In Truth You Are Polytheist

Intellectual History
of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

brill.com/ihiw
“In Truth You are the Polytheist!”: Mythic Elements

in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Teachings on the Divine Names
Michael Ebstein
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
michael.ebstein@mail.huji.ac.il
Abstract
The following article aims at highlighting the mythic elements inherent in Muḥyī l-Dīn
Ibn al-ʿArabī’s teachings on the Divine names. The article begins with a very general
introduction to the subject of Divine names in Islamic mysticism and then proceeds to
clarify the meaning of the term “mythic” as it is used in this study. The core of the article
is devoted to an examination of four main areas in which the Divine names, according
to Ibn al-ʿArabī, play a central role: the creation of the world (cosmogony); its manage-
ment; mystical experiences and knowledge; magic and theurgy. The main claim is that
in all four areas, Ibn al-ʿArabī’s discourse is to a great extent mythic. The implications
of this claim for the understanding of Akbarian thought and for the study of Islamic
mysticism in general are discussed in the concluding paragraph of the essay.
Keywords
Ibn al-ʿArabī – al-Andalus – Divine names – Divine attributes – theology – philosophy –

mysticism – Sufism – magic – theurgy – Kabbalah
Introduction: The Problem of Divine Names in Classical Islamic

Mysticism
In his commentary on al-Ǧuwaynī’s Kitāb al-Iršād, Ibn al-Marʾa (d. 611/1214)

refers to the now-lost work Tawḥīd al-mūqinīn (“The Unification of Those Who
Possess Firm Knowledge”) by his compatriot Ibn Masarra (269/883–319/931),
the earliest Muslim mystic in al-Andalus known to us from his writings:
© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi: 10.1163/2212943X-00603006

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In his book Tawḥīd al-mūqinīn, Ibn Masarra claimed that there is no limit
to the number of attributes belonging to Allāh, glory be to Him. In Ibn
Masarra’s view, Allāh’s knowledge is alive, it knows and is able, it hears,
sees, and speaks. Allāh’s ability (qudratuhu) is likewise described as being
alive, as knowing, able, willing, and as possessing a sense of hearing by
which it hears. The same is said concerning all of His attributes; this, Ibn
Masarra claimed, is unification. He has thus turned the attributes into
gods. He said the same concerning the attributes of the attributes (ṣifāt
al-ṣifāt), ad infinitum, thus turning God into an unlimited [number of]
gods, may Allāh protect us.1
It is difficult to determine whether or not Ibn al-Marʾa’s account is accurate.

Both concepts that he ascribes to Ibn Masarra—i.e. the infinite number of
Divine attributes and their mutual reflection—are indeed found or echoed in
the works of later Andalusī mystics,2 and they may very well have originated
in Ibn Masarra’s own writings.3 Whatever the case might be, what is relevant
to the current discussion is Ibn al-Marʾa’s feeling that certain mystical theories
regarding the Divine names encroach upon the key tenet of Islam—tawḥīd,
the belief in God’s unity. Was Ibn al-Marʾa correct? Can we detect polytheistic
undertones in the mystical writings of Ibn Masarra and his Andalusī heirs, chief
among them Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (560/1165–638/1240)? In what follows I
shall attempt to address this question by highlighting several mythic elements
in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s teachings on the Divine names. However, before I begin, two
introductory remarks are in order.
First, a detailed analysis of the diverse intellectual sources from which Ibn
al-ʿArabī derived his teachings on the Divine names falls beyond the scope of
the present article.4 Suffice it to say that these sources can be divided into six
main groups:
1 Quoted in Massignon, Recueil, p. 70. On the possible contents of Tawḥīd al-mūqinīn and for
a discussion of Ibn al-Marʾa’s quotation, see Stroumsa, “Ibn Masarra’s Third Book”. On Ibn
al-Marʾa, Abū Isḥāq Ibrāhīm b. Yūsuf b. Muḥammad b. Dahhāq al-Awsī—a Mālikī faqīh, the-
ologian, and Sufi who hailed from Malaga—see Urvoy, “Ibn al-Marʾa”. Finally, concerning the
famous theologian al-Ǧuwaynī (d. 478/1085) and his Kitāb al-Iršād ilā qawāṭiʿ al-adilla fī uṣūl
al-iʿtiqād (“The Book of Guidance to Peremptory Proofs Concerning the Principles of Faith”),
see Brockelmann and Gardet, “al-Djuwaynī,” EI2, vol. 2, pp. 605–606.
2 See, for example, Ibn Barraǧān, Šarḥ asmāʾ Allāh, vol. 1, pp. 29–31, 409–410; Ibn Qasī, Ḫalʿ al-
naʿlayni, pp. 257–266, 357, 379; Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 4, p. 467 (chapter 73, question 42);
idem, Fuṣūṣ, pp. 79, 180.
3 See Ibn Masarra, Ḫawāṣṣ al-ḥurūf, pp. 58–61.
4 For basic introductions to Ibn al-ʿArabī’s thought (including his theories regarding the Divine
Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

“in truth you are the polytheist!” 361
1. Andalusī mystics, namely, Ibn Masarra, Ibn Barraǧān (d. 536/1141), and Ibn
Qasī (d. 546/1151).5
2. Al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmiḏī (9th century), the idiosyncratic mystic from the
East.6
3. Classical Sufism as it developed in the east up to Ibn al-ʿArabī’s time.
4. Theology (kalām).
5. Neoplatonic mystical philosophy, particularly as reflected in the Shiite-
Ismāʿīlī Rasāʾil iḫwān al-ṣafāʾ (“The Epistles of the Sincere Brethren”) and
in related works.7
6. Early Shiite traditions that deal with the high status of the Imam and his
function as an intermediary between God and creation.8
The links between these diverse sources and al-Šayḫ al-akbar’s theories regard-
ing the Divine names merit a separate discussion. Yet it seems to me—and the
following argument can perhaps serve as a working hypothesis to be proven,
modified, or refuted in future studies—that while the impact of eastern theol-
ogy and Sufism on Ibn al-ʿArabī cannot be denied, Akbarian teachings on the
Divine names are far removed from both these genres.9 In fact, Andalusī mys-
ticism at large seems to mark a decisive shift from theology and Sufism alike to
a more mythic and theosophical mode of thought. In the works of Ibn al-ʿArabī
and his Andalusī predecessors, the Divine names are no longer approached
from a strictly linguistic, hermeneutical, or logical perspective as in Islamic the-
ology, nor do they pertain solely to the inner-psychological realm of the mystic,
to his personal contact with God, as in many classical Sufi treatises. Rather, the
Divine names are perceived as crucial elements of reality, as powers or forces
that play a central role in cosmogonic and cosmological processes as well as
in sacred human history; they signify the dynamic-manifest aspect of Divinity,
names), see Affifi, Mystical Philosophy; Corbin, Creative Imagination; Chittick, Sufi Path; idem,
Self-Disclosure; Chodkiewicz, Seal; see also http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/journals.html.
5 On Ibn Masarra see Ebstein, “Ibn Masarra,” EI3, and the references given there; on Ibn Barra-
ǧān see Böwering and Casewit, A Qurʾān Commentary, pp. 1–45 (the Introduction in English);
Casewit, “A reconsideration”; Casewit, The Mystics; and on Ibn Qasī see Ebstein, “Was Ibn Qasī
a Ṣūfī?”.
6 On him see Sviri, Mystical Psychology; Radtke, al-Tirmiḏī.
7 See Ebstein, Mysticism, esp. pp. 146–151, 165–168.
8 Ibid.
9 One should bear in mind that various Sufi masters in the classical period, such as al-Kalābāḏī
(d. 380s/990s), al-Qušayrī (d. 465/1072), and al-Ġazālī (d. 505/1111), were also theologians or
were at least influenced by theology; on these figures see Karamustafa, Sufism, index.

