Ibn ʿArabī
Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ʿArabī
The 'Greatest Master' of Sufi metaphysics and the 'unity of being'.
Overview
The most influential Sufi metaphysician, the Andalusian Ibn ʿArabī (al-Shaykh al-Akbar, 'the Greatest Master') produced a vast visionary body of work centered on the doctrine later called 'the unity of being' (waḥdat al-wujūd): all existence is the self-manifestation of the one divine Reality. He developed the ideas of the 'Perfect Human' and the divine Names, shaping Sufi thought across the Islamic world for centuries.
What they supported — and why
The unity of being (waḥdat al-wujūd)
SupportedThere is only one true Being — God — and all creatures are its self-disclosures; the cosmos is God manifesting through his Names.
WhyOnly God truly exists of himself, so all else is his self-revelation, neither wholly identical to nor separate from him.
The Perfect Human (al-insān al-kāmil)
SupportedThe fully realized human mirrors all the divine Names and is the microcosm through whom God knows himself.
WhyHumanity uniquely reflects the totality of God's attributes, serving as the link between God and cosmos.
Knowledge through unveiling
SupportedThe highest knowledge comes by mystical 'unveiling' (kashf) and the heart, not discursive reason alone.
WhyThe divine self-disclosures are received by the purified heart, which can hold what reason cannot encompass.
Causes championed
- The unity of all being in God
- The mystical path of love and unveiling
- The spiritual meaning of religion
Issues wrestled with
- What is the relation of God and creation?
- What is the human being's cosmic role?
- How is God known?
Hurdles faced
- Later condemnation of 'unity of being' as verging on pantheism
- A wandering life across the whole Islamic world
Works & books
2 catalogued. Status shows how much survives to today.
The Meccan Revelations
SurvivesHis immense encyclopedic summa of Sufi metaphysics and practice.
The Bezels of Wisdom
SurvivesHis concentrated masterwork on the divine wisdom embodied in the prophets.
Read the texts free
Their works online — Open Library catalogues 438 works & editions, 8 of them free to read in full.
The influence network
See Ibn ʿArabī in the map →Influenced by
Influenced
In their words
“My heart has become capable of every form... Love is my religion and my faith.”
— Tarjumān al-Ashwāq
Legacy
The supreme metaphysician of Sufism, whose vision of the unity of being shaped Islamic mysticism from Andalusia to India.
Further reading
Cross-checked against these authoritative references.