Ibn 'Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition: The Making of a Polemical Image in Medieval Islam

Alexander D. Knysh

SUNY Press, Jan 1, 1999 - Religion - 449 pages

This book examines the fierce theological controversy over the great Muslim mystical thinker Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1242). Even during his lifetime, Ibn 'Arabi's conformity with the letter of the Muslim dogma was called into doubt by many scholars who were suspicious of the monistic (unitive) tendencies of his metaphysical teaching, of his claims to be the Prophet's successor and restorer of the true meaning of the Islamic revelation, and of his allegorical interpretation of the Qur'an.

Following Ibn 'Arabi's death, these misgivings grew into an outright condemnation of his teachings by a number of influential thirteenth through fifteenth century theologians who portrayed him as a dangerous heretic bent on undermining the foundations of Islamic faith and communal life. In response to these grave accusations, Ibn 'Arabi's advocates praised him as the greatest saint of Islam who was unjustly slandered by the bigoted and narrow-minded critics.

As time went on, these conflicting images of the mystical thinker became rallying points for various political and scholarly factions vying for lucrative religious and administrative posts and ideological denomination. In thoroughly analyzing the heated debates around Ibn 'Arabi's ideas throughout the three centuries following his death, this study brings out discursive strategies and arguments employed by the polemicists, the hidden agendas they pursued, and the reasons for the striking longevity of the issue in Islamic literature up to the present day. On the theoretical level, this book reassesses the validity of such common dichotomies as orthodoxy versus heresy, mainstream versus mystical interpretations of Islam, and communalism versus individualism as well as other issues related to the history of Islamic thought.

Contents

• DEFINING THE APPROACH: 17
• Ibn Arabi in Recent Western Scholarship: 21
• THE BIOGRAPHICAL PRELUDE: 25
• Ibn Arabi in the Biographical Works of Western Muslims: 34
• The Account of Ibn alMusdi: 38
• The Anecdotal Evidence From alQazwini: 40
• Ibn Abi lMansur: 41
• AlQastallanis Polemical Twist: 44
• Conclusion: 45
• BETWEEN DAMASCUS AND CAIRO THE AFFAIR OF IBN ABD ALSALAM: 49
• Concord or Expediency?: 52
• Religion and Politics in the Mamluk State: 54
• Defending the Purity of Islam in the Mamluk State: 58
• Ibn Arabis Opponents in Search of Precedents: 60
• Enter Ibn Abd alSalam alSulami: 61
• Ibn Abd alSalam and Sufism: 63
• An Essay on Contextualization: 66
• Ibn Abd alSalam on the Hierarchy of the Sufi Gnostics: 72
• Sufi Responses to Ibn Abd alSalams Censure: 74
• and the haqiqa: 77
• Some Later Elaborations: 79
• Conclusion: 82
• IBN TAYMIYYAS FORMIDABLE CHALLENGE: 87
• Structure Method and Contents of Ibn Taymiyyas Antimonistic Writings: 88
• Ibn Taymiyyas Personal View of the Greatest Master: 96
• Argumentum ad hominem: 99
• An Argument from Metaphysics: 100
• Ibn Taymiyya on the Doctrine of Sainthood: 105
• Ibn Taymiyyas Antimonistic Critique sub specie aeternitatis: 106
• IBN ARABI IN THE BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE FROM THE 8th14th9th15th CENTURIES: 113
• alSafadi and alYafii: 118
• Between Biography and Polemic: 120
• alQari al Baghdadis AlDurr althamin: 133
• Conclusion: 138
• THE METAPHYSICAL ARGUMENT REVISITED ALTAFTAZANI: 141
• AlTaftazanis Refutation of Ibn Arabi: 146
• The Metaphysical Argument: 153
• The Problem of Pharaohs Faith: 158
• Conclusion: 161
• IBN ARABI IN THE MUSLIM WEST A PROPHET IN HIS OWN LAND?: 167
• Ibn Arabi Through the Eyes of Ibn alKhatima: 169
• Ibn alKhatib The Vizier: 172
• Ibn alKhatib on Love Mysticism: 176
• Ibn Arabi in Rawdat altarif: 179
• Ibn Khaldun and Islamic Mysticism: 184
• Ibn Khaldun on Monistic Philosophy: 189
• Ibn Khaldun and the People of tajalli: 190
• Conclusion: 197
• EGYPT THE POLEMIC CONTINUES: 201
• Ibn Arabi in Mamluk Cairo: 202
• A public dispute over Ibn Arabis unbelief: 204
• AlBiqa is Destruction of Monistic Philosophy: 209
• Conclusion: 222
• IBN ARABI IN YEMEN: 225
• Sufism in Medieval Yemen: 228
• The Rasulid Kingdom: 229
• The Rasulids and Islamic Learning: 231
• Ibn alAhdal on the Rise of Monistic Sufism in Yemen: 234
• AlJabarti and the Sufi Community of Zabid: 241
• Ibn alRaddad and alJili: 246
• The fuqaha versus the sufiyya?: 252
• Final Episodes of the Long Struggle: 263
• Conclusion: 268
• GENERAL CONCLUSION: 271
• NOTES: 279
• BIBLIOGRAPHY: 387
• GENERAL INDEX: 425
• INDEX OF TERMS: 439
• INDEX OF BOOK TITLES: 445

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About the author

Alexander D. Knysh is The Sharjah Professor of Islamic Studies, Department of Arabic and Middle East Studies, University of Exeter, United Kingdom.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Ibn 'Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition: The Making of a Polemical Image in Medieval Islam; Ibn ?Arabi in the Later Islamic Tradition: The Making of a Polemical Image in Medieval Islam; SUNY series in Islam; SUNY series in Islamic spirituality
• Author: Alexander D. Knysh
• Edition: illustrated
• Publisher: SUNY Press, 1999
• ISBN: 0791439674, 9780791439678
• Length: 449 pages
• Subjects: Religion / Islam / General; Religion / Islam / Sufi