Muḥammad as the Qur’an in Ibn ‘Arabī’s Metaphysics

Lala, Ismail

doi:10.1007/s11841-022-00941-0

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

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“…Whereas Aristotle attributes the desires of the body as a corollary of materiality that impedes full actualization, Ibn 'Arabī effects a bifurcation in which parts of the essence are one of the obstacles to perfection and transcendental happiness, while the natural effects of the world represent the other. In the characteristic emphasis that he places on homonymy (Lala 2019(Lala , 2023a, he states that the 'causes' ('ilal) that negatively affect the minerals during their stages of formation are the same as the 'deficiencies' ('ilal) that afflict the essences of humankind. This, then, is their intrinsic preparedness (isti'dād), which, in addition to the natural effects of the world, determines whether they can achieve the perfection of transcendental happiness (Lala 2023b).…”

Section: The Influence Of Aristotlementioning

confidence: 99%

Transcendental Happiness in the Thought of Ibn Sīnā and Ibn ‘Arabī

Lala

Alwazzan

2023

Religions

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This article explores the concept of transcendental happiness in the philosophies of arguably the two most important figures in Islamic intellectual thought, Abū ‘Alī ibn Sīnā (d. 428/1037) and Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240). The most striking parallels between the philosophy of Ibn Sīnā and that of Ibn ‘Arabī is in their agreement on the Aristotelian principle of transcendental happiness as the comprehension of God, combined with their emanationist cosmologies. Based on Neoplatonist emanationism, especially as it is put forth by Plotinus, Ibn Sīnā and Ibn ‘Arabī argue that there is a necessary emanation from God that results in the existence of the universe. As corollaries of the divine emanative process, those endowed with rationality seek to return to the divine in a reciprocal upward motion that aims to ‘reverse’ the downward motion of the original divine descent. The impetus for the two-way process incorporating divine descent through emanation and the longing for ascent found in humans is love. Despite these points of confluence, there are others of divergence. Ibn ‘Arabī disagrees with his predecessor that transcendental happiness is found in absolute annihilation in the divine, while still maintaining that annihilation of the self is a necessary first step in the attainment of transcendental happiness. Transcendental happiness, argues Ibn ‘Arabī, is ultimately the realization of human potentiality to become a complete locus of divine manifestation. This is carried out through the body for Ibn ‘Arabī, whereas for Ibn Sīnā, transcendental happiness requires the divestment of materiality.

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Section: The Influence Of Aristotlementioning

confidence: 99%

Transcendental Happiness in the Thought of Ibn Sīnā and Ibn ‘Arabī

Lala

Alwazzan

2023

Religions

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“…ammad-although they were loci of manifestation for all of God's most beautiful Names-had a specific type of power, whether that be the power over water, as in the case of N ūh . , or fire, as in the case of Ibrāhīm, or both water and fire, as in the case of M ūsā (Lala 2023a;Al-Q ūnawī 2013, p. 119). Prophet Muh .…”

Section: ūT and The Spiritual Nature Of Prophet Muh Ammad's Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…ammad, as stated above. Therefore, his miracles included all of theirs, and there were no spatial or temporal limits to his power (Lala 2023a;Al-Q ūnawī 2013, p. 119-20). Yet, whenever he was given the choice, he did not display this power.…”

Section: ūT and The Spiritual Nature Of Prophet Muh Ammad's Powermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1, p. 98) Al-Nakhjiwānī claims that not only is the Qur'an the culmination of all the previous revelations and so it contains 'generally what was mentioned in earlier books', but that it contains 'all things in existence'. This is an allusion to the idea that the Qur'an is the universe in written form (Lala 2023a). However, unlike other Sufi scholars who just claim that the Qur'an is the microcosmic universe in written form (Lala 2023a), al-Nakhjiwānī insinuates that it is the entire history of the universe, not just the current manifestation of it, since its essence encompasses the very essence of the phenomenal world, which is why it contains the first and the last of all existence.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…This is an allusion to the idea that the Qur'an is the universe in written form (Lala 2023a). However, unlike other Sufi scholars who just claim that the Qur'an is the microcosmic universe in written form (Lala 2023a), al-Nakhjiwānī insinuates that it is the entire history of the universe, not just the current manifestation of it, since its essence encompasses the very essence of the phenomenal world, which is why it contains the first and the last of all existence. He goes on to assert that the Qur'an is deliberately 'ambiguous' about (the nature of) 'God' because this lies beyond the ken of human comprehension, and so it is only 'congruent with' what humankind can grasp-the material world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

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Ibn ‘Arabī and the Spiritual Sīrah of Prophet Muḥammad

Lala

2023

Religions

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While most traditional works on the life of Prophet Muḥammad focus on how his ostensible teachings and actions can be used as a template for human conduct, the thirteenth-century Sufi thinker, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240), turns his attention to the spiritual significance and inner reality of Prophet Muḥammad. Ibn ‘Arabī argues that as the seal of the prophets, Muḥammad was not only given the Qur’an, which incorporated elements from previous revelations, nor was he just given a religion that had elements from prior religions; rather, in his very spiritual essence, he combined the essences of previous prophets. It is in this sense that Muḥammad represents the culmination of the prophetic life. In his Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Ibn ‘Arabī reveals the spiritual significance of all the prophets mentioned in the Qur’an, with the exception of Khālid ibn Sinān, whom Ibn ‘Arabī considers to be a prophet and dedicates a chapter to, but who is not mentioned in the Qur’an. The present paper explores how the spiritual essences of previous prophets are manifested in Prophet Muḥammad, and the ways in which this comprehensiveness is exhibited in his life. This ‘spiritual sīrah’ is all the more significant in the modern context, where spirituality is privileged over religiosity. Ibn ‘Arabī demonstrates that the spiritual basis of the life of Prophet Muḥammad cannot be extricated from his external actions. The ‘spiritual sīrah’ thus provides an antidote to the religious associational formalism that is rejected by many modern Muslims.

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Unity and multiplicity of Ibn ‘Arabī’s philosophy in Indonesian Sufism

Lala

2023

Asian Philosophy

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Muḥammad as the Qur’an in Ibn ‘Arabī’s Metaphysics

Cited by 4 publications

References 18 publications

Transcendental Happiness in the Thought of Ibn Sīnā and Ibn ‘Arabī

Transcendental Happiness in the Thought of Ibn Sīnā and Ibn ‘Arabī

Ibn ‘Arabī and the Spiritual Sīrah of Prophet Muḥammad

Unity and multiplicity of Ibn ‘Arabī’s philosophy in Indonesian Sufism

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