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which is directly linked to creation and immanent within it. This shift in the way
the Divine names are viewed is extremely significant for the self-image of the
mystic and for his status and authority in society, given that he now functions as
the main channel through which God’s attributes are manifested in the world
or are revealed and interpreted; in other words, the mystic is responsible for
the very connection between the Creator and creation, a connection embod-
ied in the Divine attributes.10 Moreover, in his capacity as a mediator between
the Divine and human realms, the mystic may even influence God Himself. I
will return to this radical notion in the discussion below (pp. 374–379).
Mythic Thought and Mysticism
The second introductory remark concerns the term “mythic” employed in this
essay. Definitions of “myth” and explanations of its importance and functions
in human society and religiosity abound in modern scholarship.11 Strangely
enough, the existence and significance of mythic thinking in classical Islamic
mysticism have been by and large ignored in Western academia. One might
contrast this unfortunate situation with the field of Jewish studies and specifi-
cally Kabbalah scholarship, in which much research has been carried out on
the relationship between religion and myth in general and between mysti-
cism and mythic thought in particular.12 In the future I hope to address this
issue with regard to Islamic mysticism in an in-depth study. For now, several
points should be emphasized in order to clarify the premise of my discus-
sion here. To begin with, one ought to distinguish between “mythology” and
“mythic”. The former term signifies a cluster of stories (“myths”) dealing with
issues such as gods and their relationships with human beings, the creation
of the world, heroes and their ventures, the sacredness of specific geographi-
cal spaces, the origins of social and religious institutions, and so forth; a good
10 To what degree the Andalusī shift described here was heralded by the teachings of cer-
tain idiosyncratic Sufis in the east is a question that cannot be answered here. Conversely,
there is no doubt that al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmiḏī, who was not a Sufi, influenced Ibn al-ʿArabī;
see chapter 73 of the Futūḥāt and below n. 61.
11 For a basic survey and introduction (including bibliography), see Segal, Myth; idem, The-
orizing.
12 See, for instance, Pedayah, Myth; Gruenwald and Idel, Myths; Bohak et al., Myth; Muffs, The
Personhood; Lorberbaum, Image; Amir, “The Monotheistic Problem”; Liebes, God’s Story;
idem, “Myth and Orthodoxy”; Rosenberg, “Myth of Myths”.

example of such a cluster of stories is Greek mythology.13 On the other hand, in

the present article, the adjective “mythic” denotes a certain type of discourse
that can be juxtaposed with other modes of thinking and writing, primarily
theology and philosophy.14 Broadly speaking, a “mythic” discourse in the Abra-
hamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) will tend to be less restricted
by the confines of logic, rationalism, and abstract thought, and will be more dis-
posed towards concrete-anthropomorphic language, towards the literary and
the narrative, the imaginative and the fantastic. While theology and philosophy
purport to be objective, in a mythic discourse the inner-subjective world of man
is blatantly projected onto external reality. Similarly, philosophers in Judaism,
Christianity, and Islam are often more universalist, that is, they employ cate-
gories that are cross-denominational even when explaining their own beliefs
and traditions, whereas mythic thinkers accentuate the particular, i.e. they
focus on their own specific religions and sacred histories even when relating
to universal issues. All this is not to say that a mythic discourse is necessarily
devoid of theological and philosophical speculations, that it lacks the depth
and maturity of abstract thinking, or that it is inevitably narrow-minded and
sectarian. Particularly in Islam, which from a relatively early stage had been
absorbing the Hellenistic heritage and adapting it to its own beliefs, most
intellectual-spiritual movements were influenced to varying degrees by theo-
logical and philosophical conceptions. One can posit a wide spectrum ranging
between two theoretical extremes: purely mythic thinking, on the one hand,
and theological-philosophical reasoning, on the other. Nearly all intellectual-
spiritual phenomena in Islam, mysticism included, are located somewhere in
between.
It is likewise important to emphasize that viewing a mythic discourse as
a primitive mode of understanding the world—in contradistinction to more
“progressive” modes, namely, philosophy and modern science—is wrong.15
The most brilliant and advanced minds, in past times (Ibn al-ʿArabī will serve
as a good example) and in the present, can exhibit mythic dimensions in
13 I am consciously avoiding broader definitions of “mythology” (such that would include,

for instance, secularized-modern myths), given that these are less relevant to the current
discussion.
14 Though all three types of discourses can be mystical or mystically-oriented; see Lorber-
baum, “Mythical Mysticism”.
15 See Segal, Myth, pp. 11–35, 40–42, 137–142; Gruenwald, “Myth and Historical Truth”; idem,
“Myth in Consciousness”; idem, “Inevitable Presence,” pp. 1–5, 14; Margolin, “Various
Faces,” pp. 174–180; Preus, Explaining Religion, index, s.v. “Anthropomorphic Theory” and
“Myth”; King, Gnosticism, pp. 78–79 and the references given there.

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their thought. Nor should we attempt to read mythic texts as metaphorical

or allegorical tales; though at times this might be a plausible and even cor-
rect method, more often than not metaphorical and allegorical interpretations
reflect the beliefs, presuppositions, and apologetic concerns of the reader, be he
an ancient Greek/Hellenistic philosopher, a medieval theologian, or a modern
scholar.16 Allegorical explanations fail to capture the full richness and complex-
ity that are characteristic of mythic literature. They ignore the very tensions
inherent in mythic writing between abstract thinking and anthropomorphic
language; between transcendental and immanent perceptions of God; between
“authentic” Abrahamic beliefs—viz., what are perceived by Abrahamic believ-
ers to be as such—and polytheistic-pagan notions deriving from the heritage of
the ancient world and late antiquity.17 Whether or not one should employ the
term “symbol”/“symbolic” when dealing with mythic writing in mystical tradi-
tions is a problem that cannot be dealt with here.18 In the current article, I will
avoid the use of “metaphor”, “allegory”, “symbol” and similar terms; I will allow
the mythic passages to speak for themselves. A more serious methodological
consideration of these matters must await a future study.
Finally, mythic discourses in mystical traditions should be analyzed not
only in epistemological but also in anthropological and sociological terms. Put
differently, in addition to being literary creations reflecting the psychological
dimension of man and his existential concerns, myths in general and mythic
discourses in religion in particular serve a wide range of practical and social-
political purposes. For instance, they can function as the basis, explanation, or
justification of rituals and social institutions, and can likewise serve to enhance
the power of leaders (or those who aspire to a position of leadership) within
a community.19 Mystical movements, including in Islam (as will become evi-
dent), are no exception to this rule.
16 See Buffière, Les Mythes; Brisson, Philosophers (I thank Dr. Yakir Paz for these two refer-
ences); Dawson, Allegorical Readers; King, Gnosticism, pp. 13, 126–128; Amir, “Authority”;
idem, “Rabbinical Midrash”; Rokéaḥ, Judaism, pp. 28–40; Gruenwald, “Myth and Histori-
cal Truth,” pp. 21, 32–33; idem, “Inevitable Presence,” pp. 6–13; Margolin, “Various Faces,”
pp. 146–148.
17 See also Liebes, God’s Story, pp. 7–33.
18 See the discussions and references in Huss, “R. Joseph Gikatilla”; Idel, “The Place of Sym-
bol”; idem, Absorbing Perfections, pp. 272–313; Liebes, “Myth Versus Symbol”; Margolin,
“Various Faces,” pp. 141–142.
19 See the discussions and references in Segal, Myth, pp. 61–78; idem, Theorizing, pp. 37–46;
idem, Myth and Ritual Theory; Gruenwald, “Myth and Historical Truth” and “Myth in Con-
sciousness”; Garb, “Power”; Idel, “Leviathan,” pp. 149–151.

In what follows I shall try and demonstrate the mythic features of Ibn al-
ʿArabī’s thought by examining four main spheres in which the Divine names,
according to al-Šayḫ al-akbar, play a central role: the creation of the world;
the management of the world; mystical experiences and knowledge; magic and
theurgy.
Cosmogony
In Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre, one finds various myths that describe the creation of
the world in different ways. One myth, for example, depicts the act of creation
as a merciful, Divine breath (nafas al-raḥmān) from which words and letters
emanate; these words and letters function as the Divine building blocks of the
universe.20 In another cosmogonic myth, al-Šayḫ al-akbar relates how the uni-
versal intellect and soul—cosmic-spiritual entities known from Neoplatonic
philosophy—came into being, how they discovered God, and how they realized
their own relative ranks in the cosmic hierarchy.21 In yet another myth, which
is of special interest to the current discussion, the Divine names are portrayed
as the main protagonists of creation. The latter myth appears in four different
versions in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s works, a fact that testifies to the importance that Ibn
al-ʿArabī attached to this myth; he seems to have returned to it and reformu-
lated it in various stages of his writing career.22 The differences between the
four versions notwithstanding,23 the myth reflects the notion that God, in His
manifest aspect, is in need of the world. The Divine names, which designate
different attributes of God, are able to actualize their potential powers—and,
consequently, to know themselves—solely by means of the world; without cre-
ation, without a locus in which they can manifest themselves, the Divine names
remain impotent. According to one version, found in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Inšāʾ al-
dawāʾir (“The Production of Circles”) and composed circa 598/1201–1202,24
20 Ebstein, Mysticism, pp. 77–122.

