Later he studied under ‘Abdal-haqq al-Azd al-Ishbili his works on Hadith; these are Ahkam al-Kubra, al-Wusta and al-Sughra. In addition to his own works, he also transmitted to Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) the writings of the famous Zahiri scholar, Ibn Hazm al-Andalusi (Addas 45). The complete list of his teachers and masters can be found in a scholarly certificate Ijaza given to Sultan al-Ashraf al-Muzaffar, in this document Ibn Arabi (RA) mentioned 70 of his teachers and masters (Ibn ‘Arabi, “Ijaza li Malik al-Muzaffar”).

THE SUFI PATH

From Cordoba they travelled to Granada and met with ‘Abdallah al-Mawruri and Abu Muhammad al-Shakkaz. From Granada to Murcia, the town of his birth and stayed with an old friend Abu Ahmed Ibn Saydabun, a famous disciple of Abu Madyan who at the time of their meeting was evidently going through a period of fatra or suspension. They travelled again to Almeria, where they spent the month of Ramadan in 595AH and Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) wrote Mawaqi‘ al-Nujum over a period of eleven nights. Perhaps in Almeria also, he started writing ‘Anqa’ Mughrib where full explanation about the Seal of Saints can be found.

These were his last days in the West, where he started visiting his masters for the last time, and he collected his writings and ensured that he must at least have a single copy of all of his works as now he was departing toward the East forever. When he left Andalusia for the last time he appeared to have a vision of his future destiny at the shores of the Mediterranean as he later told his stepson Sadr al-din al-Qanawi:

“I turned towards God with total concentration and in a state of contemplation and vigilance that was perfect: God then showed me all of my future states, both internal and external, right through to the end of my days. I saw that your father, Ishaq ibn Muhammad, would be my companion and you as well.”

(Hirtenstein 127).

In the year 597 AH/1200 AD, he was in Morocco and took his final leave from his master Yusuf al-Kumi, who was living in the village of Salé at that time. This shows that he had finally completed his training under the teachers of his early years and was now ready to go to a new world. On his way to Marrakesh of that year he entered the Station of Proximity (maqam al-qurba).

“I entered this station in the month of Muharram in 597 AH… In joy I began to explore it, but on finding absolutely no one else in it, I felt anxiety at the solitude. Although I was realized in [this station], but I still did not know its name.”

(II, 261).

Later Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) finds Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Sulami  in it and he told Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) that this station is called, the station of proximity (maqam al-qurba) (Hirtenstein 128).

VOYAGE TO CENTRE OF THE EARTH

Having left behind all the traces of his past, Ibn ‘Arab┘ began his long journey to the East from Marrakesh where he had a marvellous vision of the Divine Throne. In that vision, he saw the treasures beneath the Throne and the beautiful birds flying about within them. One bird greeted Ibn ‘Arabi (RA), saying that he should take him as his companion to the East. This companion was Muhammad al-Hassar of Fez. He started travelling with his friends towards the East. After visiting the tombs of his uncle Yahya and Abu Madyan in ‘Ubbad near Tlemcen, he stopped at Bijaya (Bougie) during Ramadan and saw a remarkable dream about the secrets of letters and stars. He saw himself united like the union in marriage with all the stars of heavens, after the stars the letters were given his union, and he united with all of them (Ibn ‘Arabi (RA), “Kitab al-Ba’” 10-11). This dream was later interpreted as the great Divine knowledge which was bestowed upon Ibn ‘Arabi (RA).

His next stop was Tunis 598 AH where he happened to see Shaykh ‘Abd al-‘Aziz al-Mahdawi whom he had met about six year ago. At the same time he continued writing works like Insha’ al-Dawa’ir  for his friend al-Habashi. Resuming his travels, he arrived in Cairo in 598 AH/1202 AD where he met his childhood friends, the two brothers, ‘Abdallah Muhammad al-Khayyat and Abu al-Abbas Ahmad al-Harrari and stayed at their house in the month of Ramadan. That was a period of great devastation, terrible famine and plague for Egypt. Perhaps the death of his companion Muhammad al-Hassar was due to this plague. Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) saw this devastation with his own eyes and a passage of Ruh al-Quds tells us that when people made light of Allah’s statutes He imposes the strictures of His Law upon them (Yusuf 240).

Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) resumed travelling toward Palestine, and his route took him to all the major burial places of the great Prophets: Hebron, where Abraham (AS) and other Prophets are buried; Jerusalem, the city of David (AS) and the later Prophets; and then Medina, the final resting place of the Prophet Muhammad (SWS).

PILGRIM AT MAKKAH

At the end of his long journey he finally arrived at Makkah, the mother of all cities, in 598 AH (July 1202 AD). The Makkan period of Ibn ‘Arabi’s (RA) life can be viewed as the fulcrum of his earthly existence; he spent 36 years of his life in the West and the upcoming 36 years in the East, with about 3 years in Makkah in between. This three year period both connects and differentiates the two halves of his life. It was in Makkah that he started writing the very best of his works Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya,

It was in Makkah that his status as Seal of Muhammadian sainthood was confirmed in the glorious vision of the Prophet; it was in Makkah that he had the dream of the two bricks and his encounter with the Ka‘ba; (Hirtenstein 148) it was in Makkah that the love of women was first evoked in his heart by the beautiful Nizam, (Hirtenstein, 149) who became the personification of wisdom and beauty. It was in Makkah that he first savoured the pleasures of married life, marrying and becoming a father. His first wife was Fatima bint Yunus and their first son Muhammad ‘Imaduddin was probably born in Makkah (Hirtenstein 150).

