Imaginal Worlds: Ibn Al-Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity

12 Pages·1994·0.11 MB·English

by  William C. Chittick

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Imaginal Worlds

title: Imaginal Worlds : Ibn Al-àrabi and the
Problem of Religious Diversity SUNY
Series in Islam
author: Chittick, William C.
publisher: State University of New York Press
isbn10 | asin: 0791422496
print isbn13: 9780791422496
ebook isbn13: 9780585034256
language: English
subject Ibn al-àrabi,--1165-1240, Islam--
Doctrines--History.
publication date: 1994
BP80.I2C475 1994eb
lcc: BP80.I2C475 1994eb
ddc: 297/.4/092
subject: Ibn al-àrabi,--1165-1240, Islam--
Doctrines--History.
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Imaginal Worlds
Ibn al-'Arabi * and the
Problem of Religious Diversity
William C. Chittick
STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS

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Published by
State University of New York Press, Albany
© 1994 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced
in any manner whatsoever without written permission.
No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system
or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic,
electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording,
or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.
For information, address State University of New York Press,
State University Plaza, Albany, N.Y., 12246
Production by Marilyn P. Semerad
Marketing by Bernadette LaManna
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Chittick, William C.
Imaginal worlds : Ibn al-'Arabi and the problem of religious
diversity / by William C. Chittick.
p. cm.(SUNY series in Islam.)
Includes bibliographical references and indexes.
ISBN 0-7914-2249-6 (alk. paper). ISBN 0-7914-2250-X (pbk.:
alk. paper)
1. Ibn al-'Arabi, 1165-1240. 2. IslamDoctrinesHistory.
I. Title. II. Series.
BP80.I2C475 1994
297'.4'092dc20 94-17044
CIP
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

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Contents
Introduction 1
PART I. HUMAN PERFECTION
1. Oneness of Being 15
20
Divine Names and Human Perfection
23
Incomparability and Similarity
2. Microcosm, Macrocosm, and Perfect Man 31
31
The Goal of Creation
35
The Path to Perfection
3. Ethics and Antinomianism 39
40
Noble Character Traits
46
Blameworthy Character Traits
4. Self-Knowledge and the Original Human Disposition 51
53
The Nondelimitation of Wujud
*
54
Imaginal Consciousness
55
Self-Knowledge
57
The Unknown Station
59
Annihilation and Subsistence
62
Becoming Human
PART II. WORLDS OF IMAGINATION
5. Revelation and Poetic Imagery 67
67
The Tarjuman al-Ashwaq*
70
Imagination

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72
Reason and Self-Disclosure
73
The Revelation of Similitudes
77
Witnessing the Loci of Vision
6. Meetings with Imaginal Men 83
84
Discerning Imaginal Realities
88
Varieties of Imaginal Perception
89
Imaginal Men
7. Death and the Afterlife 97
97
Revelation and Reason
98
The Isthmus after Death
101
The Unfolding of the Soul
102
The Next World
Inside/Outside 104
110
The Garden and the Fire
113
The Cooling of the Fire
PART III. RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY
8. A Myth of Origins 123
124
The Koranic View of Revelation
126
The Divine Names and the Origins of Religion
129
Chapter 66
9. Diversity of Belief 137
138
The Roots of Belief
141
The Two Commands
145
Paths to God
146
Equilibrium
149
The Marks of Belief