21 See Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 1, pp. 349–354 (chapter 5, Waṣl fī qawlihi rabb al-ʿālamīna
l-raḥmān al-raḥīm to Waṣl fī qawlihi taʿālā hdinā l-ṣirāṭ al-mustaqīm …); cf. ibid., vol. 9,
pp. 311–313 (chapter 371, Faṣl 1).
22 For more details see Elmore, “Four Texts”; see also Chittick, Imaginal Worlds, pp. 123–136.
23 See Elmore, “Four Texts”.
24 Ibid., pp. 11–12; Addas, Quest, p. 129; Fenton and Gloton, “Book of the Description,” pp. 12–
13.

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The doorkeepers (al-sadana) from among these [Divine] names held keys
to the heavens and the earth, yet there were neither heavens nor earth; so
the doorkeepers all remained with their keys but had nothing to open.
They said, “How strange! Treasurers with keys to treasures who do not
know of any existing treasure. What will we do with these keys?” They
reached a unanimous decision saying, “There is no choice but [to turn]
to our seven leaders (aʾimmatinā) who have given us these keys but did
not acquaint us with the treasures with which we will be charged”.25 They
stood at the gates of the leaders, at the gate of the specifying leader (al-
imām al-muḫaṣṣiṣ),26 the leader who grants favors (al-munʿim), and the
just leader (al-muqsiṭ). They informed them of the affair, and the latter
replied: “You have spoken the truth. We possess the information and we
will assign [the treasures] to you,27 if allāh so desires, may He be exalted.
Yet let us join the remaining leaders and gather at the gate of the presence
of the Divine leader, the leader of all leaders”. So all gathered and stood
at the gate of the leader known as allāh, in relation to whom they are
doorkeepers. He appeared before them and said, “What has brought you
[here]?” They mentioned the affair to Him: that they request the existence
of the heavens and the earth so that they may place each key in its door. He
said, “Where is the specifying leader?” The one who wills (al-murīd) then
ran up to Him, and He said to him: “You and the knowledgeable one (al-
ʿalīm) possess the information, is that not so?” He said, “Indeed”. [Allāh]
said, “If so, release these [doorkeepers] from the restless mind and anx-
iousness from which they are suffering”. The knowledgeable one and the
one who wills said, “Oh, most perfect leader, tell the leader who has power
(al-qādir) and the one who speaks (al-qāʾil) to help us, for only the four
of us can undertake this”. Allāh then called the one who has power and
the one who speaks and said to both of them, “assist your two brothers in
what they are striving for”, to which they replied, “Certainly!” Both then
entered the presence of the generous one (al-ǧawād) and said to him,
“We have resolved upon bringing the universe and the temporal world
25 The seven “leaders” are the main attributes known from Islamic theology—life, knowl-
edge, will, power, speech, sight, and hearing; the last two are replaced in this version of
the myth with generosity (or the granting of favors) and justness. Generosity encompasses
all attributes of mercy and benevolence, whereas justness includes attributes of power,
authority, harsh judgement, and vengeance, that is, attributes related to the notion of law
and its maintenance. See Ibn al-ʿArabī, Inšāʾ, pp. 27–36; see also below pp. 368–371.
26 Viz., “the one who wills” (see below).
27 Cf. Elmore, “Four Texts,” p. 15 n. 50.

(al-akwān wa-ʿālam al-ḥidṯān) from nonexistence out into existence, and

this is from your presence, the presence of generosity. Deliver to us the
generosity needed so that we may cause them to appear!” Accordingly, he
delivered absolute generosity to them; they went out with it and clung
(taʿallaqū) to the world, causing it to appear in the most perfect, well-
ordered fashion.28
By means of creation, the plight of the Divine names is resolved: “the names
prepared themselves with their keys and through the existence of the universe
knew the truth of what they possessed as well as their own state”.29 Despite
certain elements that are familiar from classical Islamic theology—such as the
central role of the seven Divine attributes, particularly knowledge, will, power,
and speech, or technical terms like taʿalluq—30 the passage quoted here is strik-
ingly mythic, in both form and content. The notion that Divinity in its manifest
aspect is comprised of diverse forces that are in need of creation reflects a rad-
ical conception of God and His relationship with the world.
Yet the act of creation is not only a positive affair. In one passage, Ibn al-
ʿArabī states that prior to the formation of the world, there was no one to
contend with God, “He was by means of Himself for Himself, rejoicing in eter-
nity and delighting in perfection with self-sufficiency” ( fa-kāna bi-nafsihi li-
nafsihi fī btihāǧ al-azal wa-ltiḏāḏ al-kamāl bi-l-ġinā l-ḏātī).31 However, once the
world came into being, Divine unity was disrupted and God, who had previ-
ously enjoyed His absolute solitude, was “put in a strait” or “pressed” (muzā-
ḥama) by creation and by the multiple forces that govern it, i.e. the conflicting
Divine attributes. Created beings and the Divine names are thus responsible
for God’s tragedy—the loss of His unity and privacy: “the joy of unification
and unity ceased due to the most beautiful names [Qurʾān 7:180 and more]
and the aspects ascribed to Him that have multiple rulings” ( fa-zāla btihāǧ al-
tawḥīd wa-l-aḥadiyya bi-l-asmāʾ al-ḥusnā wa-bimā nusiba ilayhi min al-wuǧūh
al-mutaʿaddida l-aḥkām).32 Certainly, in His hidden dimension, God remains
28 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Inšāʾ, pp. 36–38. Cf. the translations by Fenton and Gloton, “Book of the
Description,” pp. 40–41 and Elmore, “Four Texts,” pp. 14–20.
29 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Inšāʾ, p. 38.
30 On this term, see, for example, Gimaret, La doctrine, p. 280; Frank, “Al-Aḥkām,” esp.
pp. 759ff (I thank Dr. Jan Thiele for these two references).
31 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 4, p. 202 (chapter 72, Waṣl fuṣūl al-aḥādīṯ al-nabawiyya … Ḥadīṯ
ṯāliṯ).
32 Ibid. The term ḥukm can be translated as “a ruling” or “authority”; ḥākim, from the same
root, signifies “judge” or “governor”, and the verb ḥakama ʿalā means “ruled against-”

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forever a unified One, and even the numerous Divine names enjoy a “unity of
multiplicity” (aḥadiyyat al-kaṯra), since they all point to the same essence. Still,
it is clear that in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s eyes, creation is a product of a complex, multi-
faceted Divinity that maintains a reciprocal relationship with created beings:
it grants existence to them, and at the same time is influenced by them.
Divinity at War
In addition to the creation of the universe, God’s names, which are organized
in a human-like hierarchy of leaders (imāms) and subordinates,33 ensure the
ongoing existence of the world and are responsible for its management and
wellbeing, in both a physical and spiritual sense. As is well known, al-Šayḫ
al-akbar views creation as a manifestation of the Divine names; every cre-
ated being is a locus for God’s self-disclosure, a substrate or platform in which
the Divine names are revealed. However, Ibn al-ʿArabī depicts the manifesta-
tion of the Divine names in the universe as a disharmonious process: God’s
names are in a constant conflict with one another.34 To be sure, the idea
according to which God possesses conflicting attributes is rooted in classi-
cal Sufi thought and ultimately derives from pre-Islamic traditions.35 Eastern
Sufis prior to Ibn al-ʿArabī had divided the Divine attributes into two main
groups, those of ǧalāl (“majesty”)—attributes of might, power and author-
ity, justice, harsh judgement, and vengeance—and those of ǧamāl (“beauty”),
that is, attributes of benevolence and mercy. Yet it seems that in this context,
pre-Akbarian Sufism chose to focus mainly on the epistemological-individual
aspect of God’s attributes, i.e. on their effect upon the mystic’s consciousness,
emotions, and ethical behavior as he advances towards God. In contradistinc-
tion, Ibn al-ʿArabī likewise emphasized the ontological-collective dimension
of the Divine attributes, that is to say, their manifestation in creation at large.
This shift from epistemology to ontology and from an individual to a collective
perspective, which naturally demands further elaboration,36 is reflected in the
or “exercised judicial authority / exercised rule over-”. The history of this term in pre-
Akbarian mysticism and theology necessitates a separate discussion; on ḥukm in Ibn al-
ʿArabī’s writings, see Chittick, Sufi Path, p. 39 and index, s.v. “ḥukm”.
33 See Ibn al-ʿArabī, Inšāʾ, pp. 27–36 and the preceding paragraph; see also the diagrams in
Elmore, “Four Texts,” pp. 18–20.
34 See also Chittick, Sufi Path, pp. 47–58.
35 See Sviri, “Between Fear and Hope”; Liebes, God’s Story, pp. 123–157.
36 See above pp. 361–362.

mythic discourse of Ibn al-ʿArabī, a discourse that sets him apart from his more
theologically-minded predecessors in the east.
In many passages, particularly in his magnum opus, al-Futūḥāt al-makkiyya
(“The Meccan Revelations”), Ibn al-ʿArabī discusses the ongoing conflict be-
tween the opposing Divine names. This conflict and its repercussions in cre-
ation are designated by terms that signify struggle and strife: taqābul, taḍādd,
taʿāruḍ (“opposing”, “standing in opposition”), tafāḍul (“contending for superi-
ority”), iḫtilāf / ḫilāf (“being at variance”, “disagreement”), munāzaʿa / nizāʿ /
tanāzuʿ, ǧidāl (“contending”, “disputing”, “quarreling”), tanāfur (“contesting”),
taʿaṣṣub (“forming a league with-”, “zealously struggling”), and munāzala (“tak-
ing the field against-”).37 In al-Šayḫ al-akbar’s view, “disputing (al-nizāʿ) in the
world originates from the Divine names”.38 Names such as “the one who grants
strength” (al-muʿizz), “the benefactor” (al-nāfiʿ), “the one who gives life” (al-
muḥyī), and “the one who grants” (al-muʿṭī) are adversaries (ḫuṣūm, singular:
ḫaṣm) of “the one who abases” (al-muḏill), “the one who causes harm” (al-ḍārr),
“the one who causes death” (al-mumīt), and “the one who prevents” (al-māniʿ),
respectively. “The judge” (al-ḥakam), another Divine name, settles their dis-
putes by deciding which of the two opposing names will exert its influence
in any given moment on this or that created being, in accordance with the
preparedness (istiʿdād) of the latter.39 The Divine conflict is apparent in every
echelon of the universe: from the quarreling of angels (see sūra 38:69), to dis-
agreements among scholars and human beings in general, to the opposing four
natures (heat-cold, dryness-humidity) and four elements (fire, air, water, and
earth) that constitute the very fabric of existence in the sublunary world.40
In their conflict, the Divine names are driven by mutual jealousy (ġayra):
“every Divine name wants the ruling authority (ḥukm) to be its own; it wishes
that the [created being] over whom it rules will devote himself solely to it, not
paying attention to any other [name]”.41 “Each and every one of the Divine
names wants to tie and bind you to it, wants you to belong to it because its
37 See the references to the Futūḥāt throughout the article.

38 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 8, p. 13 (chapter 326).
39 Ibid. On the role of the “judge”, see also Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 3, p. 491 (chapter 71,
Waṣl fī faṣl al-saḥūr). On istiʿdād—the preparedness of created beings that determines
the manner and degree in which they receive the Divine self-manifestation—see Chittick,
Sufi Path, pp. 91–94 and index, s.v. “istiʿdād” and “qabūl”.
40 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 9, p. 422 (chapter 374); see also Ibid., vol. 5, p. 400 (chapter 154),
p. 530 (chapter 174), p. 612 (chapter 178, Waṣl 3), vol. 7, pp. 95–96 (chapter 279; note the
battle and weapon imagery), p. 444 (chapter 310).
41 Ibid., vol. 8, p. 21 (chapter 327). On ḥukm see above n. 32.

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sovereignty manifests itself in you (li-ẓuhūr sulṭānihi fīka)”.42 The jealousy and
rivalry between God’s names is most apparent in their fight for control over the
spiritual destiny of man, as is evident from the following passage:
Concerning the name that exercises its ruling authority (al-ḥākim) over
the servant in any given moment (al-waqt)—if another name that does
not have a ruling authority over him seeks him, it is more appropriate
for the servant not to part from the former Divine name before its rul-
ing authority expires and it has nothing more to demand of him. Once
its ruling authority has expired, the servant may courteously (bi-l-adab)
meet the Divine name that likewise seeks him. Thus it is in this world
and in the world to come. For instance, a person who is under the rul-
ing authority of the name “the forgiving one” [al-tawwāb, literally: the
one who accepts repentance], as a result of a sinful action concerning
which the Divine names have formed in opposition to one another (taqā-
balat); the avenger (al-muntaqim) says: “I am worthier of him”, while the
compassionate one and pardoner (al-rāḥim wa-l-ġaffār) says: “I am wor-
thier of him”. The names then form in opposition regarding the state of
the one who has disobeyed: which one of the Divine names shall exercise
ruling authority over him? They find the forgiving one and consequently
the name “the compassionate one” prevails over the avenger, saying: “This
one [the forgiving one] is my vicegerent in [this] locale (hāḏā nāʾibī fī
l-maḥall), for had I not shown the [sinner] mercy he would not have
repented”. The avenger is thus averted from its quest; the compassionate
one receives [the sinner] and the forgiving one causes him to return to
his Lord from one act of obedience to another, after he had caused him to
return from disobedience or unbelief to obedience […]43
Ibn al-ʿArabī goes on to describe other scenarios related to this sinner and the
ensuing conflict between the opposing groups of Divine names, those of mercy
and those of justice and vengeance. Many other passages depict in a colorful
and dramatic way the power struggle within Divinity over the life and destiny
of man.44 Moreover, al-Šayḫ al-akbar holds that sins themselves are ultimately
42 Ibid., vol. 5, p. 113 (chapter 82).

43 Ibid., vol. 3, pp. 490–491 (chapter 71, Waṣl fī faṣl al-saḥūr).
44 Ibid.; see also vol. 3, pp. 441–442 (chapter 71, Waṣl al-ḥiǧāma li-l-ṣāʾim), pp. 556–557 (Ibid.,
Waṣl fī faṣl ziyārat al-muʿtakif fī muʿtakafihi), vol. 4, pp. 14–15 (the beginning of chapter 72),
p. 69 (chapter 72, Waṣl fī faṣl fī l-qirān), p. 200 (Ibid., ḥadīṯ ṯānin fī l-ḥaṯṯ ʿalā l-mutābaʿa …),
pp. 522–523 (chapter 73, question 86), vol. 5, p. 113 (chapter 82), pp. 116–117 (chapter 84),

caused by the Divine names. He stresses that obedience and disobedience,

felicity in the world to come and wretchedness are all dictated by the Divine
names and their “disputes”; in reality, one does not choose to disobey his lord
and become a wretched soul (šaqī), but is rather under the influence or “ruling
authority” of a particular Divine name that prevents him from responding to
the positive “call” or “summoning” (nidāʾ) of another, rival name.45
Finally, according to Ibn al-ʿArabī, the Divine names will continue to exert
their influence during eschatological times and in the world to come. Natu-
rally, the “names of vengeance” (asmāʾ al-intiqām) will rule over hell, at least
for a certain period of time, whereas heaven will be governed by compassionate
and benevolent names.46 Although eventually God’s mercy will prevail over His
wrath in both these abodes,47 the tension between the Divine names will still
be felt: in paradise, for example, God’s names will compete with one another
for control over the righteous ones, and while various names and their “rulings”
will disappear, novel names, hitherto unknown, will be revealed and new hier-
archies between them established.48
The Divine Names as Agents of Mystical Experiences

