Ibn al-Arabi
Encyclopedia
- For the Sufi scholar, see Ibn ArabiIbn ArabiIbn ʿArabī was an Andalusian Moorish Sufi mystic and philosopher. His full name was Abū 'Abdillāh Muḥammad ibn 'Alī ibn Muḥammad ibn `Arabī .-Biography:...
.
Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi or, in full Muḥammad b. ʿAbdallāh, Ibn al-ʿArabī al-Maʿāfirī, al-Išbīlī, Abū Bakr ( born in Sevilla in 1076 and died in Fez
Fes
Fes or Fez is the second largest city of Morocco, after Casablanca, with a population of approximately 1 million . It is the capital of the Fès-Boulemane region....
in 1148) was a judge and scholar of Maliki
Maliki
The ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
law from al-Andalus
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus was the Arabic name given to a nation and territorial region also commonly referred to as Moorish Iberia. The name describes parts of the Iberian Peninsula and Septimania governed by Muslims , at various times in the period between 711 and 1492, although the territorial boundaries...
. Like Al-Mu'tamid ibn Abbad Ibn al-Arabi was forced to migrate to Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
during the reign of the Almoravids
Almoravids
The Almoravids were a Berber dynasty of Morocco, who formed an empire in the 11th-century that stretched over the western Maghreb and Al-Andalus. Their capital was Marrakesh, a city which they founded in 1062 C.E...
. It is reported that he was a student of Al-Ghazali
Al-Ghazali
Abu Hāmed Mohammad ibn Mohammad al-Ghazzālī , known as Algazel to the western medieval world, born and died in Tus, in the Khorasan province of Persia was a Persian Muslim theologian, jurist, philosopher, and mystic....
for some time. He was a master of Maliki Jurisprudence. His father was a student of Ibn Hazm
Ibn Hazm
Abū Muḥammad ʿAlī ibn Aḥmad ibn Saʿīd ibn Ḥazm ) was an Andalusian philosopher, litterateur, psychologist, historian, jurist and theologian born in Córdoba, present-day Spain...
although Ibn al-Arabi considered him to be deviated. He also contributed to the spread of Ash'ari
Ash'ari
The Ashʿari theology is a school of early Muslim speculative theology founded by the theologian Abu al-Hasan al-Ash'ari...
theology in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. A detailed biography about him was written by his contemporary Qadi Ayyad, the famous Malikite scholar and judge from Ceuta
Ceuta
Ceuta is an autonomous city of Spain and an exclave located on the north coast of North Africa surrounded by Morocco. Separated from the Iberian peninsula by the Strait of Gibraltar, Ceuta lies on the border of the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Ceuta along with the other Spanish...
.(d. 1149).
Abu Bakr Ibn al-‘Arabi (b. 468/1076, d.543/1148) was a “Andalusian Malikite qadi". He was born in Seville Al-Andalus, a region of Spain which became a center of great civilization, particularly generated by non-Arab, non-Muslim influences . Because of this lack of Arab and Muslim scholars in the early middle ages, many Andalusi scholars would often travel to areas of Egypt, Arabia, and Iraq to study with Arab-Islamic scholars and finish their schooling. Ibn al-‘Arabi’s father (Abu Muhammand ibn al-‘Arabi) was a high ranking statesman working for the Taifa king of Seville, al-Mu’tamid ibn ‘Abbad (r.1069-91). However in 1091 when Al-Andalus was taken over by the Almoravids, Ibn al-‘Arabi (now 16), and his father decided to leave for a less turbulent setting (his father also had political motivations). The two al-‘Arabi’s traveled by ship to Egypt, and from there they turned to Jerusalem where they stayed from 1093-1096.
Al-‘Arabi devoted himself to his studies, teaching, and writing. He wrote many books on several different subjects, including hadith, fiqh, usul, Qur’an studies, adab, grammar and history. Some of his works include: Book on the Arrangement of the Travel that Raised my Interests in Religions and Experiences of the Great Authorities and Eminent People by the Observer of Islam and the Various Lands. Ibn al-‘Arabi also wrote, The Rule of Interpretation, and Protective Guards Against Strong Objections (a source of comments that al-Ghazali made to his students) among many other of his works. Two of al-‘Arabi’s books (Tartib al-rohla li al-targhib fi al-millah and Qanun al-ta’wil) provided descriptions of the al-Arabi’s travels, and specifically recounted religious life in the holy city of Jerusalem. These accounts are important, as they may be the only eyewitness accounts by a Muslim in Jerusalem during the Seljuq period, and they also provide a critical Muslim objective.
After leaving Jerusalem in 1096, both al’-Arabi’s traveled to Damascus and Baghdad to study. They settled in Baghdad and returned there after they took pilgrimage. While in Jerusalem, Ibn al-‘Arabi was enticed by all of the scholars he met there, and performing the hajj became an addition in his quest for knowledge. It was only when he returned to Baghdad in 1097 that Ibn al-‘Arabi finally met Imam Abū Ḥāmed al-Ghazālī, under whom Ibn al-‘Arabi studied.
