Papers by Mukhtar H Ali
Handbook of Qurʾānic Hermeneutics: Qurʾānic Hermeneutics from the 13th to the 19th Century: Volume 3, 2024
This article investigates Mulla Sadr'a writings on the Quran and his hermeneutical vision.Like hi... more This article investigates Mulla Sadr'a writings on the Quran and his hermeneutical vision.Like his philosophical synthesis, his Qurʾānic commentaries bring together four traditions of Qurʾānic commentary: the Sufi, the Shiʿi the theological and the philosophical.
St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology, 2024
This entry investigates the singular Islamic theme of al-ḥaqq and al-ḥaqīqa (truth and reality), ... more This entry investigates the singular Islamic theme of al-ḥaqq and al-ḥaqīqa (truth and reality), with particular attention being given to the mystical tradition of Islam. Since there are numerous meanings underpinning al-ḥaqq, including truth, reality, fact, rightness, established, and necessary, we begin by analysing its semantic field then its usage in the Qur'an and Sunna. The entry will then investigate epistemic theories of truth with reference to the positions held by major Islamic philosophical schools. The main body of the entry, however, dives into the heart of Sufism by focusing on the path to God through the divine name al-Ḥaqq and the nature, knowledge, manifestation, and station of reality (maqām al-ḥaqīqa). Of this tradition, both the practical and theoretical dimensions will be considered as articulated in ʿAbdullāh Anṣārī's manual of spiritual wayfaring and the key teachings of Ibn ʿArabī through a discussion of prophetic archetypes.
Islamic Thought and the Art of Translation, 2023
This reflective essay on knowledge transmission investigates translation in the Islamic metaphysi... more This reflective essay on knowledge transmission investigates translation in the Islamic metaphysical tradition. It addresses spiritual languages, the
types of translators and ends with a few remarks on the practical concerns and challenges of translating this genre.
Intellectual History of the Islamicate World, 2024
This article investigates the influence of Andalusī Sufism in the writings of Persian Sufi schola... more This article investigates the influence of Andalusī Sufism in the writings of Persian Sufi scholar Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī. It explores Āmulī's major enterprise to unify Shiʿism and Sufism, which drew upon the conceptual frameworks articulated in Ibn al-ʿArabī's teachings on the Perfect Human. Āmulī's Shiʿi-Sufi synthesis is rooted in the concept of wilāya, the unifying element in the Shiʿi doctrine of the Imamate and Ibn al-ʿArabī's theory of the Perfect Human. Finally, the article translates and analyses the key section on wilāya in Āmulī's seminal work, Jāmiʿ al-asrār wa manbaʿ al-anwār (The Compendium of Mysteries and Source of Lights).
Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, 2023
This short treatise contains the knowledge of the divine name of Majesty
(al-jalāla), which is th... more This short treatise contains the knowledge of the divine name of Majesty
(al-jalāla), which is the all-inclusive name, Allah. Ibn al-ʿArabī explains
the meaning of each component letter of the word ‘Allah’ and the significance
of the implied wāw in Allāh(ū) as it relates to the Supreme Identity
(huwiyya). After revealing some of the secrets contained in the huwa (He),
the author remarks that the distinguishing characteristic of this name is
the bewilderment that one feels when trying to know it or witness it. Thus,
in the final section, he illustrates that since Allah is hidden behind veils of
light and darkness, ‘everything enters bewilderment’.
Nondualism: An Interreligious Exploration, 2023
Islam espouses the doctrine of divine unity (tawḥīḍ), also expressed in one of its philosophical ... more Islam espouses the doctrine of divine unity (tawḥīḍ), also expressed in one of its philosophical elaborations as the unity of Being. The Arabic word tawḥīḍ means “to make one” and, according to the earliest experts, it is “affirming the eternal and negating the engendered,” or “the removal of relations,” or “affirming oneness without association in attribute or description,” or “the effacement of human effects and isolating the divine,” or “the subsistence of God and the annihilation of everything other than Him.” This essay explores the basic Islamic theological positions concerning nondualism and the implications of the oneness of Being, with an emphasis on Sufism, the mystical dimension of Islam. It will investigate the concepts of transcendence and immanence, divine manifestation, and the degrees of Being, as well as the various charges leveled against Sufis, such as pantheism, incarnation, and anthropomorphism. Finally, as a case study in nondualism, the paper will present a critique of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity through the lens of Islamic monotheism.