and Knowledge
The mythic character of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s thought is likewise reflected in his dis-
cussions concerning the role of the Divine names in mystical experiences. The
Divine names accompany man in every aspect of his religious life: in praying,
fasting, performing the ḥaǧǧ, and so forth—every religious obligation derives
from a particular Divine name and is fulfilled under its dominion.49 Similarly,
pp. 396–397 (chapter 154), vol. 8, p. 116 (chapter 336), pp. 450–451 (chapter 355), vol. 10,
p. 15 (chapter 384).
45 Ibid., vol. 7, p. 58 (chapter 275); cf. vol. 4, p. 47 (chapter 72, Waṣl fī faṣl muǧāmaʿat al-nisāʾ),
vol. 6, pp. 609–610, 613 (chapter 260), pp. 616–617 (chapter 261), vol. 8, pp. 252–253 (chap-
ter 345), vol. 10, pp. 424–425 (chapter 469).
46 Ibid., vol. 5, pp. 153–154 (chapter 90), vol. 7, p. 496 (chapter 316).
47 See, for example, ibid., vol. 4, p. 507 (chapter 73, question 73), vol. 5, pp. 290–291 (chap-
ter 124); see also Chittick, Sufi Path and idem, Self-Disclosure, indices, s.v. “mercy”; idem,
“Death”; Gobillot, “Une Solution”; Addas, Une victoire éclatante, pp. 25–79 (I have not had
the chance to consult this work).
48 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 3, p. 508 (chapter 71, Waṣl fī faṣl ġurar al-šahr …), vol. 4, p. 502
(chapter 73, question 67), vol. 5, p. 117 (chapter 84), vol. 6, p. 489 (chapter 218), vol. 8, pp. 21–
22 (chapter 327), pp. 39–40 (chapter 329), pp. 130–131 (chapter 338).
49 See, for instance, ibid., vol. 1, pp. 500–501 (chapter 18), vol. 3, p. 436 (chapter 71, Waṣl fī faṣl

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God’s names play a central role on the mystical path and in mystical rituals;
this is evident, above all, in the practice of ḏikr, “remembering” God by reciting
any one of His names, vocally or mentally, in public or in private.50 Further-
more, the names serve both as a means of gaining Divine knowledge and as
“vehicles” for ascending to the upper, spiritual worlds—two functions that are
interconnected, since the outcome of mystical ascensions is (or should be)
Divine knowledge. In referring to the term munāzala (literally: “alighting with-”,
“taking the field against-”), Ibn al-ʿArabī explains that this kind of an encounter
between God and the mystic occurs when
He wants to descend upon you (al-nuzūl ilayka) and causes your heart to
seek to alight at His [presence, al-nuzūl ʿalayhi]. [Your] mental energy (al-
himma) then moves in a spiritual, gentle manner in order to alight at His
[presence]; the meeting with Him (al-iǧtimāʿ bihi) occurs in the middle,
between your alighting at His [presence], before you reach the alight-
ing place (al-manzil), and His descending towards you—that is, when a
Divine name directs itself [towards you]—before He reaches the alight-
ing place […] He who experiences this state enjoys one of three things:
either the profit (al-fāʾida) that the name seeks from this servant and
that the servant seeks from the name is obtained in this encounter (al-
liqāʾ), in which case the name then parts to the One who is named by
it (musammāhu) and the servant returns to his station (maqāmihi) from
whence he departed; or the Divine name rules ( yaḥkuma) that the [ser-
vant] return to the [station] from whence he departed, in which case the
Divine name accompanies him until it delivers him to that [station]; or
the Divine name takes him with it and carries him up (wa-yaʿruǧu bihi) to
the One who is named by it […]51
zamān al-imsāk), p. 469 (Ibid., Waṣl fī faṣl man afṭara mutaʿammidan fī qaḍāʾ ramaḍān),
vol. 4, pp. 204–205 (chapter 72, ḥadīṯ ḫāmis fī l-ḥāǧǧ wafd Allāh).
50 The cosmogonic myth described above in pp. 365–367 seems also to have a ritualistic-
meditative aspect to it; see the concluding remark in Ibn al-ʿArabī, Inšāʾ, p. 38 (Fa-taḥaqqaq
hāḏā l-faṣl …, “Verify this section …”) and the discussion preceding the myth, Ibid., pp. 27–
36, especially pp. 34–35 (… Fa-taḥaqqaq al-šakl iḏā rasamnāhu laka li-yaṯbuta fī ḫayālika …,
“Verify this figure [i.e. the diagram of the Divine names and their hierarchies] that we have
drawn for you so that it remains firm in your imagination”; … Fa-nẓurhā wa-taḥaqqaqhā
ḥattā tuḥaṣṣilahā fī ḫayālika, “Look at these [circles] and verify them, so that you acquire
them in your imagination”).
51 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 7, p. 24 (chapter 271).

In another passage, Ibn al-ʿArabī writes that
Allāh, glory be to Him, entrusted the name “the merciful one” (al-raḥmān)
with the whole kingdom (al-mamlaka). He appointed the name “the lord”
(al-rabb) as the first universal doorkeeper, and gave it the key of bring-
ing into being, allowing to act at will [or: manipulating], descending, and
ascending (iqlīd al-takwīn wa-l-taṣrīf wa-l-nuzūl wa-l-miʿrāǧ). [The lord]
meets the riders (al-rukbān)52 and assists them in alighting at [the pres-
ence of] the merciful one, while the latter sits on its most splendorous
throne [ʿaršihi l-abhā; see sūra 20:5, 25:59 …]53
In such passages, God’s names are presented as mediating entities that assist
the mystic in attaining Divine knowledge and practical-magical powers (tak-
wīn, taṣrīf ).54 In fact, Ibn al-ʿArabī describes the relationship between the mys-
tic and the Divine name that governs him in any given moment as that which
prevails between a servant and his lord; the mystic must acknowledge the rul-
ing authority of this particular name and worship it: “… every Divine name has
a servitude (ʿubūdiyya) unique to it by which the created being devotes him-
self ( yataʿabbadu) to it”.55 Obviously, man’s servitude is ultimately directed at
God, whose essence (ḏāt) or being (huwiyya) is designated by the Divine names.
Still, Ibn al-ʿArabī does not shy away from referring at times to the names as
the immediate objects of human worship and, accordingly, as intermediaries
between man and God. Ibn al-ʿArabī explains that the mystic is obliged to serve
God Himself, yet is allowed—and even required, in many situations—to attend
His names as well. This is similar to a servant working for a master who has
many children: he must serve the master himself, but is often permitted and
obliged to attend the master’s children. The servant is the mystic, “the master
is allāh, and the children are the remaining Divine names”.56
52 On this class of mystics, see Chodkiewicz, Seal, pp. 107, 111–112.

53 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 8, p. 38 (chapter 329); cf. ibid., vol. 1, pp. 612–613 (chapter 34).
54 On the magical context of taṣrīf, taṣarruf (“to act at will”) and takwīn, see also Ibn al-
ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 4, pp. 462–465 (chapter 73, question 41), vol. 5, pp. 25–26 (chapter 73,
questions 133–134), p. 63 (Ibid., question 154, wa-minhum al-sāḥirūna), and more.
55 Ibid., vol. 4, p. 521 (chapter 73, question 86).
56 Ibid., vol. 7, p. 499 (chapter 316). On servitude/worship and the Divine names, see also
ibid., vol. 2, pp. 39–40 (chapter 45), p. 428 (chapter 69, Faṣl fī waqt ṣalāt al-ẓuhr), p. 454
(Ibid., Faṣl bal waṣl fī waqt al-aḏān), vol. 4, pp. 267–269 (chapter 73, Wa-minhum al-aʾimma
to Wa-minhum al-abdāl), vol. 6, p. 480 (chapter 216), vol. 7, pp. 9–10 (chapter 270), vol. 11,
p. 225 (chapter 558, Ḥaḍrat al-amān); cf. Corbin, Creative Imagination, p. 121; Chittick,

