Ibn Arabi (1165–1240)

Muhyi al-Din Muhammad ibn Ali ibn Muhammad ibn al-Arabi al-Hatimi al-Ta’i, commonly known simply as Ibn Arabi, was a towering Sufi mystic, philosopher, and poet of the Islamic Golden Age. Revered as al-Shaykh al-Akbar (“the Greatest Master”), he developed a profound metaphysical system that integrated mysticism, philosophy, and theology. His teachings on the “Unity of Being” (wahdat al-wujud) became both influential and controversial, shaping Islamic spirituality, philosophy, and literature for centuries.

1. Background

Origin – Born in Murcia, Andalusia (present-day Spain), before moving to Seville, then traveling extensively across North Africa, the Middle East, and Anatolia. He eventually settled in Damascus, where he taught, wrote, and was buried.

Career – Ibn Arabi traveled widely, seeking spiritual teachers and engaging with leading scholars of his time. He became known for both his mystical insight and prolific authorship, producing a vast body of writings that spanned metaphysics, theology, poetry, and mystical commentary.

2. Education and Influences

Teachers

• Ibn Arabi studied under a wide range of teachers, including prominent Sufi masters, scholars, and jurists. Among them were Yusuf al-Kumi, a North African Sufi, and Fatima bint Ibn al-Muthanna, a renowned female mystic of Seville. 

• Over the course of his journeys through al-Andalus and North Africa, he continued to learn from numerous spiritual guides whose teachings shaped his distinctive synthesis of Sufism and philosophy.

Influences

• Quran and Hadith: Ibn Arabi’s writings are deeply rooted in Islamic scripture, interpreted symbolically and esoterically.

• Early Sufis: Especially al-Hallaj, al-Bistami, and Junayd of Baghdad, who emphasized experiential knowledge of God (ma‘rifa).

• Neoplatonism: Especially the metaphysics of Plotinus, filtered through Muslim philosophers like al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, though Ibn Arabi departed from their rationalism.

• Philosophy and Kalam: He was familiar with philosophical and theological debates, but subordinated them to mystical insight.

• Shi‘i Esotericism: Although Sunni, he occasionally engaged with Shi‘i-style esoteric interpretation (ta’wīl).

3. Main Themes of His Philosophical Thought

Wahdat al-Wujud (Unity of Being)

• Central to Ibn Arabi’s thought is the view that all existence is one: only God truly exists, and everything else is a manifestation or reflection of His Being.

• Creation is not separate from God but is His self-disclosure (tajalli) through the Names and Attributes.

• Distinct from pantheism: God transcends creation while also being immanent in it.

The Perfect Human (al-Insan al-Kamil)

• Humanity’s role is to reflect the Divine Names.

• The Perfect Human—exemplified by the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ—is the locus through which God fully reveals Himself.

• This idea bridges metaphysics, prophecy, and cosmology.

Tajalli (Divine Self-Disclosure)

• God continually reveals Himself in different forms and degrees throughout creation.

• Each being is a mirror reflecting aspects of the Divine, with humans being the most complete.

Imaginal World (Alam al-Mithal)

• A metaphysical realm between the sensory and spiritual worlds.

• The realm of dreams, visions, and archetypes—key to understanding prophecy and mystical experience.

Hermeneutics and Symbolism

• Ibn Arabi developed a multilayered interpretative method of the Qur’an and hadith, seeking hidden (batin) meanings behind apparent (zahir) ones.

• He believed the inner meanings were only accessible to those spiritually purified.

Cosmology and Creation

• Reality unfolds through successive levels of being: from the Absolute Essence (Dhat), to the Names and Attributes, to the World of Spirits, Imaginal World, and the Physical World.

• Creation is a necessary result of divine love: “I was a hidden treasure and I loved to be known.”

Divine Love and Mercy

• Love (hubb) is the force behind creation, drawing all things back to their source.

• Ibn Arabi emphasized God's mercy above His wrath and believed in the eventual reconciliation of all beings with the Divine.

4. Influence on His Generation and Beyond

In His Own Time

• Admired by Sufis and mystics; met by figures like Jalal al-Din Rumi’s father, Baha al-Din Walad.

• Criticized by literalist scholars and theologians for esoteric doctrines that bordered on heresy in their eyes.

• His works were complex, often reserved for elite circles of Sufis and philosophers.

On Later Generations

• Sufi Orders and Thinkers:

  • His thought became foundational for major Sufi orders, especially the Shadili, Naqshbandi, and Mevlevi.

  • Abd al-Karim al-Jili developed the idea of the Perfect Human.

  • Dawud al-Qaysari and Mulla Sadra built extensive metaphysical systems inspired by Ibn Arabi.

• Islamic Philosophy and Theology:

  • Integrated into Persian Hikmah traditions, especially with Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Theosophy.

  • Though opposed by thinkers like Ibn Taymiyyah, Ibn Arabi's metaphysics became dominant in many intellectual circles.

• Ottoman, Persian, and Mughal Scholarship:

  • Official scholars in the Ottoman Empire (like Fenerizade) studied and taught his works.

  • In the Indian subcontinent, thinkers like Shah Waliullah Dehlawi were influenced by his teachings.

• Western Thought and Modern Studies:

  • 20th-century scholars like Henry Corbin, Titus Burckhardt, and William Chittick brought his ideas into global philosophical discourse.

  • His metaphysics inspired perennialist philosophers and comparative mystics.

5. Major Works

• Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya (The Meccan Openings) – A monumental encyclopedic work covering his mystical philosophy, visions, and spiritual teachings.

• Fusus al-Hikam (The Bezels of Wisdom) – His most famous book, distilling the wisdom of prophets as expressions of divine truth.

• Tarjuman al-Ashwaq (The Interpreter of Desires) – A collection of mystical love poetry, blending spiritual and human love.

• Numerous other treatises, letters, and commentaries, contributing to one of the most extensive corpuses in Islamic intellectual history.