''The Meccan Revelations'' () is the major work of the philosopher and Sufi

Ibn Arabi Ibn ʿArabī ( ar, ابن عربي, ; full name: , ; 1165–1240), nicknamed al-Qushayrī (, ) and Sulṭān al-ʿĀrifīn (, , ' Sultan of the Knowers'), was an Arab Andalusian Muslim scholar, mystic, poet, and philosopher, extremely influen ...

, written between 1203 and 1240. La mecque

The

Andalusi The Arabic '' nisbah'' (attributive title) Al-Andalusi denotes an origin from Al-Andalus. Al-Andalusi may refer to: * Abu Hayyan al-Gharnati * Ibn Hazm * Ibn Juzayy * Ibn 'Atiyya * Said Al-Andalusi Ṣāʿid al-Andalusī (); he was Abū al-Qāsi ...

thinker exposes his spiritual journey, his

theology Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

, his

metaphysics Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

and his

mysticism Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in ...

, using sometimes

prose Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. It differs from most traditional poetry, where the ...

, sometimes

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek ''poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meanings i ...

. The book contains autobiographical elements: encounters, events, and spiritual illuminations.

History

Ibn Arabi wrote two versions of ''al-Futūḥāt al-Makkīyah'', his

magnum opus A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

. He completed the first in the year 629 of the

Hijra Hijra, Hijrah, Hegira, Hejira, Hijrat or Hijri may refer to: Islam * Hijrah (often written as ''Hejira'' in older texts), the migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE * Migration to Abyssinia or First Hegira, of Muhammad's followers ...

and worked on the second version between the years 632 and 636 of the Hijra. The second version exists in manuscripts in Ibn Arabi's own hand, with the exception of volume nine. These manuscripts, once part of the ''waqf'' of

Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi Ṣadr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq ibn Muḥammad ibn Yūnus Qūnawī lternatively, Qūnavī, Qūnyawī ( fa, صدر الدین قونوی; 1207–1274), was a PersianF. E. Peters, "The Monotheists", Published by Princeton University Press ...

, are known as the “Konya” manuscripts and they are now kept in Istanbul (Evkaf Muzesi 1845-1881). It was first published by the Bulaq Press in four volumes in Dhū al-Ḥijja 1269/1853. The Bulaq Press published a second edition in 1293/1876, also in four volumes. The third edition, the standard Cairo edition, printed 1329/1911, also published by the Bulaq Press in four volumes, is based on Ibn Arabi's second version completed in 636 H, thanks to the research of

Emir Abdelkader Abdelkader ibn Muhieddine (6 September 1808 – 26 May 1883; ar, عبد القادر ابن محي الدين '), known as the Emir Abdelkader or Abdelkader El Hassani El Djazairi, was an Algerian religious and military leader who led a struggl ...

Structure

The ''Revelations'' is a book of 37 volumes, divided into 560 chapters.

Content

The book takes its title from the holy city of

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

, to which

travelled on pilgrimage in 1202, and in which he received a number of revelations of divine origin. In the ''Illuminations'' Ibn Arabi develops a theory of the imagination and the imaginary world explained by

Henry Corbin Henry Corbin (14 April 1903 – 7 October 1978)Shayegan, DaryushHenry Corbin in Encyclopaedia Iranica. was a French philosopher, theologian, and Iranologist, professor of Islamic studies at the École pratique des hautes études. He was in ...

. There is also a psychological and religious description of the effects of Allah's Love (in both the subjective and objective sense of expression). According to

Michel Chodkiewicz Michel Chodkiewicz (13 May 1929 – 31 March 2020) was a French author and a scholar of Sufism, especially Akbarian teaching. Biography Chodkiewicz was from the Chodkiewicz family, a noble family of the Polish aristocracy who settled in Fra ...

, this book occupies a particularly important place in Ibn Arabi's work because it represents "the ultimate state of his teaching in its most complete form". Aside from Ibn Taymiyyah, his many critics have included the historian Ibn Khaldun (d. 1406), Sufi Shaykh Ahmad Sirhindi (d. 1624), members of the Wahhabi sect of Saudi Arabia and beyond, and an array of modern Muslim revivalists and modernists. Controversy over his teachings flared again in 1979 when the Egyptian parliament attempted to ban the republication of the print edition of The Meccan Revelations. The attempt failed due to public outcry.

