The Kitâb al-inbâh-Introduction
Lathief
translated by Denis Gril
Denis Gril's article first appeared in French in Annales Islamogiques,
XV, 1979. This English translation by Karen Holding appeared in the
Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society, Vol. XV (1994).
Introduction
The author of this treatise, 'Abdallah Badr al-Habashi [Note 1], would
have remained unknown to us had he not been one of the closest
disciples of the Shaykh al-Akbar Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi [2], to whom we
owe the little that we do know about him. The biographical and
bibliographical compilations are almost totally unaware of this freed
slave of Ethiopian origin [3]. His humble background may explain the
sources' silence in relation to him, but it is also a reflection of the
spirituality, in terms of humility and self-effacement, with which the
Kitâb al-inbâh is stamped. It is significant that in his only work,
the disciple stands aside completely for the master, and contents
himself with quoting his words. Moreover, Ibn 'Arabi responded to these
qualities with deep affection [4] and lavish praise [5].
We do not know the date of his birth, nor where he came from, nor how
and when he met the one he was to follow faithfully to the end of his
life.
When he appeared in Fez in 595, for the first time it seems, at the
side of Isma'il b. Sawdakin, both of them must already have been close
disciples of the Shaykh al-Akbar, since they were present at their
master's accession to the position of 'Seal of Muhammadian Sainthood'
[6]. The same year, Ibn 'Arabi returned to Spain in the company of
'Abdallah al-Habashi. On an inspiration from the Holy Spirit (rûh
al-quds), confirmed by a dream of 'Abdallah's, he wrote his important
treatise, the Mawâqi' al-nujûm, certain teachings from which are
found in the Kitâb al-inbâh [7].
During this journey, he made a point of introducing to Badr his
principal Andalusian teachers mentioned in the Rûh al-quds [8]. Badr
then followed his shaykh on all his peregrinations. In 598 in Tunis,
Ibn 'Arabi wrote the Inshâ' al-dawâ'ir[9] for him. Shortly after, he
was in Mecca. In 599 in Ta'if he wrote the Hilyat al-abdâl, for Badr
and another disciple [10]. Still in the same year, he composed a
collection of hadîth qudsî, in which he related certain traditions
according to 'Abdallah al-Habashi himself [11].
Several samâ' of copies of the Rûh al-quds tell us that he was at the
side of his master in 600 in Mecca, in 601 in Mosul, in 603 in Cairo
[12]. Then in Aleppo in 611, at the request of 'Abdallah and of Isma'il
b. Sawdakin, Ibn 'Arabi wrote his commentary on the Tarjumân
al-ashwâq [13].
After accompanying his master for twenty-three years, 'Abdallah Badr
al-Habashi passed away in Malatya around 618 [14]. Thus we can see how
much his life intermingles with that of his shaykh and how much the
latter involved him in his work.
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The Kitâb al-inbâh 'alâ tarîq Allâh is known to us through several
manuscripts [15]. For this edition we have used the following:
· Veliyuddin 1800 (ff. 55-86b), copied in 715 AH. The text is
part of a collection of small format and with a curious appearance. The
leaves are attached at the top and one page consists of three different
texts. This collection of 323 folios, copied in ordinary naskhi, thus
comprises twenty treatises, some of which are by Ibn 'Arabi. This
edition is based on this manuscript of the Inbâh, the oldest and the
most accurate.
· Emanet Khaziné 1724 (ff. 124b-129b), microfilm of the Arab
League, Tasawwuf no. 27, copied in Mecca; ordinary naskhi (10th century
AH). The text is sometimes inaccurate.
· Zahiriyé 5517 (ff. 48-59), copy dated 1196 AH, even and clear
naskhi. The copyist points out (f.59) that his version includes a
certain number of blanks. He suggests certain corrections in the margin
and also indicates the paragraphs with the word: matlab. The following
manuscripts seem to him to be related [16].
· Dâr al-kutub, Tal'at Tasawwuf 832 (ff. 1-28), a recent copy
dated 1320 AH, in careful ta'liq. The rest of the volume contains Ibn
'Arabi's epistle to the Imam al-Razi (ff. 29-35).
