Hadith in the work of Ibn Arab

The uninterrupted chain of prophecy

by Denis Gril
Within the corpus of Ibn Arab's work hadith take on an importance second
only to the Qurn, in keeping with a general movement of spirituality in Islam,
in which the person of the Prophet becomes more and more prominent. This
study will show the usage our Andalusian Master makes of these prophetic
traditions: transmission, quotation and exegesis. Above all, it will highlight
some of his views regarding the Sunna, which are partly explained by the
status of the revealed word which he attributes to hadith. One of the paradoxes
of Islam lies in the radical distinction made on the one hand between the
Qurn, the Divine word, and hadith, causing the Prophet to speak or speaking
through him, and on the other hand in the almost identical authority accorded
to each of these two sources. Certainly in matters of jurisprudence the text of a
hadith does not carry exactly the same weight of obligation or prohibition as
the Qurn, and a prophetic tradition, unlike the latter, can be subjected to
critical analysis in terms of its text and especially its chain of transmission.
However, if one seeks to weigh up the respective importance of the Qurn and
the Sunna in the establishment of Muslim norm and practices, the balance
leans rather in favour of the Sunna.
One of the interesting aspects in Ibn Arab's work is the questioning of the
relationship between the two scriptural sources of Islam.[1] Several recent
studies have shown how much his work takes its inspiration and structure from
the Qurnic text. The hadith, a vast body of independent and diverse texts,
could not exercise the same structural function. They nonetheless occupy a
significant position, whether quoted in support of the Qurnic commentary or
as objects of interpretation in their own right. This fact has in itself no specific
importance, no more than the attention paid to the chain of transmitters
(isnd) and the transmission. As we will see, this latter is both magnified and
relativised. Subject to the hazards of human weakness, it nevertheless serves
as a vehicle for the inspired word and a presence perceived by unveiling
(kashf), which is the foundation of esoteric knowledge.
The personal journey of the Shaykh al-Akbar equally contributed to his growing
interest in hadith. After his first spiritual experiences he followed the traditional
way of acquiring knowledge and became the disciple of many shaykhs, several
of whom were traditionists. After his arrival in the Mashriq, his interest in hadith
did not diminish indeed, rather the reverse.
Ibn Arab and the study of hadith
Coming from an aristocratic family in the service of the rulers in Andalusia, Ibn
Arab received in his youth a literary rather than spiritual education. From his
twentieth year, when he was favoured with numerous visions and spiritual
openings, he received a vast amount of inspired knowledge on the
metaphysics of Being, cosmology and hagiography, even though he had not
as yet studied the traditional sciences or even taawwuf. It was only later, for
example, that he studied Qushayr's Risla under one of his masters.
It was due to many masters in Andalusia, the Maghrib and in the Mashriq that

he first discovered the science of hadith and also to a certain degree kalm.[2]
It was really a matter of rediscovery, since for him these acquired knowledges
only confirm the knowing received by illumination in the course of retreat
(khalwa). For Ibn Arab, as for other Masters of taawwuf, kashf confers a
knowing that embraces the whole field of knowledge and gives certainty in all
domains, and in particular in that of hadith.
In all sciences thus studied, it was to hadith that he devoted most time and on
which he wrote the most, reflecting the cultural and religious context prevailing
in the Maghrib of the Almohads and the Mashriq of the Ayyubids and Seljuks,
which especially encouraged the study of this tradition. From Ibn Arab's
autobiography, the al-Ijza li-l-Malik al-Muaffar, and drawing also on the
numerous isnds cited in the Muart al-abrar, Claude Addas draws up a list
of Ibn Arab's masters, and shows that a large number transmitted prophetic
traditions to him.
In both the Ijza and the Fihris al-muallaft,[3] where the shaykh recorded
from memory a large part of his works, we can see that he compiled collections
of hadith. Most rsums of the best-known collections of the a of Bukhr
and Muslim or the Jmi of Tirmidh have disappeared.[4] His Mishkt al-anwr
fm ruwiya an Allh min al-akhbr[5] is a collection of adth quds, of which
the first forty are preceded by an isnd, while for the others the reference is
generally indicated. Another work should also be noted, al-Maajjat al-bay f
al-akm al-shariyya, written in the style of adth al-akm. According to the
Fihris, the work was composed of two volumes with a third unfinished. The
Yusuf Aa library in Konya[6] until recently had an autographed example of the
second volume, beginning with a general chapter on prayer, more precisely on
the respective merits of the differing ranks for men and women (abwb ift alalt: bb taful al-uff f al-alt li-l-rijl wa al-nis), and ending with a
chapter on the military display on the feast-day in the Prophet's Mosque (bb
al-laib f yawm al-d bi al-ilh f masjid al-nab). Thus we can assume that the
author, who was in Mecca in ah 600, intended to compose for himself a vast
collection of hadith, serving as a reference in matters of jurisprudence. The
flyleaf bears, in Ibn Arab's own handwriting, five isnd ending with the famous
traditionalist al-Silaf, who was born near Shiraz and died in Alexandria in 570
(addathan Ab al-hir al-Silaf) and going back to Bukhr, Ab Dd,
Muslim, Nas and Tirmidh. This isnd poses an evident problem, given the
date of Silaf's death. Silaf is known, however, to have given an ijza amma
(full licence) to several scholars, authorising them to disseminate the hadith
under his authority.[7] It is very possible that Ibn Arab himself received this
authorisation through the intermediary of a disciple he does not name. From
this work let us consider on the one hand the importance accorded to the
transmission as the preliminary isnd demonstrate, and on the other, the
composition of a work of fiqh based solely on the hadith. This choice places the
author in a certain stream of juridical thought: as we will see later, he accorded
great respect to Ibn azm as a traditionist.
We may mention here the Kitb al-Mubashshirt min al-alm fm ruwiya an
al-nab min al-akhbr f al-manm, which, as the title indicates, includes
traditions heard directly from the Prophet in dreams. As we shall see later, Ibn
Arab considers this mode of reception of hadith, whether in dream or in a
waking state, as the most certain for one who is so favoured. He mentions this
work in the Fihris as being one of those that he had been ordered to compose

but not disseminate.[8] In major works, the Futt in particular, hadith have a
quite prominent place, although quantitatively less important than the Qurn.
It emerges from a more or less systematic list that the majority of hadith come
from the 'six books', to which must be added the Sunan of Bayhaq and the
collection of Tabarn. We also find traditions not existing in the canonical
collections but frequently quoted in taawwuf, such as the famous sentence
'Whoso knows his self, knows his Lord', regarding which the shaykh states that
it is authenticated by meaning (man), not by transmission (riwya).[9] He
very often gives as a hadith of the Prophet 'Neither My heaven nor My earth
contain Me, but the heart of My believing servant contains Me', whereas this
tradition is mentioned elsewhere as being a tradition of the 'People of the
Book'.[10] He also uses a less precise formula: 'In the tradition of making God
speak thus (wa f al-khabar al-mutarjim anhu), I am with those whose heart is
broken because of Me'.[11] Thus Ibn Arab takes a middle way with regard to
traditions, respectful of authenticity and yet open to traditions of a more
uncertain origin when they convey an indisputable spiritual teaching. For the
body of hadith quoted in the Futt, we suggest the following thematic
classification, in order of frequency:
1. Attributes and descriptions of God (particularly anthropomorphic
expressions)
2.The relationship of man to God (often expressed in the form of a adth
quds)
3. The prophet and his supra-temporal reality
4. Founding traditions of Islam in general
5. Juridical traditions (especially in the chapters on ritual)
Finally, we should remember that the Futt ends with a chapter of advice, alwaya, principally inspired by hadith quoted as such, or commented on in a
very accessible style, which contrasts strongly with the rest of the book and
quite particularly with the penultimate chapter. This chapter is followed by a
sequence of invocations taken from the Sunna and the Qurn. The message is
clear: this vast amount of esoteric knowledge leads towards the source, i.e.
prophetic inspiration received by Divine revelation.
The weakness and grandeur of the isnd
After the opening words (khuba) the Futt begins with an introduction
(muqaddimat al-kitb) vindicating esoteric knowledge and inspired learning. In
support the author cites two well-known hadith.[12] In the first, reported by
Bukhr, Ab Hurayra declares: 'I retained from the Envoy two sorts (literally
containers) of knowledge. I exposed one, but if I had exposed the other, they
would have cut my throat.'[13] It is remarkable that Ibn Arab insists on
reporting this tradition by three different paths, all leading back to Bukhr. He
got it from his hadith master al-Hajar in Ceuta in ah 589, from the nephew of
the Q, Ab Bakr Ibn al Arab, in Seville in ah 592, and from Ynus b. Yay
al-Hshim in Mecca in ah 599. The importance of this tradition in the
apologetics of Sufism does not really account for the abundance of isnd, since
its authentification by Bukhr is sufficient guaranty. The second tradition in the
word of Ibn Abbs concerning Q. 65:12, 'God is He who equally created the
earth and the seven heavens, the Divine Order descends among them', 'If I
gave the interpretation you would stone me' and in another version 'you would