From the Divine to the Human: Contemporary Islamic Thinkers on Evil, Suffering, and the Global Pandemic, 2023
This paper examines one of the key themes of Islamic spirituality, self-knowledge (maʿrifat al-na... more This paper examines one of the key themes of Islamic spirituality, self-knowledge (maʿrifat al-nafs) and its relationship to divine trial and discipleship. Knowledge of the soul has been the focal point for Islamic philosophers, mystics and sages as they have included it in every discussion on spirituality. Self-knowledge constitutes knowing how to discipline and transform the soul (nafs), and thereafter, actualize the higher human faculties of the heart and intellect. Because the soul is illusive and recalcitrant in nature, spiritual teachers have devised various stratagems to discipline and rectify the soul. There are two aspects to that training, human and divine. On the human side, one disciplines himself through the intellectual faculty and/or is trained by an expert who is considered the spiritual physician, shaykh or sage (ḥakīm). On the divine side, God is the teacher who trains His servant through bounties or trials. The trial is the mirror through which the believer sees his own soul, rectifies his behavior and awakens to God-consciousness.
Journal of the Institute for Sufi Studies, 2022
This essay examines the Quranic narratives of Abraham as interpreted by Ibn al-ʿArabī and his fol... more This essay examines the Quranic narratives of Abraham as interpreted by Ibn al-ʿArabī and his followers. Ibn al-ʿArabī was keen to identify the essential reality of the prophets in his famous work Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. While in the Fuṣūṣ, Ibn al-ʿArabī focuses on his epithet al-khalīl (intimate friend) and his relation to the affirmative attributes of God, the Abrahamic reality is further gleaned from the ways in which the Quran describes his spiritual trajectory. This central prophet of the three major world religions, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam is at once an iconoclast and the paragon of divine unity (tawḥīd), but also represents true religion, life, light, the divine names of origination and the intellect.
Mysticism and Ethics in Islam, 2022
Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, 2021
The stories of the Qurʾān have long been interpreted as providing moral and spiritual guidance. T... more The stories of the Qurʾān have long been interpreted as providing moral and spiritual guidance. Their protagonists, the prophets, are considered paragons of morality and human virtues. Some of the lessons derived from these stories are clear and straightforward; others are rich in allegory and symbolic language that have perplexed Muslim exegetes. This paper examines the way in which the analytical approach established by Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) provides access to such stories by treating them as allegorical narratives that provide insight into the inner workings of the human being. From this perspective, if we identify the overarching principle governing the prophet and perceive his station (maqām), we can gain insight into the nature of his actions pertaining to that station and interpret the story accordingly. Ibn al-ʿArabī provides an interpretive framework by which the language and symbolism of their stories can then be understood, allowing the moral and spiritual lessons therein to be ascertained. To establish this framework, the paper investigates the way in which Abraham, Joseph, and Moses, are understood as archetypal prophets, each of whom corresponds to a particular world, Intellectual, Imaginal and material, respectively. Analysis of their treatment in Sufi texts demonstrates how their narratives are employed to identify central features of defining principles that provide insight into the themes and lessons implicit in their stories.
Journal of Islamic Ethics, 2020
This paper investigates the Sufi concept of futuwwa (spiritual chivalry) in ʿAbdallāh Anṣārī al-H... more This paper investigates the Sufi concept of futuwwa (spiritual chivalry) in ʿAbdallāh Anṣārī al-Harawī's (d. 481/1089) classic manual of spiritual wayfaring, Manāzil al-Sāʾirīn ("Stations of the Wayfarers"). After briefly taking stock of the earliest statements on fu-tuwwa cited in al-Qushayrī's (d. 465/1073) Risāla, we take a closer look at the Manāzil's commentarial tradition, offering a complete translation of both Anṣārī's chapter on the subject and ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī's (d. 731/1330) commentary. In Anṣārī's view, there are three aspects to futuwwa. The first aspect is in relation to oneself, the second is in relation to others, and the third is in relation to God. Futuwwa in relation to oneself is to accept trials and tribulations in stride. With respect to others, it is to hold oneself but not others accountable, seeing outward injuries as inward blessings. With respect to one's relation to God, it is to abandon means and ends, relying on God alone through the heart's reception, not the intellect's endeavour. The discussion section offers an ontological-ethical investigation through a close reading of the text and its commentary, then offers a broader perspective on futuwwa, which is tantamount to the noblest character traits (makārim al-akhlāq). In the final analysis, futuwwa sym-bolises the quality of the spiritual warrior who conquers his lower self to attain the makārim al-akhlāq.