Women, poetry, religious love

Women are prominently featured in the book, particularly in Chapter 178 on love. Ibn Arabi is initiated into religious experience by a spiritual woman called Nizham, a young Iranian woman whose name means "Harmony". He quotes the poems of the writer

Rabia of Basra Rābiʿa al-ʿAdawiyya al-Qaysiyya ( ar, رابعة العدوية القيسية) (714/717/718 — 801 CE) was an Arab Muslim saint and Sufi mystic and carried her life out as an influential religious figure. She is known in some parts of th ...

, who according to him is "the most prestigious interpreter" of love. Ibn Arabi also recounts his encounter and service to mystic , with whom he recites '' Al Fātiḥah'' (the first

surah A ''surah'' (; ar, سورة, sūrah, , ), is the equivalent of "chapter" in the Qur'an. There are 114 ''surahs'' in the Quran, each divided into '' ayats'' (verses). The chapters or ''surahs'' are of unequal length; the shortest surah (''Al-Ka ...

of the

Quran The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...

) and whose degree of spiritual elevation he admires.

Legacy

The ''Illuminations'' are a classic of Sufism, theology and

Islamic philosophy Islamic philosophy is philosophy that emerges from the Islamic tradition. Two terms traditionally used in the Islamic world are sometimes translated as philosophy—falsafa (literally: "philosophy"), which refers to philosophy as well as logic, ...

. They influenced the "Spiritual Writings" of the

emir Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cer ...

Abd el-Kader Abd al-Qadir or Abdulkadir ( ar, عبد القادر) is a male Muslim given name. It is formed from the Arabic words '' Abd'', '' al-'' and '' Qadir''. The name means "servant of the powerful", ''Al-Qādir'' being one of the names of God in th ...

, who published the book in 1857, and perhaps

Dante Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian people, Italian Italian poetry, poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', origin ...

. Henry Corbin compared Dante's Béatrice, which leads the poet to paradise in the ''Divine Comedy'' and awakens him to love in the '' Vita Nuova'', to Ibn Arabi's Nizhâm, a mystical woman who initiates the Andalusian philosopher to the experience of God's love.Florian Besson
"Ibn Arabî"
''Les Clés du Moyen Orient'', 1 April 2013.

References

Bibliography

;Partial editions * Anthology: ''Les Illuminations de La Mecque'', Paris,

Éditions Albin Michel Éditions Albin Michel is a French publisher. In January 2022, the new director is Anna Pavlowitch, the daughter of Paul Pavlowitch, Romain Gary and Jean Seberg's nephew. History It was founded in 1900 by Albin Michel. They published, first, Ro ...

, 2008 (1988), ''Spiritualités vivantes '', trans.

. * Anthology: ''Les Révélations de La Mecque'', Paris, Entrelacs, 2009, trans. Abdallah Penot. * Two chapters in: ''Par-delà le miroir'', Paris, Entrelacs, 2012, "Hikma", trans. Abdallah Penot. * Chapters 61 to 65: ''De la mort à la résurrection'', Paris, Albouraq, 2009, trans. Maurice Gloton. * Chapter 167: ''L'Alchimie du Bonheur parfait'', Paris, Berg International, 1981, trans. Stéphane Ruspoli. * Chapitre 178 : ''Traité de l'amour'', Paris, Albin Michel, 1986, "Spiritualités vivantes", trans. Maurice Gloton. ;Studies * Claude Addas
''Expérience et doctrine de l'amour chez Ibn Arabî''
in ''Mystique musulmane'' (collective work), Paris, Cariscript, 2002. *

, ''L'imagination créatrice dans le soufisme d'Ibn Arabi'', Paris, Flammarion, 1958, reprint Flammarion-Aubier, 1993. * George Grigore, ''Le concept d’amour chez Ibn 'Arabi'', "Romano-Arabica", II, Bucharest: Center for Arab Studies. 2002; . {{Authority control Islam-related literature Islamic philosophical poetry books Islamic philosophical texts Sufi literature Ibn Arabi Mystical books Amiri Press publications