Knowing God : Ibn ʿArabī and ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī's metaphysics of the divine

Can we know God or does he reside beyond our ken? In Ibn ʿArabī and ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī’s Metaphysics of the Divine, Ismail Lala conducts a forensic analysis of the nature of God and His interaction with creation. Looking mainly at the exegetical works of the influential mystic, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ʿArabī (d. 638/1240), and one of his chief disseminators, ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī (d. 736/1335?), Lala employs the term huwiyya, literally “He-ness,” as an aperture into the metaphysical worldview of both mystics. Does Al-Qāshānī agree with Ibn ʿArabī’s conception of God? Does he agree with Ibn ʿArabī on how God relates to us and how we relate to Him? Or is this where Sufi master and his disciple part ways? Ismail Lala, D.Phil (2017), University of Oxford, is a seminary-trained academic who focusses on the metaphysical thought of Ibn ʿArabī and ʿAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī. He has published widely on this topic, as well as on Sunnī Qurʾanic commentaries, Prophetic traditions, Islamic medical ethics, and Islamic philosophy. ‎Contents 7 ‎Preface 11 ‎Acknowledgements 12 ‎Transliteration Guide 13 ‎Chapter 1. Introduction 15 ‎1. The Meeting 15 ‎2. The Master 18 ‎3. The Disciple 31 ‎3.1. Name 31 ‎3.2. Birth 32 ‎3.3. Education 32 ‎3.4. Teachers 34 ‎3.5. Travels 35 ‎3.6. Political Life 35 ‎3.7. Personal Life 36 ‎3.8. Legal and Theological Affiliation 36 ‎3.9. Works 39 ‎3.10. Influences 41 ‎3.11. Death 41 ‎3.12. Why al-Qāshānī? 42 ‎4. The Word 42 ‎5. The Presentation 43 ‎6. The Qurʾan 49 ‎6.1. Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam 50 ‎6.2. Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya 54 ‎6.3. The Lexicons 57 ‎6.3.1. Iṣṭilāḥāt al-Ṣūfiyya 57 ‎6.3.2. Rashḥ al-Zulāl 59 ‎6.3.3. Laṭāʾif al-Iʿlām 62 ‎6.3.4. Taʾwīlāt al-Qurʾān 66 ‎7. The History 71 ‎Chapter 2. Ibn ʿArabī and Huwiyya 78 ‎1. Ibn ʿArabī’s Definition 78 ‎2. Huwiyya in Al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya 79 ‎2.1. Creational Huwiyya 79 ‎2.2. The Divine Attributes 81 ‎2.3. The Station of Huwiyya 85 ‎2.4. Summary of Huwiyya in the Futūḥāt 86 ‎3. Huwiyya in the Fuṣūṣ 87 ‎3.1. Huwiyya and Its Synonyms 88 ‎3.1.1. Entity 88 ‎3.1.2. Essence 91 ‎3.1.3. Self 94 ‎3.1.4. Spirit 97 ‎3.1.5. Summary of Huwiyya and Its Synonyms 100 ‎3.2. Huwiyya and Its Antonyms 101 ‎3.2.1. The Divine Names 102 ‎3.2.2. Form 105 ‎3.2.3. Belief 111 ‎3.2.4. Summary of Huwiyya and Its Antonyms 117 ‎3.3. Synonyms as Antonyms and Antonyms as Synonyms 118 ‎3.4. Form, the Synonym 119 ‎3.5. Summary of Huwiyya in the Fuṣūṣ 126 ‎4. The Chapter of Yūsuf 126 ‎4.1. The Shadow Metaphor 127 ‎4.2. Huwiyya, the Independence of God from Creation, and His Oneness 129 ‎4.3. Huwiyya, Entity, Essence and Unity 131 ‎4.4. Huwiyya and the Knowable God 138 ‎4.5. Summary of Huwiyya in the Chapter of Yūsuf 141 ‎5. Conclusion of Ibn ʿArabī and Huwiyya 141 ‎Chapter 3. Al-Qāshānī and Huwiyya 143 ‎1. Al-Qāshānī’s Definition of Huwiyya 143 ‎2. Huwiyya, Entity and the Perfect Man 144 ‎3. Huwiyya in the Taʾwīlāt 147 ‎3.1. Absolute Existence versus Contingent Existence 147 ‎3.2. Huwiyya and Unity 149 ‎3.3. Unity of Union 153 ‎3.4. The Divine Huwiyya and the Cosmos 156 ‎3.5. The Differentiations of the Divine Huwiyya 157 ‎3.6. The Attributes of the Divine Huwiyya 160 ‎3.7. The Station of Huwiyya 163 ‎3.8. Submergence in the Sea/Spring of Huwiyya 165 ‎3.9. Huwiyya, Inniyya and Anāniyya 167 ‎3.10. Huwiyya and Preparedness 170 ‎3.11. The Creational Huwiyya 174 ‎3.12. Huwiyya and the Veiled Ones 176 ‎3.13. Huwiyya and Divine Guidance 178 ‎3.14. Huwiyya and the Last Day 183 ‎3.15. Huwiyya and the Forgiveness of God 185 ‎4. Conclusion of Huwiyya in al-Qāshānī’s Works 187 ‎5. The Huwiyya of Ibn ʿArabī versus the Huwiyya of al-Qāshānī 189 ‎Chapter 4. Conclusion 194 ‎Bibliography 221 ‎Index 234 "Can we know God or does he reside beyond our ken? In Ibn 'Arabi and 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Qashani's Metaphysics of the Divine, Ismail Lala conducts a forensic analysis of the nature of God and His interaction with creation. Looking mainly at the exegetical works of the influential mystic, Muhyi al-Din ibn 'Arabi (d. 638/1240), and one of his chief disseminators, 'Abd al-Razzaq al-Qashani (d. 736/1335?), Lala employs the term huwiyya, literally "He-ness," as an aperture into the metaphysical worldview of both mystics. Does Al-Qashani agree with Ibn 'Arabi's conception of God? Does he agree with Ibn 'Arabi on how God relates to us and how we relate to Him? Or is this where Sufi master and his disciple part ways?"-- Provided by publisher Can we know God or does he reside beyond our ken? In Ibn ʻArabī and ʻAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī's Metaphysics of the Divine , Ismail Lala conducts a forensic analysis of the nature of God and His interaction with creation. Looking mainly at the exegetical works of the influential mystic, Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ʻArabī (d. 638/1240), and one of his chief disseminators, ʻAbd al-Razzāq al-Qāshānī (d. 736/1335?), Lala employs the term huwiyya , literally "He-ness," as an aperture into the metaphysical worldview of both mystics. Does Al-Qāshānī agree with Ibn ʻArabī's conception of God? Does he agree with Ibn ʻArabī on how God relates to us and how we relate to Him? Or is this where Sufi master and his disciple part ways? In Knowing God , Ismail Lala investigates the nature of God and whether we can truly know Him according to the influential mystic, Muy al-Dn ibn Arab, and his disciple, Abd al-Razzq al-Qshn.