Divine Names, the Universal Worlds and so on. He talks about, you know, عالم المثال (ʿālam al-mithāl), unveiling, all of these different concepts, and it's very, very condensed, it's very clearly written, it's a beautiful text. So that was my first project, which I translated that, and I wrote some notes on that. Then, I had a commentary on the muqaddama. So I basically took that commentary and I repurposed it and added material and took out material and cleaned it up. And, you know, basically wrote this other book, which is Philosophical Sufism, and this is sort of like a slightly simplified version of Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī because al-Qayṣarī's speaking, there's a lot of philosophy, because he's trying to appeal to the scholars of his time (philosophers and theologians and so on). So, I left some of that out because I don't think it's that necessary to get into all of those detailed philosophical discussions; but, what we do need is we need an introduction to the School of Ibn al-ʿArabī in simple language dealing with all of these major concepts such as, you know, Being, ontology, Divine Knowledge, and I go into the origin of multiplicity, how does he deal with that, because it is a school of the Oneness of Being, so: ‘How does multiplicity come out of oneness?’ Then we have the Universal Worlds, we have the Imaginal World, we have unveiling, we have the human vicegerency. Another key doctrine of Ibn al-ʿArabī is this whole idea of الإنسان الكامل (al-ʾinsān al-kāmil), the perfect human. Then we have this idea of the Muḥammadan Reality, which stems from this whole idea of the perfect human, the Supreme Spirit in the microcosm, meaning the spirit, the heart, the intellect, all of that; prophethood, messengership and sainthood; and then finally, the resurrection. So it's really like a complete course, in Ibn al-ʿArabī's metaphysics. So it's called introduction, but some parts are a bit more complex than others and it's sort of, you know, I tried to make it as readable as possible. And that, yeah, so that's the second work.
Saqib
So who is the target audience? Is it somebody who may not have a background in metaphysics or Ibn al-ʿArabī's perspective? Would this text be suitable for them?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
I mean, I was hoping to have this book be used in a classroom. If I were to teach a course on Ibn al-ʿArabī, this is the book that I would use to kind of go through the whole system. So it was kind of designed for someone who, you know, has very little familiarity and I think they can get through it. It's not totally easy, but, you know, that's just the nature of the discipline. There are some terms that... it is quite dense but I think it's suitable for a newcomer.
Saqib
So often with online courses, Islamic courses, the emphasis seems to be, generally speaking, seems to be around legalism, or even ethics, or maybe history. Could you tell us about metaphysics? What is that? And why is that important in understanding the dīn? And what is the link to it as to spirituality?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
This is a good question. What's more important to be honest than metaphysics is spirituality. Ethics is more important. Metaphysics is also essential, because it gives you a holistic understanding of the world. Metaphysics gives you an understanding of the world, ethics is sort of the practical dimension of how to behave and how to become a better person. Now, so they're sort of related and ethics is sort of subsumed under metaphysics in some ways, because we have to look at: What is the nature of insān? And how does insān, the human being, fit into the grand scheme of things? What does God want? Why did God create the world? Why did God create man? All of these questions are answered in metaphysics. So both of these disciplines help each other and metaphysics is the correct understanding of the world; the correct understanding of wujūd, of you know, the nature of God, the nature of Being, resurrection, the nature of the soul, all of these questions are discussed in metaphysics, so it is essential. And even the whole concept of law, sharīʿa, what is the nature of sharīʿa? Why did God desire man to obey certain rules, such as prayer and fasting and whatnot? What is the purpose behind that? You know, metaphysics attempts to give meaning to life. This is why we study metaphysics, so we understand the meaning behind things.
