Ibn Arabi: When the man witnesses the Real in woman
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Photo: Woman seated on rug on ground, facing front, using mortar and pestle in Constantine, Algeria; 1800s.
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'When the man witnesses the Real in woman, this is a witnessing within a locus that receives activity. When he witnesses Him in himself in respect to the fact that the woman becomes manifest from himself, then he has witnessed Him in an agent. When he witnesses Him in himself without calling to mind the form of that which was engendered from himself, then his witnessing takes place in a locus that receives the Real's activity without intermediary.
Hence his witnessing of the Real in the woman is the most complete and the most perfect, since he witnesses the Real in respect of the fact that He is both agent and locus of receiving activity.'
(Ibn Arabi)
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Source and Recommended Reading:
'The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought '
By Sachiko Murata (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
"This is a genuine foundational work in Islamic studies. It is an open door into the very heart of Islamic civilization, while at the same time it suggests the bases of important comparisons and insights for those interested in cognate areas in Western cultures.
"It is a fascinating, truly original work in both its guiding perspectives and its comprehensive, clearly presented account of a central dimension of Islam. There is nothing like it, and it deserves a wide audience."
(James W. Morris, Oberlin College)
"It clearly, competently, and comprehensively describes the worldview implicit in the medieval Islamic "wisdom" tradition represented by Sufism and Shi'i philosophy, particularly the way that gender concepts are implicit in their cosmology and psychology, and can be related to the Taoist concepts of yin and yang. The author's critique of feminism and modern reformism on this basis is penetrating."
(Valerie Hoffman-Ladd, University of Illinois)
The Tao of Islam is a rich and diverse anthology of Islamic teachings on the nature of the relationships between God and the world, the world and the human being, and the human being and God. Focusing on gender symbolism, Sachiko Murata shows that Muslim authors frequently analyze the divine reality and its connections with the cosmic and human domains with a view toward a complementarity or polarity of principles that is analogous to the Chinese idea of yin/yang.
Murata believes that the unity of Islamic thought is found, not so much in the ideas discussed, as in the types of relationships that are set up among realities. She pays particular attention to the views of various figures commonly known as "Sufis" and "philosophers," since they approach these topics with a flexibility and subtlety not found in other schools of thought. She translates several hundred pages, most for the first time, from more than thirty important Muslims including the Ikhwan al-Safa', Avicenna, and Ibn al-'Arabi.
'The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought '
By Sachiko Murata (Author)
Purchase Book:
Amazon.com
Amazon.co.uk
Description:
"This is a genuine foundational work in Islamic studies. It is an open door into the very heart of Islamic civilization, while at the same time it suggests the bases of important comparisons and insights for those interested in cognate areas in Western cultures.
"It is a fascinating, truly original work in both its guiding perspectives and its comprehensive, clearly presented account of a central dimension of Islam. There is nothing like it, and it deserves a wide audience."
(James W. Morris, Oberlin College)
"It clearly, competently, and comprehensively describes the worldview implicit in the medieval Islamic "wisdom" tradition represented by Sufism and Shi'i philosophy, particularly the way that gender concepts are implicit in their cosmology and psychology, and can be related to the Taoist concepts of yin and yang. The author's critique of feminism and modern reformism on this basis is penetrating."
(Valerie Hoffman-Ladd, University of Illinois)
The Tao of Islam is a rich and diverse anthology of Islamic teachings on the nature of the relationships between God and the world, the world and the human being, and the human being and God. Focusing on gender symbolism, Sachiko Murata shows that Muslim authors frequently analyze the divine reality and its connections with the cosmic and human domains with a view toward a complementarity or polarity of principles that is analogous to the Chinese idea of yin/yang.
Murata believes that the unity of Islamic thought is found, not so much in the ideas discussed, as in the types of relationships that are set up among realities. She pays particular attention to the views of various figures commonly known as "Sufis" and "philosophers," since they approach these topics with a flexibility and subtlety not found in other schools of thought. She translates several hundred pages, most for the first time, from more than thirty important Muslims including the Ikhwan al-Safa', Avicenna, and Ibn al-'Arabi.
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