The spiritual ascension: Ibn ‘Arabī and

the Mi‘rāj
. Pt. 1
Author: James Winston Morris

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Published in Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 107, pp. 629-652, 1987

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 The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn 'Arabf and the Mi'raj. In Journal of the American
Oriental Society, vol. 107 (1987), pp. 629-652, and vol. 108 (1988), pp. 63-77.

THE SPIRITUAL ASCENSION:

IBN cARABI AND THE MIcRAJ
PART I
JAMES WINSTON MORRIS

INSTITUTE OF ISMAIL! STUDIES, PARIS

The scriptural accounts of the Ascension (mi'ro}) of Muhammad provided a comprehensive

symbolic representation of man's spiritual development for later traditions of Islamic thought.
The creative adaptation of those materials by the famous mystical thinker Ibn 'ArabI (1165-
1240), reflecting the full range of his metaphysical-theological insights and practical spiritual
concerns, influenced many subsequent Islamic literary and philosophic movements. This study of
his major Mi'raj narratives (focusing on a revealing autobiographical version of his own spiritual
journey) should also interest students of comparative mysticism, philosophy and religion from
other "Oriental" traditions. Part II of this study will appear in the next issue.

STUDENTS OF ISLAMIC LITERATURE ARE WELL AWARE world. 2 For Ibn 'ArabI, the Prophet's "nocturnal
that the brief Koranic indications concerning Mu- journey" (an expression he prefers both because it is
hammad's Ascension (mi'riij) or nocturnal voyage that of the Koran and because it is more appropriate
(isriF, at 17: I) and the decisive revelatory vision in to the complete, circular nature of the movement in
which it culminated (53: 1-18), together with the related question») is above all an archetype of the highest,
discussions in the collections of hadith, subsequently culminating stages in the inner, spiritual journey that
gave rise to a vast body of interpretation among many must be followed by each of the saints or mystical
later traditions of Islamic thought and spirituality.' In "knowers" who would participate fully in the noetic
Sufi writing, especially, the stages and events of the heritage of Muhammad: even if the subjective phases
Prophet's journey soon came to be understood as a
comprehensive symbolic representation both of the 2 See the historical overview of this process of transmission

inner, spiritual itinerary followed by the accomplished and assimilation in our article "Ibn 'Arabi and His Inter-
saints and of the various macrocosmic or metaphysi- preters," JAOS, volumes 106.3, 106.4, and 107.1.
cal structures underlying their realizations. l There are a number of shades of meaning in the Koranic

The elaborate adaptation of those traditions and expression asrii (at 17: I and in the related hadith) that help
scriptural sources by the celebrated mystical thinker explain Ibn 'ArabI's preference for that expression: in addi-
Ibn 'ArabI (560/1 165-638/1240) reflects both the typ- tion to its being used to describe a complete spiritual jour-
ical features of his distinctive approach to the Koran ney involving both "ascent" and "return"-a fundamental
and hadith and the full range of his metaphysical- dimension he emphasizes especially in the R. al-Anwiir-the
theological teachings and practical spiritual concerns. term refers more specifically to a "nocturnal voyage," with
Here, as in so many other areas, it would be difficult all the implications of a "hidden," profoundly spiritual trans-
to exaggerate the influence of his interpretation on formation that are so decisive for the inner journeys of the
later Islamic literature throughout the eastern Islamic saints described in all these narratives. Finally, this particular
verbal form clearly insists on God as the (ultimate) Agent
I See, for example, the outline of the earlier sources (from and Source of this movement, pointing to the key factors of
a strictly historicist perspective) and extensive bibliography divine grace and individual predisposition that are central to
in the articles "Isro"" (B. Schreike) and "Mi'riij" (J. Horovitz) his understanding of this voyage (whether for the Prophet or
in the SEI and Ell, as well as the wider range of hadith and for the saints in general).
legendary materials studied in the opening chapters of M. 4 While acknowledging the unique "physical" nature of the

Asin Palacios' La Escat%gia musulmana en la Divina Prophet's Mi'raj (in section II below), Ibn 'Arabi stresses
Comedia (Madrid, 1919) [abridged English translation as the primary importance of the spiritual isro"iit-even for
Islam and the Divine Comedy (London, 1926; repro 1968)]. Muhammad-in the proportions implied by the Prophet's
Ibn 'Arabi's own use of the related hadith is discussed in "thirty-three" other, purely spiritual journeys mentioned at
detail in the notes below. the end of that section.

629
630 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (/987)

and experiences marking that route necessarily appear or the Throne where the final "unveiling" takes
5
differently to each individual. place-all of these, he insists, are so many places of
7
Thus the theme of the MiCraj provides Ibn cArabi the Heart.
with a single unifying symbolic framework for the full Modern readers who want to understand these nar-
range of practical spiritual questions and theoretical ratives on this ultimate and more intimate level, how-
issues (ontological, cosmological, theological, etc.) that ever, must first find their way through an extremely
are discussed in various contexts throughout the complex set of symbols and often only implicit refer-
Futul)iit and his other works. If each of his treatments ences to what are now largely unfamiliar bodies of
of the MiCraj approaches those issues from its own knowledge. The task of interpretation is therefore not
particular standpoint and purpose-and in addition, unlike that fac)ng students of Dante's Divine Comedy
with very different literary styles and degrees of auto- (especially the Paradisio). Hence our annotation to
biographical openness-they all do share what is per- this translation of chapter 367 of the Futul)iit (along
haps the most fundamental feature of all his writing: with a short Appendix from the K. aJ-[srii') attempts
the continually alternating contrast between the to provide that indispensable background in the fol-
metaphysical (universal and eternal) "divine" point of lowing areas: (I) the actual Islamic source-materials,
view 6 and the "phenomenological" (personal and primarily in the Koran and hadith, which provide the
experiential) perspective of each individual voyager. basic structure and key symbols for all of Ibn cArabi's
The aim of this sort of dialectic, as he pointedly MiCraj narratives;' (2) the cosmological and astrologi-
reminds his readers at the very beginning of chapter cal presuppositions which he generally shared with
367 of the Futul)iit (the opening section of the transla- other intellectual traditions (more or less "scientific")
tion below), is quite clear: if the journey in question
necessarily appears to move through time and dis-
tance, that is not so that we can eventually "reach"
God-since" He is with you wherever you are"-but , Hence the central importance of the celebrated divine
rather "so that He can cause [us] to see His Signs" saying (I)adfth qudsf) with which he concludes that opening
(31:31) that are always there, "on the horizons" and section: "My earth does not encompass Me, nor does My
"in the souls." The heavens of this journey, the heaven, but the heart of My servant, the man of true faith,
prophets and angels who populate them, the Temple does encompass Me." The key position of the Heart (qalb) is
again brought out, in a more autobiographical and experien-
tial context, in section IV-H (notes 168-72) in Part II. For
further references to this fundamental concept in Ibn 'ArabI's
The crucial notion of the saints' inner participation in the thought, see Mu'jam, pp. 916-21, and the famous chapter on
distinctive spiritual "heritage" (wiriilha) of each prophet is the "Wisdom of the Heart" in the FU#i~, 119-26 ( = Bezels,
assumed throughout all of these MiCraj narratives: for Ibn pp. 145-57).
cArabi, its ultimate verification (and perhaps even its source) , These works provide a striking illustration of Ibn 'Arabi's
is to be found in the personal revelation of the all-encom- typical approach to hadith. He scrupulously and literally
passing "Muhammadan Station" described in section IV-I follows the sayings and deeds of the Prophet as recounted in
and in the corresponding passage from the K. a/-Isrii> given the canonical collections-in this chapter (367), relying
in the Appendix. For further references to this key notion in especially on the Sal:zfl:z of Muslim and, to a slightly lesser
Ibn <Arabi's religious thought, see the discussions in Sceau, extent, on the Sal:z;1:z of Bukhari-and he most often develops
ch. 5, and MU7am, pp. Il91-1201. his own spiritual interpretations from close attention to the
S This fundamental point is openly stressed below in the slightest literal details of those narratives (thereby implicitly
reminder by Yahya ( = John the Baptist, at the beginning of excluding the much wider body of legends that had become
IV-F, the sphere of Aaron) that "each person has a path popularly associated with these events). Rather than focusing
(Iarfq) that no one else but he travels," which" ... comes to on the external differences or apparent contradictions among
be through the traveling itself." various hadith, Ibn 'Arabi typically-one might say "ecu-
6 In addition to 11m <ArabI's own explicitly metaphysical menically"-concentrates on conveying the spiritual meaning
technical terminology, that transcendent perspective is repre- and intentions implicit in each Prophetic saying, pointing to
sented more dramatically in chapter 367 of the FUlul:ziil a level of understanding unifying what might otherwise be
(translated below) by the spirits of the different prophets, perceived as conflicting expressions. (This treatment of hadith
especially Adam, Idris and Aaron-all of whom tend to mirrors his broader attitude to the various Islamic sects and
speak here (as is so often the case in the Koran) from a schools of law, and ultimately toward the full diversity of
divine or "supra-temporal" perspective. human religions and individual beliefs.)
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn CArabi and the M;criij. Part I 631

of his time;9 (3) his distinctive personal metaphysical of the Qur'iin in its full eternal reality-realizations
theories or "doctrines," which are basically those found that were soon to coalesce in Ibn 'Arabi's conception
throughout his other writings; and (4) his conception of his own unique spiritual role as "Seal of the
of the particular spiritual "heritages" and distinctive Muhammadan Saints. "Il (His concise summary of
qualities of each of the prophets encountered during one of the most important of these experiences has
the Mi'raj, as they are developed in the Fu~ii~ been translated as a separate Appendix in Part II.) In
a/-lJikam and throughout the FUlii/:Jiit. IO Finally, since an emotionally fluid and highly expressive Arabic
his four major Mi'raj narratives do share certain style, drawing on an extremely dense and allusive
common features-and since several are now avail- symbolic vocabularyl4 and combining long poetic
able (at least partially) in French or English trans- interludes with rapidly moving rhymed prose-and
lations-it may be helpful, for comparative purposes, culminating in a series or"remarkable "intimate con-
to point out some of the more distinctive features versations" (muniijiit) with God (pp. 50-82)-he
of each. constantly returns to celebrate and elaborate on the
twin themes of the eternal Muhammadan Reality
The Other MiCraj Narratives: 1I K. al-Isrii'. R. a/- (encompassing all the prophets and their teachings)
Anwar, Chapter 167 and the metaphysical universality of the Qur'iin as
they were inwardly realized and verified in his own
The Kitiib al-/sra',12 at once the earliest, the longest
mystical experience. Here the passage of this auto-
and the most personally revealing of the works dis-
biographical "voyager"'S through the heavenly spheres
cussed here, was composed in Fez in the year 594,
apparently only a relatively short time after certain
decisive personal inspirations concerning the ultimate Il In addition to the important autobiographical passage
unity of the prophets and their message (in the spirit- (pp. 13-14) translated and summarized in the Appendix
ual "station of Muhammad") and the inner meaning here, the K. al-Isrii' as a whole conveys a mood of excitement
and immediacy that must reflect the relative proximity of
• Fortunately, these elements are much less important here some personally decisive (and perhaps not yet fully assim-
(in ch. 367) than in chapter 167 (see below), which assumes a ilated) spiritual revelation. More specifically, Ibn 'ArabI does
far more detailed acquaintance with alchemy, Ptolemaic- not yet seem to distinguish with complete clarity in this work
Aristotelean astronomy, a wide body of traditional astro- between what he later calls the "maqiim mu/:lammadT" (the
logical lore concerning the particular inftuences of the stars, spiritual "station of Muhammad")-or that supreme part of
and additional "esoteric sciences." it uniquely reserved for himself as "Seal"-and what he then
10 We may add that other prophets not explicitly mentioned calls the "station of Proximity (to God)" (maqiim al-qurba)
in the hadith or in these Mi c raj narratives are elsewhere attained more generally by the highest rank of the saints, the
symbolically associated by Ibn (ArabI with specific heavenly afriid or maliimTya. See the extensive discussion of this
spheres: see, for example, Noah's connection with the sphere question in Seeau, chapter IX, as well as the famous opening
of the sun, mentioned at the end of ch. 3 of the FU~ii~ (in passage of the Futii/:liil recounting his subsequent experience
reference to a longer account in Ibn <ArabI's K. al- Tanazzuliil (or full recognition) of his "investiture" as the "Seal of the
al-Maw~i/rya). Muhammadan Saints": this event is described in the Khulbat
II There are also a number of other less complete treat- al-Kitiib, I, pp. 21f./O.Y. ed., 1,43-55 [also accessible in the
ments of the Mi<raj theme in Ibn 'ArabI's extant writings, partial French translation by M. Villsan, in Etudes tradi-
some of which are cited in notes below. The most accessible tionnelles, Paris, 1953, pp. 300-311).
of these is the passage on the Ascension of the Prophet- .. bayn al-marmiiz wa-l-majhiim (p. 3): most of this laby-
understood as the cosmic "Muhammadan Reality" or "Per- rinth of symbols and allusions to the Koran and hadith
fect Man"-in the possibly apocryphal Shajaral al-Kawn, (usually through only single words or brief phrases evoking
now available in translations by A. Jelfery, "Ibn <ArabI's much larger passages or events in the hadith narratives)
Shajaral al-Kawn," in Siudia Is/amica, vol. X, pp. 43-78, could potentially be elucidated by extensive reference to the
and vol. XI, pp. 113-60 [MjCraj section at pp. 145-60]; and FUlii/:liit and other works. However, such a commentary
M. Gloton, L'Arbre du Monde, Paris, 1982 [Mi(raj section, would often require page-long notes of explanation for
pp.93-106]. virtually every other word-an approach which could not
12 See R.G., no. 313; this entry mentions several alternative hope to convey that poetic, immediately expressive emotional
titles and an extant commentary by Ibn <ArabI's close disciple quality which is the essential trait of this work.
Isma'rl b. Sawdakin. The date and place of composition are " The autobiographical nature of the work is not even
mentioned in the author's own colophon (p. 92). thinly disguised. At p. 66, Ibn 'ArabI explains his continued
632 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (/987)