say I am an infidel'. Here Ibn Arab merely states that he got this saying from
Ab Abd Allh Muammad Ibn Aysun, who had it from the q Ab Bakr Ibn al
Arab, who had it from Ab mid al-Ghazl. Scattered throughout the
Futt there are hadith preceded by such isnd, a sign that the Shaykh
accords them particular importance.
The importance of the chain of transmission is not only limited to its role in
authentification. It leads towards the source of authority and invokes the
presence of a sacred being, whether it be the Prophet, a Companion or another
personage connected to the prophecy. The following rather strange story,
reported as an isolated hadith (gharb), particularly illustrates this. Ibn Arab
said that he heard in his house in Aleppo a story told by a blind man, Ibrhm b.
Sulaymn, who heard it himself from a woodcutter, 'a man of confidence'
(thka). This latter recounted that one day, having killed a snake, he was
carried off by some Jinn, taken to their chief and accused of killing one of their
relations. The Shaykh of the Jinn told them: 'Free him and take him home, since
I heard the Envoy of God peace and blessings be upon him tell us
"Whosoever amongst you takes on another form and is killed, for him neither
vengeance nor blood money can be demanded." Now your relation took on the
form of a serpent, who is man's enemy.' He then explained to the astonished
woodcutter that he was one of the last survivors of the Jinn of Nibn,[14] and
that he purveyed justice to his people according to what he heard from the
Prophet. Ibn Arab clearly considers this marvellous anecdote as a hadith. Not
only does he relate it to two of his companions but, on his return with them to
Aleppo, he sends them to the man so they can hear it directly from his mouth.
He concludes thus: 'And he related it to them in the same way he related it to
me' (fa-addatha-hum kam addatha-n).[15] The unusual character of this
story thus emphasises the value given to hearing and direct transmission,
which brings the receiver as close as possible to the source.
Ibn Arab's liking for reception and transmission is not limited to hadith. He
also received, as was normal, all sorts of works of which he drew up a long list
at the beginning of the Muart al-abrr. He explains that he mentions them
'by reading and audition, or receiving a copy or by letter' (rawaytu-h saman
wa qiratan aw mudwalatan aw kitbatan). The use of these technical terms
shows a certain familiarity with the rules of transmission found concerning a
hadith unusual enough to need authenticating with an isnd. This tradition
recounts how Sad b. Ab Waqq, on Umar's orders, sent Nala b. Muwiya alAnr to fight in Iraq. On his way back this companion did the call to prayer
facing a mountain, and heard a voice in reply. Out of the mountain came an
extraordinarily long-lived disciple of Jesus who lived in hiding there. He
transmitted to Nala a teaching on the end of time.[16] The shaykh points out
that according to al-kim (al-Nsbr) the weakness of the isnd is due to one
of its transmitters. He adds, 'This hadith, even if its way of transmission is
criticised, is authenticated for us and for our fellows by unveiling (kashf).' This
position, which occurs often in Ibn Arab's works, gives a first idea of the
difference in viewpoint which distinguishes him and his 'fellows' from normal
traditionists.
In the hadith related by Bukhr, 'God has created Adam in his/His image' (or,
according to his form),[17] which is often quoted by the Shaykh, the pronoun
can refer to God or to Adam. A variant resolves the difficulty, although its
authenticity is doubted by specialists. Ibn Arab explains it thus: 'In a version

authenticated by unveiling (f riwya yuaiu-h l-kashf), even if it is not

firmly established by the masters of transmission (ab al-naql), it is said: in
the image of the All-Merciful (al-Ramn), which removes the ambiguity. This
teaches us that each variant that removes ambiguity is authentic, even if it is
weak from the point of view of transmission.'[18] A certain concurrence is thus
noted, not between two forms of knowledge, but between two ways of
receiving and transmitting the same knowledge. Despite the importance that
he gives to the isnd, Ibn Arab is aware of the uncertainty which may arise
from a mode of authentification subject to the hazards of human transmission.
Here he notes:
Many a 'weak' (af) hadith is rejected due to the weakness of its transmission,
because a traditionist is alleged to have forged the hadith, whereas in reality
the hadith is authentic, and in this case the 'fabricator' (wi) was correct and
invented nothing. Such a hadith is rejected by traditionists because of doubts
about its transmission, particularly when this 'fabricator' is the only one to
report it or when it occupies a central place in his transmissions.[19]
On the other hand, as we shall see, a saint endowed with unveiling and in
contact with the prophetic Presence, will be able to know the non-authentic
character of a hadith previously held to be impeccable from the point of view of
the isnd. Thus it is that kashf may just as well invalidate as authenticate a
tradition, finally casting doubt on all the efforts deployed by traditionists to
establish a body of certain and reliable references. On this subject Ibn Arab
speaks not only of unveiling but of the authentification of hadith by the men of
God:
We have not, nor will we, mention anything of the different elements in the
universe without referring to a prophetic tradition authenticated by unveiling,
even if this tradition has been criticised for its line of transmission. We only
base this on that which the hidden saints teach us (rijl al-ghayb).[20]
In the case of a fabricated (maw) hadith, Ibn Arab proposes an explanation
which allows one to understand, to a certain extent, a surprising phenomenon
when one considers the prophetic warnings against such a practice. In a
chapter of the Futt on the khawir, thoughts inspired by God, by the
angels, by the self or by Satan, he reminds us that in the last category one of
Satan's ruses is to suggest a false idea from a true premise. As an example he
cites masters or ascetics who, having heard the Prophet's word 'He who
establishes a good way will have its reward and that of those who follow it',[21]
wish to benefit from this reward. Afraid of not being followed in the way or
practice they have established, they attribute their innovation to the Prophet.
When the angels remind them of the word of the Envoy, 'He who intentionally
attributes to me lying words, may he seek his place in the fire',[22] they
interpret this as applying to words which lead into error. The condemnation
applies equally to those belonging to sects of all sorts (ahl al-ahw wa albida), the Shiis in particular; or again those who, having received an imperfect
spiritual opening, attribute to God the words they believe they have heard from
Him, when what they have heard in fact comes from their own souls.[23] If the
historical critique finds other reasons for the fabrication of hadith, this
explanation, which takes into account the phenomenon of the interior, allows
us to see how such a practice was able to spread in the ascetic or sectarian
circles at the beginning of Islam.

