SUFI STORIES #18. SHAYKH AL-AKBAR IBN ‘ARABI – THE GREATEST SHAYKH & THE PRINCE OF ESOTERIC KNOWLEDGE

Ibn Sina (Avicenna 980-1037, may Allah bless his soul) was the most masterful of the Muslim medieval polymaths, but his contributions only remain as a legacy, as these were mainly in the field of Medicine and the sciences. Although his teachings were the basis of much of what we know today, scientific knowledge has advanced so much since his time such that his contributions are honoured only as part of the history of Modern Medicine.

If Ibn Sina was the prince of exoteric knowledge, then Shaykh Al Akbar Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240, may Allah sanctify his soul) was the prince of esoteric knowledge. He was the grandmaster of cosmology, metaphysics and mystical secrets. His thoughts, poetry and books are until now being widely studied and discussed in many universities and intellectual circles in the East and the West, and there are many Ibn ‘Arabi societies and foundations across the world. In fact the interest in him is growing with time as more discover his genius.

While the Sufis revere Ibn ‘Arabi as among the greatest Saints (hence the title Shaykh Al Akbar), many non-Sufis accuse him of being a heretic, especially because of the controversy over his discourses on theology.

One day (in the mid-90’s), I read a book about his life. The story began with his father (‘Ali), who was childless, seeking the help of the great Saint, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani (may Allah sanctify his soul, see SUFI STORIES #4). Since his own prayers to God asking for a child did not bear fruit, he requested the Saint to intercede on his behalf.

With the powers granted to him, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani was able to tell that God had not allocated any children to ‘Ali. When told about this, ‘Ali was devastated, and pleaded to the Saint to beseech God to give him a child. The Saint knew that it was already God’s plan. So instead, he asked permission from God to give his own (future) child to ‘Ali.

[Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani knew that God had allocated 50 (yes, fifty, though some say 51) children to him, through his four wives. When this episode happened, he already had 49 children, and still had one more child waiting to be conceived.

[Earlier in his life, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani was so busy preaching that he was not bothered about marriage, until he was reminded by The Prophet (PBUH) that marriage and having children are very important Sunnah (Prophetic Example). In fact many, if not all, the prophets who married were polygamous. So at the age of 50, he announced his intention to get married and there was a stream of fathers offering their daughters to him. In the next 40 years (he lived to 89), he married 4 wives and fathered 49 children. All of his sons became Saints!]

The request (to give his last child to ‘Ali) was granted. He told ‘Ali the good news, and that the son to be born to him will become a great Saint. Then he asked ‘Ali to stand behind him, back-to-back, and the spiritual information of his final child was transferred to ‘Ali. You can say that it was transferred via “NFC (Near Field Communication)” in modern parlance.

Soon ‘Ali impregnated his wife and Ibn ‘Arabi (full name 'Abū 'Abdullāh Muḥammad Ibn 'Alī Ibn Muḥammad Ibn `Arabī) was born on 26^th July 1165.

‘Arabi was actually his great grandfather’s name. He is often referred to as “Muhiyuddin” Ibn ‘Arabi, just like his spiritual father Muhiyuddin Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani. Muhiyuddin means Reviver of the Religion.

About 7 months later, Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani died. May Allah sanctify his soul!

You can imagine my surprise when I read this story. Ibn ‘Arabi was actually meant to be Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani’s son (and still remained as his spiritual son)? How could it be since the Shaykh was in Baghdad but Ibn ‘Arabi was born in Muslim Spain (though he was an Arab)?

The very next day I went to see Atta (my Qadiri Shaykh, see SUFI STORIES #12) to tell him about my new “discovery”. When I reached his house, he greeted me at the door and before I could tell him the story, he said that he had a message from Shaykh Al Akbar Ibn ‘Arabi for me.

The message was: “Tell Amir, yes indeed I am the son of Shaykh Abdul Qadir Jilani!”

Subhanallah (Glory be to God)!

IBN ‘ARABI’S LIFE STORY, WORKS & TEACHINGS

As mentioned above, he was born in July 1165 in Andalusia (Muslim Spain) to Arab parents. He had his first vision of God in his teens and later had many more such visions and dreams of God, the prophets and angels. Because of the knowledge and understanding he was given through these many visions and dreams, he always spoke of "universal reality” as opposed to the perceived reality of the rest of us not granted that privilege.

Prophet Isa (Jesus, PBUH) was the first prophet to appear to him, and therefore was his first guide to the path of God. Thereafter, Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) came to him many times.

His father, on noticing a change in him, arranged for him to meet the famous philosopher and judge, Ibn Rushd (Averroes, 1126-1198, see SUFI STORIES #15). Ibn Rushd (May Allah bless his soul), who was 40 years older than Ibn ‘Arabi, was a rationalist and the most influential Muslim philosopher. From this first meeting, Ibn ‘Arabi said he had learned to perceive a distinction between formal knowledge of rational thought and the unveiling insights into the nature of things (ie. the difference between perceived reality achieved through rational thinking and true or universal reality revealed by the Divine). 

