Ibn Arabi: God manifests Himself
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Photo: The Bead Sellers of Cairo, Egypt; 1923.
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God manifests Himself to the heart of the Perfect Man, who is His vicegerent. And the reflection of the lights of His self-manifestation overflows into the world, which remains in existence by receiving this effusion (fayd). As long as this Man is in the world, he seeks from God the aid of the theophanies of the Essence and of the "Merciful" and "Compassionate" Mercy by means of the Names and Qualities of which the beings are the manifestations and the loci upon which they are "seated". So the world is preserved by this seeking of aid and by the effusion of theophanies as long as the Perfect Man remains within it. Therefore no meaning passes from the Inward (bâtin) to the Outward (zâhir) except by his command. Therefore even if he does not know it because of the domination of his human qualities, he is the isthmus between the two seas – i.e. the two seas of the Outward and the Inward – and the partition between the two worlds. And to him is the reference in His words, "He let forth the two seas that meet together, between them an isthmus they do not overpass" (Quran LV, 19).
(Ibn Arabi, trans. William Chittick)
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Recommended Reading:
'Ibn Arabi: Heir To The Prophets'
By William C Chittick (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
The importance of Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) for Islamic mysticism lies in the fact that he was a speculative thinker of the highest order, albeit diffuse and difficult to understand. His central doctrine is the unity of all existence. In this text, William Chittick explores how, through the work of Ibn Al-Arabi, Sufism moves away from anguished and ascetic searchings of the heart and conscience and becomes a matter of speculative philosophy and theosophy.
'Ibn Arabi: Heir To The Prophets'
By William C Chittick (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
The importance of Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (1165-1240) for Islamic mysticism lies in the fact that he was a speculative thinker of the highest order, albeit diffuse and difficult to understand. His central doctrine is the unity of all existence. In this text, William Chittick explores how, through the work of Ibn Al-Arabi, Sufism moves away from anguished and ascetic searchings of the heart and conscience and becomes a matter of speculative philosophy and theosophy.
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