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When the mystery of the oneness of the soul and the Divine is revealed to you, you will understand that you are no other than God.

Ibn ‘Arabi

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The Soul and the Divine

Topic: Immanence & Transcendence

When the mystery of the oneness of the soul and the Divine is revealed to you, you will understand that you are no other than God. … Then you will see all your actions to be His actions and all your attributes to be His attributes and your essence to be His essence.

… Thus, instead of [your own] essence, there is the essence of God and in place of [your own] attributes, there are the attributes of God. He who knows himself sees his whole existence to be the Divine existence, but does not experience that any change has taken place in his own nature or qualities. For when you know yourself, your sense of a limited identity vanishes, and you know that you and God are one and the same.

Ibn ‘Arabi

Moorish Andalusian Spain (Renowned Sufi
Mystic, Philosopher, Poet and Sage)

(1165 – 1240 AD) Islam

Landau, Rom. (1959). The Philosophy of Ibn 'Arabi. New York, The MacMillan Company. pp. 83-8

Ibn ‘Arabi


Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240)

According to the website of the The Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society:
“Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi (1165-1240) [was] a medieval mystic from Andalusia, known as the Sheikh al Akbar (the greatest teacher) in the East, and as Doctor Maximus in the West.

Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, … Ibn ‘Arabi is one of the world’s great spiritual teachers. Known as Muhyiddin (the Revivifier of Religion) and the Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Master), he was born in 1165 AD into the Moorish culture of Andalusian Spain, the center of an extraordinary flourishing and cross-fertilization of Jewish, Christian and Islamic thought, through which the major scientific and philosophical works of antiquity were transmitted to Northern Europe. Ibn ‘Arabi’s spiritual attainments were evident from an early age, and he was renowned for his great visionary capacity as well as being a superlative teacher. He traveled extensively in the Islamic world and died in Damascus in 1240 AD.

He wrote over 350 works including the Fusûs al-Hikam, an exposition of the inner meaning of the wisdom of the prophets in the Judaic/ Christian/ Islamic line, and the Futûhât al-Makkiyya, a vast encyclopedia of spiritual knowledge which unites and distinguishes the three strands of tradition, reason and mystical insight. In his Diwân and Tarjumân al-Ashwâq he also wrote some of the finest poetry in the Arabic language. These extensive writings provide a beautiful exposition of the Unity of Being, the single and indivisible reality which simultaneously transcends and is manifested in all the images of the world. Ibn ‘Arabi shows how Man, in perfection, is the complete image of this reality and how those who truly know their essential self, know God.

Firmly rooted in the Quran, his work is universal, accepting that each person has a unique path to the truth, which unites all paths in itself. He has profoundly influenced the development of Islam since his time, as well as significant aspects of the philosophy and literature of the West. His wisdom has much to offer us in the modern world in terms of understanding what it means to be human.”

—Accessed at http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/ibnarabi.html

Additional Ibn ‘Arabi quotes

“It is He who is revealed in every face, sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye, worshipped in every object of worship, and pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a single one of His creatures can fail to find Him in its primordial and original nature.”

—Ibn ‘Arabi, from “The Openings of Mecca” [Futûhât al-Makkiyya].

Know Him as both particularized and unparticularized, and be established in Truth. Be in a state of unity if you wish, or be in a state of separation if you wish; if the Totality reveals Itself to you, you will attain the crown of victory.

—Ibn ‘Arabi, from Ibn ‘Arabi in Austin, 1980; p. 125