and the higher revelatory stages of the Mi<raj (pp. 11- intention and experiential (rather than primarily doc-
49) is not so much a means for describing the suc- trinal or metaphysical) in its terms of reference and
cessive steps of the spiritual path and "progress" of expression. It is aimed at the needs of a reader who,
the saints more generally-as it is, to some extent, in already necessarily possessing a considerable degree of
all the other Mi'raj narratives-but instead primarily personal spiritual accomplishment and experience, is
a framework for evoking and clarifying various aspects intimately involved with the guidance of disciples at
of the author's own spiritual achievement, as they earlier stages of the Path. While the allusions to the
mirror the even loftier rank of the Prophet (pp. 83- MiCraj proper (pp. 9-13; Journey, pp. 40-46) are very
92). What is perhaps most noteworthy about this brief-mentioning for the most part only the cos-
composition, in a way that reinforces Ibn 'ArabI's mological powj:rs or spiritual qualities traditionally
repeated assertions that he first received all of this associated with each of the heavenly spheres and the
only by divine inspiration (and not through an indi- Koranic cosmography of the Gardens of Paradise, the
vidual effort of reasoning), is the way the complex divine "Throne," "Pen," etc. IS_it does provide an
systematic metaphysical and ontological framework indispensable complement to the other MiCraj nar-
developed in the Futiil)iit is already entirely present, ratives in two critical areas: (I) its relatively detailed
but for the most part only implicitly-expressed discussion of the essential practical methods and pre-
instead through an incredibly profuse array of symbols liminary stages preparing the way for the inner reali-
and allusions drawn from the Koran and hadith (and zation of these more advanced spiritual insights; and
whose full explanation is to be sought, for the most (2) Ibn 'ArabI's repeated emphasis on the fundamental
part, only in later, more analytical prose worics such importance of the concluding phase of the saints'
as the Futubiit). "return" to a transformed awareness of the physical
Compared to the literary and doctrinal complexities and social world (in its immediate relation with God)
of the preceding work, the Risiilat al-Anwiir, a rela- and to the particular responsibilities and activities-
tively brief prose treatise composed at Konya in 602 whether teaching and spiritual guidance, or the other,
A.H. (near the beginning of Ibn 'ArabI's long stay in less visible tasks of the representatives of the spiritual
the Muslim East), is stylistically far more accessible hierarchy-flowing from that realization. '9
and its contents are more readily understandable- Finally, the long chapter 167 of the Futu/Jiit, "On
features which (along with the existence of an excellent the Inner Knowledge of the Alchemy of Happiness,,,20
commentary by the later Sufi writer 'Abd aI-KarIm
1I1l) no doubt help account for its popularity with
16
modern translators. Written in response to a request article "Khalwa" (by H. Landolt) in E12. Chapters 78-79 (II,
by a Sufi friend and fellow master, this study, as its ISO-52) of the Futii/:riit, on the stations of khalwa and tark
full title partly indicates,17 is above all practical in al-khalwa, involve a more metaphysical approach to the
subject; see also the French translation of those sections by
M. Villsan, in Etudes traditionnel/es, Paris, 1969, pp. 77-86.
reference to himself as a "siilik" in terms of his desire to .. These cosmological features are all far more elaborately
emphasize the fact that "even now [i.e., after reaching the developed in chapter 167 of the Futii/:riit (described below).
highest spiritual station) I am still voyaging"-in other words, In particular, the R. al-Anwiir does not contain any of those
as evidence that he is not claiming "union" in the sense of personal encounters with the prophets associated with each
some absolute mutual identity with God. heavenly sphere (or with each planet's respective "spiritual
16 For the date and place of composition, see R. G., no. 33 entity" [rii/:riinrya], such as Mercury, Mars, Venus, etc.) that
(the long list of manuscripts there may likewise reflect the make up the major part of the Mi'raj narrative in both
relatively accessible character of this short work). To facili- chapters of the Futii/:riit, as well as in the corresponding
tate reference by non-Arabists, citations of this text in the sections of the K. al-Isriio.
notes below also mention the relevant sections from both the I. The extensive commentary by M. Chodkiewicz (Sceau,
complete English translation (Journey, virtually unannotated chapter X) provides important references to many other
but with useful selections from Jili's commentary) and the works of Ibn 'Arabi (especially sections of the Futii/:riit)
partial French version included in the concluding chapter of further illustrating both of these key themes. (The latter
Sceau (which is accompanied by an extensive commentary point, in particular, is also stressed in a number of important
drawn from many of Ibn 'Arabi's other writings). sections of chapter 367 translated below.)
17 "The Treatise of Lights, Concerning the Secrets Bestowed 20 II, 270-84; also available in French translation (Alchi-

on the Person in Spiritual Retreat." For the Sufi practice of mie) with some annotation. [An earlier partial French trans-
spiritual retreat more generally, see the referen~_. in the lation of this chapter, without notes or commentary, was
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn 'Arabi and the MiCra}. Part I 633

uses the framework of the MjCraj to retrace, in as- features that make it considerably more accessible (at
cending order, the many levels of Ibn cArabI's com- least for most modern readers) than either chapter 167
plex cosmology or cosmogony.21 Its primary focus or the Kitab al-Isra". To begin with, it is written for
(compared with the other works mentioned here) is on the most part in relatively straightforward expository
the "objective" metaphysical realities underlying the prose; the style does presuppose a profound acquain-
spiritual insights described in more experiential terms tance with Ibn <Arabi's systematic terminology and
in the other narratives. In this respect it often resem- symbolism (largely drawn from the Koran and hadith)
bles the FU~il~ al-lJikam, and frequently the treatment as it is to be found throughout the Futil/:liit, but the
of the various prophets encountered during this heav- role of literary and artistic effects is relatively less
enly voyage (e.g., Jesus, Aaron or Moses) closely important than in the preceding works. Secondly, the
parallels that found in the corresponding chapters of focus of this chapter is almost exclusively on the
the F~il~. This feature is further underlined by Ibn universal spiritual dimensions of the Mi<raj, especially
<ArabI's unique narrative technique of comparison, as expressed in the language of the Koran and hadith,
throughout this ascension, between the initiatic spir- in a way that should already be familiar to readers of
itual knowledge granted to the "follower of Muham- the Fu~il~ al-lJikam; unlike chapter 167, it does not
mad" (representing the practice and approaches of the presuppose such extensive acquaintance with the vo-
saints and Sufis more generally) and the limited cabulary and symbolism of other relatively esoteric
cosmological and theological insights available to his medieval Islamic sciences (alchemy, astrology, etc.).
companion, the archetypal "man of reason. ,,22 In gen- Similarly, the encounters with the individual prophets
eral, the full elucidation of many of those complex associated with each heavenly sphere can often be
allusions would require extensive reference to some of readily illuminated by comparison with corresponding
the most obscure and unfamiliar aspects of the
Shaykh's thought.
Ptolemaic astronomy, and even more "esoteric" sciences of
the time, such as alchemy.
Ibn cArabT's Own MiCra}: Chapter 36723 23 III, pp. 340-54. The enigmatic complete title of this

chapter is "Concerning the Inner Knowledge of the Stage of

Ibn cArabI's long treatment of the MiCraj in chap- the Fifth Tawakkul, Which None of the People of Reali-
ter 367 of the Futii/:lat is marked by some distinctive zation (mul;zaqqiqrn) Has Discovered, Because of the Rarity
of Those (Naturally) Apt to Receive It and the Inadequacy
of (Men's) Understandings to Grasp It." (The term tawakkul,
also published by G. Anawati, in the Revue de tlnstftU! usually translated as "trust" or "inner confidence~ in God,
Dominicain d'Etudes orientales du Caire, Melanges 6 (1959- occurs many times in the Koran and gradually became a key
1961), pp. 353-86.] term in Sufi spiritual psychology). Here this mysterious "fifth
2. The best general survey of this difficult subject (although tawakkul" (mentioned again at the end of the chapter, III,
by no means complete) probably still remains the introduc- 351.21 -22) apparently reflects an advanced state of spiritual
tion (pp. 29-159) of H. S. Nyberg's Kleinere Schriften des insight in which the saint's absolute reliance on God-an
Ibn al- "Arabi, based largely on Ibn cArabl's Kitiib Inshii' inner attitude which in lower stages of tawakkul is usually
al- Dawii'ir. Within the Futu/:ziit, one of the most compre- thought to imply a sort of ascetic disdain and unconcern fOT
hensive treatments is in chapt. 360 (III, 416-48), while the the "secondary causes" (asbiib) of things of this world-is
same themes are also developed in the earlier chapters 4-12 now seen as simultaneously "affirming the secondary causes"
(I; 98-149). (A much briefer and more accessible account can (a phrase from the opening poem of this chapter, at III,
also be found in the translation and introduction, by D. Gril, 340.15), which are finally perceived in their true metaphysical
of Ibn <ArabI's short R. al-Itti/:ziid al-Kawnr[R.G., no. 317], status as necessary and intrinsic manifestations of the ever-
entitled Le Livre de /'Arbre et des Quatre Oiseaux, Paris, present divine Reality. This ultimate stage of trust in God
1984.). would therefore closely correspond to Ibn <Arabi's character-
22 ~ii/:zib na;ar: the insights of this allegorical character (or istic, constantly reiterated stress on the superiority of the
psycho-spiritual "type") reflect features of several different state of "enlightened abiding" in the world (baqii') charac-
"rational sciences" of Ibn cArabi's day, including kaliim terizing those saints who-like the Prophet-have "returned"
(especially for its "negative theology" or tanzih concerning (the riijicun ) from the station of divine Proximity while
the highest insights into the divine nature), the popular retaining the ongoing realization of that insight in the world:
mixture of astrology (concerning, e.g., the particular influ- see, for example, the insistence on this point in his conversa-
ences and qualities of various planets) and Aristotelean- tion with Aaron in section IV-F in Part II.
634 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (/987)
24
pa<isages elsewhere in Ibn 'ArabI's writings. And virtually all the most distinctive features of his later
finally, as so often in the Futul:ult, the genuinely thought and conviction, those forms of divine knowl-
5
autobiographical passages/ especially at the conclu- edge which he goes on to elaborate in a long enu-
sion of Ibn 'ArabI's own spiritual ascent (section IV-I meration of "what he saw" in that culminating
in Part II), add a powerful new dimension of clarity "M uhammadan Station."
and persuasive force to what otherwise might appear
to be simply a complex intellectual and symbolic TRANSLATION OF CHAPTER 367
"system,"
The overall structure of this chapter is quite clear, [I. Introduction: the Context and Purpose
consisting of four successively broader and more of the Spiritual Journey)
detailed elaborations of the central theme of the inner
spiritual meaning of the "nocturnal journey," a theme , .. God said "There is nothing like His likeness
whose ultimate premises and metaphysical-theological [and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing)"27 (42:11),
context are briefly evoked in the opening lines (section so He described himself with a description that neces-
I), already summarized at the beginning of this intro- sarily belongs only to Him, which is His saying: "And
duction, In section II, Ibn 'ArabI takes up the hadith He is with you wherever you are" (57:4).28 Thus He is
accounts of Muhammad's Mi'raj-which provide the with us wherever we are, in the state of His "descend-
formal framework for the rest of the narrative-and
adds his own allusions to many of the key themes
27 This verse, with its paradoxical ~double negations" (cor-
developed at greater length in the following sections.
In section III, he provides a condensed, still highly responding to the shahiida) of God's "resemblance" to created
abstract schematic outline of the "spiritual journeys of things. is usually treated by Ibn 'Arabi as a classic reference
the saints" (awliyti'), expressed in his own distinctive to that mystery of the simultaneous immanence (tashbfh)
metaphysical-theological terminology. Finally, the and transcendence (tanzfh) of the Divine Reality reflected in
greater part of the chapter (section IV) is taken up the Perfect Man (al-insiin al-kiimi/) which is the central
with Ibn cArabI's account, narrated in the first person intuition of all his work. Often he even interprets "His
and closely following the path of the Prophet, of the Likeness" in this verse as a reference to the Perfect Man,
climactic stages of his own personal spiritual journey,26 alluding to Adam's creation (according to a famous hadith)
If the autobiographical guise at first seems only a sort "in the image of the Merciful": see the famous discussions of
of didactic literary device, at the end (section IV-I) he this verse in the chapters on Noah (ch. 3) and Hud (ch. 10) in
does conclude with the description of a decisive per- the Fu~il.f al-Ifikam, and further references in the Futil/:!iit I,
sonal revelation, a compelling spiritual experience 62,97, 111,220; 11,129,510,516-17,541,563; III, 109, 165,
that seems to have contained--or at least confirmed- 266, 282, 340,412, 492; IV, 135, 141,306,311,431. In
addition to this ambiguity of the expression kamithlihi (which
can also be ready simply as "like Him"- i.e., God), Ibn
2. Such cross-references in the notes are concentrated on 'Arabi also frequently stresses the apparently paradoxical
other chapters of the Furil/:!iit and corresponding sections of combination of the absolute insistence on divine transcen-
the Fu~il~ al-Ifikam, especially given the much greater acces- dence at the beginning of this verse and the apparent
sibility of translations and commentaries of the lalter work. anthropomorphism of its conclusion.
25 Although all of section IV, forming the greater part of In either reading, the absolute universality of the divine
this chapter, is narrated in the first person, that procedure is Presence implied by this verse includes all the more par-
often clearly a literary device, especially in those cases where ticular, "restricted" modalities of the divine "descent" (nuzil/)
particular prophets are explaining what readers can easily and manifestation which are indicated in the following verses
recognize as Ibn 'ArabI's own characteristic insights and and hadith.
perceptions. However, section IV-I (and the Appendix, from 28 For Ibn 'Arabi, this verse is simply a direct implication

the K. al-lsrii~) are dearly summaries of his own direct of the broader truth implied in the opening verse: this inner
personal experience, evidently- -to judge by his ensuing correspondence between the different manifestations of God
account of what he "saw" there-recalling some of the most and the Perfect Man (al-lnsiin al-Kiimil), at all the levels of
crucial stages on his own spiritual path. being (or "worlds") is assumed throughout the rest of this
,. An account which, as he reminds us at the beginning of chapter. More generally, the reality of the divine "com-
Section IV, essentially parallels his earlier autobiographical presence" (maCfya, "with-ness") with all existent things
descriptions of the same personal spiritual itinerary in the K. expressed in this verse is discussed in many parts of the
al-lsrii', Futuf}iit.
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn CAroM and the Micriij. Part I 635

ing to the heaven of this world during the last third of and in heaven (43:84; etc.),32 in the state of His being
the night,,,29 in the state of His being mounted upon closer to man than his jugular vein (50: 16)33 -and all
the Throne (5:20; etc.)/o in the state of His being in of these are qualifications with which only He can be
the "Cloud:,]' in the state of His being upon the earth described.
Hence God does not move a servant from place to
place in order that (the servant) might see Him, but
2' A reference to a famous "divine saying" (J;adfth qudsl)
rather "so that He might cause him to see of His
which Ibn CArabi included in his own collection of such
Signs" (41 :53; etc.)J4 those that were unseen by him.
hadith, the Mishkiit al-Anwiir (no. 56 [cited from the Saf:zIlJ
of Muslim]; Niche, pp. 86-87): "Our Lord descends every
night to the heaven of this world when the last third of the in the collections of Ibn Mlija, Tirmidhi and Al:imad b.
night remains, and. then He says: 'I am the King! Whoever J:lanbal.) Our translation here reflects Ibn 'Arabi's interpre-
calls on Me, I answer him. Whoever asks (something) of Me, tation in chapter 34 of the FutilJ;ot (0. Y., III, 323ff.). For
I give to him. Whoever requests My forgiveness, I forgive the broader meaning of the term amo" ("the Cloud") in Ibn
C

him.'" (This same hadith is recorded, with a number of cArabI, see the references in Mu'jam, pp. 820-826 and in the
minor variations, in the canonical collections of Muslim, FutilJ;ot II, 310, as well as its treatment in the penultimate
Malik, BukharI, TirmidhI, Ibn Mlija and Al:imad b. J:lanbal: stage of the cosmological ascension described in chapter 167
see detailed references and variants in Word, pp. 177-78.) (Alchimie, pp. 138-40).
As Ibn cArabi explains in detail in the latter part of JZ This phrase is also contained (with minor variations) in a

chapter 34 of the Futilf:ziit (O.Y., III, 320-32), the "night," number of other Koranic verses (3.5; 10:61; 14:38; 22:70) all
in this hadith, "is the place of the descent in time of God insisting on God's intimate acquaintance with all things: see,
and His Attribute" (of Mercy), and this "last third of the for example, "Our Lord. surely You know what we say
night"-which, he insists, lasts forever-is none other than openly and what we hide: not a thing upon the earth and in
the Perfect Man (the first two "thirds" being "the heavens heaven is hidden from God" (14:38), or even more appro-
and the earth," man's "two parents"). The Koranic verses priately, "He is God in the heavens and upon the earth; he
and hadith immediately following here (notes 30-32) are knows your secret [si,,] and what you proclaim. and He
interpreted in chapter 34 as references to different ontologi- knows what you acquire" (6:3).
cal degrees or "moments" of that universal divine Self- JJ Ibn 'ArabI'S understanding of the divine "nearness" (cf.

manifestation. the related notion of "with-ness," maCfya, at n. 28 above)

'0 There are seven Koranic verses referring to God's being expressed in this Koranic phrase is intimately bound up with
"mounted [istiwo"] on the Throne," often following "the the cosmic reality of "perpetual re-creation" (khalq jadfd)
creation of the heavens and the earth" (i.e., what lies expressed in the rest of this famous verse and its immediate
"beneath" or constitutes the Throne in its cosmological context: " ... yet they are in confusion about the (ever-)
sense). For Ibn 'Arabi'S understanding of these verses see the renewed creation; but surely We created man [al-insiin] and
extensive references to the Futilf:ziit in Mu'jam, pp. 791-803 We know what his soul insinuates to him and We are closer
(on the many meanings of the divine "Throne," Carsh) and to man than his jugular vein" (50:15-16). As indicated in the
pp. 622-29 (on istiwo"). Introduction, for Ibn CArabI the spiritual "station of
An even more fundamental meaning of the ''Throne,'' for Proximity" (maqiim al-qurba), in which one actually realizes
Ibn 'Arabi, is the "Heart of the man of true faith" (which is the full extent of this intimate relation with God, is the
the "Throne of the Merciful," according to a famous hadith), ultimate goal of the Ascension of the saints outlined in this
i.e., the Perfect Man (see Mu'jam, pp. 916-21, on the qalb). chapter: that relation is outlined schematically, in theological
The inner connection between these two senses is brought language, in section III and discussed in more experiential
out explicitly in the famous f:zadfth qudsf discussed at n. 7 terms in the final two parts of section IV. (See the extensive
above and quoted at the end of this section (n. 37). Their references in Mu 'jam , pp. 936-40 and Sceau, index s.v.
metaphysical equivalence is a fundamental assumption (maqiim al-qurba].)
throughout sections III and IV below, since the "Heart" is J4 While Ibn 'Arabi is alluding in particular to the "reason"

precisely the "theater" of the entire spiritual journey; see for the Prophet's Ascension described in 17: I (see following
especially the sections IV-G and IV-I in Part II. note), the same phrase (with only minor variations in the
JI A reference to the following hadith, concerning the pronouns) is addressed to mankind more generally in a
Prophet's response to the question "Where was our Lord number of other Koranic verses (27:93; 31:3 I; etc.). Of these,
before He created the creation?": "He was in a Cloud (Camii"), certainly the most important and best known is the verse
without air above it and without air below it, and He created 41 :53-to such an extent that it is clearly assumed whenever
His Throne upon the Water." (This famous hadith is found Ibn 'Arabi mentions the divine "Signs" (oyot): "We shall
636 Journal of the American Oriental Society /07.4 (1987)

He said: "Glory to Him Who made His servant jour- moves (any) servant through his (inner spiritual) states
ney one night from the Sacred Place of Worship to in order also to cause him to see His Signs, He moves
J6
the Furthest Place of Worship, whose surroundings him through His states. ... (I.e., God) says: "I only
We have blessed, so that We might cause him to see made him journey by night in order that he see the
of Our Signs!" (17: I). J5 And similarly, when God Signs, not (to bring him) to Me: because no place can
hold Me and the relation of all places to Me is the
same. For 1 am such that (only) 'the heart of My
cause them to see Our Signs on the horizons and in their servant, the man of true faith, encompasses Me',J? so
souls, so that it becomes clear to them that He is the Truly how could he be 'made to journey to Me' while 1 am
Real [al- Jfaqq ]-or is your Lord not enough. for surely He 'with him where':,er he is' (57:4)1!"
is witnessing every thing! What, are they in doubt about
meeting. their Lord? Does He not surely encompass all [II. The Narrative Framework: the
things?" Especially important, for Ibn (Arahi as for many MiCraj of Muhammad]
other Islamic thinkers, is the insistence in this verse on the
coincidence of the Signs "on the horizons," Le., in the [The long following section (III, 340.32-342.34)
external world [but note also Muhammad's decisive revela- combines a virtually complete quotation of one long
tion at the "Loftiest Horizon" (53:7)] and those "in the
souls," in the totality of awareness of the "Perfect Man" section III below, and at the end of his R. al-Anwiir) on the
(al-insiin al-kiimi/). critical importance of the "descending" phrase of return
Secondly, Ibn (ArabI always emphasizes the causative, which distinguishes the highest rank of the saints (and of
active meaning of the verb form Jarii as "to make someone course the prophets). Although we have consistently trans-
see," not just "to show": for him, God's "Signs" are already lated isrii" and its related verbal forms here as "journey," it
there, throughout our experience, but usually "unseen" should be kept in mind that the Arabic term refers specifically
(ghiiba)-i.e., not perceived as such. Thus the whole purpose to a nocturnal journey: for Ibn (ArabI, this corresponds to
of the spiritual journey is simply to open our (spiritual) eyes the fact that the spiritual isra J, at least, is an inner, "secret"
to the reality of "things" as (divine) Signs, or as Ibn (Arabi process largely hidden from outward observation, especially
goes on to explain immediately below (and in more detail in in those rare saints who have followed it through to the end.
section III), to recognize the divine Names "in our states." The complex inner significance of this and other grammati-
All this is implicit in the famous prayer of the Prophet which cal and lexical nuances of this same Koranic verse (17: I) are
is likewise assumed throughout this chapter: "0 my God, discussed in detail in Ibn (ArabI's Kitiib al-Isfiir can Natii"ij
cause us to see Carina) things as they really are!" al-Asfiir ( = Rasii"il II, no. 24), pp. 17-21; our translation
J5 The masjid al-IJariim ("Sacred Place of Worship") was a here cannot convey most of those nuances or alternative
common name for the sanctuary of the Kaaba at Mecca, but meanings.
there is some disagreement in the hadith concerning the 36 Here, as so often with Ibn cArabi (see especially section
identification of the masjid al-aq~ii: sometimes, especially in III below), the pronouns are rather ambiguous; in this case
later traditions, it was presented as the site of the Temple at the intended meaning is clarified by the following lines
Jerusalem (al-bayt al-maqdis, "the sacred House") where (340.25-30, not translated here) citing several other hadith
Muhammad stops to pray before his heavenly Ascension and Koranic passages where God shows some of His crea-
according to several hadith accounts (inclUding that followed tions to certain prophetic messengers in order to teach them
by Ibn (ArabI below); but the earlier traditions agree that it a particular lesson. Here Ibn cArabl implicitly contrasts this
refers to the "furthest point" (al-r;/ariil;z) or goal of the MiCraj "spiritual" journey of the saints (and ultimately of all men)
(i.e., where Muhammad received the culminating revelation through their inner "states"-i.e., the "Signs in your souls"
described in Sura 53). In the latter case it is therefore closely of verse 41:53 (see notes 34 and 72)-with the physical (or
identified with the "Inhabited House" or heavenly Temple of possibly "imaginal") journey through heavenly places which,
Abraham (al-bayt al-ma"miir), the symbol of the Heart of as he explains below (end of section II), was the exclusive
the Perfect Man discussed in section IV-H (notes 168-72). privilege of the Prophet on this single occasion.
Here Ibn (Arabi implicitly seems to follow the latter inter- 37 An allusion to the celebrated IJadith qudsf (not found in
pretation. (See also the articles from the SEll Ell cited in the canonical collections, but favored by many Sufi authors)
n. I above.) already cited in n. 7 above. This divine saying is mentioned
Throughout this chapter (and in the K. al-Isrii", etc.) Ibn repeatedly by Ibn (Arabi, who takes it as a classical reference
cArabl generally uses the Koranic expression isrii" to refer to to the role of the Heart (of the "Perfect Man," as realized by
the Prophet's Ascension and its spiritual analogues-possibly the accomplished saints) as the complete mirror of the divine
because the term mi(rii) might appear limited only to the Self-manifestations (ta)a/liyat). (See the references at notes 7,
"ascending" portion, whereas Ibn (Arabi always insists (as in 30 and 33 above, and all of section IV-H.)
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn cArabl and the MiCrii}. Part I 637

hadith account of the Prophet's Mi crii/ 8 -whose The second of these parenthetical remarks occurs in
sequence of events and heavenly encounters with the the lowest heaven (the one immediately surrounding
spirits of earlier prophets provides the narrative this sublunar world), when Muhammad is brought
framework for all of Ibn CArabl's different versions of face to face with all the blessed and the damned
40
that voyage-with a number of the Shaykh's personal among the descendants of Adam. "Then (Muham-
observations. These brief remarks either foreshadow mad) saw himself among the different individuals
themes developed at greater length in the rest of this belonging to the blessed, at Adam's right hand, and
chapter (and in his other treatments of the MiCraj he gave thanks to God. And through that he came to
theme) or else allude to interpretations (e.g., of the know how it is that man can be in two places (at the
drinks offered the Prophet at the beginning of his same time) while remaining precisely himself and not
journey, or of the rivers of Paradise) that he discusses anyone else: this was for him like the visible (physical)
more fully in the other contexts and chapters of the form and the (reflected) forms visible in the mirror
Futiil)iit. However, four of those asides are significant and (other) reflected images. ,,41
enough to deserve special mention. The third such passage is Ibn 'ArabI's statement, in
The first is Ibn 'ArabI's understanding of the state- connection with the Prophet's visit to Jesus in the
ment in this hadith that Muhammad "descended from second heaven, that "He was our first master, through
Buraq (his celestial steed) and tied him up with the whose assistance we returned (to God); and he has a
same halter the (other) prophets had used to tie him." tremendous solicitude (Ciniiya) for us, so that he does
For the Shaykh, "all of that was only so as to affirm not forget us for a single hour. ,,42
39
(the reality of) the secondary causes . . • , although
he knew that Buraq was commanded (by God) and
40 The existence of those two groups on either side of
would have stayed there even if he had left him
without trying the halter. " Adam is mentioned in the second long Mi'raj hadith (from
Abu Dharr) given by Muslim (fman, 264); however, that
hadith does not mention Muhammad's seeing himself, so this
aspect may well be Ibn cArabI's own addition.
38 Although Ibn 'ArabI does not identify his hadith sources 41 For the simultaneous presence of each soul-even if we

in this section or explicitly distinguish his "quotations" (or are usually unaware of the fact-in its own Garden (or Hell)
paraphrases) from his personal comments and explanations, already during this life, see the illustrative passages in chapter
the particular "f}adfth a/-isra)" (III, 340.30) which he follows 302 (III, 12-13) and chapter 73, question 62 (II, 82).
for the basic order of events and the Prophet's encounters up More generally, this experience of the simultaneous
to the "Lotus-Tree of the Limit"-both here and in the other presence of one's essential individual reality (Cayn: translated
Mi'raj narratives discussed in the introduction-is the first as "precisely himself" in this passage) in different planes of
one given in the corresponding section of Muslim's Sal)fl) being is only one illustration of Ibn cArabI's universal percep-
(fman, 259, from Anas b. Malik). Here and in the other tion of the reality of all manifest being as theophanies
MiCraj narratives he adds many additional details (e.g., the (taja//iyat, ma;ahir, etc.) of the "Realities" or Names within
four mystical "rivers" flowing from the Tree of Life, the the divine Essence and of the "eternal individual entities"
sound of. the divine "Pens," the milk and other drinks offered (aCyan thabita) in the divine Knowledge-a conception for
the Prophet) which are drawn for the most part from the which he frequently uses this image of mirrors and reflec-
following related hadith in Muslim (fman, 260-94)-although tions. See the famous metaphysical development of this
most of those traditions are also to be found in the other image in the first two chapters of the FU$u$ al-Ijikam; in the
canonical collections with minor variations in the order and Futubat I, 163 and IV, 2; and further references in Mu'jam,
description of the events. pp. 499-505, as well as the striking set of diagrammatic
39 ithbat a/-asbab: i.e., the affirmation of all the "realities" representations of these "mirrors" of God and man provided
or phenomena other than God (the ultimate and Primary by I:faydar AmuiI in the introduction to his vast commentary
Cause). This assertion of the reality and importance of all on the FU$u$. Na$$ a/-Nu$u$ ("Le texte des textes"), ed. H.
phenomenal existence as perceived from the very highest Corbin and O. Yahya, Tehran/Paris, 1975, plates 3-30.
spiritual perspective-a central leitmotif of Ibn 'ArabI's 42 The special role of Jesus in the beginning of Ibn 'ArabI's

thought, and an attitude by no means shared by all Sufis- own spiritual path is alluded to repeatedly in the FutuI)at:
was already stressed in the title and opening line of the poem "He was looking after us when we entered upon this Path we
beginning this chapter, where he stresses that the true, ulti- are following today" (I, 15.26); "I returned [to God: tubtu] at
mate state of "tawakku/ (absolute trust and reliance on God) the hands of Jesus" (IV, 77.30); "Our return to this path was
affirms the secondary causes" (see n. 23 above and section through good tidings (mubashshira) at the hand of Jesus,
IV-F). Moses and Muhammad" (IV, 172.13); and "we found that
 638 Journal of the American Oriental Society /07.4 (1987)