Nevertheless, Ibn Arab does not display an overly critical tendency with
regard to his treatment of hadith. As we have seen, he accepts traditions from
diverse sources as long as they express an indisputable truth. Nor does he
question the normal way of acquiring knowledge in Islam, based on
transmission or reason, or both at the same time, but he gives greater
importance to the direct knowing of the heart which alone leads to certainty.
In his own way he reiterates, not the opposition of exoteric and esoteric
knowledge, but their hierarchisation, just as Ab Yazd al-Bism had expressed
it in his own time: 'You have received your knowledge dead, from a dead
person, while we have received our knowledge from the Living One who never
dies. One of us says: my heart reported to me from my Lord, and you say,
such-and-such a person told me where is he? [we ask], dead, is the reply.'
Even more evocative is the saying of Abu Madyan, whom Ibn Arab regarded as
his master: 'When someone said to him such-and-such a person said according
to that person, he would reply, we do not wish to eat cold (qadd) meat; go
bring me fresh meat!'[24]
Such downplaying of the isnd is nonetheless compensated for by its main
function transmission. Is it not, above all, a matter of communicating a
message (balgh or tablgh), which is one of the essential aspects of the
prophetic mission? Here again we find Ibn Arab's doctrine of sainthood and its
relationship to prophethood. For Ibn Arab, God has subjected the saint to a
terrifying ordeal by calling him by a Divine Name, wal (close friend, ally but
also chief), while a prophet is primarily qualified as servant (abd) and
messenger (rasl), terms that can only apply to man and consequently denote
his true perfection. Indeed the perfection of man lies in his servanthood
(ubdiyya), in other words his non-resemblance to God. He (God) has left the
saint, however, with the possibility of realising an aspect of prophetic
perfection by causing His Prophet to say: 'May the present transmit to the
absent' (li-yuballigh al-shhid al-ghib).[25] With this word he entrusted to his
Companions, and their successors, a part of this human function of
transmission. The saying of the Prophet, 'May God have mercy on him who has
heard my word, remembered it and re-transmitted it as he heard it',[26] makes
it clear that the hadith must be reported literally (arfan arfan) and not only in
meaning (manan). Given that the saying of the Prophet is inspired, Ibn Arab
places 'transmitters of the Revelation' (naqalat al-way) on the same level as
reciters of the Qurn or traditionists, on condition however that these latter
respect the literal transmission. Only these two categories of scholars will be
resurrected with the Envoy, since they will have fully transmitted the text of
the revelation from the time of the Prophet to the end of time. He again
explains why the transmission and reception of hadith assumes such
importance for him or his masters:
As long as a man does not transmit the hadith with its continuous,
uninterrupted chain of transmission, he will not have attained this spiritual
station and will not have breathed the slightest perfume of it. He will only be
one of those saints in competition with God over the name wal. Inasmuch as
he takes on this name, he loses his quality of servant, and this is why the name
muaddath[27] is preferable to wal.[28]
From this point of view, it makes complete sense to have the least number of
intermediaries between the last transmitter and the source (al-qurb f al-isnd
or al-adth al-l).[29]

The two faces of Revelation

The hagiological significance of the isnd brings up another question: the
similarity, in terms of revelation (way), between the Qurn and the prophetic
word. In commenting on the verse in which it is said to the Prophet: 'Say: I
impose on you only one thing, that you act for God doubly or singly' (Q. 34:46),
Ibn Arab states that 'doubly' means by God and by His Envoy, for he who
obeys the Envoy, obeys God, whether in applying the Qurn or the Sunna;
'singly' means by God or by the Envoy, to the extent that each has an equal
authority. In support of this view, he quotes the following hadith: 'Let me not
see one of you leaning on your bench, saying, when one of my words comes to
him: "I'd rather you spoke to me from the Qurn". By God, these words are as
the Qurn or even more!'[30]
This last statement, 'as the Qurn or even more', is explained by the inner
isnd of the hadith: the word of the Prophet is directly inspired within him,
without Gabriel as an intermediary; being closer to God, it is therefore worthier
of being taken into consideration immediately. The Shaykh al-Akbar finds the
idea of double revelation validated again in this other verse: 'Do not hasten the
coming of the Qurn until its revelation to you is decreed and say: Lord,
increase me in knowledge' (Q. 20:114). On the one hand, the Prophet must
await the Revelation, while on the other he must demand an increase in
knowledge that God may inspire in him without intermediary (bi-raf al-wsia):
'the hadith which is not called qurn'. It is not a question of a adth quds
inspired by the Holy Spirit, but of a direct inspiration, which is equally
applicable to the muaddathn, 'those to whom God speaks'.[31]
Elsewhere, in a passage on the various modes of revelation and the angels who
transmit it, Ibn Arab develops a principle of distinction between the Qurn
and the hadith, different but equally ending up at the same divine origin. 'If
that which is shown is attributed to God as attribute (bi-ukm al-ifa), it is
called Qurn, Furqn, Torah, Psalms, Gospel and Scripture (uuf). If it is
attributed to God as act (bi-ukm al-fil), it is called adth, khabar, ray or
sunna.'[32]
Whether it be a word of quality or a word of action, the difference is
fundamental from a textual or existential point of view, but from the standpoint
of those whose knowledge is a prophetic heritage, it expresses the double face
of reality which is borne by the Prophet and by his heirs. According to a hadith,
that 'The people of the Qurn are the men of God and His elite', the hadith is
as the Qurn, since as the latter says of the Prophet, 'He does not speak from
passion, it is only inspired inspiration' (Q. 53:3-4). For Ibn Arab these verses
are not to do with the Qurn, but with the directly inspired word, as is
suggested by the passive voice (wayun y), which is transmitted to men.
[33]
To become the transmitter of the Divine or prophetic word is to be the envoy of
the Envoy, a perfect transmitter and servant; it is an escape from the
impossible resemblance to God, and hence the human imperfection of walya,
in order to realise the perfection of servanthood. The isnd, despite all its
imperfections, bears this secret within it: the presence of the first speaker in
the word of his transmitter. The fervour for reciting and transmitting can be
explained in no other way.
The epistemological status of the khabar

Hadith, or the inspired word, concerns prophecy (nubuwwa) and its

transmission of the prophetic mission (risla). If the cycle of prophecy was
completed at the death of the Seal of the prophets, the inspired knowledge
which characterises it, has been received as inheritance by the
knowers/scholars (ulam). The tradition that 'the knowers are the heirs of the
prophets' constitutes one of the principal foundations of akbarian hagiology.
The reception of this knowledge comes in the same way as that of the hadith,
although there is a difference of degree between the transmission by men and
that which is received or confirmed by unveiling. Such a vision places the
receiver in a position analogous to that of the Prophet's Companions.
There are saints who exchange words (adth) with the Prophet in the course of
an unveiling, stand with him in the world of unveiling and contemplation and
receive from him his words. They will be gathered with him like the
Companions, in the most noble of places and the most sublime of states. Such
a vision must take place in a state of wakefulness (yaqaa). This saint receives
directly from the Prophet, who confirms for him the authenticity of certain
hadith whose transmission has been criticised.[34]
This bringing together, virtual in the case of the ordinary man and real in the
case of the saint, confers on the hadith or khabar (which are equivalent terms)
an epistemological status and a cognitive effectiveness according to the
receptivity of the one who hears it. There is in this case a certain analogy
between this reception and that of revelation. Furthermore, listening to the
khabar temporarily replaces direct vision (iyn), until it accompanies it, doing
away with the adage 'hearing is not like seeing' (laysa al-khabar ka-l-iyn).
This is what emerges from the introduction to the Futt, where the author
classifies the ways of knowledge as:
(a) Rational (or intellectual) knowledge (ilm al-aql).
(b) Knowledge of spiritual states (ilm al-awl): this is the knowledge of
taawwuf or of the Way, which can only be grasped by direct experience or
taste (dhawq).
(c) Knowledge of secrets (ilm al-asrr): a supra-rational kind of knowing (fawq
awr al-aql), it is inspired by the Holy Spirit (nafath r al-quds f al-r)[35]
and reserved for prophets and saints. This superior knowing is found according
to three ways. The first is like the knowledge of reason, although it is not
acquired by speculation; the second is like the knowledge of states, but at a
higher level; the third, which is termed 'knowledge of information' (ulm alakhbr) concerns the inspired information or traditions in which one can
believe or not believe, just like any transmitted information (khabar) for
example, all that is taught by the prophets regarding the Hereafter and which
one believes because the transmitter is a sure witness (adl).
Each prophet's message is fundamentally a khabar authenticated by their
impeccability, just as the hadith is verified by the integrity of its transmitters.
As for the saints, they teach 'hidden knowledge and words of wisdom'.
Stemming from the secrets of the Holy Law and going beyond the capacity of
reflective thought and individual acquisition, they can only be received through
contemplation and inspiration (al-mushhada wa al-ilhm) or something
similar. This is what the Prophet meant by saying 'If there are in my community
inspired men (muaddathn), Umar is one of them.'[36]
The khabar or the hadith convey an inspired and esoteric knowing, but one that

