Part III (pdf) - Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society

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22teaching, and clearly demonstrate its profound influence on Jâmî’s own thinking. 103The juxtaposition of these two widely read and genuinely popular works of ‘Irâqî andJâmî is also a reminder of the much broader—if still little studied—problem of the ‘influences’of Ibn ‘Arabî (and especially the vocabulary and systematic interpretations of the Fusûs) in thelater poetry and literature of the Eastern Islamic world, in Turkish, Urdu and other Indianlanguages (and even Malay or Indonesian), as well as in Persian. Two outward, easilydiscernable (and no doubt interrelated) signs of that influence are the almost universal use of thesystematic conceptions of this ‘school’ (especially such symbolically rich themes as wahdat alwujûd,tajalliyât, the ‘presences’ of divine Being, etc.) in commentaries on earlier, widely-readSufi poets such as Rumi and Ibn al-Fârid, 104 and the pervasiveness of Ibn ‘Arabî’s technicalvocabulary (again largely as transmitted by Qûnawî and his successors) throughout the poetrycomposed in those languages down through the 19th century. Readers familiar with this schoolcan readily note the existence of its terminology and problems; but determining to what degreethose formal metaphysical allusions (and Sufi language in general) actually represent conscious103 This work is a model of the sort of background that must often be provided in order toenable non-specialist readers to understand the meaning and intentions of writers in thesetraditions. In addition to the philosophic commentaries, the book also includes a fascinating—and less demanding—biographical and historical introduction, discussing ‘Irâqî’s long stay (andsubsequent influence) in Muslim India as well as his role in the larger circle of Sadr al-DînQûnawî (see also notes 61-64, in Part II-above).104 See also notes 2, 63, [in Part II-A above], 73, and 104 (for Shabistârî and Lâhîjî).Among other, more influential poets whose work was strongly marked by the ideas of Ibn‘Arabî, one would also have to mention ‘Ibn ‘Arabî’s faithful interpreter [Shams al-Dîn M. al-Tabrîzî] al-Maghribî d. ca. 1406)’ (quoting A. Schimmel, op. cit., p.167), whose mysticalghazals have yet to find their translator, and the founder of the Ni‘matullâhî Sufi order, ShâhNi‘matullâh Walî Kirmânî. A popular, readily accessible introduction to his life and subsequentspiritual influence can be found—along with translations from his poetic works and those of hisdisciples and successors (pp. 191-245)—in Kings of Love: The History & Poetry of theNi‘matullâhî Sufî Order of Iran, tr. P. L. Wilson and N. Pourjavady, Tehran, 1978; see Indexunder ‘Ibn ‘Arabî,’ ‘Qûnyawî,’ and ‘wahdat al-wujûd.’ (This study also gives some indicationof the vast Persian bibliography on this subject, including the extensive editions of ShahNi‘matullâh’s poetry and prose treatises by the contemporary Ni‘matullâhî shaykh, JavâdNûrbaksh.) In French, see the brief introduction to J. Aubin’s Matériaux pour la biographie deShâh Ni‘matullâh Wali Kermânî (Tehran, 1956), and the relevant notices in H. Corbin’s Histoirede la philosophie islamique, Part II (full references to that work at n. 3, Part II-A above), pp.1125-26 and 1130-33.
23acquaintance with and serious understanding of Ibn ‘Arabî and his followers, rather than merelytraditional (or even ironic) use of those materials, usually requires close acquaintance with eachindividual writer and his personal background (Sufi affiliations, studies, etc.) and an informedsensitivity to their actual roles in his writing. 105Fortunately, in the case of Jâmî at least, that necessary background is readily accessible,even in English translation, through two recent in-depth studies (including major criticaleditions) of some of his key metaphysical prose writings—works which are perfectlycomplementary, and which clearly represent the fruits of years of research in this area. 106William Chittick’s carefully annotated critical edition of Jâmî’s early commentary on the Fusûsal-Hikam (or rather, on Ibn ‘Arabî’s own condensed metaphysical summary of it, the Naqsh al-Fusûs [Naqd al-Nusûs fî Sharh Naqsh al-Fusûs. Tehran, 1977.]—frequently cited in ProfessorRichard’s own introduction—actually constitutes a sort of broad historical introduction (butproceeding backwards in time) to the whole school of Qûnawî, since Jâmî often uses longexcerpts from many of the commentators discussed above (though not Âmulî and Jîlî). A partialEnglish translation (some 15%, summarizing the main outlines of the work, according to Prof.Chittick) is now readily accessible in the first volume (1982) of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn‘Arabî Society. 107105The interpretive problem is essentially no different than with, for example, thequestion of Platonic or Neoplatonic themes in Western vernacular literatures. One has a similarrange of possibilities, from conscious literary ‘allusions’ (which can often be purely formal or‘literary’ in nature) to more meaningful and convincing poetic use by writers who may have hadlittle or no formal study of their ‘original’ philosophic sources. The sensitivity needed to judgethese questions is especially great with these later Islamic literatures because the ‘sabk-i Hindî’style (common to Persian, Turkish, Urdu, etc. in the centuries following Jâmî—assumed such atremendous range of cultural references—including extensive knowledge of metaphysics andtheology) on the part of its writers and cultured readers alike. (See the related observations atnotes 56, 60, [Part II-A] and 98 of Part II above.)106Our comments here are intentionally limited to a brief description, given theframework of this article, so as not to preclude the fully detailed reviews each of these majorworks deserves—especially since both these recent studies involve more extensive andambitious scholarly efforts than most of the translations which have been our primary focus inthis review article.107 “Ibn ‘Arabî’s Own Summary of the Fusûs: ‘The Imprint of the Bezels of Wisdom,’”pp. 30-93; the article is reprinted here from two earlier issues of the Tehran journal Sophia
Page 7 and 8: 7degree of attainment in the study
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