Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom: Including What the Seeker Needs and The One Alone (Paperback)

~ Ibn Arabi (Author), al-Jerrahi al-Halveti (Translator)

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A powerful but little known work, this volume contains three mystical texts. 'Al-tadbirat,' the largest, is a fascinating treatise on the divine design and management of the world, and the central role the human model plays in the creative and governing process. The other two are 'kitab kunh ma la budda minhu lil-murid' (or, "What the Seeker Needs"), a brief guide for those want to follow the Sufi path, and 'kitab al-ahadiyyah' (or, "The One Alone"), an esoteric essay on transcendental unity.

About the Author

Ibn 'Arabi, a 12th-century Spanish mystic, was considered by many to be the greatest master of Sufism.

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Product Details Paperback: 300 pages Publisher: Fons Vitae (January 1, 1997) Language: English ISBN-10: 1887752056 ISBN-13: 978-1887752053 Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies) Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews) Amazon.com Sales Rank: #125,584 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books) Popular in this category: (What's this?) #31 in  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Sufism

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	66% buy the item featured on this page: Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom: Including What the Seeker Needs and The One Alone 5.0 out of 5 stars (2) $13.57
	11% buy Divine Sayings: 101 Hadith Qudsi: The Mishkat al-Anwar of Ibn 'Arabi 5.0 out of 5 stars (1) $13.57
	10% buy Ibn-Al-Arabi: The Bezels of Wisdom (Classics of Western Spirituality Series) 5.0 out of 5 stars (7) $17.79
	7% buy The Meccan Revelations, volume I 5.0 out of 5 stars (3) $18.00

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2 Reviews 5 star:  (2) 4 star:    (0) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:    (0) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review 5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews 19 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Pure nonduality, June 1, 2005 By  Jerry Katz "Nonduality.com" (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews I bought this book for the 20 page section entitled The One Alone, which is very nondual. I also read the 18 page Translator's Introduction, which tells about the life of Ibn 'Arabi. These two sections alone make the book an important addition to a library of nonduality books. The bulk of the volume, a book of wisdom on governing oneself, I have only so far scanned and therefore have not included any other mention of it in this review. Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi lived from 1165 to 1240. He "has become one of the most important expounders of Sufi wisdom." "Ibn 'Arabi all his life felt the pain of not being understood. Yet the breadth and depth of his wisdom, insight, vision, and knowledge was and is awesome to whomever catches a glimpse of it. Many of his expressions of divine mysteries have never been improved upon. Many important affairs, which he foretold centuries ago, have taken place and continue to take place." This introduction is brief, a distillate of the life of Ibn 'Arabi. It covers his life from birth to death, describes his physical appearance, reveals extreme controversy surrounding Ibn 'Arabi, demonstrates his wisdom, tells about a meeting with an adolescent Rumi, and more. Throughout this distillate is communicated the author/translator's love and understanding of Ibn 'Arabi, the person and his works; clearly, it must be the case, otherwise how could Ibn 'Arabi's words set forth in this book cut so cleanly? The One Alone is a work of pure nonduality. To demonstrate that, here are a few quotations, a few fragments which do not do justice to this entire work: "Therefore, if you know yourself without being, not trying to become nothing, you will know your Lord. If you think that to know Allah depends on your ridding yourself of yourself, then you are guilty of attributing partners to Him -- the only unforgivable sin -- because you are claiming that there is another existence besides Him, the All-Existent: that there is a you and a He." "You presume others to be other than Allah. There is nothing other than He, but you do not know this. While you are looking at Him you do not recognize Him. When the secret opens to you, you will know that you are none other than He." "...do not think that you need to become nothing, that you need to annihilate yourself in Him. If you thought so, then you would be His veil, while a veil over Allah is other than He. How could you be a veil that hides Him? What hides Him is His being the One Alone." "When the secret of a single atom out of all the atoms from which the elements are made becomes known, the secrets of the whole universe visible and invisible will be revealed. Then you will not see anything but Allah either in this world and in the Hereafter." "Thus when you know yourself, your self and selfishness will leave you, and you will know that there is nothing in existence but Allah." "...the meaning of 'The eyes cannot see Him...' is that there is no existence other than His. The Truth can only be conceived of by Itself, which has no other identity except the Truth: Allah sees Himself by Himself and by none other than Himself. His Essence sees His Essence." Anyone who loves nondual expression will value this book and might choose to set it on a shelf alongside other books expressing the nonduality of the other major religions. Jerry Katz 16 of 20 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom, Including What the, February 29, 2000 By  Simply Lovely "Georgia Budget with New York T... (Beautiful California) - See all my reviews May Allah Grant Him Peace. This book gives all of insight to the "power" that leaders in an Islamic society have. He goes over the rights, regulations, rules, limits and most importantly, desieses of the heart from many rulers, not only confined to the Islamic world, but all "rulers" in general. He quotes only from the Quran and Sunnah, and gives his blessed insight to devine rule, based on Fiqh, and Shariah. A wonderful text.		Ad feedback   Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Fons Vitae (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1887752056
• ISBN-13: 978-1887752053
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #125,584 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in this category: (What's this?)