The final observation concerns the nature of the "Now (Muhammad) had thirty-four times in which
Prophet's vision (ru~ya) of God at the culminating (God) made him journey at night:& and only one of
stage of his Ascension, after God-in the words of the them was a nocturnal journey in his body, while the
hadith-"had revealed to him what He revealed.,,4) others were with his spirit, through a vision which
'Then He ordered (Muhammad) to enter; so he entered he saw."]
(the divine Presence), and there he saw exactly what
he had known and nothing else: the form of his belief [III. The Spiritual Journeys of the SaintsJ47
did not change. ,,44 This question of man's "divine
vision" and knowledge is at the heart of Ibn cArabI's As for the saints, they have spiritual journeys in the
48
own long discussion with Moses later in this chapter intermediate world during which they directly wit-
(IV-F) and underlies his accounts of his own cul- ness spiritual realities (macon/) embodied in forms
minating revelatory vision in JV-I and the Appendix that have become sensible for the imagination; these
in Part n. (sensible images) convey knowledge of the spiritual
At the end of this section, after pointing out that it realities contained within those forms. And so they
was only the Prophet's insistence on the actual have a (spiritual) journey on the earth and in the air,
bodily-rather than e<::static or visionary-nature of without their ever having set a sensible foot in the
this particular journey that aroused the scepticism and heavens. For what distinguished God's Messenger
hostility of his contemporaries,4\ Ibn cArabi concludes: from all the others (among the saints) was that his
body was made to journey, so that he passed through
the heavens and spheres in a way perceptible by the
station [of immediate spiritual 'feeding'] within ourselves senses and traversed real, sensible distances. But all of
and had the immediate experience (dhawq) of it at the that from the heavens (also belongs) to his heirs: 9
beginning of our journeying, with the spiritual reality
(ru~iinfya) of Jesus" (Ill, 43.20-21). This may be connected
with Ibn <ArabI's mention that his own first Sufi shaykh, Ascension with his earlier statement (at III, 340.34) that
Abu al-cAbblis CUraybI, was distinguished by his special "Buraq is a mount from the barzakh" (i.e., from the inter-
spiritual relationship with Jesus (Cfsawf): see references in mediate, imaginal world). However, for Ibn <ArabI, the
the Futu~iit at I, 223; II, 365; and III, 539. events and perceptions taking place in the barzakh are also
In addition to the chapters of the FutU~iil (20, 35-36, 195, "bodily" and "sensible" in a certain respect. See also, in this
etc.) and the Fu~u~ (ch. 15) specifically devoted to Jesus, see regard, his pointed advice to his fellow spiritual voyagers (in
more particularly the sections concerning Ibn cArabI's con- section III below) not to mention the "way" in which one
. ception of Jesus' perennial spiritual function as the "Seal of travels-which is likely to lead to controversy-but only
Universal Sainthood," mirroring the Shaykh's own role as what one has actually seen, which in itself cannot be disputed.
"Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood." Those references are 46 We have not been able to locate a hadith source for this

summarized in Sceau, chapters V-IX. assertion. In any case, the relative proportions this statement
43 This succinct phrase, whose implications Ibn <ArabI implies do suggest the primary importance of the spiritual
expands in thousands of words here and in his other treat- journey of each soul, which is the essential subject of the rest
ments of the Mi<raj, is all that is actually stated by the of this chapter (and of Ibn 'ArabI's other major treatments
various hadith with regard to this ultimate stage of the of MiCraj theme).
Ascension; they clearly echo the Koranic verse 53: 10 47 111,342.34-345.25.
(aw~ii . .. rnii aw~ii) concerning Muhammad's vision of one 48 isrii~iit rU~iin'iya barzakhfya: as mentioned in n. 35, the
of "the Greatest Signs" at 53: 18. "Revealed" here translates forms of asrii (isrii J, etc.) are translated throughout simply as
wa~y, the highest form of divine "inspiration" distinguishing "journey" without the adjective ·'nocturnal," which might be
the prophetic messengers (rusul). misleading (if taken literally) in English; Ibn cArabI's usage
44 For Ibn <ArabI's complementary treatment of this deci- in this context refers to the inward, "invisible" nature of
sive question of man's "vision" (ruJya) or contemplation of these spiritual voyages' (i.e., from the perspective of an
God-as differing only "qualitatively," but not in its "form," external observer), not to the time they may occur.
from the contents of his innermost "beliefs"-in an escha- 49 I.e., the saints: for the central importance of Ibn <ArabI's

tological perspective, see the illustrative passages in chapter conception of the saints as "heirs" of the different prophets
73, questions 67 and 71 (II, 85-86). (and all of them ultimately as heirs of the "Muhammadan
4\ It is not entirely clear how Ibn cArabl means for the Reality" which encompasses all the prophets), see Mu]am,
reader to reconcile this insistence (repeated at the beginning pp. 1191-1201, Sceau, chapters 1\I and V, and of course the
of section III below) on the "bodily" nature of this particular whole of the FU~ii~ al-lJikam.
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn 'Arabi and the Micriij. Part I 639

(only) in its spiritual reality (maCnii), not its sensible Now this journey (in God) involves the "dissolving"
form. of their composite nature. 53 Through this journey God
So as for what is above the heavens,5o let us men- (first of all) acquaints them with what corresponds to
tion what God made me directly witness in particular them in each world (of being), by passing with them
of the journey of the people of God. For their journeys through the different sorts of worlds, both composite
are different (in form) because they are embodied and simple. 54 Then (the spiritual traveler) leaves behind
spiritual realities, unlike the sensible journey (of the in each world that part of himself which corresponds
Prophet). Thus the ascensions (maciirij) of the saints to it: the form of his leaving it behind is that God
are the ascensions of (their) spirits and the vision of sends a barrier between that person and that part of
(their) hearts, (the vision) of forms in the intermediate himself he left behind in tqat sort of world, so that he
world and of embodied spiritual realities. And we is not aware of it. But he still has the awareness of
have already mentioned what we directly witnessed of what remains with him, until eventually he remains
that in our book called "The Nocturnal Journey,,,51 (alone) with the divine Mystery which is the "specific
along with the order of (the stages of) the voyage.... aspect"55 extending from God to him. So when he
Therefore whenever God wishes to journey with the
spirits of whomever He wishes among the heirs of His
messengers and His saints, so that He might cause path." Elsewhere Ibn 'Arabi, often following earlier Sufi
them to see His Signs (17: I)-for this is a journey to writers, offers a variety of typologies for the soul's spiritual
increase (their) knowledge and open the eye of (their) voyage: e.g., the fivefold division of suluk in chapter 189 (II,
understanding-the modalities of their journey are 380-82); the classical "four journeys" (asfiir); or the more
different (for different individuals):52 and among them elaborate division into dozens of "stations," "stages," etc.,
are those whom He causes to journey in Him. underlying the structure of the Fulill;iil.
53 ball larkfbihim: i.e., the process of "dissolution" or

"disassembly" into its constituent elements (organic, mental,

\0 This phrase has two possible meanings: if it refers to the psychic and spiritual) of the original "composition" (tarkfb)
purely spiritual or noetic (ma'nawi) phases of the mystical constituting the psycho-social "self" (dhiit) in the broadest
journey symbolically surpassing even the outermost celestial sense-as opposed to the sirr (no 55), that "innermost reality,"
sphere, then this would roughly correspond to Ibn 'Arabi's "secret" or "mystery" that is the true essence of each indi-
enumeration of the forms of knowledge gained in his cul- vidual. The terms "dissolving" (tahlfl) and "reintegration"
minating vision at the end of this chapter (IV-I), a stage (tarkfb) are drawn from a larger body of alchemical vocab-
which is described in more detail in Chapter 167 of the ulary which Ibn 'Arabi uses in this spiritual sense throughout
Futul;iil (Alchimie, pp. 131-141) and in the K. al-Isrii' the FUlubiit, most notably in chapter 167 (see introduction
(pp. 45ff.). Or if-as appears more likely here-it refers to above), on the "Alchemy of Happiness."
what is spiritually "above" the physical spheres and planets so The term "world" (Ciilam) refers here to the different
(and the intellectual sciences that can be deduced from their "levels of being" or ontological "planes" (nash'iit, I;at;fariit,
observation, as outlined in chapter 167), then Ibn 'Arabi is etc.) of divine manifestation; the "simple" ones are the purely
pointing to the entire "autobiographical" spiritual narrative noetic (Caq/i) or spiritUal Realities, while most phenomena
in the K. al-lsrii' and the rest of this chapter (section IV are a "composite" (murakkab) involving some degree of
below). materiality or manifest form in either the physical or inter-
\1 K. al-lsrii': see the discussion of the autobiographical mediate, imaginal worlds.
nature of this work in the introduction above, the key II al-wajh al-khii~~: this key technical term of Ibn 'Arabi

passage translated in the Appendix, and further cross- designates each creature's unique and unchanging inner
references at each stage of section IV. This paragraph is "existentiating" relationship with God, ontologically prior to
followed by a short poem (343.6-17), not translated here, whatever knowledge or other transformations that may be
recapitulating the "order of the journey," i.e., the various acquired through its actions and "mediated" relationships in
symbolic stages (seven heavens, Lotus-tree of the Limit, the course of life. (See the extensive references from the
divine Throne, etc.) found in virtually all of Ibn 'Arabi's Futu/:Jiil in Mu'jam, pp. 1139-42.)
versions of the Ascension. The paradoxical relationship (of simultaneous identity and
\2 "Modalities of their journey" = masriihum, which could non-identity) between this "divine Mystery" or "Secret"
also refer to their "point of departure," the "place" or "time" {al-sirr al-iliihf} and the voyager's own innermost reality
of the journey, the particular "route," etc. Cf. section IV-F, (sirr) is brought out more openly in the culminating stages of
where Yal:iya (John the Baptist) explains to Ibn 'Arabi that Ibn 'Arabi's own miCriij recounted in section IV-I and in his
each journey is different and "each traveler creates his own description (from the K. al-lsrii') of a similar culminating
 640 . Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (1987)

alone remains (without any of those other attach- within it, and it is only at the end of this purifying
ments to the world), then God removes from him the journey that the saints can realize man's true dignity
barrier of the veil s6 and he remains with God, just as and spiritual potential as the "Perfect Man" (al-insun
everything else in him remained with (the world) al-kumi/) whose heart fully mirrors the divine Reality
corresponding to it. (al-lfaqq), thereby accomplishing that perfection for
Hence throughout this journey the servant remains which the world itself was created. 59]
God and not-God. 57 And since he remains God and So when the servant has become aware of what we
not-God, He makes (the servant) travel-with respect have just explained, so that he knows that he is not
to Him, not with respect to (what is) not-Him-in (created) according to the form of the world, but only
Him,s8 in a subtle spiritual (maCnawf) journey.... according to tbe form of God (al-lJaqq), then God
[Ibn cArabI goes on (pp. 343.24-344.4) to recall the makes him journey through His Names, in order to
60
fundamental metaphysical underpinnings of these cause him to see His Signs (17:1) within him. Thus
distinctions in the peculiar nature of the inner cor- (the servant) comes to know that He is what is
respondence between man and the world (i.e., "not- designated by every divine Name-whether or not
God"), since both are created "according to the form" that Name is one of those described as "beautiful. ,,61
of God. Ordinarily, however, people think of them-
selves as simply "parts" of the world, as "things"
59 The classic summary of this inner "correspondence" of

man, God and creation in Ibn <ArabI (including many of the

experience of "unveiling" translated in the Appendix in hadith and Koranic verses he commonly cites to illustrate
Part II. this point) is to be found in the opening chapter (on Adam)
56 /:zijab aI-sit,; the "veil" (sitr) in this case seems to refer of the Fusus al-Ifikam (pp. 48-58; Bezels, pp. 50-59).
not to a further particular obstacle, but rather to all the 60 Or "Him"; again the ambiguous pronoun here could

forms of attachment and implicit idolatry (shirk) "dissolved" equally be read as referring to God (al-Ifaqq) as well as the
in the course of the traveler's ascension, which together "servant," given the profound connection between the two
blocked him from the realizing his inner relation to God (the that becomes apparent at this advanced stage of realization.
"divine Mystery" [sirr] mentioned in the preceding note). "God," throughout this paragraph, translates al-Ifaqq ("the
For further discussion of these central concepts in Ibn Truth"), i.e., the ultimate or absolute divine Reality encom-
CArabI's thought, see Mu'}am, pp. 561-62 ("sitr") and 313- passing-and at the same time transcending-all the par-
18 ("/:Zijiib"). ticular "Names" through which It becomes known and
57 huwa la huwa; literally, "He (and) not-He"-a formula manifest.
. whose meaning is clarified in the following lines (summarized The mention of man's being created "according to the
here). form" (Calii sura) or "in the image" of God (or "the Merciful")
For Ibn <ArabI, the term "servant" (Cabd) frequently has is an allusion to the well-known hadith (with evident Biblical
the special technical meaning-closely corresponding to its parallels): "God created Adam in His image ..." (The hadith
usage in certain Koranic passages-of those rare individuals is recorded by BukharI, Muslim and A1:Jmad b. l:Ianbal; see
among the saints (and prophets) who have fully realized their Word, pp. 151-52.)
inner relation to their Creator, to the Reality encompassing 61 An allusion to the famous verse 7:180: "For God's are

all the divine Names, and who are therefore not uncon- the most beautiful Names, so call Him by them; and leave
sciously subject to the (illusory or relative) "lordship" of any those who go astray with regard to His Names. ... " Here
other creatures. See especially the references to his decisive Ibn <ArabI evidently refers to the natural human tendency to
discovery of his own true nature as "pure servant" (Cabd become attached to the Names of divine Beauty (jama/)
ma/:l4) at the culmination of his own spiritual ascension, in while failing to come to terms with the manifestations of
section IV-I (n. 198), and the detailed discussion and further what the Sufis traditionally called the Names of divine
references in Mu'}am, pp. 765-78. "Majesty" or "Severity" (jala/).
58 Or "in him" (i.e., in the servant). The ambiguity is again At the very end of this chapter (III, 354.15-16), Ibn <Arabi
probably intentional: as Ibn <ArabI goes on to explain, this mentions that this insight into the ultimate Unity of the
voyage is "in God" (i.e., consciously, not simply "ontologi- divine Reality "named" (a/:ladfyat al-musammii) by each of
cally"), but it is also "in the servant" insofar as he can only the divine Names constitutes one of the many kinds of
know the divine Names through their man.festation within spiritual knowledge he realized in the culminating stage of
himself, in his own states and experiences. The description of his own ascension. There (as also, e.g., in the Fusus, chapters
this second stage of the spiritual journey of the saints resumes 4 and 21) he acknowledges the earlier development of this
at III, 344.4. thesis in a work by the famous Andalusian Sufi Ibn QasI
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn cArabl and the Micriij. Part I 641