Saqib
ʾInshāʾllāh you'll be delivering some courses on the Ḥikmah Project site based on your books. Could you tell us more about the courses and what a student on your course can expect?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Well, these texts do take a long time to go through, and they need a lot of focus and a lot of dedication because they're very dense. So, I feel that what is useful for people, unless you commit entirely for say like a year, what will be more useful is to look at the course piecemeal and maybe study certain sections; take for example, the section of the Divine Names which is so essential in Islamic theology. You know, the Qurʾān, the underlying theme of the Qurʾān is the Divine Names; and after every verse or every other verse, you find, you know, هو الرحمن الرحيم (huwa ar-Raḥmān ar-Raḥīm) هو العليم الحكيم (huwa al-ʿAlīm al-Ḥakīm). So, God is connecting these verses, these آيات (ayāt), His Divine signs, with their roots. The roots are Divine—the Divine Names. So if you want to understand the Qurʾān, look closely at the Divine Name that goes along with a certain verse. This is a sort of a little tip, look into the Divine Names, see what is the relevance of this name when a certain prophet is mentioned or when a certain story is mentioned. Why is that Name mentioned over another Divine Name? So that requires a separate study because the Divine Names are vast in terms of, you know, the whole concept of: How do the Names originate? Are they separate entities? Or are they one with the essence? And, how did existence originate from the Divine Names? Because they're the roots of all things; that requires a separate study. And we go into say for example, unveiling; unveiling is essential because the whole of Islam, the whole religion of Islam, is founded on the Muḥammadan unveiling (ﷺ), which is waḥy; he didn't, the Prophet ﷺ didn't come up with the Qurʾān by himself, he received it. The fundamental premise of this dīn is waḥy or unveiling. So anybody who denies unveiling is denied the prophetic method. This is the problem, you see, we're making this disconnect. The whole of the Qurʾān is a waḥy; he received every—every word of it. This is the belief. And the Prophet ﷺ was a human, he received his version of unveiling according to his level, but who is to say that the door of unveiling has been closed to others? So this is a very important topic, an essential topic, and this Ibn al-ʿArabī says, "He who has no unveiling has no knowledge." He's that severe in terms of, you know, bringing unveiling to the forefront. Unveiling could be in dreams, it could be in wakefulness, there's so many different forms of unveiling, but it is a tried and true method for attaining knowledge. It is the true method; it is the real method. The truest way of attaining knowledge is unveiling; so that requires a separate study, a separate course, a short course or what have you.
Saqib
Moving on to your book The Horizons of Being, which is a translation of Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī's commentary on the Fuṣūṣ of Ibn al-ʿArabī, is this a complete translation? I know it's a parallel English-Arabic text. Or, is it just the introductory part?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So the introduction is about 100 pages and the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī is only the introduction. The actual commentary is two volumes, and it's quite lengthy. So the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī is a summary of the Fuṣūṣ or actually it's a summary of not necessarily the Fuṣūṣ but a summary of Ibn al-ʿArabī's doctrine. What I've done in the third book, which is Jāmī's نقد النقود (Naqd al-Nuqūd), this is a summary of the Fuṣūṣ. Now let me explain; should I explain what this book is about?
Saqib
Yes, please.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So, the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam is Ibn al-ʿArabī's most famous work, there are hundreds, over a hundred commentaries written on this work; it is extremely dense and complex and whatnot. So Ibn al-ʿArabī decided to write a summary of this work and it's a small treatise, about 10 pages, it's calledنقش الفصوص (Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ), the Engraving of the Fuṣūṣ. And, the Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ also is extremely dense and complicated, even though it's much shorter and it doesn't go into various tangents and whatnot; it's condensed. So there are several commentaries on the Naqsh, not too many, but one of the most famous commentaries of the Naqsh, of the summary, is Jāmī, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī's title: نقد النصوص في شرح نقش الفصوص (Naqd al-Nuṣūṣ fi Sharḥ Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ). So, this work, looks at the Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ, and brings in, it's sort of, you know, it goes chapter by chapter—what is the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam?—it's really a study of twenty-seven prophets. Twenty-seven prophets who Ibn al-ʿArabī, and the prophets as we said are considered to be the al-ʾinsān al-kāmil, the perfect human of the age, and each prophet has a particular reality, and Ibn al-ʿArabī is identifying that reality and describing that reality in theفص (faṣ), in the chapter. So this is exactly what's going on, so it's kind of a natural progression from the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarīinto the study of the Fuṣūṣ. Now either you can study the Fuṣūṣitself or you can sort of study this summary, which kind of gives you the main ideas, the main themes, without getting into all the different discussions that are in the commentaries. Now remember, these commentaries are, some of them are multivolume commentaries, Qayṣarī's is quite long, Kāshānī's is a volume, Jāmī's is massive, it's like 600 pages, so it's a lot of material written. There's a huge commentarial tradition surrounding Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam.
Saqib
That's amazing. So ʾinshāʾllāh you'll be running some courses on the Ḥikmah Project, both live and on demand, if a student is new to Ibn al-ʿArabī, or even to metaphysics, would the correct trajectory be to start with Introduction to Philosophical Sufism and then moving on to The Horizons of Being: the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī before Jāmī's Naqd al-Nuṣūṣ?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Yeah, that's how I would do it. Now, the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī, because it is a parallel Arabic-English translation, it would be a good idea for students to familiarize themselves with some Arabic, so they can benefit from that, and this will also help them develop their Arabic by looking at a parallel translation; you can learn a lot of words, particularly in the discipline because you know, Arabic is a vast language and every genre, every field, has its own terminology and technical terms, and Ibn al-ʿArabī himself uses common Arabic words in very novel ways, so to understand how he's using them, that itself is a huge challenge and it helps to have, say a translation, or, you know, a teacher or a guide to help you along to explain what those terms mean. Even like this term عين (ʿayn), ʿayn has, you know, hundreds of meanings in Arabic. And, how does he use it? It's very confusing; sometimes it means entities, sometimes it means essence, sometimes it means the thing itself, sometimes it means eye, a spring, there's so many meanings for ʿayn. So, this is where the commentaries are useful; an instructor comes handy at this juncture, when you're actually dealing with the Arabic.