Spirituality and the Good Life: Philosophical Approaches, 2017
Islam is essentially defined by the Qurʾān, but the words of the prophets and saints, recorded as... more Islam is essentially defined by the Qurʾān, but the words of the prophets and saints, recorded as narrations (ḥadīth), prayers, and supplications have also shaped its message. While some of these prayers inform their followers of the philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the spiritual life, they also focus on a personal relationship with God and how to foster it through open, heartfelt communication. Prayer in Islam not only consists of the five canonical prayers, but as its lexical meaning suggests, includes supplication, petition, invoking blessing, and seeking forgiveness. Even though Islam deems contemplation, self-reflection, and the pursuit of knowledge as essential forms of worship, this chapter explores the power of the word in three closely related spiritual practices: prayer (ṣalāt), invocation (dhikr), and supplication (duʿā).
A Companion to World Literature, 2020
Muhyiddin Ibn al‐ʿArabi, known as the Greatest Master (al‐Shaykh al‐Akbar) is one of Islam's most... more Muhyiddin Ibn al‐ʿArabi, known as the Greatest Master (al‐Shaykh al‐Akbar) is one of Islam's most influential thinkers and prolific writers. He brought the esoteric dimension of Islam to new heights and created a comprehensive system of mystical thought that has infused virtually every Islamic discipline for the past 700 years. After discussing his influence on Islamic scholarship, this chapter will focus on some of his most important ideas: his theory of knowledge, the nature of Being, the concept of Man, and finally, the hierarchy of spiritual people, namely, the saints who are the heirs to the prophets. In this last aspect, Ibn al‐ʿArabi claimed to have been nominated as the Seal of the Saints, a claim that would endure for centuries without being challenged by any other mystic thereafter, earning him his title, the Greatest Master. This study concludes with a discussion on the finality of Ibn al‐ʿArabi's sainthood which is, in his own doctrine, superseded by the Solitary Ones (al‐afrād), individuals who are beyond the purview of even the Pole of existence (al‐qutb).
Journal of Sufi Studies, 2016
This article represents a preliminary inquiry into a little known and understudied commentarial t... more This article represents a preliminary inquiry into a little known and understudied commentarial tradition upon ʿAbd Allāh al-Anṣārī’s classic work on the stations of Sufism,
the Manāzil al-sāʾirīn (Stations of the Wayfarers). After briefly taking stock of the considerably late commentarial tradition which this important text engendered, we will
take as our case study one of the Manāzil ’s key topics, namely its sixty-first chapter on
the station of love. This pivotal section on love gives profound insight into early Sufism
and into the minds of two of its greatest exponents. Anṣārī discusses the station of
love in detail, as he does with every chapter, in three aspects, each pertaining to the
three types of wayfarers: the initiates, the elect, and the foremost of the elect. Then,
we shall turn our attention to perhaps the most important Sufi commentary upon this
work by an important follower of the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq Kāshānī,
offering a guided reading of his commentary upon Anṣarī’s chapter on love in the
Manāzil. A complete English translation of this chapter will be offered and appropriately
contextualized.
Journal of Shi'a Islamic Studies, 2009
A complete understanding of ethical and spiritual perfection must be acquired within the context ... more A complete understanding of ethical and spiritual perfection must be acquired within the context of the metaphysical world-view of any particular school. This is because spiritual and ethical perfection presupposes knowledge of the soul and the means by which it acquires perfections. A comprehensive theory of the soul, therefore, constitutes the theoretical framework through which any coherent argument of spiritual perfection can be posited. The present paper analyses the metaphysical foundations of spiritual perfection as held by Ali ibn Sina and Sadr al-Din al-Qunawi. Since Ibn Sina represents the school of Peripatetic philosophy and Al-Qunawi represents the school of gnosticism (Sufism), this paper will examine and compare the theory of the soul, its divisions, and its perfections, as articulated by two of the most important exponents of these schools.
