Michel Chodkiewicz

A selection of writings by a great nineteenth-century Sufi Shaikh in the direct lineage of Ibn 'Arabi. Behind 'Abd al-Kader's role of brilliant warrior lay another, that of spiritual master in the direct lineage of Ibn 'Arabi, the Shaikh al-Akbar (the greatest shaikh). The thirty-nine texts translated here were chosen because they represent the major themes of the teaching of 'Abd al-Kader. Many are commentaries on passages from the writings of Ibn 'Arabi. They offer a rare opportunity to share the illumination of a master writing from his own direct experience.

An Ocean Without Shore is a study of Ibn Arabi, known in Islam as al-Shaykh al-Akbar, the Greatest Spiritual Master. In the introduction, Chodkiewicz provides a good deal of documentation for the often heard claim that Ibn Arabi has been the most influential thinker in Islam over the past seven hundred years. He shows that this has been true, not only among the intellectual elite, but also among the common believers. He explains why a few Muslims have considered Ibn al-Arabi the greatest heretic of Islam, while for many others he is Islam's greatest spiritual teacher. In the main body of the book, Chodkiewicz demonstrates that Ibn Arabi's writings are firmly grounded in the Koran. In doing this he also shows that Ibn Arabi's Koranic roots run far deeper than has heretofore been imagined. He explains that principles of Ibn Arabi's Koranic hermeneutics with unprecedented clarity, and in bringing out the primary importance of the Shaykh's magnum opus, The Futuhat Makkiyya, he solves a good number of riddles about the text that have puzzled modern readers. Chodkiewicz's work shows how, for Ibn Arabi, the iniatory voyage is a voyage in the divine word itself.

Michel Chodkiewicz's "The Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn Arabi" explores for the first time the Greatest Sufi Master's `hagiology' or teaching on sainthood. Founded on a careful analysis of the relevant texts, "The Seal of the Saints" examines this essential aspect of Ibn Arabi's doctrine of sainthood, defining the nature and function of sainthood, while also specifying the criteria for a typology of saints based on the notion of prophetic inheritance. In "The Seal of the Saints", Chodkiewicz also includes a detailed description of the two phases of the initiatory journey, the ascent to God, followed by the descent to created beings which, once accomplished, makes a saint the necessary mediator between Heaven and Earth. "The Seal of the Saints" greatly enhances knowledge of Ibn Arabi's metaphysics and his doctrine of sainthood which has had a profound effect on Sufism ever since.

Michel Chodkiewicz's "The Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn Arabi" explores for the first time the Greatest Sufi Master's `hagiology' or teaching on sainthood. Founded on a careful analysis of the relevant texts, "The Seal of the Saints" examines this essential aspect of Ibn Arabi's doctrine of sainthood, defining the nature and function of sainthood, while also specifying the criteria for a typology of saints based on the notion of prophetic inheritance. In "The Seal of the Saints", Chodkiewicz also includes a detailed description of the two phases of the initiatory journey, the ascent to God, followed by the descent to created beings which, once accomplished, makes a saint the necessary mediator between Heaven and Earth. "The Seal of the Saints" greatly enhances knowledge of Ibn Arabi's metaphysics and his doctrine of sainthood which has had a profound effect on Sufism ever since.