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Naturally, the mystical-experiential function of the Divine names in the

thought of Ibn al-ʿArabī as well as the influence in this context of earlier mys-
tics (such as al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmiḏī) on al-Šayḫ al-akbar require greater elabora-
tion, but the foregoing discussion suffices to show the mythic quality of Ibn
al-ʿArabī’s writing on this subject.57
The Power of the Mystic
The chosen mystic who has obtained Divine knowledge is able to manipulate
God’s names, which, like the letters of the Arabic alphabet, form the very stuff
of the universe. For example, Divine names can protect man from Satan; when
reciting the basmala (bismi llāh al-raḥmān al-raḥīm, “in the name of Allāh, the
merciful and compassionate”), certain mystics can witness (šuhūd) this Divine
name as it stands between them and Satan.58 In general, the Divine names and
the letters alike have special properties (ḫawāṣṣ) that allow the mystic to per-
form miraculous deeds, from invoking God for the benefit of fellow Muslims to
discovering hidden treasures and extracting them from the ground. The proper-
ties of the Divine names are also what enable sorcerers to carry out their sorcery
(siḥr), which, however, amounts to trickery and is illicit.59 True, Ibn al-ʿArabī
Sufi Path, pp. 369–372; Chodkiewicz, Seal, pp. 94–98, 103–104. In one passage, Ibn al-
ʿArabī describes the Divine names as the close family of allāh and refers to created beings
as His distant relations; allāh provides for both familial groups by creating the world,
thereby granting existence to beings and allowing the Divine names to manifest them-
selves. See Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 9, pp. 28–29 (chapter 364, Waṣl wa-ammā man qāla
min aṣḥābinā …). Elsewhere, Ibn al-ʿArabī views the opposing Divine names as brothers
who conflict with each other; the name “the Lord” (al-rabb) is responsible for keeping
peace between them. See ibid., vol. 9, pp. 158–159 (chapter 369, Waṣl 2).
57 On the Divine names as a source of mystical experiences and knowledge see also ibid.,
vol. 1, pp. 610–611 (chapter 34), vol. 2, pp. 39–40 (chapter 45), p. 334 (chapter 68, Bāb
al-iġtisāl min al-māʾ …), pp. 425–426 (chapter 69, Faṣl fī awqāt al-ṣalawāt), vol. 3, p. 18
(Ibid., Waṣl fī faṣl ǧumuʿatayni fī miṣr wāḥid), pp. 21–22 (Ibid., Waṣl fī faṣl iḫtilāf al-qāʾilīna
bi-wuǧūb al-ḫuṭba …), pp. 314–315 (chapter 70, Waṣl fī faṣl al-iʿlān bi-l-ṣadaqa …), p. 434
(chapter 71, Waṣl fī faṣl iʿtibār waqt al-ruʾya), vol. 4, p. 433 (Chapter 73, question 21), vol. 6,
pp. 252–258 (chapter 198, Faṣl 11), pp. 395–396, 399–400 (chapter 206), pp. 460–461 (chap-
ter 211), pp. 555–556 (chapter 237), pp. 563–564 (chapter 240), pp. 582–583 (chapter 248),
pp. 629–630 (chapter 265), p. 631 (chapter 266).
58 Ibid., vol. 8, pp. 423–424 (chapter 353). On letters see Ebstein, Mysticism, pp. 77–122.
59 Ibid., vol. 1, p. 532 (chapter 22, Waṣl aḫaṣṣ ṣifāt …), pp. 555–559 (chapter 26), pp. 652–658
(chapter 40), vol. 5, pp. 24–32 (chapter 73, questions 131–142), pp. 62–63 (ibid., question 154,

is careful not to dwell too much on such hazardous matters and often insists
that the mystic should abstain from applying his magical skills primarily out of
courtesy towards God (adab).60 Nevertheless, it is clear that al-Šayḫ al-akbar
was quite knowledgeable in this domain and strongly believed in the practical
properties of the Arabic letters and Divine names.61
Moreover, the mystic can employ the Divine names in order to influence
Divinity, viz., its manifest aspect. In this sense, the mystic has both magical and
theurgical powers.62 This is perhaps the most radical aspect of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s
teachings on the Divine names; the notion that man can influence God con-
tradicts the fundamental idea of Islam, which holds that Allāh is “in no need
of the worlds” (ġanī ʿan al-ʿālamīn, sūra 3:97 and more). According to Ibn al-
ʿArabī, the mission of the mystic, or rather, the perfect human being (al-insān
al-kāmil) is to mediate between the Creator and the created. This mediation
is twofold: on the one hand, the perfect human being ensures the safety and
felicity of his fellow men and of the world at large, and, on the other, he assists
Divinity in reaching its goals and achieving perfection. The two tasks of the
mystic are indissolubly connected: the more content and merciful God is, the
happier His created beings are.
The šarīʿa—the Divine law embodied in the Qurʾān and Prophetic sunna—
plays a central role in the theurgical process: it provides correct knowledge
of God’s names and likewise prescribes commandments that, when observed
correctly, may serve as a means for manipulating the Divine names. For in-
stance, almsgiving (ṣadaqa) calms the wrath (ġaḍab) of God in this world and
in the world to come, saves one from an evil death, and more. Although such
beliefs related to almsgiving are rooted in certain ḥadīṯs that are quoted by Ibn
al-ʿArabī,63 the latter chooses to emphasize the influence of man on Divinity
Wa-minhum al-sāḥirūna), pp. 542–549 (chapter 177, al-ʿIlm al-awwal), vol. 7, p. 325 (chap-
ter 300). On the term ḫawāṣṣ see Kraus, Jābir, pp. 61–95.
60 See, for example, Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 5, pp. 542–543. On adab see Gril, “Adab” and
Chiabboti et al., Ethics.
61 See the references in the last three notes. Like other notions discussed in this article, here
too the influence of al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmiḏī is evident; see Sviri, “Words”; idem, “Kun”.
62 On theurgy as the ability to influence the Deity, see Idel, Kabbalah, pp. 156–199; Mopsik,
Les grands textes, esp. pp. 18–41. On the threefold link between myth, power, and theurgy,
see Garb, “Power”.
63 For example, “almsgiving extinguishes the wrath of the Lord and averts an evil death” (al-
ṣadaqa tuṭfiʾu ġaḍab al-rabb wa-tadfaʿu ʿan mītat al-sūʾ), see Ibn Balabān, Iḥsān, vol. 8,
pp. 103–104; al-Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿǧam al-awsaṭ, vol. 7, p. 372; cf. Proverbs, 10:2, 11:4 and The
Babylonian Talmud, Shabbat, 156: b. Cf. the mitigated version in Ibn Māǧa, Sunan, vol. 5,
p. 295 (Wa-l-ṣadaqa tuṭfiʾu l-ḫaṭīʾa, “almsgiving extinguishes sin”).

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and explicitly refers to the “trace” or “mark” (aṯar) that the act of ṣadaqa leaves
on the Divine “relationships”, that is, on the Divine names.64 Similarly, in refer-
ring to kaffārāt, that is, religious actions like almsgiving and fasting that are
performed in order to atone for certain sins, Ibn al-ʿArabī writes:
Know that kaffārāt were established in the Divine law simply in order to
function as veils (ḥuǧuban) between the servant and the befalling afflic-
tions to which he has exposed himself by committing transgressions […]
Thus, when [the name] “the avenger” brings the misfortune that was sent
down and that was necessitated by this transgression, these actions [the
kaffārāt] are found covering the [sinner] in the shelter of their wing,
guarding him; they have become a shield over him and a means for his
protection. The name “the pardoner” exercises its ruling authority over
these kaffārāt. And so, the misfortune cannot find any way of piercing
through; the threat (al-waʿīd) cannot pierce through the [servant] due to
the prevailing sovereignty of this action called kaffāra […]65
Likewise, Ibn al-ʿArabī states that when a mystic is about to commit a religious
transgression, he may ward off the ensuing Divine punishment by exercising
mystical awareness (ḥuḍūr), which entails the realization that the sin is preor-
dained by God and the feeling of aversion when committing it. This mystical
awareness facilitates the victory of “the forgiver” (al-ʿafuww), “the pardoner”
(al-ġafūr), and “the compassionate one” as well as other benevolent names;
as a result, the sin is transformed into a living entity “with a Divine spirit that
begs [God’s] pardon on the [mystic’s] behalf until the day of resurrection” (wa-
takūnu maʿṣiyatuhu bi-ḥuḍūrihi fīhā maʿa llāh ḥayya ḏāt rūḥ ilāhī yastaġfiru lahu
ilā yawm al-qiyāma).66 Hence, by performing certain religious actions that are
prescribed by the šarīʿa (kaffārāt), or otherwise are required on the mystical
path (ḥuḍūr), man is able to operate the Divine names in such a way that God’s
mercy overcomes His wrath. Certainly, Ibn al-ʿArabī would insist that such an
operation is in itself a product of God’s mercy, of His compassionate names;
yet from the perspective of man, his religious actions are aimed at affecting the
balance within Divinity and subduing its negative forces. Performing the kaf-
64 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 3, pp. 311–314 (chapter 70, Waṣl fī faṣl mā tataḍammanuhu l-
ṣadaqa min al-aṯar fī l-nisab al-ilāhiyya wa-ġayrihā). On the concept of “relationship” see
below n. 75.

