Abstract
This chapter explores the subject of “holy envy” in Islam as arguably implicit in the thought of Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-‘Arabi (1165–1240 CE), a Sufi mystic and Muslim philosopher. In particular, it focuses on Ibn al-‘Arabi’s conception of the insan al-kamil, or the perfected human being, who is graced with the understanding that the essence of religion is inherently connected to the wonder of divine friendship (wilaya). Other concepts in Ibn al-‘Arabi’s thought that are analyzed such as tajalliyat Allah (the self-disclosure of God) and wahdat al-wujud (unity of being). Together, these concepts describe a universalism with profoundly inclusive implications, within which appreciation for differences surpasses mere toleration for differences or “deviations” from one’s own understanding of truth to become an authentic expression of spiritual belief and practice.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Toshihiko Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 254.
- 2.
Religious pluralism is a highly contested topic with many different scholarly definitions. For this chapter the author wants to underscore those definitions that emphasize the value of the other’s identity and the necessity of empathy. Carl R. Rogers defined the emphatic state as “entering into the private perceptual world of the other and becoming thoroughly at home in it” [Carl R. Rogers, A Way of Being (NY: Houghton Mifflin, 1980), 142]. Religious pluralism in this understanding is not a mere tolerance of the other but the pursuit of sacred meaning with the other.
- 3.
For examples of such scholarship, see Maria Rosa Menocal, The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain (Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 2002); John Andrew Morrow, The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World (Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis, 2013); Annemarie Schimmel, The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture (London: Reaktion Books, 2004).
- 4.
William C. Chittick, Ibn ‘Arabi: Heir to the Prophets (Oxford: Oneworld Publications, 2005), 40.
- 5.
William C. Chittick, Imaginal Worlds: Ibn ‘Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1994), 15.
- 6.
William C. Chittick, The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination (Albany: State University of New York Press, 1989), 82.
- 7.
Ibid., 230.
- 8.
Annemarie Schimmel, And Muhammad is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety (Lahore, Pakistan: Vanguard Books, Ltd., 1985), 124–5.
- 9.
Farhana Mayer, Spiritual Gems: The Mystical Qur’an Commentary Ascribed to Ja‘far al-Sadiq as Contained in Sulami’s Haqa’iq al-Tafsir from the text of Paul Nwyia (Louisville, KY: Fons Vitae Publishers, 2011), liii.
- 10.
Chodkiewicz, Michel. Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn ‘Arabi (Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society, 1993), 30.
- 11.
Ibid., 36.
- 12.
Ibid., 95.
- 13.
Ibid., 90.
- 14.
Ibid., 98.
- 15.
Ibn al-‘Arabi. Sufis of Andalusia (The Ruh al-Quds and al-Durrat al-Fakhirahi). Translated by R.W.J. Austin. (Sherborne: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1971), 142.
- 16.
See Ibn al-Arabi, Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, translated by Reynold A. Nicholson (London: Fletcher & Sons Ltd., 1978), 67 and Michael A. Sells, Stations of Desire: Love Elegies from Ibn ‘Arabi and New Poems (Jerusalem: Ibis Publishers, 2000), 75.
- 17.
Ibn al-‘Arabi in Izutsu, Sufism and Taoism : A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1983), 254.
- 18.
Ibid., 254.
- 19.
Chittick, The Sufi Path of Knowledge, 103.
Bibliography
Addas, Claude. 2000. Ibn ‘Arabi: The Voyage of No Return. Cambridge: The Islamic Texts Society.
al-Jaza’iri, Emir ‘Abd al-Qadir. 2011. The God Conditioned by Belief. In Universal Dimensions of Islam: Studies in Comparative Religion, ed. Patrick Laude. Bloomington: World Wisdom.
Chittick, William C. 1989. The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination. Albany: State University of New York Press.
———. 1994. Imaginal Worlds: Ibn ‘Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity. Albany: State University of New York Press.
———. 1998. The Self–Disclosure of God: Principles of Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Cosmology. Albany: State University of New York Press.
———. 2005. Ibn ‘Arabi: Heir to the Prophets. Oxford: Oneworld Publications.
Chodkiewicz, Michel. 1993. Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn ‘Arabi. Cambridge: Islamic Texts Society.
Corbin, Henry. 1998. The Voyage and the Messenger: Iran and Philosophy. Berkeley: North Atlantic Books.
Hirtenstein, Stephen. 1999. The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn ‘Arabi. Oxford: Anqa Publishing.
Ibn ‘Arabi, Muhyiddin. 1978. Tarjuman al-Ashwaq. Trans. Reynold A. Nicholson. London: Fletcher & Sons Ltd.
———. 1980. Kernel of the Kernel. Trans. Ismail Hakki Bursevi. Gloucestershire: Beshara Publications.
Izutsu, Toshihiko. 1983. Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Mayer, Farhana. 2011. Spiritual Gems: The Mystical Qur’an Commentary Ascribed to Ja‘far al-Sadiq as Contained in Sulami’s Haqa’iq al-Tafsir from the text of Paul Nwyia. Louisville: Fons Vitae Publishers.
Menocal, Maria Rosa. 2002. The Ornament of the World: How Muslims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance in Medieval Spain. Boston: Little, Brown and Company.
Morrow, John Andrew. 2013. The Covenants of the Prophet Muhammad with the Christians of the World. Kettering: Angelico Press/Sophia Perennis.
Murata, Sachiko. 1992. The Tao of Islam: A Sourcebook on Gender Relationships in Islamic Thought. Albany: State University of New York Press.
Rogers, Carl R. 1980. A Way of Being. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
Schimmel, Annemarie. 1985. And Muhammad is His Messenger: The Veneration of the Prophet in Islamic Piety. Lahore: Vanguard Books, Ltd.
———. 2004. The Empire of the Great Mughals: History, Art and Culture. London: Reaktion Books.
Sells, Michael A. 1994. Mystical Languages of Unsaying. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.
———. 2000. Stations of Desire: Love Elegies from Ibn ‘Arabi and New Poems. Jerusalem: Ibis Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2018 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sharify-Funk, M. (2018). Ibn al-‘Arabi and the Virtues of “Holy Envy” in Islam. In: Gustafson, H. (eds) Learning from Other Religious Traditions. Pathways for Ecumenical and Interreligious Dialogue. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76108-4_3
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-76108-4_3
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-76107-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-76108-4
eBook Packages: Religion and PhilosophyPhilosophy and Religion (R0)