Ibn Al-Arabi and Islamic Intellectual Culture PB

Caner K. Dagli

Paperback, 168 pages

9780367869885

From Mysticism to Philosophy

This work traces the history of the concept of "oneness of being" (wahdat al-wujūd) in the school of Ibn al- 'Arabī, in order to explore the relationship between mysticism and philosophy in Islamic intellectual life. It examines how the conceptual language used by early mystical writers became increasingly engaged over time with the broader Islamic intellectual culture, eventually becoming integrated with the latter’s common philosophical and theological vocabulary. It focuses on four successive generations of thinkers (Sadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī, Mu'ayyad al-Dīn al-Jandī, 'Abd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī, and Dāwūd al-Qaysarī), and examines how these "philosopher-mystics" refined and developed the ideas of Ibn al-'Arabī. Through a close analysis of texts, the book clearly traces the crystallization of an influential school of thought in Islamic history and its place in the broader intellectual culture.

Contents

1 Theoretical Considerations: Cutting the Pie of Mysticism, Philosophy, and Theology

2 Setting the Stage for the School of Ibn al-'Arabi

3 Metaphysical Preliminaries

4 Qunawi's Metaphysics

5 Jandi's Use of Wujud and Related Concepts

6 Kashani: Conditioning and Proving God's Existence

7 Qaysari and the Centrality of Existence Conclusion