Books by Mukhtar H Ali
Brill, 2020
The Horizons of Being explores the teachings of Ibn al-'ArabI by examining
Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī's ... more The Horizons of Being explores the teachings of Ibn al-'ArabI by examining
Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī's ( d. 751/1350) Prolegomena to his commentary on the Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, popularly known as the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī. A masterpiece of Sufism, the Muqaddima is both a distillation of the Fuṣūṣ and a summary of Ibn al-'Arabī's entire metaphysical worldview. As such, it is a foundational text that delves into the most important subjects characterizing the philosophical Sufi tradition: Being, God's attributes, divine knowledge, the universal worlds, unveiling, creation and the microcosm, the perfect human, the origin and return of the spirit, prophethood and sainthood. The present work is a complete translation of the Muqaddima and a commentary that incorporates the ideas of the main exponents of this tradition.
Routledge, 2021
Analyzing the intersection between Sufism and philosophy, this volume is a sweeping examination o... more Analyzing the intersection between Sufism and philosophy, this volume is a sweeping examination of the mystical philosophy of Muḥyī-l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 637/1240), one of the most influential and original thinkers of the Islamic world. This book systematically covers Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ontology, theology, epistemology, teleology, spiritual anthropology and eschatology.
While philosophy uses deductive reasoning to discover the fundamental nature of existence and Sufism relies on spiritual experience, it was not until the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī that philosophy and Sufism converged into a single framework by elaborating spiritual doctrines in precise philosophical language. Contextualizing the historical development of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s school, the work draws from the earliest commentators of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre, Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274), ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. ca. 730/1330) and Dawūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350), but also draws from the medieval heirs of his doctrines Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī (d. 787/1385), the pivotal intellectual and mystical figure of Persia who recast philosophical Sufism within the framework of Twelver Shīʿism and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the key figure in the dissemination of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ideas in the Persianate world as well as the Ottoman Empire, India, China and East Asia via Central Asia.
Lucidly written and comprehensive in scope, with careful treatments of the key authors, Philosophical Sufism is a highly accessible introductory text for students and researchers interested in Islam, philosophy, religion and the Middle East.
Book Reviews by Mukhtar H Ali
The American Journal of Islamic Social Sciences, 2014
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Papers by Mukhtar H Ali
types of translators and ends with a few remarks on the practical concerns and challenges of translating this genre.
(al-jalāla), which is the all-inclusive name, Allah. Ibn al-ʿArabī explains
the meaning of each component letter of the word ‘Allah’ and the significance
of the implied wāw in Allāh(ū) as it relates to the Supreme Identity
(huwiyya). After revealing some of the secrets contained in the huwa (He),
the author remarks that the distinguishing characteristic of this name is
the bewilderment that one feels when trying to know it or witness it. Thus,
in the final section, he illustrates that since Allah is hidden behind veils of
light and darkness, ‘everything enters bewilderment’.
the Manāzil al-sāʾirīn (Stations of the Wayfarers). After briefly taking stock of the considerably late commentarial tradition which this important text engendered, we will
take as our case study one of the Manāzil ’s key topics, namely its sixty-first chapter on
the station of love. This pivotal section on love gives profound insight into early Sufism
and into the minds of two of its greatest exponents. Anṣārī discusses the station of
love in detail, as he does with every chapter, in three aspects, each pertaining to the
three types of wayfarers: the initiates, the elect, and the foremost of the elect. Then,
we shall turn our attention to perhaps the most important Sufi commentary upon this
work by an important follower of the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq Kāshānī,
offering a guided reading of his commentary upon Anṣarī’s chapter on love in the
Manāzil. A complete English translation of this chapter will be offered and appropriately
contextualized.
Books by Mukhtar H Ali
Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī's ( d. 751/1350) Prolegomena to his commentary on the Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, popularly known as the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī. A masterpiece of Sufism, the Muqaddima is both a distillation of the Fuṣūṣ and a summary of Ibn al-'Arabī's entire metaphysical worldview. As such, it is a foundational text that delves into the most important subjects characterizing the philosophical Sufi tradition: Being, God's attributes, divine knowledge, the universal worlds, unveiling, creation and the microcosm, the perfect human, the origin and return of the spirit, prophethood and sainthood. The present work is a complete translation of the Muqaddima and a commentary that incorporates the ideas of the main exponents of this tradition.
