Ibn ‘Arabi, like other Sufi philosophers, presents a stricter view of Islamic monotheism. For ‘Arabi – God or The Real is the only Necessary Being that cannot not exist. All else is in fact dependent on God. A creature is a mere potential, contingent on the only Real. Therefore, nothing can be said to be truly Real, but God. Thus, nothing truly exists, but God.

Hello and welcome back to my channel.

Today we’re talking about the renowned Islamic philosopher, scholar, mystic and poet, Ibn ‘Arabi, and his views and concept of God, often summed up as “the unity of being”

I have spoken about Ibn ‘Arabi in previous videos on this channel. But I’d like to take a minute to talk about him, here, before we delve into this amazing topic.

Ibn ‘Arabi was known as “the greatest sheik”, and is both a revered and controversial figure in Islamic history. But, undoubtedly, he’s one of the most interesting – and this is largely due to his very unique cosmological and metaphysical ideas, some if which we’ll discuss here.

Arabi was born in the year 1165, in Murcia, Spain, which was then called Al-Andalus. He wrote hundreds of works, some of which have been translated into English. His works are in fact quite extensive, complicated and extraordinary; so only few can profess to have read them, and fewer can claim to know them.

Yet, his teachings have had a massive impact inside and outside of the Muslim world.

So, according to Ibn Arabi, how can we describe the nature of the Divine? God, in Islamic theology, and according to Ibn Arabi – is the un-created, Creator. God is eternal, boundless, everlasting, omnipresent and omnipotent, self-sufficient. In fact, God has limitless names and attributes. God exists through his Essence, which is largely unknown. There is nothing like God.

In The Meccan Revelations, translated by Chittick and Morris — in Ibn ‘Arabi’s cosmological perspective, God is the first existent within spiritual creation, in order to make manifest the Divine Attributes, or the Divine Names.

“He brought the World into existence, to make manifest the authority of the Names, since power without an object…a provider without one provided for, a helper without someone helped, and a possessor of compassion without an object of compassion would be realities whose effects are nullified.”

For Arabi –

The Absolute is the Real, the Truth, the One

You have the Absolute,

Then, the Essence, is an aspect of the Absolute, that has Attributes.

The Divine Names are indicative of said Attributes

Creation is a reflection of those Divine Names.

But Ibn ‘Arabi, like other Sufi philosophers, presents a stricter view of Islamic monotheism.

For Ibn ‘Arabi –

God or The Real is the only Necessary Being that cannot not exist.

All else is in fact dependent on God.

For the creation, “Being” is on loan. A creature does not own its being, and can never be independent in itself, or do without Him who lends it Being. A creature is a mere potential, contingent on the only Real.

Therefore, nothing can be said to be truly Real, but God.

Thus, nothing truly exists, but God.

BUT, if according to ‘Arabi, only God exists, what does that mean for creation? The everyday existence we experience around us? Is creation and existence also God? Yes, and no. Creation is but a reflection of the truly Real.

Arabi means that what we perceive as “reality” in the sensible world around us, can be likened to a dream or an illusion – or rather a mere reflection or shadow of the Real. To put it another way – all men are essentially asleep in this world, until they pass away, or attain a level of spiritual realization before death. However, this dreamlike or illusory state of creation is neither value-less nor false; it simply means “being a symbolic reflection of something truly Real.”

Consider this Mirror metaphor – Ibn ‘Arabi spoke of God as Mirror of the World. A mirror image is both the mirror and the object that it reflects; or, it is neither the mirror nor the object. Thus, creation can be viewed as God, or not Him.

With respect to humanity, Ibn ‘Arabi also spoke of Man as Mirror of God. Using the cosmic mirror metaphor, which I have explored in other videos as well – the cosmic mirror reflects the Divine Names, of which Adam or mankind, is the spirit of reflection. And once this cosmic mirror is polished and flat, God can be reflected splendidly – and the otherness of the mirror can be totally effaced so divine reality and humanity can be perfectly aligned.

Is God then wholly transcendent and separate from creation? Yes, and no.

God is not merely sitting high on a throne up high. God, for creation, is both transcendent and imminent.

We have discussed already that the Real is Being itself. We understand that God transcends creation, is not dependent on any relationship with creation, and is beyond full human comprehension. But what about God’s immanence?

The Absolute, we are reminded, is both far and near to creation, incomparable and comparable to creatures. All creation is the direct self-disclosure and manifestation of the Real, and the Divine Names.

The Quran, for instance, accentuates the nearness of God to His creatures, and uses creaturely qualities to explain God. God is nearer to a man than his jugular vein. God is intimately aware of His creatures, and everywhere you turn is the face of God. God is the hearing and seeing, and so on. God has breathed from His own spirit into Adam. In the Hadith, we are told that God made man in his own image.

We are left therefore, to embrace the paradox here.

Each thing is at once –

Far from God, and near to God.

Incomparable to God, and comparable to God.

Imbued with God’s Spirit, light and substance. Yet, differentiated from Him.

For Ibn ‘Arabi then – according to William Chittick – “The world which appears as unreality and illusion is in fact nothing but the One Real showing his signs. Rather than excluding all things, God’s unity includes them.”

Suffice to say, there is none like unto God.

To add another layer of understanding, we’d look at Arabi’s ideas on cosmic unification, or rather an interpenetration of attributes with the Divine, especially in his treatment of the Prophet Abraham.

For Arabi –

God is Light

The creature is also Light (but also something added and individuated)

The return to God, through prayer and good actions, is Light upon Light.

Abraham therefore, through his reaching to God, and as a most intimate friend of God, was able to enjoy an interpenetration of attributes with the Divine, to experience the Divine. Much like the dying of a garment, where colour penetrates the cloth.

Arabi says in The Bezels of Wisdom – “Abraham was called the Intimate of God, because he had embraced and penetrated all the Attributes of the Divine Essence.”

Abraham, then, did not cease in approaching God with supererogatory acts until God loved him. This love consists of the “penetration” by the Divine Spirit which courses through every organ and limb of the servant’s body. Therefore, the Real became his hearing and seeing and all faculties. The Real then becomes manifest in the form of his servant and vice versa.

I’ll Conclude – with some lines from the poet himself –

I have two aspects, He and I,

But he is not I, in my I,

In me, is His theatre of manifestation,

And we are for Him, vessels.

Please remember that this is just a simplified explanation of Ibn Arabi’s teachings on the nature of God, which is quite a complex topic, too complex to fully capture here – as Arabi has written thousands of pages and hundreds of books. For more information on Ibn ‘Arabi – check out the videos on this channel. I’ve also included my references and recommended reading in the description below.

Thanks for taking the time to watch.

Peace 🙂