Ibn Arabi Society

Ibn 'Arabi and the Mystical Journey: A First Attempt to Understand Ibn ‘Arabi’s The Journey to the Lord of Power

Ibn Arabi

"...To know one's ...own archetypeal essence is to know one's "Angel", that is to say, one's eternal individuality as it results from the revelation of the Divine Being revealing Himself to Himself. In returning to his Lord: a man constitute an eternal pair of the servant and his LORD, who is the Divine Essence not in generality but individualised in off or another of His Names. Consequently, to deny this individuation...is to deny the archetypal or theophanic dimension specific to each earthly being....No longer able to appeal to his Lord, each man is at the mercy of a single undifferentiated Omnipotence, from which all men are equidistant, lost in religious or social collectivity. When this happens, each man tends to confound his Lord, whom he does not know...with the Divine Being as such, and to wish to impose Him on all....Having lost his bond with his specific Lord-archetype (that is, having lost his knowledge of himself), each ego is exposed to a hypertrophy that can easily degenerate into a spiritual imperialism; this know of religion no longer aims to unite each man with his own Lord, but solely to impose the "same Lord" upon all..."
[Henry Corbin, Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn `Arabi (Princeton University Press), p.210.]

The Ibn ‘Arabi Society was founded in 1977 to promote a greater understanding of the work of Ibn 'Arabi and his followers. It is an international association with its headquarters in Oxford, England, and provides a unique forum for the expansion of Ibn 'Arabi studies throughout the world today.
The work of Ibn 'Arabi has been little known in non-Islamic countries, partly because so few translations have been available to the general reader. The foundation of the Society has contributed to an unprecedented growth of interest, and there are now several of his books available in other languages, as well as new editions in Arabic.
The Society is very active in promoting and welcoming new translations and study of Ibn 'Arabi and encouraging a more widespread appreciation of his works.

Firmly rooted in the Quran, his work is universal, accepting that each person has a unique path to the truth, which unites all paths in itself. He has profoundly influenced the development of Islam since his time, as well as significant aspects of the philosophy and literature of the West. His wisdom has much to offer us in the modern world in terms of understanding what it means to be human.