can be received and transmitted in the most exoteric manner. Like the Qurn,
they are in their most literal meaning the expression of a truth to which
everyone has access, but which is only fully understood by those who,
following the prophets, have had direct experience of them through hearing
and vision.
The Prophet-Saints
The Qurn and the Sunna are the two principal sources of Law, and the saints,
drawing directly from them, have certain knowledge of its statutes. The
cognitive virtue of the khabar continues in its legislative function. However,
according to Ibn Arab, the saints do not all perceive the essential identity of
the Law and the Supreme Reality (ayn al-shara ayn al-aqqa) in the same
way.[37] In his typology of sainthood, he distinguishes those whom he calls
prophet-saints (anbiy al-awliy), because they receive the Law in a manner
which is analogous, though not identical, to the prophets.
[The prophets among the saints in this community] are those individuals whom
God has established in one of His theophanies. He then makes the manifest
form (mahar) of Muhammad or Gabriel stand before him, and this angelic form
allows him to hear as he addresses Muhammad, peace and grace be upon him,
with the rulings of the Law (khib al-akm al-mashra). Once the address is
completed, and the heart of the saint who has been witness of that recovers
[from fright], he understands all the legal rulings concerning the Muhammadian
community which this discourse contains. The saint receives them in the same
way as this Muhammadian form (al-mahar al-Muammad), due to the
extreme concentration produced by such a presence and because of the order
to transmit (tablgh) to the community, which is given by this form. He returns
to himself, fully conscious of the discourse addressed by the Spirit to the form
of Muhammad, grace and peace be upon him. He knows its authenticity by
virtue of the knowledge of certainty, or rather by the eye of certainty.[38] He
takes for himself the legal ruling received by this prophet and puts it into
practice.[39]
This passage[40] refers indisputably to a personal experience and emphasises
most particularly the analogy between this mode of the reception of the Law
and the state of the Prophet at the time of the revelation, described in several
traditions.[41] The shaykh describes later the attitude these saints should
maintain with regard to other learned men: they must in no way seek to refute
the doctors of the Law, even if due to certain knowledge they are convinced
they are wrong. They find themselves in the same position as the mujtahid who
must practise what his proof (dall) indicates, without ever criticising someone
who holds another opinion. Furthermore, they exercise a function of preserving
the Law, analogous to that which the prophets of the Sons of Israel assured for
the Law of Moses, hence the prophetic word, 'The knowers of this community
are the prophets of the Sons of Israel',[42] which justifies the designation of
these saints. In this category Ibn Arab places the scholars among the
Companions and those who succeeded them, Followers and Followers of
Followers, such as al-asan al-Bar, Ibn Srn, Sufyn al-Thawr, Ibn Uyayna,
Mlik, Ibn Ab Rab, Ab anfa and their successors, such as Shfi and Ibn
anbal, as well as all those who worked for the preservation of the legal
statutes (if al-akm). He distinguishes them from those who, from the
Companions up to the masters of taawwuf, inherited 'the knowledge of the
spiritual states of the Envoy and of the secrets of his sciences' (awl al-rasl

wa asrr ulmi-hi). Such a distinction, very specific to akbarian hagiology,

allows us to understand to what extent the question of hadith is linked to that
of jurisprudence.[43] The authentification of hadith by unveiling has, as we
have seen, an immediate effect on its juridical position. Regarding the
possibility of accomplishing the circumambulation of the Kaba at any time of
day, he cites the dream-vision of his own hadith, which he says confirmed the
report of Nas, of which he had not been certain.[44] The parallel that he
establishes between vision and transmission is not exclusive to him, but he is
the only one to have argued it with such clarity and force. His favoured
reference to hadith in its juridical context and his rejection of all automatic
imitation of Malikism or other schools led him, as well as some of his
contemporaries, to be accused of hirism. If this term is meant as a juridical
school, this would contradict this tendency in general and the position of Ibn
Arab in particular.[45] On the other hand, it is true to say that the personality
and work of Ibn azm did exert an influence on him and others of his
contemporaries, such as the Almohad caliph Ab Ysuf Yaqb, who was a great
admirer of the Andalusian scholar.
Ibn Arab followed the teachings of several masters who had studied with
Shuray al-Ruayn, one of the main disciples and transmitters of Ibn azm.[46]
Not only did he study the latter's Muall bi'l-thr,[47] but he even did a
rsum: al-Muall f mukhtaar al-Muall.[48] He also composed a rsum of
the Ibl al-qiys wa al-ray wa al-istisn wa al-taqld wa al-tall.[49] However,
it was at least as much through direct vision in the imaginal world as through
books that Ibn Arab most often entered into relationship with his
predecessors. The respect he gives to the memory of Ibn azm is explained in
part by a vision in which he saw his being dissolving into that of the Prophet,
because he was one of the ahl al-adth.[50] As polemic he sometimes gives a
harsh indictment of the jurists (fuqah) of his time and reproaches them for,
among other things, preferring the opinion of their juridical school to the
Sunna.[51] This explains why he might have been regarded as one of the
apologists of the hirism of Ibn azm in the East.[52]
Indeed, in matters of jurisprudence, the Shaykh al-Akbar gives absolute
preference to hadith, considering that even a weak tradition is always
preferable to the words of an imam.[53] In general he allows very diverse
categories of hadith, such as the mursal, if the Follower who reports it
transmits the hadith according to a Companion. For him, the authority of
traditions transmitted in a single way (d) does not fundamentally differ from
those transmitted by numerous ways (mutawtir), as long as there is no
contradiction between the two. More generally, from the point of view of the
legal qualification of acts (ukm), the authority of the Qurn and that of the
Sunna are equal.
He shares these views with a number of the practitioners of the science of ul
al-fiqh. Like many, he allows weak traditions that encourage the practice of
pious works. He even considers that one of the specific traits of an heir of the
Prophet is to apply hadith, in as broad a way as possible, whether they be
authentic or weak, by regularly practising the former and, even if only once,
the latter, taking into account all the nuances brought out by the different
versions, without attaching himself solely to the exterior criteria of the validity
of the hadith, except obviously when it is a matter of licit or illicit. He counsels
the mufti to always advise the easiest way, while choosing for himself the most

