This is part 3 of the Ibn Arabi series. You may see post #1 and post #2.
In the last post, we looked into Henry Corbin's book Alone with Alone. I'm seeing mostly positive reviews from people who find the in-depth depiction of the character exciting. The negative reviews are from reviewers who think Ibn Arabi has a serious ego problem and is prone to self glorification. Another reviewer who believe Sufism is nothing more than a philosophy based on hallucination, either self-induced or drug induced, warned us to stay away from the book. This random person on Internet also claim to know that Ibn Arabi is really a secret Shia operating under the garb of Sufism to draw away the crowd from Sunnism. He also claim that the Sunni scholars have written many books against Ibn Arabi evil teaching.
Ibn Arabi is not a secret Shia. He is a Sufi. Not just an average Sufi but one of the Sufi grand masters. Some people mistakenly think Sufism is Shi'ism in disguise. Paying lip service to the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt doesn't make one a Shia. You need to practice what you preach.
Moving on.
One of my readers found an interesting document refuting Sufism and Ibn Arabi. You can find the English translation of the book Twelver Treatise in Refutation against Sufism online at the Tashayyu website. The book is written by Shaykh al-Hurr al-Amuli.
I am briefly summarising his work here.
Shaykh al-Amuli mention the purpose of his treaty in the introduction. After seeing many of his fellow Shias adopting the routes of their enemies (he is referring to the path of Sufism), he was compelled to write this book. He equate Sufis as those and I quote him; "whose demonstration of piety and cladding themselves with asceticism in the world in excess of the teaching of the Imams of Ahl al-Bayt".
The following are 12 abominable things found by the author after reading Ibn Arabi's book
- Ibn Arabi claimed to have ascended the heaven himself
- Ibn Arabi claimed to have seen Abu Bakr sitting on Arash (The Throne of Allah swt)
- Ibn Arabi claimed to have been authorised by the Holy Prophet to write and dictate thoughts
- Ibn Arabi proclaimed himself as the seal of wilayah based on his dream
- Ibn Arabi was prone to lying and fabrications
- Ibn Arabi considered the Shias to have be deceived by the Shaytan to hate and insult the companions
- Ibn Arabi considered the Shias to have been lead astray
- Ibn Arabi saw those who converted to Shiasm in the form of pig. He claimed that Allah is able to make him see rafidi (Shia) in the pig form.
- Ibn Arabi claimed that after a prolong period of asceticism, he saw himself being selected as the seal of prophet-hood
- Ibn Arabi exaggerated in the matter of caliphate
- The author claimed that Ibn Arabi's path and books are completely outside the path
- The author said that the Sufis have the tendency to follow their masters by emulating them
to be continued..
Reference
The Tashayyu website
As-salamu alaykum sister,
ReplyDeleteAnother great post. If you can read Arabic, I would recommend this book: http://yazeinab.org/arabic/aqaed/books/04/ibn-arabi/
It is called "Ibn Arabi was not Shi`a", which is by Sayyid Ja`far Murtadha al-`Amili. In the book he looks at Ibn Arabi's work and refutes it step-by-step.
The following paragraph is from the amazon link you posted about the Corbin's book description: "Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240) was one of the great mystics of all time. Through the richness of his personal experience and the constructive power of his intellect, he made a unique contribution to Shi'ite Sufism. In this book, which features a powerful new preface by Harold Bloom, Henry Corbin brings us to the very core of this movement with a penetrating analysis of Ibn 'Arabi's life and doctrines."
ReplyDeleteWhy is Ibn Arabi is being referred to as having made contributions to "Shi'ite" Sufism? If anything he was anti-Shia for what I know? Can you shed some light?
There is no such thing called Shia Sufism. Shia Imamiah is very distinct from Sufism. Sufis are not Shias. Sufism existed in the time of Imams of Ahl al-Bayt. The Imams of Ahl al-Bayt condemned Sufis in very harsh tone.
ReplyDeleteMany people don’t know that Sufis only pay lip service to the Ahl al-Bayt. The Sufis do not have desire to become true followers of Ahl al-Bayt (the Shia). Most of Sufis are interested in seeking the pathway of their masters and not the Ahl al-Bayt.
If you read what Ignaz Goldziher said, the teaching of the Sufi Master like Ibn Arabi was sometimes from his imagination and not backed by Islamic literature.