Twenty-Nine Pages: An Introduction to Ibn Arabi's Metaphysics of Unity

Ibn Arabi

Paperback

9780904975208

This book consists of edited highlights from A.E. Affifi's The Mystical Philosophy of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, originally published by Cambridge University Press in 1938. The extracts presented here as a continuous text were first put together more than twenty years ago by Bulent Rauf, Consultant to the Beshara Trust until his death in 1987. His intention was to provide a complete introductory guide to the language and thought of Ibn 'Arabi, particularly those aspects of his doctrine which refer to the Unity of Being and the Perfectibility of Man.

Long known simply as the 'Twenty-nine pages' from the format of its original printing, this text has been a foundation for study at the Beshara School of Intensive Esoteric Education, where it has been read prior to Ibn 'Arabi's own more demanding works such as the Fusus al-Hikam. The clarity of the exposition and depth of meaning make it an invaluable reference work for all students of mysticism and the spiritual life, whatever their background.

About the Author

Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi, one of the greatest mystics of all time, was born in Murcia in 1165, of an ancient Arab family. His intellectual ability and spiritual aptitude were apparent from an early age, and he studied assiduously under many teachers in Andalusia and the Maghrib. After extensive travels in the Islamic world, he died at Damascus in 1240. He left more than 400 writings, in which the primordial principle of the Absolute Unity of Existence is expressed with unique clarity and fullness. To many he is known simply as al-Shaykh al-Akbār – 'the Greatest Teacher'.