'Those who believe are more intense in love': Ibn al-'Arabi and the Paradoxes of Love

'Those who believe are more intense in love': Ibn al-'Arabi and the Paradoxes of Love

Author: Selected speakers July 5, 2023 Duration: 1:03:53
Love is mysterious and many splendored—the source of our greatest joys and deepest sorrows; easy to talk and sing about, but impossible to define. "One who defines love has not known it, and one who has not tasted it by drinking it down, has not known it," writes Ibn al-'Arabi. While Rumi is more associated with love in the contemporary imagination, love is equally central to the writings and tradition of the great Andalusian writer, thinker, and spiritual teacher, Ibn Al-'Arabi (d. 1240), known as al-Shaykh al-Akbar (The Greatest Master). Through an examination of his commentaries on two verses of the Qur'an (2:165 and 45:23), and exploration of the paradoxes and seeming contradictions therein, this workshop will explore how love is key to understanding Ibn Al-'Arabi’s vast and kaleidoscopic oeuvre, and how these writings and perspectives can, in turn, help us better understand the undefinable nature of love and longing. For Ibn Al-'Arabi, love is more than a feeling, it is the fundamental nature of consciousness, God, and reality itself.

The Ibn 'Arabi Society podcast offers a deep and nuanced exploration into the life, work, and enduring legacy of the 13th-century Andalusian mystic and philosopher, Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi. This series presents a curated selection of talks from the Society's annual symposia, featuring a diverse range of Selected speakers including scholars, translators, and practitioners. Each episode delves into specific themes from Ibn 'Arabi's vast corpus-such as the Oneness of Being, the imagination as a creative cosmic force, and the perfect human-placing his thought in dialogue with contemporary questions in spirituality, philosophy, and culture. Listening to this podcast feels like attending a rigorous yet accessible academic gathering, where complex ideas about the nature of reality, love, and divine knowledge are unpacked with care and passion. You'll hear detailed analyses of primary texts, cross-cultural comparisons, and reflections on how these profound teachings apply to modern life and interfaith understanding. It is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking to move beyond superficial summaries and engage seriously with one of history's most influential spiritual intellects. The discussions are richly layered, rewarding both newcomers and those already familiar with Sufi metaphysics, and together they build a comprehensive portrait of a thinker whose work continues to resonate across centuries and disciplines.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 50

Ibn 'Arabi Society
Podcast Episodes
Ibn al-ʿArabī on Translation [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 15:18
Mohammed Rustom is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at Carleton University. He is the author of the award-winning book The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mulla Sadra and Assistant Editor of The Study…
The Covenant of Alast: When Love Shared its Promise [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 21:50
Marlene DuBois is Professor of English at the State University of New York at Suffolk County Community College. Her research interests are in comparative religion, Sufism, and mythic narratives.
Ibn Arabi's Pluralistic Vision in a World of Exclusivism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 27:30
The philosophical concepts at the heart of this presentation include Wujud, the Plural, and Ambiguity. I begin by examining Ibn Arabi's notion of belief as 'tying knots in the heart,' parallel to his understanding of the…
Jinn Doppelgangers in Islam and Akbarian Sufism [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:41
"Ghouls, ifrits and a panoply of other jinn have long haunted Muslim cultures and societies. These also include demonic doubles (qarīn, pl. quranā'): the little-studied and much-feared denizens of the hearts and blood of…
Ahmad Avni Bey's Understanding of Ibn 'Arabi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:09
Mahmud Erol Kılıç is a Professor of Sufi Studies. His numerous books, articles and translations have focused on Ibn 'Arabi and the Ibn 'Arabi school of thought as well as Sufism in Anatolia. He has been the ambassador of…
'Ibn 'Arabi in Spiritual Fiqh and Gnostic Knowledge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:00
Laila Khalifa (Ph.D) began her studies in social sciences and history at the University of Jordan in Amman. Later she pursued postgraduate research in Social Psychology at the University of Nottingham, UK in 1985. She wa…