· Dâr al-kutub, Tal'at Tasawwuf 813 (ff. 5-32), an even more
recent copy (1323 AH) in all probability reproduced from the previous
one. The collection comprises the following treatises:
(1) The epistle to the Imam al-Razi (1-4b)
(2) al-inbâh (5-32)
(3) K. al-yaqîn (32-43b)
(4) al-tadbîrât al-ilâhiyya (44-152)
· Izmirli Isma'il Hakki 3690 (95b-113b). This copy is the most
recent (copied in Istanbul at the khânqa of Sayyid Ahmed Bukhari by M.
'Ali 'Abidin al-Izmirli). It is the eighth treatise in a collection
consisting mainly of the epistles of Ibn 'Arabi.
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The significance of this text is first and foremost that it provides us
with an example of Ibn 'Arabi's teaching for initiates just as he gave
it out to his disciples. In this it can be distinguished from the
various treatises or passages where the Shaykh al-Akbar sets out the
rules of the way for novice or advanced disciples, even if the same
concerns, the same pieces of advice, are sometimes found there [17].
Moreover, it is the work of one of his dearest and closest disciples.
We can therefore be certain of finding in it a very direct, albeit
incomplete, reflection of the most characteristic features of his
spirituality.
'Abdallah al-Habashi does not appear to have followed a strict
structure in his compilation. The first instructions certainly concern
the beginning of the way: restraint of the senses, mastery of the soul,
the role of reason (1, 2), and the last ones wisdom, ultimate goal of
the Way. Sometimes the instructions are in pairs, but it is rather to
their actual content that one must look for the coherence of the whole.
An analysis of the main subjects dealt with by the master will be found
here.
In gathering together these instructions, 'Abdallah Badr declares that
he wishes to give freely some sincere (nasîha) advice to those who are
following the path of Allah. He distinguishes the latter from the
'ubbâd, pious persons or hermits dedicated to worship without seeking
knowledge (16, 32, 33). The first category of initiate is the murîd,
disciple, literally 'he who desires' to follow the path, whether he is
a novice or has already acquired some experience. Most of the Shaykh
al-Akbar's advice and warnings are aimed at him. Sometimes the
instructions are of a general nature, such as those regarding the
duties (wazâ'if) (29) of the disciple, sometimes precise such as those
regarding the rules of retreat (khalwa) (63).
Three fundamental qualities emerge from the teachings of Ibn 'Arabi.
The disciple's intention must be pure, his aspiration high and nothing
must turn him away from Allah (1, 12, 63). He must submit totally to
the words and instructions of his shaykh, and he must under no
circumstances contradict him, (56, 61, 51) nor feel that he is worthy
of replying to a question about the Way (60). He must regard himself as
ignorant and must show total submission (taslîm) (50). Lastly, his
detachment must be absolute. Poor and suffering through his state (19),
he refrains from all resort to causes (asbâb) and divests himself of
everything (34), abandoning all hope in this world in order to find it
in the next (53).
Conversely, the bad disciple is conceited and restless and is not
afraid of talking about the divine favours bestowed on him (14, 15).
By progressing along the path of stations and states
(maqâmât-ahwâl), the disciple becomes a traveller (sâlik). Ibn
'Arabi reminds him of what above all, his principal qualities should
be: poverty and humility (13, 57). Through spiritual practice and
struggle (riyâda-mujâhada) and what they achieve, contemplation and
intuitive unveiling (mushâhada-mukâshafa) (9), the initiate grasps
the Essential Reality (haqîqa). This knowledge of the Unity, or the
Supreme Ipseity, leads him to the end of the path, union (wusûl). For
the gnostic ('ârif) however, union is only outwardly an end for the
divine realities and their theophanies (tajalliyyât) are as limitless
as Allah Himself (55, 71). The gnostic therefore is he whom nothing
separates from Allah (18) but the man of knowledge ('âlim bi-llâh) is
beyond this state.