fārāt causes “the pardoner” to exercise its ruling authority and triumph over
“the avenger”; and practicing ḥuḍūr assists the benevolent names in their vic-
tory over their harsh, vengeful adversaries.
In another passage that deals with the Quranic verse “only those among
Allāh’s servants who possess knowledge fear Him” (innamā yaḫshā llāh min
ʿibādihi l-ʿulamāʾ, sūra 35:28), Ibn al-ʿArabī explains:
Each and every one of the Divine names that governs and possesses the
ruling authority in any given state (al-wālī fī l-ḥāl ṣāḥib al-ḥukm) fears
allāh because it has knowledge of the names at His presence that oppose
it (tuqābilu hāḏā l-ism). This name says: “In the same way that He had
entrusted me with this specific locale in which my ruling authority was
manifested, though I had not governed it [before], [in the same way] He
might discharge me (qad yaʿzilunī) by means of another governor”, i.e.
by the ruling authority of another Divine name. Nobody is more knowl-
edgeable than the Divine names, and so, nobody fears allāh more than
them. For allāh acts at will with them by having them entrusted [with
governments] and discharged (lahu l-taṣarruf fīhā bi-l-tawallī wa-l-ʿazl),
and this is [reflected in] what occurs within existence. There is that which
occurs as a result of a request from the created universe (ʿan suʾāl min
al-kawn), and there is that which occurs without a request but rather hap-
pens when the period of the ruling authority ends, in which case it is an
abrogation ( fa-yakūnu nasḫan). Because “fearing allāh” is applied to the
knowledgeable ones from among created beings, and since created beings
may request that the rulings of the Divine names be removed, the Divine
names that exercise their ruling authority in any given moment fear the
request of created beings to remove their ruling from that specific locale
[…]
The Divine names thus fear allāh because He can discharge and ap-
point, and they fear the world because it may request and because allāh
may accept this request […]67
Ibn al-ʿArabī stresses that the world is nothing but a locus for the manifesta-
tion of the Divine names. In reality, then, it is the Divine names themselves
that the Divine names fear; put differently, Allāh, who comprises the totality
of His attributes, fears Himself. Yet here too one should not ignore the human
perspective: from man’s point of view, the Divine names fear him because he
67 Ibid., vol. 10, pp. 499–500 (chapter 494).

378 ebstein
holds sway over their very destiny. Other passages as well reflect the notion
that man, or rather: the perfect human being may influence (taʾṯīr) Divinity in
its manifest aspect.68
From a broader perspective, the relationship between God and creation
at large is a theurgical one: God needs the world in order to actualize His
attributes and to know Himself in a thorough manner, hence the influence that
the world, by merely existing, exercises on Him. Even before they are granted
existence, created beings, as “immutable entities” (aʿyān ṯābita), influence God:
His eternal knowledge of them is a function of their own entities, it derives
from them.69 Once created, living beings assist God in achieving His goal of all-
encompassing self-knowledge.70 The perfect human being occupies a unique
position in this Divine-human drama: his election by God and his mystical
awareness of the true relationship between the Creator and the created enable
him to manifest the Divine names within himself and within the world in a
comprehensive manner, a task that is embodied in his title of ḫalīfa, God’s
“vicegerent” on earth. Ḫilāfa (the office of ḫalīfa) may entail a visible, politi-
cal dimension, as in the case of the messenger-Prophet (rasūl) who delivers a
šarīʿa to mankind and is granted the authority to govern and judge as he sees fit
(taḥakkum). His use of either violence or compassion in respect of his subjects
is nothing but a manifestation of the opposing Divine names. In other cases,
God’s chosen ones (the mystics of Islam included) may not enjoy such politi-
cal power, but are nevertheless responsible for manifesting the Divine names
in the world, even if this manifestation is hidden from the eyes of others and
those responsible for it remain unknown to their fellow men.71 Accordingly,
God is in need of the perfect human being in order to attain His objectives. Ibn
al-ʿArabī explicitly states that in the same way that God grants life and suste-
nance (rizq) to man, man gives life and sustenance to the Divine names; and
just as man thanks God, so too the Divine names thank man—more precisely,
68 See, for example, ibid., vol. 4, pp. 462–465.

69 See, for instance, ibid., vol. 10, pp. 183–185 (chapter 411).
70 This idea is reflected, inter alia, in ḥadīṯ al-kanz, which Ibn al-ʿArabī quotes or refers to
throughout his oeuvre: “I was an unknown treasure, yet I wished to be known. So I cre-
ated created beings: I made myself known to them and they came to know me”. See, for
example, ibid., vol. 5, p. 357 (chapter 146; Kuntu kanzan lam uʿraf fa-aḥbabtu an uʿrafa
fa-ḫalaqtu l-ḫalq wa-taʿarraftu ilayhim fa-ʿarafūnī); see also ibid., vol. 8, pp. 96–98 (chap-
ter 335); Chittick, Sufi path, p. 391 n. 14.
71 See, for example, Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 5, pp. 484–485 (chapter 167, the beginning
of Waṣl fī faṣl), vol. 5, pp. 557–558 (chapter 177). See also Chodkiewicz, “Esoteric Founda-
tions”; idem, “Les malâmiyya”.

the perfect human being.72 Such an individual becomes the leader (imām) of
all the Divine names.73
Conclusion
The mythic character of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s teachings on the Divine names is evident
in all four topics analyzed above: cosmogony; the management of the world
(including the world to come); mystical experiences and knowledge; magic
and theurgy. Not only are these teachings formulated in a mythic way from a
literary point of view (for example, the cosmogonic myth described above in
pp. 366–367), but their implications in the spheres of ritual (pp. 371–372) and
power (pp. 374–379) accord with what we know from the study of myth in other
fields.74 The mythic features of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s discourse are likewise reflected
in other topics besides the Divine names, as I hope to show in my future study
on mythic thought and classical Islamic mysticism.
To be sure, Ibn al-ʿArabī emphasizes time and again that the Divine names
do not signify existing entities (aʿyān) but rather relationships (nisab) between
God and created beings; the traces (āṯār) and rulings (aḥkām) of the names are
apparent in creation, but the names themselves do not exist, at least not in the
regular sense of the word.75 Furthermore, according to Ibn al-ʿArabī, although
God’s names differ from one another and are in need of the world, they all point
to His hidden essence, which is in want of nothing. It is rather hard to recon-
cile such theological-philosophical explanations—aimed, inter alia, at main-
taining the idea of Divine unity and mitigating the polytheistic undertones of
Ibn al-ʿArabī’s discourse—76 with the mythic portrayal of the Divine names
in numerous passages throughout the Akbarian oeuvre. One could choose to
interpret the mythic passages in an allegorical way,77 in an attempt to har-
monize the contradicting elements in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s thought. However, Ibn
72 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 10, p. 460 (chapter 478). Compare to the theurgical notion found
in Midrashic, Kabbalistic, and Ḥasidic sources according to which the people of Israel sus-
tain (mefarnesīm) God; Idel, Kabbalah, p. 165.
73 Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 2, p. 562 (chapter 69, Faṣl bal waṣl fī imāmat al-fāsiq).
74 See above n. 19.
75 See, for example, Ibn al-ʿArabī, Futūḥāt, vol. 1, p. 501 (chapter 18), vol. 4, pp. 437–440 (chap-
ter 73, question 24), pp. 562–563 (ibid., question 115), vol. 6, p. 266 (chapter 198, Faṣl 13),
p. 489 (chapter 218), vol. 7, p. 94 (chapter 279).
76 See ibid., vol. 11, p. 480 (chapter 558, Ḥaḍrat al-tawḥīd).
77 See, for instance, Elmore, “Four Texts,” p. 2.

