The Resources of the Human Spirit - Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society
The Resources of the Human Spirit - Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society
The Resources of the Human Spirit - Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society
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24 Souad Al-Hakimare nei<strong>the</strong>r in favour <strong>of</strong>, nor against, any <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>se viewpoints,even though one <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>m stands out above <strong>the</strong> o<strong>the</strong>rs … But thishas already been discussed in ano<strong>the</strong>r work.”Thus, his opinion regarding <strong>the</strong> spirit is diffused throughouthis writings and is not easy to locate, like treasure concealedwithin locked chests. <strong>The</strong> one who wishes to find this knowledgemust <strong>the</strong>refore search for it, by unifying and unlocking <strong>the</strong>meanings within words so as to discover <strong>the</strong> true nature <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>spirit. This is what we will attempt to do below.2. <strong>The</strong> origin <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> human spiritIn order to understand <strong>the</strong> nature <strong>of</strong> any creature, it is necessaryto observe how it has come into existence. Indeed, an understanding<strong>of</strong> its origin will lead us to an understanding <strong>of</strong> itsnature. Based on this premise, we will try to find those quotesfrom <strong>Ibn</strong> ¡<strong>Arabi</strong>’s works that mention how <strong>the</strong> human spirit hascome into existence.According to <strong>Ibn</strong> ¡<strong>Arabi</strong>, <strong>the</strong> human spirit is born from amo<strong>the</strong>r and a fa<strong>the</strong>r. Its fa<strong>the</strong>r is <strong>the</strong> divine spirit, God’s Soul,<strong>the</strong> Merciful Breath and its nature is light; its mo<strong>the</strong>r is <strong>the</strong>already-formed body, composed <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> elements, and its natureis darkness.<strong>The</strong> fact <strong>of</strong> being born from both a mo<strong>the</strong>r and a fa<strong>the</strong>r meansthat <strong>the</strong> spirit has a combined nature, which gives its essencea tw<strong>of</strong>old status, similar both to its fa<strong>the</strong>r, “light”, and to itsmo<strong>the</strong>r, “darkness”. Because <strong>of</strong> this, <strong>the</strong> spirit is able to join <strong>the</strong>originally pure world <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> lights, “<strong>the</strong> world <strong>of</strong> its fa<strong>the</strong>r, <strong>the</strong>world <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> spirit”. At <strong>the</strong> same time it also has <strong>the</strong> ability toenter <strong>the</strong> body and thus to join <strong>the</strong> world <strong>of</strong> its mo<strong>the</strong>r, and tobe submerged in <strong>the</strong> darkness.<strong>Ibn</strong> ¡<strong>Arabi</strong> mentions that <strong>the</strong> divine spirit is <strong>the</strong> fa<strong>the</strong>r <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong>human spirit, whereas its mo<strong>the</strong>r is <strong>the</strong> already formed body. Hesays: “<strong>the</strong> human subtlety is born from <strong>the</strong> union <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> divinespirit, which is <strong>the</strong> breath <strong>of</strong> God <strong>the</strong> Merciful, and <strong>the</strong> alreadyformed body composed <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> formed elements <strong>of</strong> nature.” 44. Fut. I.275. This same sense can also be found on p. 575.
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