It is through those Names that God appears in His us: 6 just as we know that the transformations of (our)
servants, and it is through Them that the servant states (manifest) the specific influences (al)kiim) of
takes on the different "colorings" of his states: for those Names.... So there is no Name that God has
They are Names in God, but "colorings" (of the soul) applied to Himself that He has not also applied to us:
in US. 62 And they are precisely the "affairs" with which through (His Names) we undergo the transformations
God is "occupied ,,:63 so it is in us and through us that in our states, and with them we are transformed (by
He acts, just as we (only) appear in Him and through God).... 67
Him. [ ... 64] Now when (the spiritual traveler) has completed his
Thus when God makes the saint (a/-wolf) travel share of the journey through the Names and has come
through His most beautiful Names to the other Names to know the Signs which the Names of God gave him
and (ultimately) all the divine Names, he comes to during that journey, then lie returns and "reintegrates"
know the transformations of his states and the states his self with a composition different from that initial
of the whole world. 65 And (he knows) that that trans- composite nature:! because of the knowledge he has
formation is what brings those very Names to be in gained which he did not have when he was "dissolved"
(in the ascending phase of that journey)"9 Thus he

(d. 546/1151), Khat< al-Na'layn. (For Ibn 'ArabI's own long 66 This opening phrase could likewise be translated so as to

commentary on that work, see R. G. no. 681.) The inner "invert" this relationship (although that meaning is also
spiritual "verification" of that reality is likewise a key feature implied, in any case, in the second half of the sentence):
of the culminating realization described in the Appendix "And that transformation is what is brought about in us by
(from the K. al-[srii') in Part II. the essence of those Names." In either case, this sentence
62 "Colorings" translates talwlniit, a traditional Sufi expres- aptly summarizes the relation of inherent "reciprocity" be-
sion for all the constantly changing psychic states and condi- tween God and the creatures (or the Names and their
tions of every individual, equivalent to the incessant inner manifestations) which underlies Ibn 'ArabI's fre<:uent and
"transformations" (taqallubiit) of the soul discussed in the apparently paradoxical statements that God (and the Names)
following paragraph. As Ibn 'ArabI indicates here, the mani- "need man" (in order to be manifest and known), or that the
festations of the divine Names ultimately constitute all our caused thing "causes its Cause."
experience and reality. 67 The translation is uncertain. This paragraph again omits

63 An allusion to the verse 55:29: ..... Every Day He is some further illustrations (III, 344.20~24) of this metaphysi-
(occupied) in an affair." Ibn 'ArabI typically takes the term cal relationship between certain divine Names and their
sha'n ("affair," "concern," etc.) in this verse to refer to the manifestations in our experience.
infinite particular aspects of the divine "Activity" at each 68 See n. 53 and the accompanying text above for the

instant in time: see, e.g., II, 77, 82, 218, 499; III, 198, 224; meaning of the "self" (dhiit) in question here and the pre-
and the further references in Mujam, pp. 639-42. liminary process of its "dissolving" (tab/fl) into the various
64 The translation here omits a brief poem (Ill, 344.8-11) components of its "composite nature" (tarkfb) in each level
illustrating this central theme of Ibn 'ArabI's thought and ("world") of being.
foreshadowing his own inner realization of this truth in the For further details on Ibn 'ArabI's understanding of this
revelatory vision described in section IV-I below. key category of al-riijiCun, "those who have returned" (to
65 "Transformations" == taqallubiit-a meaning which, for complete the full process of enlightenment by reintegrating
Ibn 'ArabI, underlies the Arabic term for the Heart (qalb), all the descending levels of being in their true, divine context
since these constantly renewed transformations of being and reality), see chapter 45 of the Futubiit (1,250-253) [also
ultimately constitute all our experience: see his classic expo- available in the French translation by M. V31san, Etudes
sition in the Fu~u~, chapt. 12 (on Shu'ayb and "the Wisdom traditionnelles no. 307 (1953), pp. 120-39] and the detailed
of the Heart"), and further references in Mujam, pp. 916- references in Sceau, chapter VII.
21. His mention here of the "states of the world" is an 69 That is, he is now fully aware of the divine Ground and

important reminder that these "transformations" and the the Names underlying each of those "things" in the world (or
corresponding divine activity of "ever-renewed creation" in his "self") which he had originally seen as a reality
encompass all the forms of experience and perception-not independent of God, and which had been temporarily "veiled"
just what we ordinarily consider "inner" or "spiritual" from his attention during the spiritual ascension; or in other
phenomena-and all the forms of manifest being. words, he has become profoundly aware of all things as
For the complex term wali (usually translated here as God's "Signs" (as indicated in Ibn 'ArabI's allusions to the
"saint"), see n. 79 below. famous verse 41:53, at notes 34 and 72).
642 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (1987)

continues to pass through the different sorts of worlds, the faqfh was unaware of (the true meaning of) His
taking from each world that (aspect of himself) which saying: "We shall show them Our Signs on the
he had left there and reintegrating it in his self, and he horizons and in their souls . . .',72 (41:53), since (God)
continues to appear in each successive stage (of being) does not specify one group rather than (any) other.
until he arrives back on earth. Therefore whoever God may cause to see something
So "he awakens among his people" (like the of these Signs in the way we have just mentioned
Prophet), and no one knows what happened to occur should mention (only) what he has seen, but he should
to him in his innermost being (si,,) until he speaks (of not mention the way. For then people will have
his journey). But then they hear him speaking a credence in him and will look into what he says, since
language different from the one they are used to they will only deny what he says if he makes a claim
recognizing as his; and if one of them says to him about the way the acquired that knowledge).
"What is this?" he replies that "God made me journey Now you should know that (in reality) there is no
by night and then caused me to see whatever Signs of difference with regard to this journey between ordinary
His He wanted (me to see)." So those who are listening people 7J and the person (distinguished by) this way
say to him: "You were not gone from us, so you were and this characteristic. That is because (this spiritual
lying in what you claimed about that." 70 journey) is in order to see the (divine) Signs, and the
And the jurist (faqfh) among them says: "This transformations of the states of ordinary people are
fellow is laying claim to prophethood (nubuwwa), or (likewise) all Signs: they are in those Signs, but "they
his intellect has become deranged: so either he is a do not notice'" (23:56; etc.).74 Hence this sort (of
heretic-in which case he ought to be executed-or traveler) is only distinguished from the rest of (his
else he is insane, in which case we have no business fellow) creatures, those who are veiled (83: 15), by
talking with him." Hence "a group of people make what God has inspired in his innermost being 75 either
fun of him" (49: II), others "draw a lesson from him" through his thinking and inquiry with his intellect, or
(59:2),71 while others have faith in what he says, and through his preparation, by polishing the mirror of
thus it becomes a subject of dispute in the world. But his soul, for the unveiling of these Signs to him by
way of inner unveiling and immediate witnessing,
70 This paragraph, opening with a phrase from the !:Jadlth
a/-isrii' (section II above), alludes to Ibn cArabi's reminder 72 The continuation of this famous verse-underlining its

earlier in this chapter (III, 342.27-33) of the sceptical, even universal metaphysical (or eschatological) dimension-is also
hostile reaction of many Meccans to the Prophet's insistence assumed here: " ... until it becomes clear to them that He is
on the physical nature of his nocturnal journey. (Those the Tru/y Real (a/-Ifaqq)-or is your Lord not enough, that
events are vividly recounted in Ibn Isl:Jaq's Slra: see pp. 182- He is Witness of every thing? Are they still in doubt about
84 in The life of Muhammad, tr. A. Guillaume, Oxford, meeting their Lord? /s He not surrounding every thing?"
1955.) It is also another allusion to Ibn cArabi's under- (See also notes 34 and 36 above.)
standing (see notes 2 and 35 above) of the "hidden," spiritual 7J ai-Co/am: literally, "(the people of) the world"; "(spiritual)

character of this voyage of realization for the saints. In the journey" here, as throughout this section, translates isro', the
R. a/-Anwiir (p. 17; Journey, p. 59), Ibn cArabi explains that term applied in the Koran to the Prophet's "nocturnal jour-
the fact that Muhammad-unlike, for example, Moses after ney" (see n. 35 above).
his return from Mt. Sinai-showed no outward signs of his 74 The Koran applies the same formula to man's usual lack

Ascension and revelatory encounter with God is an indica- of spiritual awareness in a number of different contexts
tion of his superior spiritual state of "perfect realization," (especially with regard to the eschatological realities), but
corresponding to the equivalent "invisibility" of the spiritual this particular verse (23:56) seems to be most relevant here:
state of the afriid and ma/iimlya among the saints "who "We hurry to them with the good things. but no, they do not
return," the riijNin. notice!"
71 The first phrase is clearly an allusion to the following 75 "Innermost being" = sirr (see n. 55 above). "Inspired"

verse (49: II): "0 you who have true faith, do not (let) a here translates the verb alhama, a term that is much broader
group make fun of a group who may well be better than in meaning than the special divine "revelation" (wa!:Jy) char-
them. ..."; the second probably refers to the well-known acterizing the prophetic messengers, since here it evidently
words (from verse 59:2): ..... so draw a lesson. you who extends to the results of thinking (fikr) and "rational inquiry"
have (true) vision"-the latter group (uW al-ab$iir), for Ibn (na?ar bi-Vaql), as well as the fruits of spiritual practice and
'Arabi, evidently being the saints or people of true spiritual mystical experience (the "polishing of the soul") which are
vision. Ibn cArabi's primary focus.
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn 'Arabi and the MiCra}. Part I 643

direct experience and ecstatic" finding. ,,76 not make up likenesses for God. For God is the one
Thus ordinary people (when they object to those Who makes up likenesses for the people (14:25; 24:35),
who speak of this spiritual voyage) are denying pre- because of His knowledge of the underlying intentions
cisely That within Which they are and through Which (of those symbols), since God knows, but we do not
they subsist. So if (the traveler) did not mention the know 80 (see 16:74; 3:66; 2:216). Thus the saint (i.e., the
way in which he obtained the inner knowledge of "friend of God," the one truly close to Him) observes
these things, no one would deny or dispute him. For the likenesses God has made, and in that immediate
all of the (ordinary) people-and I do not exclude a witnessing he actually sees precisely what connects the
single one of them-are "making up likenesses for likeness and that which it symbolizes: for the likeness
God,,;77 they have always agreed and cooperated in is precisely what is sym12olized, with respect to that
that, so not one of them criticizes another for doing it. which connects them, but it is different insofar as it is
God says: "Do not make up likenesses for God . .. " a likeness. So the saint "does not make up likenesses
(l6:74)-yet they remain blind to that Sign. 78 for God"; instead, he truly knows what God sym-
79
But as for the friends of God (10:64-66), they do bolized with those likenesses.... II

[IV. Ibn cArabi's Own MiCrij]

76 kashfan shuhudan dhawqan wujudan: see the extensive
references to Ibn cArabI's usage of each of these key terms in [IV-A. The Departure From the Elemental Woridt 2
MU1am, pp. 971-72 (kash/), 654-67 (shuhud and related
forms), and 492-95 (dhawq), as well as his further discus- So when God wished to "journey with me to cause
sions concerning the necessary spiritual role of this "direct me to see (some) of His Signs" in His Names among
experience" (dhawq) in his encounters with Joseph and 83
my names -and that was the portion of our inheri-
Moses in section IV (notes 108 and 145) below. tance from the (Prophet's) nocturnal journey-He
77 I.e., instead of grasping the inner reality of G~d's sym-
removed me from my place and ascended with me on
bols, those that already exist (and which ultimately con-
stitute all reality). "(Ordinary) people" here translates al-niis,
a term with much the same meaning as al-ciilam (n. 73) in the 80 Although the phrase" ... God knows, but you do not

preceding sentences-i.e., everyone but the accomplished know" completes the Koranic verse (16:74) already quoted in
saints, the "friends of God" discussed in the following the preceding paragraph, its more illuminating use in the
paragraph. other two verses evidently forms the background for this
The phrase in quotation marks here (and in the various particular allusion: in 3:66 it is applied to those who "dispute
Koranic verses discussed below) could also be translated as concerning that oj which they have no know/edge," and in
"making up likenesses (or symbols) of God"~and that 2:216 it follows the reminder that "Perhaps you abhor some-
activity certainly accounts for an important part of Ibn thing although it is good for you, and perhaps you love
CArabI's criticism. However, it gradually emerges from the something and it is badJor you."
subsequent discussion that the main focus of his critique here SI In the remainder of this section (III, 340.6~25), Ibn

is man's natural (and more universal) tendency not to grasp 'Arabi first insists on the decisive importance of considering
and assimilate the omnipresent "likenesses" (or "symbols," every single detail of expression in the revealed divine "like-
amthiil) contained in the divine revelation of creation in all nesses" or symbols (which he illustrates here with the famous
its infinite forms, but instead to impose his own conceptions Light-verse of the Koran, 24:35). This point, in his opinion,
and standards on God and the world. was rarely respected by those interpreters (mUlaka/limun,
. 78 Or "to (the meaning of) that verse": the individual verses philosophers, etc.) who relied on their own reasoning (na?ar)
of the Koran are traditionally referred to as the divine to decipher the meaning of those symbols. He then goes on
"Signs" par excellence. to stress the decisive differences between such "rationalist"
7. Or "those close to God," awliyii J Alliih: the term waif approaches and the methods of the saints, who rely solely on
(pI. awliyii J) has usually been translated here as "saint," but inspired "unveiling" (kashJ) and direct "witnessing" (shuhud)
in this case Ibn cArabi is more clearly stressing the root sense of the divine intentions in those cases.
of the saints' special closeness or proximity to God-a 82 III, p. 435.26-35.

meaning which is also brought out in these Koranic verses 83 fi asmiiJihi min asmiiJf: a dense formula that summarizes

