Love in the Teachings of Ibn 'Arabi

Hany Talaat Ahmed Ibrahim completed his PhD in Religious Studies at the University of Calgary. He is teaching at the University of Calgary and Mount Royal University, Canada.

This book aims to explore the theory of love in the writings of the Great Andalusian Sufi Sheikh, Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn 'Arabī (558-638/1165-1240). It begins by examining Divine and human love as found in the works of many Sufi masters that preceded Ibn 'Arabī, and then turns to the views of Ibn 'Arabī himself. The Sufis from the early centuries of Islam (9th-10th) sometimes defined love as their religion, by which they meant, their way to God. Ibn 'Arabī not only expanded on these earlier Sufi theories, but also detailed his own original insights. He openly declared the primacy of love over all else and argued that love is the dynamic force behind creation. The present study is focused primarily on outlining the importance of Divine love in Ibn 'Arabī's thought, which is accomplished through an in-depth reading and a close textual analysis of selected works on Divine love in several of his key works.