Peace and love,
Welcome to the Studio of Meaning book club, where we will be sharing important books on Ibn ʿArabi’s life and thought as well as community discussions about these works in the future.
For our first post in this series, we respond to a query which quite a few people have asked about recently, an introductory reading list on Ibn ʿArabi’s life and thought. Please find a preliminary list of these publications below:
Orientations, James Winston Morris
An introduction to Ibn ʿArabi’s thought by one of the foremost specialists on his writings in the West. Morris positions Ibn ʿArabi, alongside al-Farabi and 20th century reformer Ostad Elahi, as necessary catalysts for reviving Islamic metaphysics in modernity.
Voyage of No Return, Claude Addas
An excellent abridged biography of the Andalusian mystic by another foremost specialist on his writings. Addas highlights the major milestones of Ibn ʿArabi’s life while providing key insights into the influence his various interactions had on his thought.
Ibn ʿArabi: Heir to the Prophets, William Chittick
William Chittick, yet another important specialist on Ibn ʿArabi’s thought whose contributions revolutionized Ibn ʿArabi studies in the West introduces the Andalusian mystic’s thought in clear and lucid language in this work.
Sufis of Andalusia, Ralph Austin
Ralph Austin brilliantly translates in this work two of Ibn ʿArabi’s hagiographical works, Rūḥ al-Quds (Holy Spirit) and al-Durra al-Fākhira (Lustrous Pearl), where he recounts some of the spiritual masters he accompanies during the first part of his journey of sulūk (self-discipline) in his native Iberia and North Africa.
Over the next few weeks, we will post reading lists for intermediate and advanced students of Ibn ʿArabi. We pray these introductory books will be of benefit.