Again it was in Makkah that he produced the very best of his works, like the first chapters of Futuhat, the Ruh al-Quds, the Taj al-Rasa’il, the Hilyat al-Abdal and a collections of hadith qudsi named “Mishkat al-Anwar”. It is also worth mentioning that in Makkah he met some of the eminent scholars of Hadith of his time. Amongst them was Abu Shuja’ Zahir bin Rustam, father of the beautiful Nizam and Yunus ibn Yahya al-Hashimi (RA), who had been a pupil of the great ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (RA) in Baghdad. He not only introduced Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) to the Prophetic tradition but also transmitted to him the teachings of the most famous saint in Egypt in the ninth century, Dhu’l-Nun al-Misri. Yunus ibn Yahya also invested him in front of the Ka‘ba with the Khirqa (Mantle) of ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani (RA) .8 (Ibn ‘Arabi (RA), “Nasab al-Khirqa”; Elmore “Mantle of Initiation” 1-33). It is believed that after wearing this Khirqa Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) formally joined the Qadriyya Tariqah.

PART TWO CONTINUED …

VISIONS AT THE KAABA

Apart from all this, several visions were granted to him in Makkah. The first took place at night during his circumambulations of the Ka‘ba when he met a young beautiful girl Qurrat al-‘Ayn (Hirtenstein 148). In the second vision, during his circumambulations of the Ka‘ba, he met the mysterious figure who had appeared at the beginning of his ascension and here at Makkah. He said to Ibn ‘ArabI (RA), you should circumambulate in my footstep and observe me in the light of my moon, so that you may take from my constitution that which you write in your book and transmit to your readers (OY: I, 218).

The third vision also occurs at Ka‘ba in a spiritual conversation with the Haram and the Zamzam stream; Ka‘ba ordered him to circumambulate it and the Zamzam told him to drink this pure water but a soft refusal made Ka‘ba angry and he took revenge on a cold and rainy night in the year 600 AH. Shaykh heard the voice of Ka‘ba loud and clear; later in a meditation God taught him the lesson and to express this gratitude Ibn ‘Arab┘ composed a collection of letters in rhymed prose, entitled the Taj al-Rasa’il, in homage to the Ka‘ba.

The next vision is also related to Ka‘ba, in the year 599 AH in Makkah Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) saw a dream which confirms once again his accession to the office of the Seal of the Muhammadian Sainthood. He saw two bricks – one of Gold and the other of Silver – were missing from two rows of the wall of Ka‘ba. He says: “In the mean time I was observing that, standing there, I feel without doubt that I was these two bricks and these two bricks were me …. And perhaps it is through me that God has sealed sainthood” (Addas 213).

In the year 599 AH during circumambulating the Ka‘ba, he encountered the son of Caliph Harun al-Rashid, who had been dead for four centuries and was famous for choosing Saturday for work to gather food for rest of the week. Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) asked him: “Who are you?” He replied: “I am al-Sabti ibn Harun al-Rashid.” Later Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) asked him: “What was the reason of choosing Saturday for work?” He replied: “As God has made this universe in six days from Sunday to Friday, and he rested on Saturday, so I, as His servant worked on Saturday and devoted myself to worshiping Lord for the rest of the week.” In another glorious vision at Ka‘ba Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) saw his forefathers and asked one of them his time, he replied he had been dead around forty thousand years ago. Finally, at Ka‘ba, behind the wall of Hanbalites, Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) was granted the privilege of being able to join a meeting of the seven Abdals (Addas 216).

COUNSEL MY SERVANTS

The message was clear and it was from God; in a passage of Kitab al-Mubashshirat  Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) admits that one evening in Makkah he experienced a brief spell of despondency on the face of his disciples, he thought of leaving all counselling, abandon men to their fate and to devote his future efforts to himself alone as those who truly enter the Path are rare. On the same night, he saw himself in dream facing God on the Day of Judgment. In that dream, He said:

“I was standing in front of my Lord, head lowered and fearing that He would punish me for my short comings but he said to me: “Servant of Mine, fear nothing! All I ask of you is that you should counsel My servants” (Addas 218). Faithful to this assurance he would spend the rest of his life giving advice to people from all walks of life, direct disciples, religious authorities and political rulers. This vision probably occurred in the year 600 AH at Makkah, as the very first page of the Ruh al-Quds, written following this revelational order mentions it vividly. According to Osman Yahia; Ibn ‘Arabi (RA) produced 50 of his works after this Divine order, some of which are short epistles of less than 10 pages but all of these are rooted in the Divine order: “Counsel My servants.”

JOURNEY TO THE NORTH

Later in 604 AH he returned to Makkah where he continued to study and write, spending his time with his friend Abu Shuja bin Rustem and family, including the beautiful Nizam (II, 376; Hirtenstein 181). The next 4 to 5 years of Ibn ‘Arabi’s (RA) life were spent in these lands and he also kept travelling and holding the reading sessions of his works in his own presence.

BAGHDAD, CITY OF THE SAINTS