(10:64-66) concerning these rare individuals "who have no Ibn <Arabi's complex metaphysical understanding of the
fear and are not sad," who have reached "the ultimate divine Names in their relation to the world and each indi-
achievement" (al-fawz al-ca?fm). (See also the more compre- vidual's experience, as outlined in the immediately preceding
hensive discussion in Sceau, chapters I and III.) section.
644 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (1987)
81
the Burliq of my contingency.84 Then He penetrated remained with me of my bodily nature that I (needed
with me into my (natural) elements.... to) depend on or to which I (had to) pay attention.
[At this point Ibn <ArabI allegorically encounters
S
each of the elements constituting the physical, sub- [IV-B. Adam and the First Heavent
lunar world, according to the accepted physical
theories of his time-i.e., earth, water, air and fire- [As Ibn <ArabI explains in this section, it was
and leaves behind with each of them the corresponding during this encounter with his "father" that he was
part of his bodily nature.t first given the immediate spiritual awareness of two
86
So I passed through into the first heaven: nothing key themes of his thought: the universality of the
divine Mercy which, like the Being that is inseparable
from it, "enco~passes all things"; and, flowing from
84 imkiinf, referring to each creature's inner dependency on
this first principle, the temporal, limited nature of the
God (and the particular "Iords n constituted by certain divine
punishments of "Hell" (and the sufferings of the world
Names) for its very being and external manifestation. In Ibn s9
as a whole), which manifest certain of those Names.
(ArabI's description of the culminating revelation of his own
universal, "Muhammadan Station n (section IV-I), he says
that God "took away (his) contingency,n so that he could
"realize the inner realities of all the divine Names. " abodes of "Paradise" (al-janna) that together constitute what
"Buraq" is the name of the Prophet's mysterious steed we ordinarily call "heaven" (as opposed to "hell").
described in the hadith accounts of the Mi<riij and Isrif': see 87 nash'atf al-badanfya: nash'a, literally "arising" or

the translation at n. 39 above, Ibn <Arabi's longer discussion "appearing (in existence)," is one of Ibn (Arabi's most com-
of the "Buraq" of each of the prophetic Messengers in mon expressions (following the Koran, 56.62, etc.) for the
section II (at III, 341.2-4, a passage not translated here), as different planes or realms of being. In chapter 167 of the
well as the article "Burii!>" (by R. Paret) in EJ2. FUlii/:riil (Alchimie, pp. 57-58) this "departure" from the
85 This brief passage (Ill, 345.27-35) therefore symbolizes physical world is explicitly explained as the voyager's inner
all the relevant dimensions both of the individual's natural liberation from "domination by the carnal desires" (/:rukm
"predisposition" (isti<diid) and of his voluntary spiritual al-shahawiit).
"work" that are actually necessary to overcome the animal 88 III, p. 345.1-20; the sections translated in full here

tendencies and attachments ordinarily flowing from man's correspond to lines 9-20 (omitting part of lines 14-15).
bodily nature. The experiential dimensions and practical While the R. al-Anwiir does not refer at all to Adam and his
presuppositions of this task of "purification" or "dissolution" sphere, chapter 167 of the FUlii/:riil (Alchimie, pp. 57-63)
of those attachments (la/:rIT/: see notes 52 and 67) are brought primarily deals with the cosmological functions of this sphere
out much more explicitly in the longer opening passages of in the sub-lunar realm, matters which are also partially
the R. al-Anwiir. In particular, Ibn (Arabi describes there accessible to the "rationalist" thinker who accompanies the
(Sceau, pp. 193-94; Journey, pp. 36-39) the voyager's Prophet's "heir" in that voyage. However Ibn <Arabi does
necessary passage through the mineral, vegetal and animal allude there to two fundamental spiritual insights which are
realms before he can begin the properly "human n (insiinf) greatly elaborated in the K. al-Isrii' and later on in this
stage of this spiritual journey. The indispensable role of these chapter: (I) the fact that "Adam" teaches each person only
"lower" dimensions of being in man's complete perfection- those divine Names (and the spiritual knowledge flowing
through which he surpasses even the angels (who lack this from them) that can be accepted by that individual's par-
experience of the full range of existence)-is underlined in ticular constitution or predisposition; and (2) the fundamen-
the vivid, partially autobiographical descriptions at the end tal importance of the "particular divine aspect" (al-wajh
of the chapter on Elias (no. 22) in the FU$ii$ (pp. 186-87; al-khii$$: see n. 55 above), the divine "mystery" (sirr) uniting
Bezels, p. 185). each creature directly to God, which Ibn (Arabi calls the
86 "Heaven," throughout these sections, translates samii', a "Elixir of the true Knowers" (Iksfr aIJArij'Tn), the secret of
term referring both to the various concentric heavenly spheres their inner knowledge of God (and of its particular limits for
universally assumed by the astronomical theories of the time each individual).
(as well as the Koran and the hadith accounts of the Ibn 'ArabI's important account of his revelatory exper-
Ascension) and~more important for Ibn (Arabi-to the spir- ience at this stage in the K. al-lsrii' (pp. 12-14) is translated
itual or noetic realities (Le., the rii/:riinfyiil or asriir of the and summarized in the Appendix in Part II.
various prophets named in the hadith) symbolically associated 89 Both of these points are also listed among the different

with each of those celestial spheres. This meaning is there- kinds of spiritual knowledge which Ibn (Arabi "saw" during
fore quite different from the "gardens" (janniit) and other the culminating "revelation" described at the end of this
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn <Arabi and the MiCriij. Part I 64S

The discovery and awareness of these principles pre- be 'filled Up'.92 For the (divine) Anger has already
supposes man's ultimate reality as the "Perfect Man" come to an end with the 'Greater Reviewing,:91 (God)
(insiin kiimil), the (potentially) complete reflection of ordered that (His) limits be established;94 so they were
the divine Reality at all Its levels of manifestation- established, and when they were established (His)
i.e., the very foundation of his metaphysical vision
which is developed at much greater length in the
92 (The final phrase refers to the Koranic verses II: 119,
famous opening chapter on Adam in the Fu$U~.
At the beginning of this encounter Ibn cArabi-like etc.) Ibn 'ArabI alludes here to his controversial conception,
Muhammad before him90 -suddenly sees his "essential developed at length in the FU$U$ (e.g., at the end of ch. 7 on
reality" (Cayn ) among the souls of the blessed on Ismail) and in the eschatol9gicaJ sections of the FutuMt,
Adam's right, while at the same time he himself that it is precisely the exclusive choice of certain limited
remains standing in front of Adam. Then Adam goes "enjoyments" (whether bodily or imaginal), varying according
on to inform him that the Koranic expressions "the to each person's predispositions and inner tendencies, that-
people of the left hand" and "the people of the by veiling him from the full awareness of God-ultimately
right" (56:27, 38, 41, 90; etc.) refer in reality to constitutes each individual's "dwelling" (maskan) among the
Adam's hands, since all of mankind are in God's many levels of Gehenna. Hence it is only with the lifting of
"Right Hand"-"the one which destines (them) to that veil of (spiritual) ignorance that the person becomes
happiness"-"because both of my Lord's Hands are fully aware that what he considered "happiness" at the same
Right and blessed.,,91] time is both his suffering and his (potentially purifying)
" ... Therefore I and and my children are (all) in punishment. But Ibn 'ArabI also suggests (Fu$u$, 94; Bezels.
the Right Hand of the Truly Real (al-/:laqq), while p. 110) that even for the "people of Ghenna who remain
everything in the world other than us is in the other there eternally" (i.e., who are not ultimately redeemed
through the intercession of their prophets), their "torment"
divine Hand."
(Cadhiib) will ultimately be made "sweet" (Cidhab).
I said: "Then we shall not be made to suffer (in
93 ai-Carr! al-akbar: the "Reviewing" or "Presentation" (Carr!)
Hell)?"
And (Adam) replied: "If (God's) Anger were to of souls and their actions mentioned in the Koran (I I: 18;
'18:48; etc.) and elaborated in certain hadith was popularly
continue (forever), then the suffering (of the damned)
would continue. But it is happiness that continues understood as one of the "events" occurring when all souls
are gathered together on the "Day" of Resurrection; see Ibn
forever, although the dwellings are different, because
CArabi's summary of this conception in chapter 64 of the
God places in each abode (of Paradise and Gehenna)
that which comprises the enjoyment of the people of FuWbiit (I, 307-317), on the "stages of the Resurrection"
(O.Y. IV. p. 466).
that abode, which is why both abodes must necessarily
Here-following Ibn 'ArabI's usual distinction between the
"greater" (universal) and "lesser" (individual) Resurrection
[see, e.g., ch. 369 (III, 388-390) and Mu"jam. pp. 945-46]-
chapter; see the translation of those particular points at the the "Greater Reviewing" evidently refers to the comprehen-
end of section IV-I in Part II. sive, universal process of all human actions and spiritual
o destinies (or at least those within one cosmic cycle) as
90 See the corresponding passage of the hadlth al-isrii in

section II (at notes 39-40) above. According to the original viewed from the all-encompassing, metahistorical divine
hadith (only partially translated here), Muhammad first sees standpoint. That is why it can be perceived here, by the
all the descendants of Adam divided among the blessed universal "Adam" who stands beyond time, as "already
(literally, "the happy": sucadiF) at his right hand and the finished." The "lesser Reviewing" would then apparently be
"wretched" or "suffering ones" (ashqiyiF) on his left. the same reality as perceived from the microcosmic stand-
'1 This phrase is quoted from a longer "divine saying," point of each individual soul.
presupposed throughout this section, which Ibn CArabI •• Or "that (His) sanctions be applied" (iqiimat al-budud).
included in the Mishkiit (no. 24; Niche, pp. 50-53). According The Koranic conception of the divine budud has two related
to that hadith, God-having created Adam and sent him senses-both equally important here-that cannot be ade-
to greet the angels-shows Adam His two closed Hands, quately conveyed by a single English expression: they are
saying: "Choose whichever one of them you want," and both the divine "laws" or "limits" and the "sanctions" or
Adam replies: "I choose the Right Hand of My Lord, "penalties" (primarily corporal in this world, but in another
although both Hands of my Lord are right and blessed," form in the next) prescribed for their infringement. Although
"Then He opened (His Hand), and in It were Adam and his these two senses are apparently separated-for us-by the
descendants...." passage of time and other contingencies, they are in reality
 646 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (1987)

Anger disappeared. (This is) because the sending down [Ibn cArabI goes on to explain that "after this
of the (divine) Message (tanzrl al-risiila) actually is period"-however it is to be understood-only the
precisely the establishment (and application) of (God's) divine Names "the Merciful" (which encompasses all
limits for those with whom He is angry (I :7), and the "Most Beautiful Names") and "the Compassion-
nothing remains (after that) but (His) Good Will and ate" will have authority and influence (J:tukm) in the
Mercy which encompasses every thing (7: 156). So world, although the intrinsic, logically necessary
when these 'limits' (and the punishments flowing from "opposition" of the other Names necessarily will
them) have come to an end, then the (divine) author- remain.]
ity9S comes back to the universal Mercy with regard to ... Hence the creatures are entirely submerged in
everything. ,,96 (God's) Mercy, abd the authority of the (other divine)
Thus my father Adam granted me the benefit of this Names (only) continues in their intrinsic opposition,
knowledge when I was unaware of it, and that was but not in us. So you should know that, for it is a rare
divine good tidings for me in the life of this world, in and subtle knowledge that (most people) do not realize.
anticipation (of its full realization in the hereafter). Instead, ordinary people are blind to it: there is no
Therefore the Resurrection comes to an end with one among them who, if you were to ask him "Are
time,97 as God said: "[The angels and the Spirit ascend you content to have applied to yourself (the influence)
to Him in a Day whose extent is] of fifty thousand of those Names that give you pain?", would not reply
years,,98 (70:4), and this is the period of the establish- "N o!" and have the influence of that painful Name
ment (and application) of the (divine) limits. 99
applied to someone else in his stead. But such a
person is among the most ignorant of people con-
cerning the creatures-and he is even more ignorant
inseparable and indeed "simultaneous" from the comprehen- of the Truly Real!
sive, divine perspective represented by Adam here. So this (experience of) immediate witnessing in-
.s IJukm: with regard to the divine Names, this term usually
formed (us) concerning the continuation of the
refers to their power or authority to become manifest in the authority (J:tukm) of the Names (i.e., other than those
various realms of being, and therefore, by extension, to all of Mercy) with regard to those Names (in themselves),
their specific "influences" or "manifestations." (It is trans- but not in us. For those Names are relations whose
lated as "influence" in the rest of this section.) realities are intrinsically opposed, so that they (can)
.. We have left this entire paragraph in quotes-even though never become united (in a way that would. erase their
much of it is clearly Ibn 'ArabI's own paraphrase, using his inherent relational distinctions).loo But God extends
typical technical vocabulary-because the Arabic text does His Mercy to (all) His servants wherever they are,
not clearly indicate where the direct quotation of Adam's since Being in its entirety is Mercy.tOI
words might end .
• 7 Or simply "in time" (bi-l-zamiin): Zamiin-in its ordinary,

popular usage (see the following note for references to Ibn and further references in Mu]am, pp. 1253-54.
'Arabi's more complex personal understanding)-usually 99 The "ignorance" involved in this almost universal

refers specifically to the objective "physical time" marked out attitude-an "ignorance" which, Ibn 'Arabi repeatedly
by the motions of the cosmos and the heavenly spheres. stresses, is profoundly rooted in us and can only be over-
Judging from the context here-which apparently refers to come by an inner transformation involving both divine grace
the "Greater Resurrection" (al-qiyiimat al-kubrii) encom- and the spiritual efforts of the individual-is grounded in the
passing all the souls of the universe-he may be alluding to a implicit assumption that God (or the divine "Mercy," Being,
sort of cyclical reversion of the whole universe to its Source, etc.) is manifest only in certain specific phenomena or forms
thereby marking a cosmic "end of time." of experience.
However, if the reference here is understood as applying to 100 For a brief but clear explanation of Ibn 'Arabi's central

the "Lesser Resurrection" of each individual soul (see n. 93), metaphysical conception of the divine Names as "relations"
then the final phrase could be translated as "in time," with (nisab) whose reality only becomes manifest through the
the period of fifty thousand years being that allotted for the being of the created "individual entities" (a'yiin), see ch. 222
perfection and purification (including punishment) of each (II, 516-18). See also the many further references in Mu'jam,
particular soul. pp. 591-618 (on the divine "Names") and pp. 506-13 (on the
'R For some representative aspects of Ibn 'Arabi's complex related concepts of each Name as "lord," rabb and marbub).
understanding of "time" (zamiin), see ch. 12 on the cycles of 101 This theme of the universality of the divine "Mercy" as

esoteric and exoteric time, I, 143-147 (0. Y., II, 342-45); the source and ground of all Being~and therefore on a very
ch. 59 on the time of the cosmos, I, 290-292 (0. Y., IV, different level from the other more particular divine
33040); ch. 390 on the inner meaning of time, III, 546-50; Names-is developed in more detail (along with most of the
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn cAraM and the Micra}. Part I 647

