Turning Religious Experience into Reality: The Spiritual Power of Himma
Religions March 14, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/rel14030385 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that, for Ibn 'Arabī and his followers, elite gnostics possess a power of existentiation called himma, derived from God's absolute power, which through intense and sustained concentration shapes external phenomenal reality as long as the concentration persists. The paper analyzes the types of himma, the reality they disclose, and the relation between himma-created objects and the gnostic. |
Abstract
The extremely influential mystic, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 634/1240), believes that the most advanced gnostics are imbued with a special power that turns their religious experience into reality. This is the power of himma—the power of existentiation that elite gnostics derive from God’s absolute power of existentiation. Ibn ‘Arabī and his followers assert that this power, which is exercised by the gnostics through an intense and unremitting concentration, actually shapes and forms external phenomenal reality as long as the concentration of the gnostic persists. This paper explores the different types of himmas that can exist, what kind of reality they allow the gnostics to perceive, and what relationship the objects created by himma have with the gnostic who exercised this power.