Ibn al-ʿArabī

Muhyi al-Din Ibn al-Arabi was one of the most influential mystics of Islam, and has been traditionally referred to as “the Greatest Master” (al-shaykh al-akbar) from the thirteenth century to the present day. Two basic ideas lead Ibn al-Arabi in his voluminous writings. The first is unity of existence or being according to which God is the only true Existent whose essence cannot be known; and based on his second fundamental idea that one should regard every issue from several aspects, the equality of religions holds true for Ibn al-Arabi only from the standpoint of God's self-manifestation, while from the terrestrial perspective differences between religions exist. This chapter aims specifically to demonstrate that 'the Greatest Master' uses not only the system of allusions (isharat) in his interpretations of the Quran, but also other systems based on the plain meaning in order to convey his ideas as effectively as possible, and to classify these other systems.