Part III (pdf) - Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society

21available translations and editions). 102Within the historical context of this article (and given Jâmî’s modern reputation primarilyas a poet rather than a mystical philosopher and theologian), that list is especially revealing inseveral respects. Not only are 32 of the 44 titles cited on Sufi subjects (including the renownedbiographical compilation Nafahât al-Uns, a classic source for the most diverse historical aspectsof Sufism), but the majority of those works actually involve either commentaries on Ibn ‘Arabî(including two on the Fusûs al-Hikam) or elaborations (mostly in Persian prose, but also inpoetry and even—notably with al-Durrat al-Fâkhira—in Arabic prose) of classical themes andproblems within the Akbarî ‘school.’ Often these analyses are applied, as in the Lawâ’ih itself,to the interpretation of mystical poetry, including Sufi verses by Ibn al-Fârid (both the Mîmîyaand the Nazm al-Sulûk), Rumi (the Masnavî), Jâmî himself (his Rubâ‘iyyât), and Fakhr al-Dîn‘Irâqî (Ashi‘‘at al-Lamâ‘ât).The mention of the last of those books is especially significant, since ‘Irâqî’s Lama‘ât,with its masterful mixture of ecstatic Persian love poetry and short prose interludes, not onlyprovided the obvious formal model for the Lawâ’ih, but was actually composed under theimmediate inspiration of Sadr al-Dîn al-Qûnawî’s lectures on Ibn ‘Arabî’s thought. In thisregard we can only briefly mention—so as not to preclude the full-length review it richlydeserves—the recent study and English translation of ‘Irâqî’s work by William Chittick andPeter Lamborn Wilson [Divine Flashes. Pp. 178 + xvi (Preface by S. H. Nasr). New York:Paulist Press. 1982.], and especially Prof. Chittick’s analytical introduction (‘The MysticalPhilosophy of the Divine Flashes’) and his extensive commentary and index of technical termsbringing out the systematic metaphysical underpinnings of ‘Irâqî’s poetry. Those sections,which often cite or paraphrase Jâmî’s commentary on the Lama‘ât (Ashi‘‘at al-Lama‘ât), inthemselves constitute a substantial introduction to Qunawi and his interpretation of Ibn ‘Arabî’s102 For more complete and detailed historical references, see the Persian introduction byW. Chittick to his editon of Jâmî’s Naqd al-Nusûs.... (discussed below), and the long biobibliographicalstudy by A. A. Hekmat, Jâmî…, Tehran, 1320 h.s., pp. 161-213. (Dr. Richardacknowledges those key sources for his abridged bibliography here.)