Whereas most of the writers on Tasawwuf regard the 'ârif as superior
to the 'âlim, for Ibn 'Arabi it is the other way round. He who has
knowledge through Allah has, in addition to knowledge of the Unity,
knowledge of the Duality. Thus he becomes the place or the instrument
of the divine manifestation. The heir of the Prophet (wârith), he
manifests the attributes of rigour and mercy (13). Unlike the gnostic,
he does not oscillate between the haqq and the haqîqa, that is between
the legal and cosmic status of beings and their essential reality, but
goes beyond these two aspects and synthesizes them in himself (52).
Whereas the disciple should refrain from resorting to secondary causes
and the gnostic should return to them, the man of knowledge is beyond
this distinction (31). For the latter poverty and wealth must be the
same (35). In short, he who has knowledge through Allah has knowledge
of both unity and multiplicity, of both the primary cause and
manifestation.
Among the spiritual virtues to which initiates should conform, patience
(sabr) and its counterpart satisfaction (ridâ') are high on the list
(21, 22, 23, 28). Trust in God (tawakkul) (27), renunciation and
acceptance (tafwîd-taslîm) (28), wealth and poverty (35, 58, 59),
are equally virtues which allow one to progress along the path of
knowledge, whether by assimilation of a divine quality, or by the
rejection of all individual pretension. Along the way, the initiate may
be tempted to become attached to a particular form of worship which
becomes a veil (32). In this case the remedy is the surrender and
extinction of the self (tabarrî-fanâ') (16) or the renunciation
(zuhd) not only of this world but of everything other than Allah (17).
All these qualities are in fact those of the servant ('abd).
Servanthood ('ubûdiyya) is the path which leads most directly to Allah
(37, 38), for by denying any divine aspect in himself, by affirming his
own names of servanthood and poverty, the servant allows the Divine
Names to manifest themselves in him (43, 44).
The path is therefore to discover all the initiatory and metaphysical
significance of this idea of servanthood. Whether it is at the
beginning or at the end, the conditions are the same (25). In a kind of
digest of his teaching for initiates (46), Ibn 'Arabi describes not so
much spiritual progress itself as its necessary and inviolable
elements. On the one hand, each person follows a path which is right
for him; on the other hand, the path must not be seen as a linear
development but as the completion of a cycle, in other words as a
return to the source. In this sense there is no one who is not on the
path of Allah (65, 66, 76, 70).
As if to underline its importance, the author concludes his treatise
with some comments on wisdom (hikma), the culmination of the Path of
the initiate. In metaphysical terms, wisdom is as much knowledge of
manifestation and its primary cause, as it is knowledge of the symbols
of the Primary Cause in manifestation. The truly wise man is he who
contemplates the work of the Wise without allowing himself to be
limited by any particular form. In terms of spiritual attitude, it is
harmony, active or passive depending on the person, with the Divine
Will.
It is not without reason, therefore, that 'Abdallah Badr al-Habashi
concludes this compilation with the teachings of his master on Wisdom.
When he compares the latter with a king's daughter in love with a man
of lowly status, it is easy to see, beyond the religious forms, with
which universal and gnostic tradition the teaching of the Shaykh
al-Akbar Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi is connected (69 and 73-79).
Notes
1. His full name is al-Mas'ud Abu Muhammad 'Abdallah b. Badr b.
'Abdallah al-Habashi al-Yamani, the freed slave of Abu-l-Ghana'im b.
Abi-l-Futuh al-Harrani. Cf. Futûhât, Cairo edn, 1329 AH, I, p. 10;
Mishkât al-anwâr, Cairo, 1369 AH, p. 7 etc . . . Back to text
2. Born in Murcia in 560/1165 and died in Damascus in 638/1240.Back
to text
3. Recently the Mu'jam al-mu'allifîn (Vol III, p. 39) mentions him
due to the existence of a manuscript of the Inbâh at the Zâhiriyé in
Damascus. Back to text
4. As demonstrated by this verse:
For your love I love all the Abyssinians
As for your name I have become enamoured of the luminous full moon
(badr).