rigorous. The imitation of the prophet in conformity to the Sunna leads in

effect, according to the Qurn, to Divine Love: 'Say: if truly you love God, then
follow me, God will love you' (Q. 3:31).
The hermeneutic of hadith
Its status as revealed word confers on hadith not only an authority almost
identical to that of the Qurn as regards legal matters, but equally a treatment
comparable to that of the Book as regards exegesis. For either of these
scriptural references, the Arabic language, as understood by its first speakers,
remains the first criterion for comprehension. However, the polysemous nature
of the language requires a further criterion: conformity to the fundamental
principles of Islam, which must regulate any interpretation. Theodicy must in
particular answer to this double requirement: full attention to the literal
expression of the divine realities as well as absolute respect for transcendence
(tanzh). It is on this double principle that Ibn Arab bases his interpretation of
the mutashbiht, those Qurnic or prophetic expressions where God appears
to resemble creatures. The title of Chapter 3 of the Futt, 'The
transcendence of the Real from all similitude or anthropomorphism which might
be implied by the words with which He designates Himself in His Book, or those
spoken by His Envoy, on him grace and peace', shows once again that the
Sunna has the same value as the Qurn, here in the domain of belief. In fact,
except for the question of the 'forgetfulness' of God, all the examples quoted
are taken from hadith. After mentioning the capacities and limits of human
intelligence, Ibn Arab establishes the rules of interpretation:
The envoy of God, on him be grace and peace, said: 'God is veiled from the
intelligences just as He is veiled from vision, and the Highest Assembly[54]
seeks Him just as you all seek Him.'[55] Thus he informed [us] that the intellect
does not perceive Him by thought or by the eye of inner vision (ayn al-bara),
just as the external eye does not perceive Him So must it be for
transcendence and negating resemblance and similarity. The
anthropomorphists lost their way because of interpretation (tawl) and the
immediate meaning given to verses and traditions without taking into account
the transcendence required by God. That has led them to pure ignorance and
patent unbelief. If only they had sought salvation by leaving such traditions and
verses as they were, without taking a position on what they mean, and by
restoring knowledge of these expressions to God and His Envoy and saying, 'we
do not know'. The word of God, 'Nothing is like Him', should have been
sufficient for them. When a hadith expresses the similarity or resemblance of
God to something, even though He has denied all resemblance, then such a
tradition must comprise an element of transcendence known to God and
expressed in these terms because of an understanding of the Arabic language
in which the Qurn was revealed. There will never be found any term, whether
in a tradition or verse, which could be a scriptural argument (na) in favour of
similarity. The term as used by Arabs may convey several meanings, some
leading to similarity, some to transcendence. One who interprets it [only] in the
sense of similarity, commits an injustice towards this term by not giving it the
right conferred on it by the way it is used in the language (wauhu f al-lisn),
as well as transgressing with regard to God by imputing to Him what is not
proper for Him.[56]
The first example given by the author gives some idea of his rigorous
attachment to the letter of revelation as well as to divine transcendence:

One of these expressions is that 'the heart (qalb) is between two of the fingers
of God'.[57] Reason affirms that, in the real sense of the term, it is impossible
to attribute a limb to God. However, 'finger' is a polysemous word designating
the limb, on the one hand, and benefit (nima) on the other... The Arabs say:
'how excellent is so-and-so's finger on his goods', meaning how well he
manages his affairs. Furthermore, the quickest turning (taqlb) is done by the
fingers, due to their small size and perfect dexterity. Their movement is quicker
than that of the hand or any other member. Since God's turning of the hearts is
the quickest thing imaginable, the Prophet, on him be grace and peace,
eloquently expressed it in his invocation in a manner well-understood by Arabs.
He described the turning as being done by the fingers, since turning is always
carried out by the hand, of which the fingers are a part, and the speed of it is
most clearly marked in the fingers. The Prophet would also pray to God, saying:
'O You who are the turner of hearts, strengthen my heart in Your religion' (y
muqallib al-qulb thabbit qalb al dnik).[58] God's turning of the hearts is
what He creates in them as intention to do good or evil. Man is aware of the
succession of contradictory thoughts in his heart, that is to say God's turning of
the hearts, and he cannot escape from this knowledge. Hence the Prophet used
to say: 'O You who are the turner of hearts, strengthen my heart in Your
religion'[59] God the Exalted said: 'He inspired in it [the soul] its disobedience
and its pious fear' (Q. 91: 8). This inspiration is the turning of the hearts; the
fingers show how fast, and the twoness shows the thoughts, good and bad. If
we understand the meaning of 'finger' as signifying at the same time the
member, benefit and beneficial effects, how then can it be taken solely as the
limb of a physical body? The other meanings, which are compatible with
transcendence, are what we seek. We should either remain silent and leave the
determining of the meaning of this to God and to those to whom God has given
knowledge of it, whether sent envoy or inspired saint, given that we deny the
literal meaning of 'limb', or we should perceive its blessings[60]
In addition to this theological commentary Ibn Arab offers a metaphysical
description, stating that in the two fingers lies 'the secret of essential
perfection, which when revealed on the day of Resurrection, causes man to
take hold of his father, if he is an unbeliever, and throw him into the fire,
without feeling either distress or compassion, by the secret of these two fingers
whose meaning is single and expression is double.' The duality of these two
fingers thus symbolises the original duality of manifestation, as heaven and
hell, which comes from the Divine Names being in opposition to one another,
whilst non-dual in a numerical sense. The secret of the two fingers lies in the
letter of the khabar as in true belief; it may only be uncovered by unveiling or
in the hereafter. The interpretation is really a tawl, in the Qurnic sense of the
word, i.e. the advent of the final meaning, which is foreseen by inspiration, and
not the illegitimate tawl of individual opinion.
Ibn Arab reads and understands hadith in the same way as the Qurn, by
finding within the letter of the text the meaning which the metaphysical
orientation of his hermeneutics allows him to discover. The philological process
constitutes the first step in an exegesis that proceeds by symbolic transposition
to arrive at a doctrinal explanation. In the chapter in the Futt on fasting,
regarding the prayer preparing for the 'Night of Destiny', he cites a tradition
reported by Tirmidh,[61] according to Ab Dharr al-Ghifr. This recounts that
the Prophet prayed with his Companions on the twenty-third night of Ramadan
until the end of the first third of the night, then on the twenty-fifth for half the

night. On the twenty-seventh night, he called all his people and prayed so long
that, according to Ab Dharr, 'we were afraid we would miss al-fal'. When
asked about the meaning of al-fal (which generally means happiness), the
Companion stated that he understood by this expression al-sar, the meal
taken at the end of the night, just before dawn, before beginning the fast. The
Shaykh wonders at the expression chosen by Ab Dharr to designate al-sar.
Fal, he points out, means permanence (baq).[62] The return to one of the
ancient, pre-Qurnic, meanings of fal is a way of plumbing the
eschatological and metaphysical depths of the expression. For Ibn Arab, Ab
Dharr wished to draw the attention of his hearers to the fact that man is only
found in a state of fasting in an accidental way (bi'l-ara), since fasting in its
essence belongs only to God and is halted for man with death. In the hereafter,
the domain of permanence (baq), man eats and drinks according to the
Qurn. The one who is fasting remembers this paradisial permanence at the
moment of sar, a word from the same root as saar, the last part of the
night, just before dawn. This time has a face turned towards the night and
another towards the day, symbolising the existential condition of man between
the Necessary Being in Itself and not-being, in other words his condition of
being possible (mumkin). Even if man becomes endowed with divine qualities,
as represented by the fast, he must for ever remember that he is 'permanently'
a possible being; as he is reminded by saar being called fal. Technically Ibn
Arab carries on no differently to most of the Qurnic commentators: by first
resorting to a meaning established by the language (f al-lugha) and then by
the symbolic drawing together of terms from the same root. But only the
acuteness of his metaphysical vision and his doctrine of absolute servanthood
allow such a reading of hadith.[63]
The transposition of meaning from an immediate understanding towards a
spiritual interpretation is accomplished in many ways, with the aid of the
language itself, but also by deduction or by considering the theological or
spiritual order. This is the case in the hadith attributed to Uksha. When the
Prophet spoke of the 70,000 who will enter paradise 'without reckoning',
Uksha asked him to pray that he be one of them, which he did. These 70,000
were defined by the Prophet as 'those who neither seek formulas of healing nor
practise cauterisation nor read omens, but give themselves up entirely to their
Lord'.[64] Regarding those who do not seek formulas of healing (l yastarqn),
Ibn Arab points out that the Prophet himself practised this type of care, for he
is a model for the strong and the weak and a mercy to the world. The fact that
the Prophet had recourse to formulas of healing (ruqya) in no way undermines
his station, which in itself is unknown to the rest of mankind. 'Those who read
not omens' (l yataayyarn) is explained thus: the bird (ir, from which one
reads an omen) represents the lot (a) which has fallen to each (ayyara
meaning to divide into lots). These beings have renounced the 'lot' of their
souls and occupy themselves solely with the works that God has charged them
to do, for Him and not for any reward. They 'do not practise cauterising' (l
yaktawn) on themselves, for that necessitates fire, and God has protected
them, without their knowledge, against the fire. They 'give themselves up to
their Lord' (yatawakkaln), taking God as their attorney (wakl), 'a median
knowledge proceeding from the second aim' (marifa wus jathum min alqad al-thn). He comments on this expression:
These men see that God has created things for them, and that He has created
themselves for Him. So they take Him as attorney over that which He has