  #31 in

  Books > Religion & Spirituality > Islam > Sufism

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pure nonduality, June 1, 2005

By	Jerry Katz "Nonduality.com" (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada) - See all my reviews

I bought this book for the 20 page section entitled The One Alone, which is very nondual. I also read the 18 page Translator's Introduction, which tells about the life of Ibn 'Arabi. These two sections alone make the book an important addition to a library of nonduality books. The bulk of the volume, a book of wisdom on governing oneself, I have only so far scanned and therefore have not included any other mention of it in this review.

Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi lived from 1165 to 1240. He "has become one of the most important expounders of Sufi wisdom." "Ibn 'Arabi all his life felt the pain of not being understood. Yet the breadth and depth of his wisdom, insight, vision, and knowledge was and is awesome to whomever catches a glimpse of it. Many of his expressions of divine mysteries have never been improved upon. Many important affairs, which he foretold centuries ago, have taken place and continue to take place."

This introduction is brief, a distillate of the life of Ibn 'Arabi. It covers his life from birth to death, describes his physical appearance, reveals extreme controversy surrounding Ibn 'Arabi, demonstrates his wisdom, tells about a meeting with an adolescent Rumi, and more. Throughout this distillate is communicated the author/translator's love and understanding of Ibn 'Arabi, the person and his works; clearly, it must be the case, otherwise how could Ibn 'Arabi's words set forth in this book cut so cleanly?

The One Alone is a work of pure nonduality. To demonstrate that, here are a few quotations, a few fragments which do not do justice to this entire work:

"Therefore, if you know yourself without being, not trying to become nothing, you will know your Lord. If you think that to know Allah depends on your ridding yourself of yourself, then you are guilty of attributing partners to Him -- the only unforgivable sin -- because you are claiming that there is another existence besides Him, the All-Existent: that there is a you and a He."

"You presume others to be other than Allah. There is nothing other than He, but you do not know this. While you are looking at Him you do not recognize Him. When the secret opens to you, you will know that you are none other than He."

"...do not think that you need to become nothing, that you need to annihilate yourself in Him. If you thought so, then you would be His veil, while a veil over Allah is other than He. How could you be a veil that hides Him? What hides Him is His being the One Alone."

"When the secret of a single atom out of all the atoms from which the elements are made becomes known, the secrets of the whole universe visible and invisible will be revealed. Then you will not see anything but Allah either in this world and in the Hereafter."

"Thus when you know yourself, your self and selfishness will leave you, and you will know that there is nothing in existence but Allah."

"...the meaning of 'The eyes cannot see Him...' is that there is no existence other than His. The Truth can only be conceived of by Itself, which has no other identity except the Truth: Allah sees Himself by Himself and by none other than Himself. His Essence sees His Essence."

Anyone who loves nondual expression will value this book and might choose to set it on a shelf alongside other books expressing the nonduality of the other major religions.

Jerry Katz

16 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom, Including What the, February 29, 2000

By	Simply Lovely "Georgia Budget with New York T... (Beautiful California) - See all my reviews

May Allah Grant Him Peace. This book gives all of insight to the "power" that leaders in an Islamic society have. He goes over the rights, regulations, rules, limits and most importantly, desieses of the heart from many rulers, not only confined to the Islamic world, but all "rulers" in general.

He quotes only from the Quran and Sunnah, and gives his blessed insight to devine rule, based on Fiqh, and Shariah.

A wonderful text.