Music by The Refusers

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

A Garden Among The Flames - A Poem by Ibn 'Arabi


"The movement which is the existence of the universe is the movement of love."


"It is He who is revealed in every face, sought in every sign, gazed upon by every eye, worshipped in every object of worship, and pursued in the unseen and the visible. Not a single one of His creatures can fail to find Him in its primordial and original nature."

 

"If the believer understood the meaning of the saying 'the colour of the water is the colour of the receptacle', he would admit the validity of all beliefs and he would recognise God in every form and every object of faith."


Ibn 'Arabi
 

A Garden Among The Flames


O Marvel,
a garden among the flames!
My heart can take on
any form:
a meadow for gazelles,
a cloister for monks,
For the idols, sacred ground,
Ka'ba for the circling pilgrim,
the tables of the Torah,
the scrolls of the Qur'án.
I profess the religion of love;
wherever its caravan turns along the way,
that is the belief,
the faith I keep.

Ibn 'Arabi

To read more poetry by Ibn 'Arabi please click on the link below:



Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi 1165 -1240AD

Mystic, philosopher, poet, sage, Muhammad b. 'Ali Ibn 'Arabi is one of the world's great spiritual teachers. Known as Muhyiddin (the Revivifier of Religion) and the Shaykh al-Akbar (the Greatest Master), he was born in 1165 AD into the Moorish culture of Andalusian Spain, the centre of an extraordinary flourishing and cross-fertilization of Jewish, Christian and Islamic thought, through which the major scientific and philosophical works of antiquity were transmitted to Northern Europe. Ibn 'Arabi's spiritual attainments were evident from an early age, and he was renowned for his great visionary capacity as well as being a superlative teacher. He travelled extensively in the Islamic world and died in Damascus in 1240 AD.

He wrote over 350 works including the Fusûs al-Hikam, an exposition of the inner meaning of the wisdom of the prophets in the Judaic/ Christian/ Islamic line, and the Futûhât al-Makkiyya, a vast encyclopaedia of spiritual knowledge which unites and distinguishes the three strands of tradition, reason and mystical insight. In his Diwân and Tarjumân al-Ashwâq he also wrote some of the finest poetry in the Arabic language. These extensive writings provide a beautiful exposition of the Unity of Being, the single and indivisible reality which simultaneously transcends and is manifested in all the images of the world. Ibn 'Arabi shows how Man, in perfection, is the complete image of this reality and how those who truly know their essential self, know God.

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.

http://www.ibnarabisociety.org/index.html

2 comments:

Sihirli Yazılar said...

"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."...

Being openminded instead of being prejudiced is always something making you special, Mike. Every Christian or American would not add something about a Muslim philosopher, especially his poem talking about islam and Quran...
As a Muslim Turk, I have to send my special thanks to you. This is what we try to say in fact: All the Muslims in the world are not bad. Terrorists are just a minority. Real Muslims love Christians, Jews and atheists and don't want to kill anybody... You and us have the same God. Mosquitos, churchs and synagogues are all God's houses. For example, I can pray also in a church, if the priest does not throw me out of course:)) Just a joke:) I know, he doesn't...
Greetings.

Stranger in a Strange Land said...

Hello Sihirli:

Thanks you for your very kind words. I understand. Look at the word Iman. It means one who is full of faith. So, in a real sense anyone from any religion or without a relegion can be an Iman if they have the gift of faith and are full of faith in and from God. It is God that give the gifts from Love not from the politics of Man.

Oh yes, you can pray anywhere you wish. God will be happy to hear your prayers. It is only men who will judge you, never God.

Kindest and warmest regards,
Mike