created for them, and they devote themselves to that for which God has
created them. This attitude constitutes an intermediary rank, above which
there is a superior rank which corresponds to the first aim. According to this
God created nothing in the whole world except for Himself, that it might glorify
Him with His praise, from which we benefit providentially and consequently.
The second aim is that of which we have just been speaking: when God created
us and subjected to us all that is in the heavens and the earth, He wished that
in the human and non-human worlds, there be beings who would subjugate
themselves totally to Him and believe that God has a face in everything, which
only a true believer may profess[65]
The shaykh then explains the relationship between faith and relying upon God
(tawakkul). The knowledge of the real being in things requires that we take God
as attorney, without concerning ourselves that we entrust to Him what belongs
to us as property (milk). Goods are only attributed to man by God as a
dependency (istiqq), like a saddle belongs to a mount or the door to a house.
The men described in this hadith are not necessarily aware of all the depth
implied by their facing, but enter into paradise 'without reckoning', that is
without having realised the full cognitive scope of their position as believers,
but rather by Divine providence. 'They are not blessed with inner vision, but
their acts are comparable to those who do benefit from such a vision.'
Having connected two words from the same root (yataayyarn-tir) or a word
and a connected meaning (yaktawn-tair), Ibn Arab continues with
developments of a metaphysical order which lead him to uncover
unaccustomed but linguistically acceptable meanings. This is the case of the
expression bi-ghayri isb, occurring often in the Qurn and generally
understood as 'without any reckoning being demanded of them'. Ibn Arab,
faithful to its literal meaning, understands 'without reckoning' as 'without them
expecting it', as a pure grace; an interpretation based on kashf, a sure science,
not for others but for oneself. Ibn Arab does not write for the community in
general but for himself and 'our fellows', according to his own expression, those
for whom knowledge arises from within, and who perceive the meaning and
metaphysical import of what others only realise through [written] works.
One of the best examples of hadith commentary that Ibn Arab has left us is
surely in the 27th and concluding chapter of the Fu al-ikam on the
Muhammadian word. It consists of a commentary on the hadith, 'Three things
of your world have been made worthy to me of love: women, perfume and the
"freshness of my eye" given in prayer.'[66] The analysis of this text would merit
a study in itself, so we will content ourselves by simply recommending it to the
reader.[67] We may note simply that the choice of the hadith to illustrate a
'Muhammadian word' shows that this one has for Ibn Arab the status of a
revelation and that like the Qurn but as a human word, it synthesises the
totality of revelations and the previous prophetic words. The study of hadith in
the works of Ibn Arab cannot but lead us to the doctrine of Universal Man (alinsn al-kmil), the intermediary between the created and the uncreated, since
hadith is both from the side of the contingent being (dith) and the inspired
word, revealed by God, for the Qurn names itself adth. The exceptional
importance given to the Sunna, in Islam and by Ibn Arab in particular, as the
necessary accomplishment of the Divine Word, resides thus in its unifying and
separating function of the Word with two faces, divine and human.
Conclusion

Finally, we might ask ourselves in what way Ibn Arab's views on hadith, their
transmission and interpretation, are original to him. On the level of Law he
shares with a number of his contemporaries, as well as many others before and
since, the idea that a jurist's opinion, however prestigious he may be, can
never prevail over the prophetic tradition. By repeatedly affirming the
superiority of inspired awareness over that of ordinary scholars, he only
expresses the conviction of all masters of taawwuf. The importance he
accords to the isnd, less as a means of authentification than as a transmission
of presence, is certainly not just applicable to him, as is amply demonstrated
by the fact that many spiritual masters were equally muaddithn, both in the
early days of Sufism as well as in his own.
The role of Ibn Arab, in the domain of hadith as in others, was not to put
forward new ideas, but to juxtapose domains which had never previously been
considered together, at least not explicitly. He brings together respect for the
formal rules of transmission with requirements of seemingly another order, by
extolling absolute respect for the literal meaning whilst holding the direct vision
of the Prophet as the ideal of perfect transmission, or by underlining the virtue
of servanthood which is linked to the very act of transmitting, making the ahl
al-adth, whoever they may be, the true heirs of prophecy.
Has the relationship between the Qurn and the Sunna been set out and
resolved clearly enough? Certainly theologians and jurists have often placed
the authority of both on the same level, there being several Qurnic passages
which point to this meaning. But have we returned, as does Ibn Arab, to the
very source of the inspiration? As we have already said, the status of hadith lies
within the scope of his prophetology and thus his hagiography, and raises the
question of the complex relationship between prophecy and sainthood.
It is not his way of dealing with any particular point which is his biggest
contribution to Muslim thought, but the convergence of his different
orientations towards a single axis. Going beyond the opposition between
marifa and ilm, between inspired knowledge and the knowing of scholars, he
links the one to the other, making literal transmission the support of the
highest spiritual realisation and khabar the most perfect form of knowledge.
Some people, fearing a confusion of levels, have rejected such an undertaking,
while others on the contrary have found therein a most fruitful inspiration. To
seek the word of God in hadith, which is the word of men, is this not the raison
d'tre of every religion and every spiritual way?
Translated by Alan Boorman

Notes
[1].William Graham brings up the question in relation to adth quds in his
Divine Word and Prophetic Word in Early Islam (n.p., 1977). He quotes the
Mishkt al-anwr of Ibn Arab, which, however, has little or nothing to say on
this particular form of hadith.
[2].On his masters, especially in hadith, see Nyberg, Kleinere Schriften des Ibn
al-Arabi (Leiden 1919), pp.24-6, as well as the list drawn up by Claude Addas in
Quest for the Red Sulphur (Cambridge, 1993), pp.97-100 and 312-14.
[3]. It is striking that Ibn Arab begins the two parts of this work, the books in
his library and those circulating in his time, with his rsums or anthologies of

