Garden among flames

by Ibn ʿArabī

Ibn ʿArabī (1165-1240) was an Andalusi Arab scholar, contemplative mystic, Sufi poet, and philosopher who was very influential within Islamic culture and religion. Ibn ʿArabī is considered a saint by some scholars and Muslim communities. In his poetry, there are traces of the Sufi metaphysical concept of “Wahdat ul-Wujud” (“Unity of Being”). This monist doctrine claimed that all things in the universe are manifestations of a singular divine reality. The following excerpt from the poem “Gentle Now, Doves” exhibits a theology of love that –just as the divine reality– in its infinite depth exceeds all naming and
description.

Poet in a Garden, by Ali of Gloconda, c.1610-15, via Wikimedia.

Marvel, a garden
among the flames!

My heart can take on
any form
For gazelles a meadow
A cloister for monks

A temple for idols,
pilgrim’s Ka`ba,
tablets of Torah,
scrolls of the Qur’ân
I profess the religion
of love Wherever
its camels turn, there
lives my faith

(39-41)

Bibliography

Ibn ’Arabi, Muhyiddin, and Michael Sells. The Translator of Desires: Poems. Vol. 150. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2021. Web.