While philosophy uses deductive reasoning to discover the fundamental nature of existence and Sufism relies on spiritual experience, it was not until the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī that philosophy and Sufism converged into a single framework by elaborating spiritual doctrines in precise philosophical language. Contextualizing the historical development of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s school, the work draws from the earliest commentators of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre, Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274), ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. ca. 730/1330) and Dawūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350), but also draws from the medieval heirs of his doctrines Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī (d. 787/1385), the pivotal intellectual and mystical figure of Persia who recast philosophical Sufism within the framework of Twelver Shīʿism and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the key figure in the dissemination of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ideas in the Persianate world as well as the Ottoman Empire, India, China and East Asia via Central Asia.
Lucidly written and comprehensive in scope, with careful treatments of the key authors, Philosophical Sufism is a highly accessible introductory text for students and researchers interested in Islam, philosophy, religion and the Middle East.
Book Reviews by Mukhtar H Ali
types of translators and ends with a few remarks on the practical concerns and challenges of translating this genre.
(al-jalāla), which is the all-inclusive name, Allah. Ibn al-ʿArabī explains
the meaning of each component letter of the word ‘Allah’ and the significance
of the implied wāw in Allāh(ū) as it relates to the Supreme Identity
(huwiyya). After revealing some of the secrets contained in the huwa (He),
the author remarks that the distinguishing characteristic of this name is
the bewilderment that one feels when trying to know it or witness it. Thus,
in the final section, he illustrates that since Allah is hidden behind veils of
light and darkness, ‘everything enters bewilderment’.
the Manāzil al-sāʾirīn (Stations of the Wayfarers). After briefly taking stock of the considerably late commentarial tradition which this important text engendered, we will
take as our case study one of the Manāzil ’s key topics, namely its sixty-first chapter on
the station of love. This pivotal section on love gives profound insight into early Sufism
and into the minds of two of its greatest exponents. Anṣārī discusses the station of
love in detail, as he does with every chapter, in three aspects, each pertaining to the
three types of wayfarers: the initiates, the elect, and the foremost of the elect. Then,
we shall turn our attention to perhaps the most important Sufi commentary upon this
work by an important follower of the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī, ʿAbd al-Razzāq Kāshānī,
offering a guided reading of his commentary upon Anṣarī’s chapter on love in the
Manāzil. A complete English translation of this chapter will be offered and appropriately
contextualized.
Dāwūd al-Qayṣarī's ( d. 751/1350) Prolegomena to his commentary on the Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, popularly known as the Muqaddimat al-Qayṣarī. A masterpiece of Sufism, the Muqaddima is both a distillation of the Fuṣūṣ and a summary of Ibn al-'Arabī's entire metaphysical worldview. As such, it is a foundational text that delves into the most important subjects characterizing the philosophical Sufi tradition: Being, God's attributes, divine knowledge, the universal worlds, unveiling, creation and the microcosm, the perfect human, the origin and return of the spirit, prophethood and sainthood. The present work is a complete translation of the Muqaddima and a commentary that incorporates the ideas of the main exponents of this tradition.
While philosophy uses deductive reasoning to discover the fundamental nature of existence and Sufism relies on spiritual experience, it was not until the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī that philosophy and Sufism converged into a single framework by elaborating spiritual doctrines in precise philosophical language. Contextualizing the historical development of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s school, the work draws from the earliest commentators of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre, Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Qūnawī (d. 673/1274), ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Kāshānī (d. ca. 730/1330) and Dawūd al-Qayṣarī (d. 751/1350), but also draws from the medieval heirs of his doctrines Sayyid Ḥaydar Āmulī (d. 787/1385), the pivotal intellectual and mystical figure of Persia who recast philosophical Sufism within the framework of Twelver Shīʿism and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī (d. 898/1492), the key figure in the dissemination of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s ideas in the Persianate world as well as the Ottoman Empire, India, China and East Asia via Central Asia.
Lucidly written and comprehensive in scope, with careful treatments of the key authors, Philosophical Sufism is a highly accessible introductory text for students and researchers interested in Islam, philosophy, religion and the Middle East.