This thesis will examine how the Islamic concept of tawḥid ("monotheism") was understood, and perhaps more importantly, experienced by the 12th/13th Sufi, Ibn 'Arabi (1165-1240), also known as al-Shaykh al-Akbar ("The Greatest Master"). It has been argued that tawḥid is not simply a belief but also an operation, that is to say, a continual process whereby the literal meaning of tawḥid ("asserting oneness") is upheld. This understanding of tawḥid implies a certain dualism which for Ibn 'Arabi is a reflection of the two perspectives which express God's oneness, namely, tanzih ("transcendence"), which literally means "declaring something to be pure and free of something else," and tashbih ("immanence"), of which the literal meaning is "declaring something to be similar to something else." As can be seen, tanzih and tashbih are mutually contradictory and thus present tawḥid as a paradox. However, for Ibn 'Arabi, it is essential to not ignore any one perspective in favor of the other. For him, the paradox can and must be reconciled through the power of khayal, or imagination, which alone has the ability to combine opposites and thus, bridge the gap between tanzih and tashbih , thereby allowing for the experience of tawḥid .

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This thesis examines the views held by Muh&dotbelow;yi al-Din Ibn al-`Arabi on shari`ah, based for the most part on his magnum opus, al-Futuh&dotbelow;at al-Makkiyyah. It explores his attitude towards the shari`ah as practical religious law and his teachings concerning its sources and interpretation. Despite being misunderstood on account of his s&dotbelow;ufi background and his well-known criticism of the fuqaha' Ibn al-`Arabi's teaching, in fact, advocated a strict and consistent orientation to the shari`ah. This thesis shows how, on the one hand, his criticism of the jurists was due to their inability to achieve the high standards that he set for interpreting the law, and how, on the other, his s&dotbelow;ufi beliefs complemented, rather than weakened, the foundations of the shari`ah. It is clear that the principle underlying his approach to the shari`ah's application was his belief in its being a manifestation of God's mercy. He demonstrates this by pointing to the direct sources of God's law, accepting differences in legal opinion and seeking as much as possible the deeper spiritual and universal meaning of God's intentions in the law.

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This study is a comparison of the philosophical systems composed by the Indian philosopher Sankara (788-830 CE), and the Muslim mystic, Ibn Arabi (1165-1240 CE). The primary thesis found in this study is that the conceptual systems constructed by Sankara and Ibn Arabi are not perfectly new creations derived from the core of their mystical realizations. Rather, they contain fundamental pre-existing principles, concepts, and teachings that are expanded upon and placed within a systematic philosophy or theology that is intended to lead others to a state of realization. A selection of these presuppositions are extracted from within each of these thinkers’ philosophical systems and employed as structural indicators. Similarities are highlighted, yet the differences between Sankara and Ibn Arabi’s thought, witnessed within their philosophical systems, lead us to the conclusion that the two mystics inhabited different conceptual space. / iv, 195 leaves ; 29 cm

The present study aims to understand the subject matter of the Shajarat al-Kawn. In the two earlier studies of this text--both translations, the first in English and the second in French with extensive notes--the translators approach the text with specific preconceptions which influence the translations and analyses. In contrast, our approach is to focus on the persons, events and images within the text and thereby to reveal the salient issues and themes. In the analysis we are led to question the authorship of the text, specific details reveal that it may not be by Ibn 'Arabi In spite of this problem, the description of the archetypal figures Muhammad and Iblis--which has elements resembling the description of the same figures by Mansur al-Hallaj and 'Ayn al-Qudat al-Hamadhani-leads us to believe that the Shajarat al-Kawn makes an important contribution toward understanding some of the riddles on how these complex figures are viewed.

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This thesis deals with the concept of the Perfect Man in the thought of both Ibn 'Arabi (560/1165-638/1240) and Iqbal (1877-1938). The concepts of these two figures are analytically compared by way of their views of wujud, the evolutionary process of human being, qada' and qadar, and the classifications of the Perfect Man. In Ibn 'Arabi's system, these concepts are based on wahdah al-wujud and, in Iqbal's system, on his philosophy of Khudi. Although Iqbal criticized many aspects of Ibn 'Arabi's thought, this thesis will show that their concepts of the Perfect Man are quite similar, and that Iqbal was influenced in a number of important ways by Ibn 'Arabi.

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