The Pearls of Wisdom
An Arabic critical edition of Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam wa Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ by Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi
A masterpiece of gnosis (ʿirfān) and theology, Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam wa Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ has exerted a lasting influence on Islamic mysticism for the best part of a thousand years. Born in 560 AH / 1165 CE in Mursīyah (Murcia) before moving to Ishbiliyah (Seville) at the age of 8, Muḥyī al-Dīn Abū ʿAbd Allāh Muḥammad b. ʿAlī b. Muḥammad Ibn al-ʿArabī al-Ḥātimī al-Ṭāʾī (b. 560 AH / 1165 CE, d. 638 AH / 1240 CE) – commonly known, without the article of al-, as Ibn ʿArabī, and in the Maghrib as Ibn al-ʿArabī – experienced a profound ‘unveiling’ (kashf) or ‘opening’ (futūḥ) as a young man. This led him to embark upon a lifetime of devout faith, practice, and spiritual wayfaring (sulūk). He was committed to the articles of the faith of Islam and the way of the Prophet Muḥammad, may God bless him and his descendants, and lived his life as a practising Muslim, all the while seeking to understand his outward practice (al-sharīʿah) through his inward practice (al-tarīqah), and his inward practice (al-tarīqah) through his outward practice (al-sharīʿah), in order to arrive at the real knowledge of matters (al-ḥaqīqah). Ibn al-ʿArabī was a well-known mystic (ʿārif) who expanded, in practice and in theory, on the subject of gnosis (ʿirfān).
Gnosis is understood as engaging and understanding the realities of matters (ḥaqāʾiq al-umūr) and the mysteries of the Qurʾān and the Ahl al-Bayt (asrār al-kitāb wa al-ʿitrah) in accordance with the method of the path of illumination (al-ishrāq), unveiling (al-kashf), and witnessing (al-shahūd). This subject is traced back to the Qurʾānic revelation, the teachings of the Prophet, may God bless him and his descendants, and the instructions of Imām ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib (d. 40/661) and the infallible Imāms from his progeny, peace be upon them. Ample references to gnosis are extant from the opening sermon, and thereafter on numerous occasions, in the Nahj al-Balāghah, and in the teachings of the infallible Imāms. One of the gnostical and philosophical ideas attributed to Ibn al-ʿArabī is the concept of the oneness of being (waḥdat al-wujūd). Although he never employed this term in his work, the significance of this concept permeates Ibn al-ʿArabī’s writings.
In 597 / 1200, Ibn al-ʿArabī departed his native al-Andalus to undertake the pilgrimage (ḥajj) to Makkah, before travelling in Miṣr (Egypt), Shām (Syria), and the lands of Rūm (Anatolia, parts of modern-day Türkiye), and finally settling in Damascus, where he wrote and taught until his death. Known to posterity as the Great Master (al-shaykh al-akbar), Ibn al-ʿArabī was an extraordinarily prolific author, with some 850 attributed works, of which 700 survive today and 450 are thought to be authentic. Amongst the longest of his works is the monumental al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyyah (The Meccan Revelations), which runs to more than 30 volumes in modern editions and is considered to be Ibn al-ʿArabī’s magnum opus of theology, metaphysics, and mysticism, in both prose and poetry.
Ibn al-ʿArabī’s most famous and most read work, however, is the shorter – yet by no means less profound – Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, which is best described as a work on ‘the Quintessence of Wisdom’. This comparatively succinct text, which was presented to the author in a dream by the Prophet Muḥammad, may God bless him and his descendants, comprises twenty-seven reflections on the prophets, from Adam to the Prophet of Islam, peace be upon him and them. Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam examines the essence (kalimah) of the prophets, each of whom is associated with a divine attribute, by way of extensive Qurʾānic exegesis in the gnostical style. Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam is considered to be the major source and summation of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s thought, has been the subject of more than a hundred commentaries, and continues to influence scholars of mysticism and gnosis to this day. Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ, which is best described as a work on ‘the Imprint of the Quintessence’, is a concise summary of the main arguments of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, in particular the manifestations of the divine in each successive prophet, peace be upon them, and is thus invaluable as an overview of the recondite density and mystical complexity of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam.
In The Pearls of Wisdom, the Dean of the Shīʿah Institute, Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi presents a vocalised Arabic critical edition of Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam wa Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ, thus offering a complete resource for the study of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s renowned work. Drawing upon decades of interdisciplinary expertise in Arabic philology, Islamic mysticism and philosophy, and the study of Prophetic and Qurʾānic wisdom, Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi’s edition, complete with a full scholarly apparatus and bibliography, brings to light a true gem of gnosis. Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi’s introduction discusses the relevance and reception of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam in Shia Islam, both historically and in recent times. Since the composition of the introduction to The Pearls of Wisdom, more publications have appeared from the traditional seminaries (al-ḥawzah al-ʿilmiyyah), which demonstrate the ongoing engagement with Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam and its reception amongst the Shia community today.
The Pearls of Wisdom is essential reading for any scholar, student, and seeker of knowledge. This work will be followed by Revealing the Pearls of Wisdom: An Explication of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam wa Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ by Dr Sayyid Amjad H. Shah Naqavi.
The Pearls of Wisdom: An Arabic critical edition of Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam wa Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ is available to purchase, please email the Shīʿah Institute to order your copy.
ISBN: 978-1-917761-01-7 (hardback)
Please see below for a select preview of pages from The Pearls of Wisdom: An Arabic critical edition of Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam wa Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ.