Ibn Arabi in the Eyes of the

Great Mujaddid

A few pages on Ibn Arabi through the eyes of one of his greatest
commentators: the Great Mujaddid Ahmed Sirhindi. Although many people
think that the Great Mujaddid criticized Ibn Arabi negatively, a more careful
reading finds that view to be unfounded. On the contrary, the Great
Mujaddid was an admirer the Great Shaykh.

October 27, 2000

Irshad Alam
Sufi Order of Pure Mujaddidi
Sufi Peace Mission
PO Box 4604
Berkeley CA 94704
Email: sufi@ureach.com

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The Great Mujaddid Ahmed Sirhindi, who lived in India about 1500 CE, is
an eminent sufi commentator on Ibn Arabi. Although commonly regarded as
a critique of Ibn Arabi, the Great Mujaddid instead held him in high esteem.
He felt that the critiques (as well as many followers) have totally
misinterpreted the writings of Ibn Arabi whom he respectfully called the
Great Shaykh.

The Great Mujaddid wrote that Ibn Arabi’s writings were the result of sufi
mystic vision and have to be interpreted as such. Ibn Arabi’s writings on the
Unity of Being [wahdatul wujud] was his sufi mystic vision of the universe
instead of being some ‘set of creed’ or ‘theological doctrine’ to which he
came through a ‘self-directed thought process.’ Many people who criticize
Ibn Arabi for his ‘creed’ being unIslamic are totally wrong as these are not
his ‘creed’ but his ‘sufi mystic experiences.’

Let the Great Mujaddid speak on Ibn Arabi himself:

“Many sufis experience Unity of Being from the repetition of the meditation
of Unity [tauhid] and being steadfast in the belief that the sacred verse ‘there
is none to worship except God [la ilaha illaAllah]’ mean that nothing exists
except God. If a sufi experiences Unity of Being after a self-directed
thought process then it is because that a vision of that has been imposed on
his mind due to the strength and repetition of his thoughts. When such a
vision of Unity of Being is ‘self-directed’ and ‘artificial’ then it is
blameworthy. In fact, such a sufi does not experience the real state of Unity
of Being instead it is to him only a ‘learned knowledge.’

For other sufis, Unity of being comes from the love and ‘attraction’ [jajba]
of the heart. These sufis are immersed in the remembrance [dhikr] and
meditation [muraqaba] but do not at all think about Unity of Being. …….
If the beauty of the Unity of Being is revealed to them then it is due to their
deep love to God who is their beloved. It is due to this love everything
except the Beloved vanishes from their sight. At that point, when they do
not see anything except God who is their beloved and they do not find
anything except Him then they do not believe that anything except Him
exists. This Unity comes from the spiritual state of the seeker and so its free
from ‘inagination’ and ‘artificiality.’ In their spiritual travel, when these

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travellers descend from that station to the temporal realm, they see God their
beloved in every atom of this universe and they know it to be the mirror
where the infinite beauty of the Creator appears [tajalli].
……………………………………..

I do not blame the people with the experience of Unity because its
appearance is beyond their own control.
…………………………………………
I myself has experienced Unity of Being. I have experienced that through
remembrance [dhikr] and meditation [muraqaba] without repetition or
meditation on the meaning of Unity of Being and without any self-directed
effort.
………………………………………………………………………………
May everyone know that whatever I’m writing is through my spiritual vision
and experiences [kashf]. It is not through estimation or following other
people.” [Writings(Maktubat), Volume I, writing #291]