One of the most influential and prolific Sufi thinkers of medieval times, Ibn al-ʿArabī was born in the
Spanish region of Murcia on 27 Ramaḍān 560 [1165 CE]. He moved to
Seville when he was eight years
old and began his formal education in that city. From a young age, Ibn al-ʿArabī became part of the
local government, acting as kātib to various governors. It is related that during an illness, he had a vision that
made him realise that he has been leaving in ignorance (Jāhiliyya) until that moment and had a mystical awakening
that would mark the rest of his life. In search of mystical knowledge, he sought the company of different Sufi Shaykhs,
travelling for the next 10 years across the Iberian Peninsula and North Africa. He stayed for some time in
Tunis, Fez,
Cordova where he began to write some of his early works before going to
Cairo and then to Jerusalem around the year 598 AH [1202 CE] from where he began
his pilgrimage to Mecca.
While om ḥajj, he met Majd al-Dīn Isḥāq
(the father of Ṣadr al-Dīn
al-Qūnawī) and a group of Sufis and Ibn Arabi decided to
join them in their trip back to Syria and Anatolia. He arrived in
Malatya around 601 AH [1205 CE],
at a time when ʿIzz al-Dīn Kaykāvūs
I has been restored as the Sultan of Rum. Majd al-Dīn Isḥāq was invited
by the Sultan to the court, where he
came accompanied by Ibn al-ʿArabī, who
offered advice to the Sultan and both were honoured at the court.
Ibn al-ʿArabī resumed his travels
again, leaving Anatolia
to visit Baghdad and Aleppo
and return to Anatolia around 1215 [1215 CE]
when he completed the commentary to his Tarjumān al-as̲h̲wāq in between
Aksaray and Sivas
and then settled for some time in Malatya where he married and have
a son. At some point before 1230 [1230 CE], he left Anatolia and re-settled in
Damascus
under the protection of the Ibn Zakī family of qāḍīs and the Ayyubid court. He died in 1240 [1240 CE]
and his body was buried in the mount Qāsiyūn, north of Damascus. Ibn al-ʿArabī is one of the most influential Sufi authors in Anatolia especially die to the diffusion of his idea made by his disciple
Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī.
Other commentators on Ibn al-ʿArabī’s works such
as Dāwūd al-Ḳayṣarī (d. 751/1350)
or Ḳuṭb al-Dīn
al-Izniḳī also helped to spread his philosophy in the region.
Written in answer to a request from a close friend and companion. It consists of 199 brief definitions of
the most important expressions in common use amongst the people of God. Show more
An esoteric commentary upon the Fātiḥa (first Surah of the Qur’an). It became a popular work that was extensively
copied. It is verified by at least five historic manuscripts, the best is Veliyuddin 1759,
which is a holograph with two samāʿs in the presence of Ibn Arabi. Show more
The work was written to satisfy a request from a friend and companion who asked if he could explain the journey of ascension
to the Lord of Power and return to the creatures. It describes the spiritual quest in terms of a non-stop ascension through the various
levels of existence and knowledge, leading to the level of human perfection.
(See Ibn 'Arabi Society) Show more
A much copied work, both on its own and with the commentary. There are no definitive historic mss. to verify
the text in its own right, but there are several for the commentary, which includes the text of the poems.
There are two basic variants of the text, some manuscripts carry the same preface as the commentary. Others have a
longer version which begin with a khutba and Ibn Arabi’s account of meeting the young girl, Niẓam, who inspired
the poems in Mecca. The situation is complex, with several other
variants appearing in some mss. (see 55) and more work needs to
be done. Show more
According to the preface of the work, the author began writing this poem in
Mecca butit is suggested he might have finished it during a trip
between Sivas and Malatya