At the age of 21 Ibn al-‘Arabi studied closely with al-Ghazali, an Islamic theologian, philosopher and Sufi mystic. In fact, Ibn al-‘Arabi is said to be one of the “most important sources of information about al-Ghazali’s life and his teachings”. When it came to al-Ghazali’s theology, Ibn al-‘Arabi became a master, and was enthusiastic, but perhaps more importantly critical of his teachings. Although Ibn al-‘Arabi undoubtedly respected al-Ghazali, he was not afraid to express his feelings of difference when it came to the teachings of falsafa (Islamic philosophy).
After Ibn al-‘Arbi’s father died in 1099 (at age 57), he headed back to Seville (at age 26). After being gone for 10 years studying in the Muslim east, he returned as a well esteemed and credited scholar and teacher, as well as a main source to spread the works and teachings of al-Ghazali in the Muslim west. Ibn al-‘Arabi continued to study, reflect upon, and challenge the works of al-Ghazali. For example, al-Ghazali belied that, “there is not in the sphere of possibility anything more excellent, more perfect or more complete than what God has in fact created.” However Ibn al-‘Arabi argues that there is a limitation of God’s power. We can see this argument by Ibn al-‘Arabi’s in some of his other works. For example, there were (and probably still are) times when judges and lawyers were/are faced with a situation where there is not legal text or scripture to help provide insight or guidance on the judicial decision. In these cases, judges and lawyers must use their best discretion to determine the rule of law. Laws of slander came into question, and defining the punishment as a right of God or a private right were debated. While Ibn al-‘Arabi recognized that there are two views on whether the right is of God or a private right, ultimately he felt that the crime should largely be seen as a private right, as it is conditioned by the victim filing a petition.
Ibn al-‘Arabi was particularly interested in questions of the human soul and the study and theory of knowledge. He reflected upon, and wrote about the nature of the soul. Ibn al-‘Arabi studied the Sufi argument that knowledge can only be achieved through purity of the soul, chastening of the heart, and an overall unity between the body and the heart, as well as removal from material motives. Ibn al-‘Arabi argues that this is an extreme position, and believes rather that there is no connection between knowledge a person acquires and any sacred or devout acts that his soul has preformed.
Ibn al-‘Arabi used his knowledge of the soul in his studies of law and ethics. For example, when discussing abortion, madhhabs judgments differ considerably. Malikis and Hanafis tend to take opposite positions on this issue. Malikis generally forbid induced miscarriage after conception, as this is seen to be the point at which the soul is breathed into the unborn child. While Hanafis hold that “induced miscarriage is not punishable until the 120th day of conception”. Ibn al-‘Arabi tried to bridge the gap between the Maliki and the Hanafi opinions by “granting greater protection rights to the embryo after ensoulment,” although ultimately he did not succeed in bridging this gap.
Ibn al-‘Arabi wrote on many other subjects. For instance, he wrote on the mistreatment and disciplining of women. He once wrote, “The former [slaves] need to be disciplined with a stick, while the latter [free man] will not need more than an indication. Among women and even men, there are those who will behave well only through correction (adab). Any man who knows it has to resort to discipline [his wife], although it is preferable if he abstains from it.” However, it seems that Ibn al-‘Arabi was more focused on trying to express “beating in a non violent way.” He believed that this is the “only way allowed by the divine revelation,” because the objective of beating in a non violent way was ultimately to improve the wife’s behavior.
Although Abu Bakr ibn al-‘Arabi may have and some crtics, hewas generally highly acclaimed, authority on hadith, and was regarded as being trustworthy and reliable.
Works
His Major books are:- Commentary on Tirmidhi's Hadith Collection (book) famously known as "'Aridhat al-Ahwazi'".
- Commentary on the Quran known as '"Ahkam al-Quran"'. It contains commentary on the legal rulings of the Qur'anQur'anThe Quran , also transliterated Qur'an, Koran, Alcoran, Qur’ān, Coran, Kuran, and al-Qur’ān, is the central religious text of Islam, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God . It is regarded widely as the finest piece of literature in the Arabic language...
according to the MalikiMalikiThe ' madhhab is one of the schools of Fiqh or religious law within Sunni Islam. It is the second-largest of the four schools, followed by approximately 25% of Muslims, mostly in North Africa, West Africa, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and in some parts of Saudi Arabia...
school. - Al-'Awasim min al-Qawasim (العواصم القواصم) or "Defense Against Disaster", is a history book that became famous for his strong reply against the Shia.
External links
- Article on Abu Bakr ibn al-Arabi by Abdalhaqq Bewley on Dar sirr http://www.dar-sirr.com/Abu-Bakr-Ibn-al-Arabi.html (retrieved on 17-07-2010)