Philosophy of Ibn ‘Arabi

Ibn ‘Arabi is possibly the most significant thinker of Islam. Yet he is far less widely known in the Western world than Ibn Sina, Al-Ghazali, Ibn Rushd or even AI ‘Farabi. By and large, the legend of his pantheism and his obscurity persists in a world little aware of what he actually wrote and taught. R. A. Nicholson and Dr. A. E. Affifi are the English-speaking world’s chief contribution to Ibn ‘Arabi studies. The present essay attempts to fill the gap that remains. It touches only upon some of the mam ideas in Ibn ‘Arabi’s vast and complex system, and ignores innumerable other aspects. Apart from my own interpretations and illustrations of some of Ibn ‘Arabi’s puzzling ideas. … I hope, nevertheless, that even so concise an introduction to him might offer some notion of his philosophy, and induce the reader to seek out the original sources. For the sake of those unable to read Ibn ‘Arabi in the original, I have included a number of his texts in English.