[IV -co Jesus and Ya~yli (John the Baptist) in the occupy my station in regard to that (life-giving power),
Second Heaven]I02 just as I do not have the station of the one (i.e.,
Gabriel) who granted me (the power of) reviving
[Ibn cArabI next encounters Jesus and his cousin the dead."
Ya~ya in the third heaven-the two figures being Ibn cArabI then turns to Ya~yli/John, who clarifies
linked here by their association in the Koran with a long series of questions involving the references to
"Life," both "animal" and spiritual. The Shaykh first him (and his relations with Jesus) in the Koran and
asks Jesus about his life-giving powers, and is told hadith. '04 Finally, after a brief excursus on the nature
that they ultimately come from Gabriel (as the of spiritual procreation and marriage in Paradise, lOS
Universal Spirit, al-ru/.! al-ku/l): "No one who revives Ya~yli explains why it is t)Jat he moves back and forth
the dead revives them except to the extent of what he between the heaven of Jesus and the sphere of Aaron
has inherited from me; 10J so such a person does not (where Muhammad met him, and where Ibn CArabI
will encounter him later) and sometimes dwells with
Joseph and IdrIs as well.
other topics of this section) in chapter 2 I of the Fu~u~
Most of the themes (such as the interrelations of
(concerning Zachariah), and throughout the Futu/:riil: see
life, spiritual knowledge, and the divine inspiration of
further references in Mu'jam, pp. 521-28.
the prophets) mentioned only allusively in this section
102 III, pp. 346.20-347.20 (summarized here). See also the
are treated in greater detail in the chapters of the
references to discussions of Jesus in the Futu/:riit (including
Fu~u~ on Jesus'06 and Ya~ya.]
his key role in Ibn <Arabi's entry into the spiritual path) at
n. 42 above.
[IV-D. Joseph and the Third Heaven]107
In the hadith concerning the MiCraj (section II above),
Muhammad encounters Ya\:lyajJohn only in the fifth heaven,
[This encounter takes the form of a monologue in
along with Aaron; that is where he also reappears later in
which Joseph explains to Ibn CArabI the true inten-
this chapter (at the beginning of section IV-F). (He explains
tions of one of the Prophet's references to him, as well
his special ability to travel through the intervening spheres in
an untranslated passage at the end of this section.) Jesus and
John are likewise mentioned together in this second heaven
in chapter 167 of the Futu/:riit. However, there is no further chapter on Jesus (no. 15) in the Fu~i4 (pp. 138-50; Beze/s,
discussion of John in that section (A Jchimie, pp. 63-72), pp. 174-86), together with chapter 20 on Ya\:lya.
which focuses instead on the miracles of Jesus and the life- 104 The first of these is a famous /:radfth qudsl (found in the

giving powers of the divine Spirit more generally. collections of Bukhiiri, Muslim, Ibn Maja, Darimi and
The corresponding section of K. a/-Isrii' (pp. 15-18) does A\:lmad b. .I:Ianbal; see the analysis and translation in Word,
not mention Ya\:lya at all, but focuses instead on Jesus' role pp. 202-03) concerning Ya\:lyaj John's "sacrifice of death," in
as the "Seal of (universal) Sainthood" and his descent with the form of a spotted ram, on the Day of Resurrection. The
the Mahdi at the end of time (see detailed references in Koranic verses explained here include 19:7, referring to
Sceau, chapter VII), as those are explained to the "voyager" the inner significance of Ya\:lya's name ( = "he lives," in
by Mercury (a/-Kiitib). That section also evokes (at p. 18) Arabic), " ... We did not give the name to anyone before
Ibn <ArabI's own exceptional preparedness for the "Station him"; 19:12-15, on the special divine blessings granted him;
of Perfection" (maqiim al-kamii/). and 3:39, concerning his spiritual purity or "chastity" (/:rCl$iir:
10) An allusion to Ibn <ArabI'S conception of all the knowl- the subject of an excursus on the related state of Mary) and
edge and powers of the saints as being "inherited" from the the special condition of "righteousness" (~a/iiM he shares
spiritual reality of one or more of the prophets (who are all with Jesus and other prophets.
encompassed by the "Muhammadan Realty"): see the exten- 1D5 A subject to which Ibn 'Arabi alludes on a number of

sive references in Sceau, chapters IV and V, and Mu'jam, other occasions (e.g., in ch. 390, III, 548, where he remarks
pp. 1191-1202. The association between Jesus (and the second that "God showed us a likeness of this" in the cases of Mary
heaven) and the power of Life-in the sense both of spiritual and Jesus, or Adam and Eve).
knowledge and of physical or "animal" (/:rayawiinf) anima- 1D6 Chapter 15 (pp. 138-50); this chapter is almost exactly

tion-is equally fundamental in the corresponding passages the same length as the concluding one on Muhammad, and
in chapter 167 and, in extremely allusive form, in the K. the two are considerably longer than any other chapters of
a/-Isrii' and the R. a/-Anwiir. A more complete discussion of the F~~. See also the related chapters of the Futu/:riil cited
these questions, bringing out more clearly the primary at n. 42 above.
importance for Ibn <ArabI of the revivifying spiritual know/- 107 III, 347.20-348.11 (only lines 347.29-31 are translated

edge brought by the prophets, is to be found in the long here).

648 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (1987)

as the meaning of certain verses in the Sura of Joseph of the cosmos), Ibn <ArabI is immediately greeted
(ch. 12) in the Koran. These discussions are the occa- by IdrIs, who calls him "the Muhammadan inheri-
sion for the following spiritual advice:] tor" (al-wiirith al-Mu/:lQmmadi)-an allusion to the
This is a lesson for you that your soul does not Shaykh's conception of his own unique role as the
follow the same course in something where it has no "Seal of Muhammadan Sainthood.''' I I Ibn cArabI
direct experience (dhawq) as the person who under- then asks him a series of brief questions which relate
goes that experience. 108 So do not say "If I were in the to the traditional accounts concerning IdrIs (in one or
place of that person when such-and-such was said to another of his manifestations) or to his special spir-
him and he said such-and-such, I would not have said itual function as the perennial "Pole" (qu{b) and
that." No, by God, if what happened to him happened summit of the sgiritual hierarchy. I 12]
to you, you would say what he said, because the ... I said to him: "It has reached me concerning
stronger state (of direct experience) controls the you that you are a proponent of miracles. ,,113
weaker one (i.e., of whatever you might imagine).lo9 Then he said: "Were it not for miracles, I would not
have been 'raised up to a lofty place' (19:57).,,114
O
[IV-E. IdrIs and the Fourth Heavent So I said to him: "Where is your (spiritual) rank in
relation to your place (at the center of the universe)?"
[Upon his arrival in the fourth and central, pivotal And he said: "The outer is a sign of the inner. "liS
heaven, that of the Sun (and the symbolic "Heart"
III In the corresponding encounter with IdrTs in the

10& This insistence on the indispensable role of personal K. al-lsrii' (p. 2I), Ibn 'ArabI is likewise greeted as "Master
"direct experience" (dhawq) in a fully adequate appreciation of the Saints" (sayyid al-awliyii').
of spiritual matters is also one of the leitmotifs of Ibn 112 For Ibn 'ArabI's understanding of IdrTs' position as the

'ArabT's encounter with Moses (IV-G in Part II). heavenly "Pole" (qu{b) of the perennial spiritual hierarchy-
10. This particular section lacks the references to the meta- whose two "Imams" at that eternal level are Jesus and
physical principles of beauty, harmony and artistic inspira- lIyas-see the references to the Futiil:ziit and other works and
tion (traditionally associated with both Joseph and Venus, the explanations (including the relation of these figures to
the planet of this sphere) which are found in chapter 167 their successive terrestrial "deputies") in Sceau, chapter VI,
(Alchimie, pp. 72-76), and it does not deal at all with the and in Mu]am, pp. 909-15 and 101-14. The R. al-Anwiir, at
profound questions of the nature of "Imagination" (both this point in the mystical ascension (Sceau, pp. 201-13;
cosmic and human) and Joseph's special powers of spiritual Journey, p. 43 at bottom), adds that all the preceding
interpretation (ta'wfl) that are the focus of the famous spheres belonged to the realm of the "Imam of the Left
chapter 9 of the F~U$. The corresponding section of the K. Hand," while "this is the place of the Heart," where "you will
al-lsrii' (pp. /8-21) also includes a brief dialogue with the discover the degrees of the Pole."
allegorical figure of Venus (al-zahriF). 113 al-kharq: i.e., more strictly speaking, of any phenomena

110 III, pp. 348.11-349.2; the translated sections correspond that appear to "break" the "accustomed order" ('iida) of
to 348.14-21 and 24-35, with minor omissions. events in the world. The term is more general than the divine
In Islamic tradition, especially in the popular "tales of the probative miracles (mu]iziit) performed for the prophets,
prophets" (qi$a$ al-anbiyii'), the figure of the prophet IdrTs, and likewise distinct from the "wonders" or "blessings"
who is mentioned only briefly in the Koran (19:57-58 and (kariimiit) that are among the charismatic powers attributable
21:85-86), is closely associated (and often simply identified) to the spiritual force or himma of certain saints. (See the
with a number of prophetic or quasi-prophetic figures who additional references to these distinctions in Mu'jam,
are generally distinguished by the traits of supernatural pp.961-7\.)
longevity (or at least frequent historical "reappearances" in 114 Alluding to the Koranic description of Idris' miraculous

different forms). These different "facets" of Idns include: preservation from death: "And mention Idrfs in the Book: he
Enoch and Elias (the Koranic Ilyiis), each of whom is the was a man of truth [$iddrq], a prophet [nabf], and We raised
subject of a chapter in the F~u$ (see notes 114-15 below); him up to a lofty' place" (19:56-57). See especially Ibn
the threefold persona of "Hermes," father of many esoteric 'ArabI's more detailed discussions of these verses in chapters
arts and sciences according to Hellenistic traditions that were 4 and 22 of the F~u$ (pp. 75-80 and 181-87).
widely integrated in Islamic culture; and even the mysterious lIS The meaning of this exchange, and of the outward,

initiatic figure of al-Kha~ir. (For the historical background cosmic symbolism of Idris' supreme spiritual rank and func-
and sources concerning each of these personages, see the tion, is brought out in much greater detail in the long
respective articles in EI2, vols. III and IV.) chapler 4 of the F~ii$ concerning "Enoch" (who is explicitly
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: lbn 'Arabf and the Micriij. Part 1 649

1 said: "I have heard it said that you only asked 1 said: "This is strange!"
taw/:lfd ll6 of your people, and nothing else (i.e., no ... (Then) 1 said: "But the differences (of opinion)
separate revealed Law)." concerning the Truly Real and the things said con-
He said: "And they did not (even) do (that). Now 1 cerning Him ll8 have become quite numerous."
was a prophet (nabf: see 19:56) calling them to the He said: "It (can) only be like that, since the matter
word (i.e., the outward profession) of tawl:rfd, not to is (perceived differently) according to the constitution
tawl:rfd (itself)-for no one has ever denied taw/:!fdl"I'7 (of each individual). I 19
1 said: "But 1 thought l20 that all of you prophets,
the whole group of you, did not differ concerning
identified there with Idris). Chapter 22 of the Fu~~ likewise Him?" •
concerns "Elias who is Idris ..." (opening sentence). There So he replied: "That is because we did not say
Ibn cArabi explains that Idris "who was a prophet before (what we taught concerning God) on the basis of
Noah," was first raised to a lofty place (19:57), but was then reasoning (nafar); we only said it on the basis of a
sent down again to earth-in the form of the prophet Elias- common direct relationship (with God).121 So whoever
to experience fully the divine "intimacy" with even the lowest knows the realities knows that (the fact that) all of the
(animal, mineral and vegetal) degrees of creation. The con- prophets agree in saying the same thing about God is
trast between these two chapters of the FU$u$ suggests that equivalent to those who follow reasoning (all) saying
"Enoch" is associated in particular with the divine transcen- the same thing. 122
dence (tanzih) and "Elias" with the equally essential aspect
of divine immanence (tashbfh)-together symbolizing the expressions of tawl}id-in both their ontological and "sub-
two indispensable aspects of Idris' comprehensive perfection jective" spiritual dimensions-in chapter 198, fa$! 9 (II,
in his spiritual function as Pole and his position as "Heart" pp. 405-20; tr. by C.-A. Gilis, Le Coran et la fonetion
of the cosmos. d'Hermes, Paris, 1984). Further references can be found in
116 This term is ordinarily understood to refer t~ the out- Mu]am, pp. 1172-80.
ward "profession of divine Unity" ("there is no god but 118 Or "It": "Truly. Real" = al-lJaqq, which could also be

God ...") contained in the shahiida ( = the "word of tawl}id" translated here simply as "the Truth" or "God"-since in this
in the following sentence), but Idris understands it here in context the "ontological" and "theological" perspectives are
the far more profound sense of the reality of divine Unity- virtually inseparable for Ibn 'Arabi. Similarly, "things said"
at once both transcendent and immanent-which is at the (maqii/iit) could also be translated here as (theological)
heart of Ibn CArabi's conception of the "Unity of Being" (see "schools" or (religious) "denominations."
additional references in the following note). 119 "Constitution" (miziij: strictly speaking, the mixture of