hadith. See Kurks Awwd, 'Fihrist muallaft Muyddn Ibn Arab' in Majallat
al-Majma al-ilm al-Arab (Damascus, 1954-55), vols. 29-30, pp.356 and 5278.
[4].For Ibn Arab's particular interest in the Jmi of Tirmidh, see Dominique
Urvoy, Le monde des Ulmas andalous du VI/XIe au V11 /X111e, p.139, quoted
by Gerald Elmore, Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness of Time (Leiden, 1999), p.
120, n.59.
[5]. Ed. Ab Bakr Mahyn (Cairo, ah 1369). This collection has been critically
edited and translated by Stephen Hirtenstein and Martin Notcutt as Divine
Sayings (Oxford, 2004), in which he lists Ibn Arabi's works relating to hadith
(pp.10-11), as well as those who transmitted to him, amongst whom we find
Ab al-hir al-Silaf (p.108).
[6].Old classification 5216 and new 4986, 325 fols. The flyleaf bears the isnd
previously mentioned. The title page bears the following: al-sifr al-thn min
kitb al-Maajjat al-bay f al-akm al-shariyya wa al-adab al-rabbniyya althbita an al-nab alayhi al-salm al-manqla an al-aimmat al-alam ahl aladla wa al-ri min al-sunan wa al-thr wa madhhib ulam al-amr
mimm uniya bi-takhrji-h wa tanfi-h al-abd al-faqr il 'llh tal
Muammad b. Al b. M. Ibn al-Arab al- al-tim al-Andalus bi-aram
Makka zda-hu 'llh tashrfan kharraja-h li-waliyyi-hi al-masd Abd Allh
Badr b. Abd Allh al-abash mutaq Ab al-Ghanim b. Ab al-Fut al-arrn
raiya 'llh an-hum wa an al-muslimn ajman. Further down adr al-Dn alQnaw notes that the work became his property. A note written upwards on
the right of the page attests that the work was given as waqf by al-Qnaw for
the library attached to his tomb. We give all this information because the work
has since been stolen, along with a hundred or so other manuscripts, including
autographed works of Ibn Arab and Qnaw as well as chancellery letters of
the Seljuk period. An incalculable loss.
[7].See EI2, 'Silaf', 9/630-2 (Claude Gilliot).
[8].See Fihris no.173, O. Yahya, Histoire et classification, II.394, RG 486. This
work should not be confused with the Rislat al-Mubashshirt (RG 485). There
are several manuscripts of the text, which has been edited by Ysuf al-Nabhn
in his Sadat al-drayn f al-alt al sayyid al-kawnayn (Beirut, n.d.), pp.4728. The contents of these visions most often concern the practice of the Sunna.
[9].On this hadith and its commentary by Ibn Arab, see Michel Chodkiewicz's
introduction to Awad al-Dn Balyn, pitre sur l'Unit absolue (Paris, 1982),
pp.27-31.
[10].Sakhw, al-Maqid al-asana, p.589, no. 990, and Ajln, Kashf alkhaf, II.195, no. 2256. This tradition is quoted by Ab lib al-Makk, Q alqulb, I.240, and by Ghazl in al-Iy, following Sakhw, in the form lam
yasa-n, whereas Ibn Arab always uses the accompanying m wasia-n.
[11].Sakhw, al-Maqid al-asana, p.169, no. 188, and Ajln, Kashf alkhaf, I.203, no. 614.
[12].Fut. I.32.
[13].Bukhr, a, ilm 42, I.40.
[14]. According to tradition, the Prophet on his return from if, before the
Hijra, received a visit from seven Jinn who came from Nibn or Nabn

(Nisibe), a Mesopotamian town now in Turkey. See Ibn Hisham, Sra (Cairo,
1375/1955), I.422; and abar, Jmi al-bayn (Blq, n.d.), XXVI.20
(commentary on Q. 46:29).
[15].Fut. III.49, Chapter 312.
[16].Fut. I.223, Chapter 36.
[17].Bukhr, istidhn 1, VIII 62; Muslim birr wa ila 115, commentary by
Nawaw, XVI 165; Ibn anbal, Musnad II 244, 315 etc. Nawaw challenges the
authenticity of this variant 'according to the form of the All-Merciful', but Ibn
ajar al-Asqaln seems to allow it (see Fat al-br, XI.2). On the various
versions and resultant controversies, see Daniel Gimaret, Dieu l'image de
l'homme (Paris, 1997), pp.123-36.
[18].Fut. I.223, Chapter 36.
[19].Fut. I.150, Chapter 14.
[20].Uqlat al-mustawfiz, ed. Nyberg (Leiden, 1919), p.50.
[21].Ibn Mja, Sunan, muqaddima 14, ed. M. Fud Abd al-Bq, I.74, no. 203,
and Wensinck, Indices et concordance (Leiden, 1992), II.552.
[22].Ibn anbal, Musnad, III 39 (slightly different version).
[23].See Fut. I.282, Chapter 55.
[24].Fut. I.280, Chapter 54.
[25].At the time of the farewell Pilgrimage, Bukhr, ilm 9, I.27, and
Concordance, I.216.
[26].See Concordance, VII.261.
[27].One to whom God speaks, or one to whom a hadith is reported.
[28].Fut. I.229, Chapter 38; see also III.50, Chapter 313.
[29].See Fut. III.561, Chapter 398.
[30].We find in the Sunan three versions quite different to this, but with the
same meaning. See Ibn Mja, muqaddima 2, hadith 12, I.6; Ab Dwd, sunna
5, IV.200; Tirmidh, ilm 10 in Tufat al-awad, III.374; see also Ibn anbal,
Musnad IV 131, and Concordance, I.57 (arka). In his commentary on Tirmidh,
Tufat al-awad, Muammad Abd al-Ramn al-Mubrakpr adds: 'Drim
reports according to Yay b. Kathr: Gabriel caused the Sunna to descend just
as he caused the Qurn to descend. This is also quoted in the Durr [almanthr of Suy] as well as by al-Qr in the Mirqt.' The commentator is
referring to Drim, Sunan, muqaddima 49 (I.144-5), bb al-sunna qiya al
kitb Allh ('the authority of the Sunna prevails over the book of God'), who
begins by quoting this hadith (the same version as Ibn Mja, who reports it
from al-Miqdm b. Madkarib al-Kind). He adds these words attributed to Yay
b. Ab Kathr by al-Awza: 'The Sunna prevails over the Qurn and not the
reverse', and the words of assn, also according to al-Awza: 'Gabriel caused
the Sunna to descend just as he caused the Qurn to descend.' This tradition is
reported by Drim, Sunan, muqaddima 49 (I.145) as a hadith from assn (b.
Atiyya al-Murib), a Follower of the Followers from Syria (d. between ah 2030), according to Ibn ajar al-Asqaln, Tahdhb al-tahdhb (Hyderabad, ah
1325, repr. Beirut), II.251. In support he also quotes Sad b. Jubayr who, having
reported a hadith, was objected to by a companion: 'In the Book of God there is

something which contradicts that.' Sad replied: 'I bring you a saying of the
Prophet and you oppose it with the book of God? The Envoy of God, peace and
grace be upon him, knows God's book better than you!' These three traditions
from the generation following the Companions show that the status of the
prophetic word was already a preoccupation of the first scholars of Islam. The
position they demonstrate is clearly not limited to matters of jurisprudence.
[31].See Fut. III.561, Chapter 398.
[32].Fut. III.561, Chapter 398. We may compare Ibn Arab's point of view on
the relative difference between the Qurn and the hadith with that of Imm alHaramayn al-Juwayn, quoted by Suy in al-Itqn f ulm al-Qurn (Cairo,
1370/1951), I.44: 'The revealed word of God (kalm Allh al-munzal or almunazzal) is of two kinds. According to the first, God says to Gabriel: Tell the
prophet to whom you are sent: 'God says to you: do such and such a thing,
order such a thing'. Having understood what his Lord said to him, Gabriel
descends to bring it to the Prophet and repeats to him what his Lord has said.
The way of expression is not necessarily the same, like a king might say to his
confidant: Say to so-and-so: 'dedicate yourself to my service and gather your
army for combat'. If the messenger says The king says: 'do not neglect my
service, do not let your army be dispersed and urge it to fight', this cannot be
described as a lie or as a lack in the transmission of the message. According to
the second, God says to Gabriel: recite (iqra) this written word (kitb) to the
Prophet. Gabriel then descends to bring a word from God without changing
anything, just as a king writes a letter (kitb), gives it to a trustworthy man and
tells him: read this to so-and-so, which he does without changing a word or
even a letter.'
In contrast to Ibn Arab, Suy draws from this distinction an argument in
favour of the transmission of hadith according to meaning and not word. He
adds that certain early scholars, such as al-Zuhr, are of the same opinion. The
latter, when questioned on revelation (way), defined it as 'that which God
reveals to one of His prophets and which he confirms in his heart. The latter
then transmits it orally and in writing; it is the word of God. There is also a
revelation that the prophet does not transmit in writing, which he writes for no
one and which he orders not to be written, but which he relates to men
(yuaddithu bi-hi al-ns adthan), at the same time making them know that it
is God who has ordered him to explain it to men and to transmit it to them.'
[33].Fut. I.230, Chapter 38.
[34].Ibid.
[35].This is the same expression as is used for adth quds.
[36].Fut. I.31.
[37].See Fut. II.563, Chapter 263, trans. by Michel Vlsan in tudes
Traditionelles (1996), vols. 396-7, pp.206-12.
[38].These Qurnic expressions (see Q. 102:5-7) were used as technical terms
in taawwuf. For their meaning in Ibn Arab, see the references quoted by
Sud akm, al-Mujam al-f (Beirut, 1981), pp.1250-2.
[39].Fut. I.150, Chapter14. This passage precedes the one quoted previously,
where doubt is thrown on judgements of non-authenticity or authenticity in the
case of a great many hadith.