380 ebstein
al-ʿArabī himself was by and large opposed to the use of taʾwīl (allegorical inter-
pretation) in order to explain religious texts, and I doubt he would recommend
such a reading for his own works.78 Moreover, as I have explained in the intro-
duction, allegorical interpretations are problematic, especially when dealing
with an author like Ibn al-ʿArabī whose writings abound with mythic descrip-
tions. To dismiss vast parts of the Akbarian corpus as allegories or as playful
literary excursions into the realm of the fantastic would mean to ignore the very
tensions inherent in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s thought between theological-philosophical
notions and mythic perceptions of the Divine; between abstract thinking and
anthropomorphism; between the belief in a singular, transcendental God and
the notion of multiple Divine powers immanent in creation. In a way, whether
we perceive God’s names as ontological entities in the full sense of the word
or define them as mere “relationships” is beside the point; what is important
is that the Akbarian God is a dynamic, multifaceted, and complex Deity—it
maintains a reciprocal relationship with creation, it is entangled with its own
created beings, and its fate is intertwined with that of the world. This is cer-
tainly a mythic vision of Divinity, not a theological-philosophical one.
Acknowledging the mythic dimension of Akbarian writing would also open
up new horizons in the study of both Islamic mysticism and Kabbalah. Mys-
tics such as al-Ḥakīm al-Tirmiḏī, Ibn Masarra, Ibn Qasī, and Ibn al-ʿArabī as
well as authors of certain Shiite factions have a lot in common with many Kab-
balists who lived in the 12th–14th centuries and were active in areas under
the direct or indirect influence of Arabic-Islamic culture, viz., southern France
and (mainly) northern Spain.79 Specifically, the combination of theosophical
thought, a mythic discourse, and theurgical conceptions is characteristic—
in varying degrees—of the aforementioned Muslim mystics and their Jew-
ish counterparts.80 The tensions that naturally arise between theosophical,
mythic, and theurgical notions, on the one hand, and so-called “monotheistic”
beliefs, on the other, are also common to Muslim and Jewish mystics. One may
compare, for instance, the Akbarian concept of the Divine essence to that of
ein-sōf (“the Infinite”) in many Kabbalistic systems. The distinction between a
hidden dimension of God (essence/ein-sōf ) and a manifest one (Divine names
/ the ten sefīrōt of Kabbalah) allows the mystic to describe God and His rela-
78 On Ibn al-ʿArabī’s objection to taʾwīl, see, among many other passages, Ibn al-ʿArabī,
Futūḥāt, vol. 9, pp. 464–465 (chapter 377).
79 See, for instance, Goldreich, “The theology”; Ebstein and Weiss, “A Drama in Heaven”;
Krinis, “Cyclical Time”; Stroumsa, “Wondrous Paths”. On Ibn Qasī and al-Tirmiḏī see the
references above in notes 5–6, 61.
80 For theurgy in Kabbalah see the references above in n. 62.

tionship with the world in radically mythic terms, while ostensibly maintaining
the more abstract, theological-philosophical notion of a singular and transcen-
dental Deity. At the same time, this distinction can be alleviated so as to create
a more positive and uninterrupted connection between the inner and outer
aspects of Divinity and, accordingly, between the unity of the Creator and
the multiplicity of creation.81 Clearly, there are many substantial differences
between the Muslim and Jewish mystics referred to here; it seems, for instance,
that mythic and theurgical elements are much more explicit and prominent
in Kabbalistic writings. This, however, only goes to show how much we are in
need of in-depth studies on the links and affinities between Islamic mysticism
of the Akbarian type and Kabbala. Such studies would necessitate a change in
the way scholars approach Ibn al-ʿArabī’s oeuvre.
The mythic character of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s teachings was indeed appalling and
unacceptable to various theologically-minded scholars in subsequent gener-
ations,82 while many of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s followers and modern scholars alike
have preferred to read his works through a non-mythic, philosophical lens.
Particularly in the modern West, the universalist tendencies in Ibn al-ʿArabī’s
works have been emphasized at the expense of their mythic and particular-
istic dimensions.83 This is not to say that the Akbarian oeuvre should be read
through a purely mythic lens; obviously, Ibn al-ʿArabī was very much influenced
by theological and philosophical conceptions, and his teachings have a strong
universalist aspect to them. However, it would be a mistake to underplay the
mythic features of al-Šayḫ al-akbar’s writing and to view them as an unneces-
sary shell that must be removed and dispensed with in order to reach the true
philosophical kernel. In fact, Ibn al-ʿArabī himself was well aware of the mythic
undertones of his works and of the dangerous similarities between his teach-
ings and polytheistic beliefs. Such similarities, however, did not alarm him; on
the contrary. He goes so far as to claim that the true mystic is a “polytheist”—
81 See also Harvey, “Post-Biblical”; Lachower and Tishby, Wisdom of the Zohar, vol. 1, pp. 95–
129 (= vol. 1, pp. 229–268 in the English translation); Valabregue-perry, Concealed and
Revealed (I thank Prof. Tsahi Weiss for this reference); idem, “Concept of Infinity”.
82 See Knysh, Ibn ʿArabi; Chodkiewicz, Seal, index, s.v. “Ibn Taymiyya”; Homerin, “Ibn Arabi”.
83 For medieval followers of Ibn al-ʿArabī, see Chittick, “Ṣadr al-Dīn Qunawī”; idem, “Five
Divine Presences”; idem, “Central Point”; idem, “Qūnawī on the One Wujūd”; idem, “Spec-
trums”; idem, “School”; Todd, Sufi Doctrine; Dagli, Ibn al-ʿArabī. For modern works that
focus on the philosophical and universal aspects of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s thought, see, for in-
stance, Bashier’s excellent work, Ibn al-Arabī’s Barzakh and the references above in n. 4
(Chodkiewicz’s Seal of the Saints should be excluded, as it deals with mythic elements
related to Ibn al-ʿArabī’s theory of walāya).

382 ebstein
a mušrik, literally: someone who believes that other beings besides God share
in His Divinity—since, in affirming both the unity and multiplicity of God, the
mystic realizes that God’s names differ from one another, yet at the same time
they all share in the same Divine essence. “In truth”, Ibn al-ʿArabī explains to his
reader, “you are the polytheist (wa-anta huwa l-mušrik ʿalā l-ḥaqīqa)”.84 Perhaps
there is some truth in this declaration.
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In Truth You Are Polytheist

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Intellectual History

of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

“In Truth You are the Polytheist!”: Mythic Elements

Ibn al-ʿArabī – al-Andalus – Divine names – Divine attributes – theology – philosophy –

Introduction: The Problem of Divine Names in Classical Islamic

In his commentary on al-Ǧuwaynī’s Kitāb al-Iršād, Ibn al-Marʾa (d. 611/1214)

© koninklijke brill nv, leiden, 2018 | doi: 10.1163/2212943X-00603006

It is difficult to determine whether or not Ibn al-Marʾa’s account is accurate.

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Mythic Thought and Mysticism

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

example of such a cluster of stories is Greek mythology.13 On the other hand, in

13 I am consciously avoiding broader definitions of “mythology” (such that would include,

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

their thought. Nor should we attempt to read mythic texts as metaphorical

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

20 Ebstein, Mysticism, pp. 77–122.

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Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

(al-akwān wa-ʿālam al-ḥidṯān) from nonexistence out into existence, and

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

37 See the references to the Futūḥāt throughout the article.

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

42 Ibid., vol. 5, p. 113 (chapter 82).

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caused by the Divine names. He stresses that obedience and disobedience,

The Divine Names as Agents of Mystical Experiences

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

In another passage, Ibn al-ʿArabī writes that

52 On this class of mystics, see Chodkiewicz, Seal, pp. 107, 111–112.

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Naturally, the mystical-experiential function of the Divine names in the

The Power of the Mystic

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

67 Ibid., vol. 10, pp. 499–500 (chapter 494).

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

68 See, for example, ibid., vol. 4, pp. 462–465.

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

Intellectual History of the Islamicate World 6 (2018) 359–387

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