Whose calling, whose response? Ibn 'Arabi on Divine and Human Responsiveness

Whose calling, whose response? Ibn 'Arabi on Divine and Human Responsiveness

Author: Selected speakers January 21, 2011 Duration: 55:19
James Morris is Professor of Islamic Studies at Boston College, and has previously taught Islamic and comparative religious studies at Exeter, Princeton, Oberlin, the Sorbonne, and the IIS in Paris and London. Professor Morris has published and lectures widely on many areas of religious thought and practice, including the Islamic humanities and poetry, Islamic philosophy, Sufism, and the Qur'an. His most recent books include Orientations: Islamic Thought in a World Civilisation (2004); The Reflective Heart: Discovering Spiritual Intelligence in Ibn 'Arabiis "Meccan Illuminations" (2005); Ostad Elahi's Knowing the Spirit (2007) and Openings: From the Qur'an to the Islamic Humanities (forthcoming).

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: English Episodes: 181

Ibn 'Arabi Society
Podcast Episodes
The Poetry of Ibn Arabi - Recitations from the Tarjuman al-Ashwaq [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:36
Prof. Michael Sells (University of Chicago), one of the foremost translators of the Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, gives an introduction to the poetry of Ibn Arabi, and recites some of his unpublished poems. Aaron Cass and Taoufiq…
WBAI Interview with Mohamed Haj Yousef [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:28
After graduating from Aleppo University (Syria) in 1990, he did a Masters degree in Physics at Cambridge University. After teaching Physics for several years in the UAE, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Exeter…
WBAI Interview with William Chittick [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:46
William C. Chittick is professor of religious studies in the Department of Asian and Asian American Studies at the State University of New York, Stony Brook. He has spent forty years studying Ibn Arabi and his followers,…
Opening the heart in the Futuhat [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:24
James Morris is Professor of Islamic Studies at Boston College, and has previously taught Islamic and comparative religious studies at Exeter, Princeton, Oberlin, the Sorbonne, and the IIS in Paris and London. Professor…
The Cosmic Heart: the heart of the Perfect Human [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:08
After graduating from Aleppo University (Syria) in 1990, he did a Masters degree in Physics at Cambridge University. After teaching Physics for several years in the UAE, he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Exeter…
The spirituality of the heart in the Syriac tradition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:07
Sebastian Brock is an authority in the field of Syriac language. He is a former Reader in Syriac Studies at the University of Oxford's Oriental Institute and currently an Emeritus Fellow at Wolfson College. He is a Fello…
The Wisdom of the heart unveils the Heart of wisdom [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 45:49
Katia Holmes MA, MSc, Post-grad. Anthropology, spent three years lecturing at Paris University in the early 70s. A sabbatical at Samye Ling (Scotland) with Akong Rinpoche, one of the first Tibetan lamas in the West, led…
"O Marvel!": a Paradigm Shift towards Integration [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 28:32
Stephen Hirtenstein is editor of the Ibn 'Arabi Society Journal. He studied at the Beshara School in Scotland, and is co-founder of Anqa Publishing. His publications include a biography of Ibn 'Arabi, "The Unlimited Merc…