He travelled a lot, from Spain to Morocco, Tunisia, Makkah, Madinah, Syria, Iraq, Palestine (Jerusalem) and Egypt. He died in Damascus (Syria) at the age of 75.

He was a prolific writer. About 850 books are attributed to him, with probably 700 being authentic, and 400 still extant. However, only about 100 have been identified by scholars and researchers. Some of the more famous ones are:

Fusus al-Hikam (Ringstones of Wisdom, also retitled as The Seals of Wisdom, Bezels of Wisdom, and The Wisdom of The Prophets) is about the wisdom of 27 prophets. It is regarded as a summary of his teachings and mystical beliefs as it was written towards the end of his life.

Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Illuminations) is a voluminous work of 560 chapters and 15,000 pages! It discusses a wide range of topics from mystical philosophy to Sufi practices and of his dreams and visions.

Mishkāt al-Anwār (Divine Sayings) is a popular collection of 101 Hadīth Qudsī (Sacred Hadiths).

Risālat al-Anwār (Journey to the Lord of Power) is a detailed technical manual and roadmap for the Seeker on his "journey without distance".

Mashāhid al-Asrār (Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries) tells about his visions and dialogues with God.

 Among his controversial teachings was the concept of al-ḥaqīqa al-Muhammadiyya – that is, the first entity God created was the reality or essence of Muhammad (PBUH), the master of all creatures.

According to him, the living Muhammad (PBUH) was the perfect man (Al-Insān al-Kāmil) and the role-model for human beings to emulate. Ibn ‘Arabi taught that God's attributes and names are manifested in this world, with the most complete and perfect display of these divine attributes and names being seen in Muhammad (PBUH).

According to this concept, all the prophets (peace be upon them) before Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) were also perfect men and role–models for their followers, but each of them was only a dimension of the comprehensive perfection of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). After his death, the Saints continue this role of the prophets until the return of Prophet Isa (Jesus) and Imam Al Mahdi, peace be upon them.

WAHDAT AL-WUJUD (THE UNITY OF EXISTENCE)

Perhaps the biggest controversy he promulgated was the concept of Wahdat al-Wujud (Unity of Existence, loosely and erroneously translated to pantheism by many).

In short Ibn ‘Arabi believed that God alone is the all-embracing and eternal Reality. Whatever exists is the shadow (tajalli) of the Real and is not independent of God. He said: "Glory to Him who created all things, being Himself their very essence (ainuha)"

This is closer to panentheism than to pantheism. Panentheism means that God is greater than the universe that He created. He pervades and interpenetrates every part of the universe and also extends beyond space and time, and God(s) exists. Pantheism means that the universe and everything in it is God, and there is no personal God. However, there are many other definitions of pantheism being used.

When Ibn ‘Arabi said “Everything is God”, he did not mean it in the pantheistic way, but in the panentheistic way. If God is omnipresent, then He (or His Essence) must be everywhere and in everything.

All Muslims believe that “Everything is God’s” ie. Everything (other than God) belongs to Him, but that statement does not define the nature of creation (that everything other than God must be His creation as nothing existed until He created all things).

The controversy and debate are actually over the nature of creation, and only by extension, the nature of God Himself since in Wahdat al-Wujud, everything borrows its continued existence from God (the only Real or Essential Being) as opposed to everything (creation) being totally separate from God (Creator).

This is a complex subject best left to the scholars to deliberate!

Of course a figure like him, just like Imam Al Ghazali before him, attracted many supporters and critics.

Among the fiercest detractors were the controversial muhaddith, theologian, and jurist Ibn Taymiyya (1263-1328) and his student the scholar, historian and exegete Ibn Kathir (1300-1373), may Allah’s Mercy be upon them. But they were not his contemporaries, so a direct debate was not possible.

The contemporaneous scholars were however kinder to him, because they knew him personally and could vouch for his brilliance, integrity and proximity to God. Their comments about him included:

''A righteous friend of Allah and faithful scholar of knowledge'',

''The absolute mujtahid (authority on Islamic law) without doubt'' and

''The Imam of the people of sharia both in knowledge and in legacy, the educator of the people of the way in practice and in knowledge, and the Shaykh of the Shaykhs of the people of truth through spiritual experience (dhawq) and understanding''.

Among the later prominent scholars who supported his ideas was the Egyptian Sufi, scholar, historian and jurist Jalaluddin Al-Suyuti (1445-1505).

The Sufis of course embrace him as our Shaykh Al Akbar – The Greatest Shaykh.

About the spiritual journey to the Divine, his reminder to us is:

“How can the heart travel to God, when it is chained by its desires?”

Salam/Peace to all. See you at my next SUFI STORIES!