In the larger body of Islamic tradition the prophet Idris physical "temperaments" distinguishing each person) must be
(like the figure of "Hermes" with whom he was often identi- understood very broadly here to include all the factors-
fied, n. 109 above) was known not for bringing a particular spiritual, social, etc., as well as physical-ultimately helping
revealed divine Law (shariCa), but rather for his institution determine the distinctive outlook and understanding of each
of the whole range of rational or "philosophic" human arts individual with regard to every aspect of reality (not just
and sciences (by no means simply the "hermetic" ones). Thus "theological" matters). Idris returns to elaborate this point in
Ibn cArabi goes on to address him (in a sentence not the latter half of this section.
translated here) as "founder of the (arts and sciences) of 120 Or "I saw" (ra'aytu), if this expression is taken as an

wisdom" (wiiqi Cal-I}ikam). allusion to Ibn cArabi's visionary revelation of the unity of
JI7 I.e., the reality of tawl}id which-since it constitutes the the prophets and their teachings within the "Reality of
very nature of Being and the primordial core of man's Muhammad" or the " Qur'iin, " which he describes in section
nature-is necessarily expressed in all the planes of mani- IV-I and the Appendix (from the K. al-Isra') in Part II.
festation and the corresponding degrees of spiritual realiza- 121 "Direct relationship" translates cill, a term that can refer

tion. Ibn CArabi often refers (e.g., at I, 405) to the Koranic either to a blood-relationship or to a pact or covenant (as in
statement" Your Lord has decreed that you worship none the Koran, 9:8-10). In either case, it refers here to the
but Him . .." (17:23), which he typically understands as an relation of immediate divine inspiration-in itself implying
expression of this universal metaphysical reality (as well as a both "kinship" and covenant-that, for Ibn 'Arabi, distin-
command). See likewise his discussion of the underlying guishes the spiritual state of the prophets and saints, as
meaning of the traditional formula of taw/:!id in the profes- opposed to the fallible and often quite divergent results of
sion of faith (i.e., the "word" or "saying [kalima] of tawl}id" man's ordinary "reasoning" or "inquiry" (na:;ar).
in this sentence) in chapter 67 of the Futii/:!iit (I, 325-29), 122 I.e., such unanimous agreement-unlike the usual and

and especially his subtle treatment of the 36 diffe.ent Koranic expected slate of disagreement among the "people of na:;ar"
 650 Journal of the American Oriental Society /07.4 (/987)

I said: "And is the matter (Le., the reality of things) (Idrls) said: "He told the truth. I am a prophet of
in itself really as it was said to you (by God)? For the God (19:56), and I do not know any period at the
signs (followed by) the intellects (of those who rely close of which the universe as a whole stops. How-
exclusively on their reasoning) indicate the impos- ever, (I do know) that He never ceases creating (the
sibility of (certain) things you (prophets) brought universe) in its entirety; that it (i.e., the whole of
concerning that." reality) never ceases to be 'nearer' and 'further,;125 and
Then he said: "The matter is as we (prophets) were that the 'appointed times,i26 apply to the (particular)
told-and (at the same time) it is as whatever is said created things-through the completion of (their)
by whoever says (his own inner belief) concerning periods (of existence)-and not to the (process of)
Him, since 'God is in accordance with the saying of creation (as a whole), since creation is continually
everyone who speaks (of Him)'.i23 So that is why we renewed 'with the breaths' (at every instant).127 Thus
only called the common people to the word (i.e., the we know (only) what He has caused us to know-
verbal profession) of taw/iid, not to (the reality of) And they do not comprehend anything of His Knowl-
taw/fid." edge except for what He wishes (2:255)."
... I said: "Once, in a visionary experience (wiiqiCa) So I said to him: "Then what remains until the
I had, I saw an individual circumambulating (the appearance of the 'Hour,?,,128
Kaaba), who told me that he was among my ancestors
124
and gave me his name. Then I asked him about the
time of his death, and he told me it was 40,000 years
125 I.e., dunyii ("this world") and iikhira (the "next world"):
(earlier). So I proceeded to ask him about Adam,
because of what had been established in our chro- their etymology alludes both to the full ontological range
nology concerning his period (namely, that it was of levels of Self-manifestation and to the reality-which
much more recent). Then he said to me: 'Which Adam Idris mentions explicitly later in this discussion (at n. 130
are you asking about? About the most recent Adam?''' below)-that their "closeness" (or the contrary) is relative to
the perspective of each observer, since all are equally with
God.
or individual reasoning (see preceding note)-points to the 126 iijiil: this term is used dozens of times in the Koran-

truth of their conclusion on that particular point. often in close association with "the Hour" (n. 128 below)-to
123 This last phrase alludes to a well-known !;adith qudsi refer to the ultimate fate of men in general (e.g., in verses
(mentioned a number of times, with minor variations, by 6:2,60; etc.), of "every community" [umma: a term which for
Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Ibn Maja, AJ:!mad b. J:lanbal, Ibn 'Arabi encompasses every type of created being] (at 7:34;
etc.; see Word, pp. 127-30), which is quoted twice in Ibn 10:49; etc.), or of the motions of the sun and the moon (at
cArabi's Mishkiit (no. 13 and 27; Niche, pp. 36-37, 56-57): 31:29; etc.), etc.
"I am in accordance with what My servant supposes con- 127 maca al-anfiis: this is one of Ibn 'Arabi's most common

cerning Me, and I am present with him when he remembers expressions for the ever-renewed creation of the universe at
[root dh-k-r] Me...." For the broader metaphysical under- every instant (khalq jadidltajaddud al-khalq), a metaphysi-
pinnings of this saying in Ibn cArabi's thought,. see the many cal reality which is only directly visible to the true Knowers
references throughout the FUfU~, including his discussion of and accomplished saints, as he explains in the famous chapter
this hadith in the closing lines (p. 226; Bezels, pp. 283-84) on ShuCayb in the Fu~u~ al-/fikam (pp. 124-26; Bezels,
and his development of the related notion of the "god pp. 153-55). For some representative discussions of this
created in beliefs," in the chapters on Shu'ayb (I, 119-124; recurrent theme in the Futu!;iit, see II, 46, 208, 372, 384, 432,
Bezels, 148-53), on Elias/ldris (I, 182-86; Bezels, 230-34), 471, 500, 554, 639, 653; III, 127; and further references in
on Zachariah (I, 178; Bezels, 224-25), and Aaron (I, 194-96; Mu]am, pp. 429-33.
Bezels, 246-48). 128 There are some 48 Koranic references to the "Hour"

124 This encounter is described in greater detail in chapter (a/-siiCa) and the many questions surrounding it (e.g., at
390 of the Futu!;iit (devoted to the inner meaning of "time," 33:63; 79:42), as well as a considerable body of hadith,
al-zamiin), in a passage {III, p. 549.8-140 which clearly especially concerning Its "conditions" or "signs" (shuru!, a
brings out the "visionary," dreamlike character of this par- term mentioned in Ibn cArabi's ensuing question here). Ibn
ticular experience: "Now God caused me to see, in the way cArabi frequently discusses these matters along lines already
that the sleeper sees (in his dreams)-while I was going followed by many earlier Sufis (e.g., in his response to
around the Kaaba.... " There this mysterious "ancestor" Tirmidhi's question [ch. 73, no. 72; II, p. 82] concerning the
also reminds Ibn CArabi of a hadith of the Prophet stating "Hour"), so the apparent naivete of his questioning here is
that "God created 100,000 Adams." almost certainly a literary device.
 MORRIS: The Spiritual Ascension: Ibn 'ArabI and the Micriij. Part I 651

And he replied: "Their reckoning has drawn near to He replied: "What we know, and what we do not
people, but they are in (a state of) heedlessness, know_"
turning away" (21:1).129 I said: "Then where is error in relation to what is
I said: "Then inform me about one of the condi- right?" 133
tions of Its 'drawing near'. " He said: "Error is a relative matter, while what is
And he replied: "The existence of Adam is among right is the (unchanging) principle. So whoever truly
the conditions for the Hour." knows God and the world knows that what is right is
I said: "Then was there another abode before this the ever-present Principle, which never ceases (to be),
world (al-dunyii), other than it?" and he knows that error (occurs) through the opposi-
134
He replied: "The abode of Being is one: the abode tion of the two points of <¥iew. But since the oppo-
does not become 'nearer' (dunyii) except through sition (of the two perspectives) is inevitable, then error
you, DO and the 'other world' (al-iikhira) is not distin- is also inevitable. So whoever maintains (the real
guished from it except through you! But with regard existence of) error (also) maintains (the prior existence
to bodies [i.e., as opposed to the man's inherent and reality of) what is right; and whoever maintains
spiritual finality and progressive movement of 'return' the (ultimate) non-existence of error speaks what is
to his Source], the matter 131 is only engendered states right (78:38)13S and posits error (as deriving) from
(akwiin), transformations and coming and going (of what is right." [ ... 136]
endless material forms); it has not ceased, and it never
will."
I said: "What is there?" 132
IH The two Koranic expressions translated here as "what is

right" (~awiib) and "error" (kha{a") originally refer respec-

tively to hitting one's target or "getting it right" and to
12. "People" here translates al-niis, a Koranic expression "missing" it; thus the usage of both terms here implies a
which Ibn cArabl generally understands and uses (e.g., at focus on the subject, the person who is judging rightly or
n. 77 in section III above) in reference to the condition of wrongly-not simply on an abstract logical question of the
inner ignorance or "veiling" characterizing "most people" or relations of truth and falsehood. In addition, kha{a o (in its
"ordinary people," as opposed to the enlightened spiritual Koranic context) has strong overtones of moral error-i.e.,
state of the saints ("people of God," "true men," "true "sin" or "trespass" (against the divine limits: see n. 94)-so
servants," etc.). On this specific point, see his remarks con- that the ethical (or religious) and ontological dimensions
cerning the saints' visionary awareness of the contemporary of Ibn <ArabI's argument here are again intentionally
presence of the "Hour," in his reply to the eschatological intermingled.
questions in chapter 73 (I, 81-82). 1J4 I.e., of God (or the Truth and True Reality, al-lJaqq)

IJO (See the related treatment of dunyii and iikhira at n. 125 and of each individual creature. As Idris goes on to remind
above.) "You" throughout this sentence is given in the plural, us, in reality there can only be what really is (al-wujud), the
since ldrls is referring to all of mankind (cf. "Adam" in his True Reality (al-lJaqq): in relation to that ontological
earlier explanation), and ultimately to the "Perfect Man": see Principle (a#), "error" is necessarily "relative" and "acci-
the famous opening chapter on Adam (and the Perfect Man) dental" (it}iifl)-i.e., a necessarily subjective and partial per-
in the Fu~~ al-lJikam, as well as the extensive references to spective which is therefore close to "non-existence" (Cadam).
"Adam" (in this metaphysical sense) in Mu'}am, pp. 53-60. 1J5 The larger context of this verse, however, suggests the

Idrls' essential insight in this phrase, that man "carries this extreme rarity of this awareness, as well as the "divine
world (al-dunyii) with him into the next," is among the many perspective" it assumes: "On the Day when the Spirit and the
kinds of spiritual knowledge Ibn cArabl says he saw in his angels stand in rows, they do not speak. except for whoever
culminating revelation (at the end of section IV-I below). the Merciful permits, and he speaks what is right-that is the
IJI Or possibly the (divine) "Command" (al-amr)-in which True Day (al-yawm al-baqq). ..."
case Ibn <Arabi (through Idrls) would be referring to the 1J6 In the tinal lines of this section Idris reiterates some of

universal "existentiating Command" manifested in the ever- the more familiar principles of Ibn cArabl's thought: that the
renewed creation of all beings: see the discussion of the world is created from the divine attribute of "Bounty" (jud);
technical meanings of this Koranic expression in Mu]am, that the world and man all "return" to the divine Mercy
pp.93-l01. which "encompasses all things" and gives them being; and
IJ2 ma thamma: i.e., in the manifest universe or the world that the knower (i.e., the Perfect Man) is even "more prodi-
of bodies subject to these perpetual transformations? (The gious" (ac?am) than whatever in the world may be known-a
exact reference is unclear.) point already stressed in section III (n. 59) above.
652 Journal of the American Oriental Society 107.4 (1987)

ABBREVIAnONS

Alchimie. Ibn 'Arabi. L 'Alchimie du bonheur parfait [ch. 167 Anwar], tr. Muhammad V1Usan. Paris, 1983.
of the Futii~iit], tr. S. Ruspoli. Paris, 1981. O.Y. Ibn 'Arabi. al-Futii~iit al-Makkiya, ed. Osman Yahya.
Bezels. Ibn 'ArabI. The Bezels of Wisdom [Fu~u, al-lfikam], Cairo, 1392/1972-present (9 volumes to date, correspond-
tr. R.W.J. Austin. N.Y., 1980. ing to most of vol. I of Futii~iit above). (References are to
Ell / E12. The Encyclopaedia of Islam (1st and 2nd edition). volume number [I-IX] and pages.)
FU~ii,. Ibn 'Arabi. Fu~ii, al-lfikam, ed. A. Affifi. Cairo, R. al-Anwiir. Ibn 'Arabi. Risalat al-Anwiir fi rna Yumna~
1346/1946. (All references to Part I.) [See also English tr., $ii~ib al-Khalwa min al-Asriir [Rasa'ill, no. 12, pp. 1-
Bezels.] 19]. Hyderabad,.1948.
Futii~ii': Ibn 'ArabI. al-Futii~iit al-Makkiya. Cairo (Bulaq), Rasii'il. Ibn 'ArabI. Rasa'il Ibn 'Arabi. Hyderabad, 1948.
1329 A.H., 4 volumes. (References are to volume number (References are to title, volume number [I-II], selection
[I-IV], page and line number.) The ongoing critical edition number and pages; page numbers only are given for R.
by Osman Yahya is listed as "O.Y." below. [See also ai-Anwar and K. al-Isrii'.)
French tr. of chapter 167, Alchimie.] R.G. Yahya, O. Histoire et classification de l'oeuvre d'ibn
Journey. Ibn 'Arabi. Journey to the Lord of Power [R. 'Arabi. Damascus, 1964. (References are to the number of
al-Anwiir], tr. R.T. Harris. N.Y., 1981. each work in Dr. Yahya's "Repertoire General.")
K. al-Isrii'. Ibn 'ArabI. Kitiib al-Isrii' ilii al-Maqiim al-Asrii' Sceau. Chodkiewicl, M. Le Sceau des saints: Prophbie et
[Rasii'ill, no. 13, pp. 1-92]. Hyderabad, 1948. saintete dans la doctrine d'ibn Arabi. Paris, 1986.
Mishkiit. Ibn 'Arabi. Kitiib Mishkiit al-Anwiir fi mii Ruwiya SEI. The Shorter Encyclopaedia of Islam [selections from
'an AIliih min al-Akhbiir. Aleppo, 1349/1927. (Hadith are EI']. Leiden, 1965.
indicated by numerical order.) [See also French tr., Niche.] Wensinck. Concordance et Indices de la Tradition Musul-
Mu'jam. al-I:Iakim, S. al-Mu'jam ai-Sufi: al-lfikma fi mane, ed. A. J. Wensinck, et. al. Leiden, 1936-1969.
lfudiid al-KaJima. Beirut, 1401/1981. Word. Graham, W. Divine Word and Prophetic Word in
Niche. Ibn 'Arabi. La Niche des Lumieres [Mishkiit al- Early Is/am. Paris/the Hague, 1977.