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Ibn Arabi's Sufi and poetic experiences (through his collection of mystical poems Tarjuman al-Ashwaq)
(University of the Western Cape, 2005) Saidi, Mustapha; Mohamed, Yasien; Dept. of Linguistics, Language and Communication; Faculty of Arts
This study is a theoretical research concerning Ibn Arabi's Sufi experience and his philosophy of the "unity of being" (also his poetical talent). I therefore adopted the historical and analytical methodologies to analyse and reply on the questions and suggestions I have raised in this paper. Both of the methodologies reveal the actual status of the Sufism of Ibn Arabi who came with a challenging sufi doctrine. Also, in the theoretical methodology I attempt to define Sufism by giving a panoramic history of it. I have also researched Ibn Arabi's status amongst his contemporaries for example, Al-Hallaj and Ibn Al Farid, and how they influenced him as a Sufi thinker during this time.In the analytical study I explore the poems "Tarjuman al Ashwaq" of Ibn Arabi, of which I have selected some poems to study analytically. Through this I discovered Ibn Arabi's Sufi inclinations and the criticisms of various literary scholars, theologians, philosophers and also sufi thinkers, both from the East and the West. In this analysis I have also focused on the artistic value of the poetry which he utilized to promote his own doctrine "the unity of being."