[40].Quoted by William C. Chittick, The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn Arab's

Metaphysics of Imagination (Albany, NY, 1989), pp.251-2.
[41].See particularly Bukhr, bad al-way 2: 'O Envoy of God, how does the
revelation come to you?' 'Sometimes it comes to me as the ringing of a bell,
and this is the most trying for me. When it breaks off, I have retained what was
said. Sometimes the angel takes the form of a man: he speaks to me and I
retain what he told me.'
[42].According to Sakhw, following his master Ibn Hajar, this hadith has no
basis (l ala lahu) (see al-Maqid al-asana (Beirut, 1985), p.459, no.702).
According to al-Ajln, however, several later authors, such as Fakhr al-Dn alRz or Ibn Qudma al-Maqdis, regard it as a word of the Prophet (adth
marf); see Kashf al-khaf, II.64, no.1744.
[43].On the madhhab of Ibn Arab, see Michel Chodkiewicz, Un Ocan sans
rivage (Paris, 1992), pp.76-80.
[44].Fut. I.706, Chapter 72, on pilgrimage, f waqt jawz al-awf.
[45].Ibn Arab completely rejects any idea that he belongs to a particular
madhhab. He states this forcefully in several places, in particular in his poetry:
'They link me to Ibn azm, but I am not one of those who say Ibn azm said.
No, neither him nor any other. I profess the text of the Book such is my
science.
Or else: the Envoy says, or yet again, all join me in saying such is my
judgement.' (Dwn, Blq, p.47). See M. Chodkiewicz, Ocan, p.78.
[46].See Fut. II.302, Chapter 177, where he mentions Ibn azm's detailed
account of the divine Names, based on authentic hadith, according to the
Shaykh. He reports this information from Al b. Abd Allh b. Abd al-Ramn alFiryb, from Abd al-aqq b. Abd Allh al-Ishbl, from Shuray al-Ruayn, from
Ibn azm.
[47].A hadith on the pilgrimage reported by Ibn azm in the Muall, with an
isnd, is quoted in Fut. I.747. We know from elsewhere that, when in
Damascus, Ibn Arab lent his own copy of the Muall to Izz al-Dn Ibn Abd alSalm (see Gerald Elmore, The Fabulous Gryphon Leiden, 1998, p.45, n.170).
[48].Quoted by G. Elmore, Ibid. p.42, n.156; see O. Yahya, Histoire, p.307,
n.275.
[49]. Ibn Arab received this polemical work from a Tunisian, who had it from
Shuray al-Ruayn (Elmore, p.47, n.178). I. Goldziher notes a manuscript of Ibn
Arab's summary in Gotha no. 640 (The Zahiris: Their doctrine and their
History, Leiden, 1971, pp.170-1).
[50].Fut. II.519, Chapter 223; see also K. al-Mubashshirt, pp.473-4: 'I saw in a
dream the Envoy of God on him be grace and peace embrace the imam, the
traditionist Ab Muammad Al b. Amad b. Sad Ibn azm, the author of the
Muall, who was an imam in the field of hadith, knowledgeable and putting it
into practice. Light enveloped the person of the Envoy of God and that of Ibn
azm, so that they became one, as one body. This was through the blessing of
hadith.'
[51].See for example Fut. III.68-70, Chapter 318, eloquently entitled 'On the
station of the abrogation of the Muhammadian and non-Muhammadian law by

individual self-interest' (f manzil naskh al-shara al-Muammadiyya wa ghayr

al-Muammadiyya bi-l-aghrd al-nafsiyya). This chapter has been translated by
Cyrille Chodkiewicz in Ibn Arab, Meccan Revelations, vol. 2 (New York, 2004),
pp.77-85. Two visions reported in the Mubashshirt also show this attitude
towards the fuqah.
[52].See Ibn Khallikn, Wafayt al-ayn, VII.1, quoted by Elmore, Gryphon, p.
45.
[53].Fut. II.162, Chapter 88, on 'the basis of legal rulings' (ul akm alshar), trans. C. Chodkiewicz, Meccan Revelations, vol. 2, pp.62-76. These
passages are also quoted, but without references, by Mamd M. Ghurb, alFiqh inda al-Shaykh al-Akbar Muy al-Dn Ibn al-Arab (Damascus,
1401/1981), pp.56-60.
[54].Of angels, al-mala al-al.
[55].We have not managed to find the origin of this tradition.
[56].Fut. I.95.
[57].In the Blq edn, I.122 (2nd edn in 8 volumes): 'Between two of the
fingers of the All-Merciful (Ramn); He turns it as He wills'; see Muslim, Sa,
qadar 7 (Istanbul, 1329 ah), VIII.51: 'All the hearts of the sons of Adam are
found between two of the fingers of the All-Merciful, as a single heart; He turns
it wherever He wishes'; or Ibn Mja, Sunan, muqadimma 13, I.72, hadith no.
199: 'There is no heart that is not found between two of the fingers of the AllMerciful; if He wishes, He sets it aright; if He wishes, He leads it astray.'
[58].See Tirmidh, Jmi daawt, 89 with the commentary Tufat al-awad,
IV.266: ' I would ask Umm Salama: O mother of the believers, what was the
most frequent invocation of the Envoy of God when he was with you? His most
frequent invocation, she replied, was: O You who are the turner of hearts,
strengthen my heart in Your religion. She added: I asked him: how is it that
your most frequent invocation is 'O You'? 'O, Umm Salama,' he replied, 'there is
no man whose heart is not to be found between two of the fingers of God. He
whom He wishes, He sets aright, he whom He wishes He misleads.'' For other
references to the hadith, see Concordance, V.459.
[59].Ibn Arab then mentions variants of this hadith.
[60].Fut. I.95-6.
[61].Jmi, commentary Tufat al-awad, II.72-3. For other versions see
Concordance, V.196.
[62].This is one of the meanings given by the Lisn al-Arab (repr. Blq),
III.380-1, which cites in support an expression such as fal al-dahr ('for ever
and ever'), two lines of pre-Islamic poetry and the hadith of Ab Dharr.
[63].See Fut. I.660.
[64].Bukhr, Sa, ibb 17, 42 and Concordance, II.292.
[65].This whole passage can be found in Fut. III.219-20, Chapter 348.
[66].Nas, Sunan, ishrat al-nis 1 (Cairo, 1348/1930, repr. Beirut), VII.61-2;
Ibn anbal, Musnad, III 128, 285.
[67].Fu al-ikam, ed. Ab al-Al Aff (Cairo, 1365/1946), pp.214-26;
French trans. as La Sagesse des proph`tes by Titus Burckhardt (Paris, 1955),

pp.181-206, or Le livre des chatons des sagesses by Charles-Andr Gilis

(Beirut, 1418-9/1997-8), II.687-713; and English trans. as The Bezels of Wisdom
by R.W.J. Austin (London, 1980), pp.272-84.