The Foreign and Imaginal In Ibn ‘Arabī’s Turjuman al-Ashwaq
Rachid Acim
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Tasavvuf Araştırmaları Enstitüsü Dergisi May 1, 2023 DOI: 10.32739/ustad.2023.3.36 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that Ibn 'Arabi's Turjumān al-ashwāq, read through Corbin's "creative imagination" and Hall's "preferred reading", reflects an orthodoxy of love that advocates friendly intercultural relations, and that Ibn 'Arabi's inner journey to the heart shaped his knowledge and his cognition about dialogue and Otherness. |
Abstract
Turjumān al-ashwāq is a mystical treatise that was penned by the great Sufi saint Ibn ‘Arabi. This work, which was rendered into English under various appellations, reflects his orthodoxy of love and serves as a plea for initiating friendly relations amidst cultures and world nations. The allegorical poems and annotations underscore that Ibn ‘Arabi possessed a third eye and clairvoyance when he approached specific truths around him. Building on Henry Corbin’s framework of “creative imagination” and Stuart Hall’s theoretical model of “preferred reading”, I showcase how Ibn ‘Arabi’s inner and insightful journey to the realm of the heart shaped his knowledge and simultaneously unleashed his cognition about dialogue and Otherness. Keywords: Ibn ‘Arabi; Kashf; Turjumān al-ashwāq; the Foreign; Preferred Reading.