"Certainly the best general introduction to Ibn Arabi's complex and fascinating life and teachings for readers still unfamiliar with this mystical genius. Stephen Hirtenstein's new book is the first study of the great Sufi mystic's life and teachings designed directly for the English-speaking audience. The result is an immensely readable, absorbing, and comprehensive overview which is accessible to the first-time reader while offering new rewards and surprises at each re-reading." - James Morris, professor of Arabic, University of Exeter

"By far the simplest and most heart-warming rendition of Ibn Arabi and his teachings that I have come across. Read this book, and you will be able to explore the spiritual journey of a giant intellect. It won't lead directly to your realisation of the primacy of consciousness, but it will certainly inspire you to explore consciousness in your experience." - Amit Goswami, professor of Physics, University of Oregon --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Book Description
Marvel! A garden amidst the flames!

My heart has become capable of every form:it is a pasture for gazelles, and a convent for Christian monks,and a temple for idols, and the pilgrim's Ka'ba, and the tables of the Torah, and the book of the Quran. I follow the religion of Love: whatever way Love's camels take, that is my religion and my faith."Known as the Shaykh al-akbar (the greatest spiritual master), Ibn 'Arabi is one of the giants of human spirituality and has been called "the greatest mystical genius of the Arabs". His writings on the primordial Unity of Being, totalling more than 350 works, have been the most important mystical texts within the Islamic world, underpinning the teachings of Sufi masters ever since. For many years Ibn 'Arabi's work remained totally unknown and inaccessible to non-Arabic speaking people, and only in the last 25 years has it begun to be translated into Western languages.

This new and exciting biography is the first book in English designed for the general reader. It uses Ibn 'Arabi's own writings to tell his life-story, often in the most dramatic of ways. Interwoven with the biographical chapters are summary overviews of some of the major themes in his work, with many extracts from his works including the famous "Wisdom of the Prophets" (Fusus al-Hikam) and "Meccan Illuminations" (Futuhat al-Makkiya).

The author has illustrated the text with photographs and maps, showing the places that Ibn 'Arabi knew and visited. One of the great medieval travellers, Ibn 'Arabi crossed the Arab world during the time of a marvellous cultural renaissance (the Almohads in Spain, the Ayyubids in Egypt and Syria, the Seljuks in Anatolia).

In addition, this book shows just how contemporary Ibn 'Arabi's writings are. Striking to the heart of essential human questions, they illuminate and challenge our view of mankind and the world, portraying a harmonious vision of all things within the One and the true dignity of the human being. These writings also possess the remarkable quality of being able to speak to people of all walks of life and beliefs, across the apparent barrier of many centuries and differing cultures. While Ibn 'Arabi may be described as the pinnacle of the profound mystical tradition of Islam, this unique book shows him to be accessible to anyone of heart who truly seeks the Way of God. EXCERPT: (From Chapter 5) The illumination of Ibn 'Arabi is not something that he appears to tell us much about in his own writings, as far as we can determine from those that have survived...

At a relatively early age, perhaps sixteen or so (although we cannot be certain of the exact date), he went into retreat. What apparently impelled this sudden desire to face God is not mentioned in Ibn 'Arabi's own writings, but its overwhelming intensity cannot be doubted. According to a story written down over 150 years after his death, it seems that Ibn 'Arabi had been at a dinner-party with his friends, and, as was customary in Andalusia, wine was served after the meal. Just as he lifted the wine-cup to his lips, he heard a voice cry out: 'Muhammad, it was not for this that you were created!" In consternation at this definitive statement, he fled to a cemetery outside the city of Seville, where he found a ruined tomb that resembled a grotto. For four days he remained there in seclusion, practising invocation (dhikr) and only coming out at the times of prayer. The second important feature of this retreat is that it consisted of a vision of the three great spiritual teachers in the Western tradition: Jesus, Moses and Muhammad. As far as I am aware, such a triple intervention is without parallel amongst other mystics, and it presages one of the greatest themes of Ibn 'Arabi's work, namely the singular meaning of the whole prophetic tradition. The three components of his vision, uniquely fused, are a summary of the great Semitic teaching on the meaning of monotheism, which was first articulated by Abraham.

"When I returned to this Path, it was accomplished through a dream-vision under the guidance of Jesus, Moses and Muhammad.'

The good news that these three prophets brought acted like a shower of rain upon the parched earth, reviving and liberating from constriction. Ibn 'Arabi says it brought him "the lights of receptivity, pure action and rapturous love". Of Jesus he writes:

"I have had many meetings with him in visions, and at his hands I turned (to God). He prayed for me that I be established in the religious life, both in this world and in the hereafter, and he called me beloved. He ordered me to practise renunciation and detachment. These two factors of renunciation and detachment are, for Ibn 'Arabi, the premises and prerequisites of the spiritual life, which is centred on restoring things to their rightful place, on not acquiring any more "baggage". To simply renounce all goods and possessions, becoming outwardly poor, would be to miss the point completely we have already taken on ourselves the idea of possession and ownership, such that we believe that we are owners of things. Our "baggage' is not a matter of physical acquisition, but of our attitude towards it. Whether we are rich or poor in outward terms does not fundamentally change our perception of owning something. The real shift occurs when we realise that what we think we possess does not truly belong to us, not even existence itself. Then it is possible, as Ibn Arabi explains, to "restore the choice to God, making one's own choice disappear". Renunciation and detachment are really descriptions of this realisation, curbing any tendency of the soul to assume dominion. We are asked to renounce the illusion of our separate existence, of our apparent ability to choose, of our limited powers, and to detach ourselves from all such considerations altogether. Only then may we remain in our original condition, which is pure receptivity. Each thing we apparently own has a certain right: it requires to be looked after, and this subjects the owner to a kind of servitude towards the thing. The extent of these rights, if we choose to take them on ourselves, decreases the essential purity of servanthood to God alone. For Ibn 'Arabi the station of pure servanthood meant a literal dispossession:

"Ever since this station came upon me, I have not owned a single living thing. No, not even the clothes that I wear, for I wear nothing unless I am specifically given permission to make use of it. Whenever I come to acquire something, I immediately part with it, either by giving it away or by freeing it if it can be freed. This came about for me when I desired to realise the servanthood of exclusive belonging to God."

.... The second meeting in the vision was with Moses, who announced to him that he would be given knowledge from God directly. This recalls the Quranic story where Moses meets one of God's special servants, who is known in Islamic tradition as Khidr or Khadir, "the Green". Khidr is to Islam what Elijah represents to the Jews: a spiritual teacher who operates in the unseen world beyond the strictures of normal life, the ever-living archetype of direct Divine inspiration...

The third figure was the Prophet Muhammad, who appeared to him in the context of war:

"I saw myself in a dream and I was in a vast space. There was a group of armed men who wanted to kill me, and there was no way at all for me to escape. Then I saw in front of me a hill upon which the Envoy of God was standing watching, so I took refuge with him. He opened his arms and embraced me fiercely, saying: "My beloved, hold fast to me and you will be safe." Then I looked at my assailants, only to find that there was not one of them left. It was from that time on that I occupied myself with the study of Hadith. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Product Description