Interpreting Ibn Arab: Philosophy, Theology, and Exegesis in Later Islam offers a comprehensive and critical examination of one of Islams most enigmatic and influential thinkers. Through close engagement with major controversies surrounding Ibn Arabs ideas from the doctrine of the Oneness of Being to his vision of sainthood and Qurnic interpretation this volume traces the rich and contested legacy of his thought across the Islamic intellectual tradition.
Addressing the most debated aspects of Ibn Arabs teachings, this book surveys the major contests around the fixed entities, Divine Power, human freedom, and the nature of the Perfect Man. It delves into accusations of pantheism and theological transgression, and explores the strategies employed by the Shaykh al-Akbars followers to clarify, defend, or reinterpret his views. It also explores Ibn Arabs provocative Qurnic hermeneutics, which includes perspectives on mercy, the problem of idolatry, and the fate of unbelievers, situating the Shaykhs teachings within broader Sufi, philosophical, and theological currents. Finally, it reveals how Ibn Arab challenged dominant rationalist frameworks and expanded the boundaries of Islamic knowledge by restoring to imagination a central epistemological role.
This book is an essential resource for scholars of Islamic philosophy, theology, Sufism, Qurnic studies, and the intellectual history of the Muslim world, shedding new light on the interpretive debates that have shaped Ibn Arabs enduring legacy.
Acknowledgments
Note on Transliteration and Translation
Introduction
The Problems (mushkilt) of the Fu: Interpretive Divergences
From the Lack of Understanding (adam al-fahm): Solving the Problems of the
Fu
The Present Study: Interpreting Ibn Arab
1 All is He, All is Not He: The Vision of Huwa-l Huwa
The Entities (ayn) are Not Made (ghayr majl) and Non-Existent (madm)
The Mirror-Entities and the Color-Entities
The Pre-Existent Forms (uwar) of the Entities: The Cloud, the Barzakh, the
Creator-Real
2 Divine Power and Human Freedom
The Essence (Dht) and the Divinity (Ilh), Determination (taqdr) and
Creation (khalq)
Freedom and Compulsion, Responsibility (taklf) and Predestination (qadar)
3 Incomparability and Similarity
To Affirm Incomparability is to Affirm Limitation (tadd) and Restriction
(taqyd)
Transcending the God of Beliefs (al-ilh al-mutaqadt)
The Divinity Clothed in Forms of Belief: Worshiping the Idols of Belief
4 Created in his/His Form: The All-Comprehensive Form of Man
Originated and Beginningless (dith azal), Perpetual and Endless (dim
abad)
The Problem of Mans Firstness (awwaliyya)
Creation (khalaqa) in Two Senses: Determination (taqdr) and Existentiation
(jd)
5 Becoming a Form of God (rat al-aqq)
The False Form (ra bila) of the Pharaoh of Moses (Firawn Ms)
The Form of al-Kharrz, One of the Tongues of God (lisn min alsinat
al-aqq)
6 The Messenger takes his Knowledge from the Seal of the Saints
The Prophets (anbiy) in the Fu al-ikam
The Seal of the Saints: the space for two bricks (mawi labinatayn)
7 Interpreting the Qurn
Between tawl, ishra, and ubr: Ibn Arabs Qurnic Hermeneutics
Abrahams Sacrifice (dhab), Gods Deception (makr), Drowning in Knowledge
8 The Hermeneutics of Mercy
The Faith of Pharaoh (mn Firawn) in Q. 10:90-92
From Torments (adhb) to the Sweetness of Torments (udhba)
Conclusion: Interpreting the Shaykh al-Akbar
He/not He Revisited: Ambiguity and Knowledge as Perplexity (ayra)
He who does not know the status of imagination has no knowledge
Bibliography
Index
Arjun Nair is an Assistant Professor of Religion at the University of Southern California. He holds a PhD in the History and Cultures of the Muslim World from the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations at Harvard University. He specializes in the study of religion, Islamic philosophy, and Sufi literature. He has also published in numerous peer- reviewed venues, including the Journal of Islamic Studies, the Journal of Quranic Studies, the Journal of Sufi Studies, Religions, and the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society.
