The Meccan Revelations, Volume II [Paperback]

Ibn al Arabi (Author), Michel Chodkiewicz (Editor), Denis Gril (Translator), David Streight (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2004

Perhaps no mystic in the history of the world has delved as deeply into the inner knowledge that informs our being as did Ibn 'Arabi. He was born into the cultural and religious crucible of Andalusian Spain in 1165, a place and time in which Muslim, Jewish and Christian scholars learned from each other and from the Greek classics that were then being translated and circulated. Drawing from the most advanced philosophical and metaphysical thinking of his time and from his extensive knowledge of the religion of Islam, Ibn 'Arabi created an extraordinary mystical theology that essentially sprang from his own spiritual realization. Because of the advanced nature of his teachings he has been known for 800 years as the Sheikh al-Akbar, or the Greatest Master.

Because of the subtlety of his language and complexity of his thought, access to Ibn 'Arabi has always been difficult and translation daunting. Previously only short extracts were available in English. This volume, is the second of our acclaimed translation of Les Illuminations de la Mecque, and contains more of the "Greatest Shaykh's" wisdom for the first time in English, on such issues as the gnostic and the sacred law, the mystic properties of Quranic letters, the secrets of Forgiveness and the attainment of Divine Nearness.

This great book soars beyond time, culture and any particular form of religion. Describing what is fundamental to our humanity, it is astonishingly universal. Finally readers in the West have an entree into one of the most important, profound works of world literature.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"...The ideas of great authorities like Ibn ‘Arabi seem always fresh and deep." -- Victor Danner, author of The Islamic Tradition

From the Back Cover

'Suddenly, one of the most... inaccessible of the great Sufis has emerged into the limelight of Islamic history with amazing swiftness and an impact no one was prepared to experience.... In these days, when the image of Islam provided by modernist and fundamentalist Muslims seem so superficial and uninspiring, it is good to hear from such great traditional authorities as Ibn 'Arabi, whose ideas seem always fresh and deep.

VictorDanner, author of The Islamic Tradition

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Product Details

• Paperback: 269 pages
• Publisher: Pir Press (September 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1879708213
• ISBN-13: 978-1879708211
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #171,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just a warning about "warning", May 14, 2008

By 

Ali Civril (Troy, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Meccan Revelations, Volume II (Paperback)

I don't own this book in English and I cannot tell the quality of the translation. But, let me tell the following as an answer to the "warning" review below.

1) With respect to the "knowledge" of divine truth, It IS a fact that Ali was superior to all people under Mohammad (SAV), except Mohammad (SAV). The Prophet explicitly stated this.

2) Accepting the above fact doesn't make one a defendent of shiism. Shiism is far more complicated to explain and a view in which the role of Ali was exaggerated.

3) All the four caliphs had different qualities which should be respected. And, again accepting the first fact does not necessarily conclude that one was superior to the other in general.

4) Ibn Arabi himself explicitly suggested the ordinary people like us to respect all the contemporaries of the Prophet and the caliphs and not to make extravagant conclusions upon their different qualities and conflicts.

5) Ibn Arabi was not a defendent of shiism.

He was way ahead of ordinary people to be understood correctly. So, make a humble reading and stay away from your own conclusions and dreams and ignore the "warning" review below. He doesn't have knowledge (ilm).