Saqib
Oh, given the book is a parallel English-Arabic text, how much emphasis do you put on the Arabic? If somebody has no background in Arabic? Would they be able to benefit? And likewise, if somebody is, has a very elementary understanding of some classical Arabic, would they be able to benefit from your lessons?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
I mean that depends on the structure of the course. If it's a course say, that has a prerequisite of some Arabic, then for sure we would be reading passages of the Arabic. But if that's not one of the prerequisites, then I would maybe use some of the terms that I did in my other session on Jāmī that we would be looking at some of the terms without maybe, say, reading a whole passage, because that could be very daunting for a newcomer or someone who doesn't know Arabic. But we will be looking at these words, you know, ʾinsān, ʿayn, and so on. So I mean you have to sort of… some terms cannot be translated, you know, this word when we look at like, say, sharīʿa, ṭarīqa, ḥaqiqa. When we look at the word ولاية (wilāya), it's very difficult to translate that word, it's just better to stick to the word and just learn that word in the original language. So that's why I kind of use the terms in Arabic without, hopefully not losing the student, and so that they can start acquiring a vocabulary in Arabic while the course is being taught in English.
Saqib
And that presumably is a tried and tested method that you've used with students over the years?
Dr Ali Mukhtar
Yeah, of course. Yeah.
Saqib
Can I ask also that often Ibn al-ʿArabī is seen as an obscure writer, even for native Arabs, or people interested in تصوف (taṣawuf) and Ṣufism, sometimes find his work to be very difficult and obscure, what suggestions would you give to somebody who's exploring the Akbarian metaphysics?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
The major problem with studying Ibn al-ʿArabī is the complexity of his writing and the variance of the terminology. He uses so many new words and he essentially coins new meanings for these words; it's a whole system. So you have to learn the system. If you try to pick up a text or two, here and there, you'll be lost, because he's assuming that you are familiar with these terms and this is why texts like Qayṣarī's Muqaddimat is so useful because this is where you first familiarize yourself with the basic terms of the discipline; then you can go on to reading other texts and I've tried to do that as well with the Philosophical Sufism, a lot of it has to do with explaining these terms. And, you know, the book is, has a lot of sections, small sections, because it's really just about getting through the terms.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
So yeah, so I think the daunting aspect of reading his works is the complexity and also the way he writes isn't very straightforward. Remember, he is not speaking in your language. He's speaking in the language of the غيب (ghayb), of the unseen. He's receiving inspiration and like a poet, the poet doesn't necessarily speak the way you speak; he speaks in rhyme, he speaks in riddle, allusion, metaphor. He uses these techniques to express the meaning that he has in his mind or in his heart. So the poet doesn't conform to the standard normative ways of speaking, everyday speech, he has his own world. Similarly, the mystic speaks from the perspective of the origin. If he's receiving knowledge from an angel or from God directly or even look at the Qurʾān. The Qurʾān is not straightforward. It's almost spoken in riddles: الرحمن على العرش استوى (Q20:5 ar-Raḥmānu ʿala al-ʿarshi ʾistawá). How do you make sense out of that? The Merciful, ar-Raḥmān, ʿala al-ʿarsh ʾistawá—what does ʾistawá mean? He ascended upon the Throne. So God physically came on the Throne? What is this Throne? What does this mean: to ascend? And why not Allāh? Why ar-Raḥmān? So what is the meaning of ar-Raḥmānu ʿala al-ʿarshi ʾistawá? This is the verse of the Qurʾān. We read it and you know, we just pass by this verse, nobody understands this, and that's it, we just keep going. So there's so many expressions in the Holy book, as well as the ḥadīth that are enigmatic and the reason is because they are speaking from a spiritual plane, they're reflecting that world. It's the language of the unseen, subtler language of common speech. So this is why it appears that his language is convoluted. It's convoluted for you and I, because we are not familiar with the unseen, but if you enter the unseen and you familiarize yourself with the unseen, you'll know its language, you'll know its signs, you know how the angels speak, you know how God communicates to His prophets. You understand the language, the Divine language, it's not like our language.
