Muhammad Ibn Arabi's Biography(Books)(Photos)

Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi (or Ibn al-Arabi Muhyi ad-Din
Muhammad bin Ali al-Hatimi at-Tai) (1165-1240) was an

* The Diwan, his collection of poetry spanning five
volumes, mostly unedited. The printed versions available are

outstanding Spanish-born Moslem thinker and mystic. One of
the most prolific writers of the Islamic Middle Ages on the

based on only one volume of the original work.
* The Holy Spirit in the Counselling of the Soul (Rut

al-quds), a treatise on the soul which includes a summary of
his experience from different spiritual masters in the

world's great spiritual teachers. Ibn 'Arabi was born in
Murcia, Al-Andalus, in 1165 and his writings had an immense

Maghrib. Part of this has been translated as Sufis of
Andalusia, reminiscences and spiritual anecdotes about many

impact throughout the Islamic world and beyond. The
universal ideas underlying his thought are of immediate

interesting people whom he met in al-Andalus.
* Contemplation of the Holy Mysteries (Mashahid

al-Asrar), probably his first major work consisting of
fourteen visions and dialogues with God.

Ibn Arabi was born in Murcia on July 28, 1165 ce (560 in the
Islamic calendar), and his family moved to Seville when he

* Divine Sayings (Mishkat al-Anwar), an important
collection made by Ibn 'Arabi of 101 hadith qudsi

was seven years old. In 1200 ce, at the age of thirty-five,
he left Iberia for good, intending to make the hajj to

* The Book of Annihilation in Contemplation (K. al-Fana'
fi'l-Mushahada), a short treatise on the meaning of mystical

Mecca. He lived in Mecca for some three years, where he
began writing his Al-Futujat al-Makkiyya (The Meccan

Illuminations). In 1204, he left Mecca for Anatolia with
Majd al-Din Isaaq, whose son Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi

of fourteen prayers for each day and night of the week.
* Journey to the Lord of Power (Risalat al-Anwar), a

(1210-1274) would be his most influential disciple.

detailed technical manual and roadmap for the "journey
without distance".

In 1223, he settled in Damascus, where he lived the last
seventeen years of his life. He died at the age of 76 on 22

* The Book of God's Days (Ayyam al-Sha'n), a work on the
nature of time and the different kinds of days experienced

Rabi' ii 638 ah/november 10, 1240ce, and his tomb in
Damascus is still an important place of pilgrimage.

by gnostics
* The Fabulous Gryphon of the West ('Unqa' Mughrib), a

Some 800 works are attributed to Ibn 'Araba, although only

book on the meaning of sainthood and its culmination in
Jesus and the Mahdi

some have been authenticated. Recent research suggests that
over 100 of his works have survived in manuscript form,

* The Universal Tree and the Four Birds (al-Ittihad
al-Kawni), a poetic book on the Complete Human and the four

although most printed versions have not yet been critically
edited and include many errors.

principles of existence
* Prayer for Spiritual Elevation and Protection (al-Dawr

al-A'la), a short prayer which is still widely used in the
Muslim world

* The Ringstones of Wisdom (also translated as The

Bezels of Wisdom), or Fusus al-Hikam.
* The Meccan Illuminations (Al-Futujat al-Makkiyya), his

republished with a commentary explaining the meaning of the
poetic symbols

largest work in 37 volumes originally and published in 4 or
8 volumes in modern times, discussing a wide range of topics

* The Four Pillars of Spiritual Transformation (Hilyat
al-abdal), a short work on the essentials of the spiritual

from mystical philosophy to Sufi practices and records of
his dreams/visions.

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