Spiritual Lifestyle in Ibn ʿArabī’s Mystical Theology: Foundations and Practical Implications
Ishraq Ali, Mohammad Esmaeil Abdollahi
Religions October 15, 2026 DOI: 10.3390/rel17101219 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that four of Ibn ʿArabī's central doctrines together carry specific practical consequences for organizing a Muslim life along epistemological, ethical, social, and devotional dimensions. Contends that Ibn ʿArabī's etiquette (adab) works against social distinction, orients dispositions toward the Divine Names rather than social position, and makes worship the ground of the rest of life, in contrast to Weber, Bourdieu, and Giddens. |
Abstract
Ibn ʿArabī (1165–1240 CE) is best known for his metaphysics; his teaching on how life should be lived has received less attention. Drawing on al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya and the Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, this study asks how four of his central doctrines—the Oneness of Being (waḥdat al-wujūd), the Perfect Human (al-insān al-kāmil), Divine Self-disclosure (tajallī), and the Five Divine Presences (al-ḥaḍarāt al-khams)—bear on the organization of human life. It argues that together they carry specific practical consequences, traced along four dimensions: the epistemological, the ethical, the social, and the devotional. Ibn ʿArabī’s own distinction between the primary worship inherent in all beings and the secondary worship the Law prescribes states the resulting ordering of life in brief. Compared with the sociological accounts of lifestyle, his account differs at three points: where lifestyle for Weber marks social distinction, Ibn ʿArabī’s etiquette (adab) works against it; where Bourdieu grounds durable dispositions in social position, Ibn ʿArabī orients their formation toward the Divine Names; and where Giddens makes lifestyle the frame for religious practice, Ibn ʿArabī makes worship the ground of the rest of life. The result is not a generic spirituality but the ordering of a specifically Muslim life, anchored throughout in the Quran, the Sunna, and the Sharīʿa.