Saqib
So given the importance of ʾilhām in Ibn al-ʿArabī's work and obviously the various wonderful commentaries on his work, are they read—are they intended to be read at a mere sort of academic level, at the level of concepts? Or is there something more at play when the seeker reads some of these works? Is our higher cognitive faculty or a purification of the soul and the heart that's needed to grasp the essence or the لب اللباب (lub al-lubāb) of these texts?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Now, since the origin of these teachings, of these doctrines, are spiritual, from unveiling and so on, they have intrinsic light and luminosity. Now, whether or not the student can grasp that, and can ascertain some of that light that's up to them. You can read it as an academic text, and that's fine, but ultimately a person should transcend that and have the knowledge penetrate the heart; have the knowledge, be more expansive. And this comes through contemplation, it comes through practice, it comes through, you know, truly embodying what the author is saying, and not reading it like fiction or you know something that just enters the mind and stays in the intellect. There has to be a connection between the mind, the intellect, and the heart. You know, part of understanding this is to cultivate that. But, at face value, you know when a course is offered, we would be reading the text and trying to understand, at the very least, the meaning, the basic meaning of the text. What you're asking is sort of, you know, goes into practical mysticism, goes into discipleship and whatnot and that's sort of outside the scope of a course that is about reading the texts.
Saqib
Dr Ali can I end by reading a passage from the الفتوحات المكية (Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya)?
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Please.
Saqib
And see if you can shed any light on this passage? It's translated by Dr. James Morris, a Britain Ibn al-ʿArabī scholar, and I believe it's from Chapter Two, Verse 73, seventy-two seventy-three, and often used as an intention or نية (niyya) when reading Ibn al-ʿArabī. So it goes as follows: We empty our hearts of reflective thinking, and we sit together with God, الحق (al-Haqq), on the carpet of أدب (ʾadab), and spiritual attentiveness, مراقبة (murāqaba), and presence and readiness to receive whatever comes to us from Him. So that it is God who takes care of teaching us by means of unveiling and spiritual realization. So when they have focused their hearts and their spiritual aspirations, همم (himmam), on God, and have truly taken refuge with Him, giving up any reliance on the claims of reflection and investigation and intellectual results, then their hearts are purified and open. Once they have this inner receptivity, God manifests Himself to them, teaching them and informing them through their direct vision of inner meaning of those words and reports in a single instant.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
I mean there's nothing I can add to that. That's—that's you know, that's perfect, as it is, it speaks for itself; it's completely clear and it's exactly the methodology Ibn al-ʿArabī follows, it is a spiritual path. And I would just like to say one thing about something he mentioned in the first line or two, and he says that, ʾadab, he mentioned the word ʾadab. ʾAdabis the key to all things, especially this type of Divine Knowledge. This is the knowledge of God. You know, this School of Philosophical Sufism is the School of Tawḥīd, of Divine Unity. It is embarking on a path of proximity to God. It is walking a spiritual path and so that path can only be tread through ʾadab. And that ʾadab means, courtesy, it means manners, there's a lot of different meanings for that, but it means proper behavior. And that ʾadabis to relinquish, part of that ʾadab, as he mentioned here, is to relinquish your attachment to knowledge and become receptive to the Divine teachings. So, we have a tendency, the عقل (ʿaql) has a tendency to acquire; acquisition, we want to acquire things, we want to acquire knowledge, we want to acquire the world. This is the nature of the human being, to acquire things, but part of the ʾadabwith God is to receive; is to create receptivity to prepare yourself to receive from God, and this has been, this aspect of receptivity has not been highlighted as it should be, especially in this day and age when everyone is trying to be a go-getter, a doer, to keep doing, keep getting. Even within spirituality, you know, reading a lot of texts and writing a lot of books and papers and performing a lot of acts of worship and whatnot, all of that is acquisition. But there is a time of silence, of receptivity, of cleansing; and those are the moments where God teaches you. So, that's a really important thing to shed light on and to find the balance between working and struggling; مجاهدة (mujāhada), مراقبة (murāqaba), and حضور (ḥuḍūr), and presence—having been present with God. So there's an active and a passive dimension to spirituality, to سلوك (sulūk), which a person must balance. ʾInshāʾllāh we'll talk about ʾadab at another time. It's a really, really good topic.
Saqib
Dr Ali thank you so much for your time. It's been an absolute pleasure to be sharing this time with you and I really look forward to the courses on the Ḥikmah Project and future podcasts too.
Dr Mukhtar Ali
Thank you so much for having me ʾinshāʾllāh we'll do it again soon.
