IBN ‘ATA’ ALLAH AL-ISKANDARI AND HIS SUFI APHORISMS (KITAB AL-HIKAM)

Abstract

The present article is devoted to the study of famous Egyptian Islamic mystic (Sufi ) Ibn ‘Aṭā’ Allāh al-Iskandarī’s views in the context of Ibn ‘Arabi’s teaching of “wahdat al-wujud” (the Unity of Being). Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah al-Iskandari (d. 709/1309) was third great shaykh of the Sufi  order of the Shadhiliyya, founded by Abu al-Hasan al-Shadhili (d. 656/1258). Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah wrote works on Sufi sm that had become a part of classical Sufi  legacy. His ‘Kitab al-Hikam’ (The Book of Wisdoms), a small collection of Sufi  aphorisms, is considered to be genuine masterpiece. He played also the important role in the establishment of institutional framework of the Sufi  order of the Shadhiliyya in Egypt. So, the spiritual legacy of him is embodied both in his disciples and in his books.The aim of this article is to explore the infl uence of the Ibn ‘Arabi’s ideas on Shadhiliyya tradition, especially on Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah al-Iskandari’s thought. The famous medieval Islamic thinker Ibn ‘Arabi (1165–1240) was one of the most infl uential Islamic thinkers. His intellectual talents and his deep infl uence on Muslim thought are indisputable. There is no doubt that Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah was familiar with Ibn ‘Arabi’s doctrines. The author considers that some ideas and theories that had become a part of Ibn ‘Arabi’s philosophy afterwards entered into early Shadhili tradition before Ibn ‘Ata’ Allah and were gradually transformed in accordance with sober form of Sufi sm. According to the author’s viewpoint, several factors forced the Shadhili shaykhs to reject metaphysical doctrines of Ibn ‘Arabi and preferred doctrines of sober form of Sufi sm, like teaching of the prominent Muslim theologian, philosopher and mystic al-Gazali (1058–1111).