(Futûhât, I, p. 198, Ch. 29.)
5. Ibn 'Arabi dedicated the Futûhât al-Makkiyya to 'Abd al-'Aziz
al-Mahdawi and to Badr whom he describes at this point in time as
follows:
As for my companion, he is (a man) of unadulterated clarity, a pure
light, he is an Abyssinian, called 'Abdallah and like a full moon
(badr) without eclipse. He acknowledges each person's right and renders
it to him, he assigns to each his right, without going further. He has
attained the degree of 'discrimination' (tamyîz). He was purified at
the time of fusion (sabk) like pure gold. His word is true, his promise
sincere. (Futûhât, I, p. 10.)
Elsewhere he calls him: 'the most noble son, blessed, most pure, full
moon of the faith...' Mawâqi' al-nujûm, Cairo, 1965, p. 7. Back to
text
6. See the Futûhât, II, p. 49. On Isma'il b. Sawdakin see the
edition of the Tajalliyât al-ilâhiyya by Osman Yahya, al-Mashriq,
1966, Part I, p. 106. Back to text
7. Mawâqi' al-nujûm, p. 5. The following verses reveal the high
spiritual degree of the disciple:
We are the secret of the 'Pre-eternal' (al-azalî)
Through the 'Post-eternal' existence (abadî)
We have raised ourselves up and established ourselves
At the most holy station
And we have given what we have received
To the inmost secret of Badr al-Habashi . . .
8. Rûh al-Quds fî muhâsabat al-nafs, litho. Cairo edn, 1281 AH.
These are 'Abdallah b. Qassum (p. 54), 'Abdallah al-Mawruri (p. 63),
'Abdallah al-Baghi al-Shakka (p. 65), 'Abdallah al-Qattan (p. 67), Ibn
Ja'dun al-Hinnawi (died in Fez in 597 AH, p. 67), Muhammad b. Ashraf
al-Rundi (p. 69) and Ibrahim b. Ahmad b. Tarif al-'Absi (p. 74). Back
to text
9. In Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-'Arabi, ed. Nyberg, Leiden, 1919,
p. 4:
When Allah - Glory be to Him - made known to me the realities of
things as they are in their essence and He taught me through intuitive
unveiling (kashfan) the realities of their relationship and
attributions (nisab-idâfât), I wanted to pour these realities into
the mould of tangible representation, so that they would be easier for
my companion and friend 'Abdallah Badr al-Habashi to grasp.
10. Hilyat al-Abdâl, p. 1, in Rasâ'il Ibn 'Arabi, Hyderabad, 1948,
no. 26. Back to text
11. Mishkât al-anwâr fîmâ ruwiya 'an Allâh min al-akhbâr, Cairo,
1329 AH, hadîths no. 10, 21, 25, 33, 35, 39, and 40. Back to text
12. Cf. O. Yahya, Histoire et classification de l'oeuvre d'Ibn 'Arabi,
Damascus, 1964, pp. 448-9. Back to text
13. Dhakhâ'ir al-a'lâq, Beirut, 1312 AH, pp. 2, 196. Back to text
14. Cf. Futûhât, ed. O. Yahya, I, p. 72, no. 1, Cairo, 1972; from the
manuscript of al-Durra al-Fâkhira, Esad Efendi, 1777 (ff. 120-1216),
which we have unfortunately been unable to consult. Ibn 'Arabi records
a remarkable occurrence, which he himself witnessed, concerning the
death of Badr (Futûhât, I, Ch. 35, p. 221). Back to text
15. O. Yahya mentions four of them (see Histoire et classification, p.
311, no. 287.) We have not been able to consult the manuscript at
Istanbul University nor that of Yusuf Aga in Konya, since the catalogue
number indicated by O. Yahya currently relates to another work. O.
Yahya does not mention the Zâhiriyé ms., nor the two Tal'at mss. Back
to text
16. We wish to thank Mme Regina Pascual for giving us a copy of this
manuscript. Back to text
17. Among these treatises we should mention in particular:
· Kunh mâ lâ budda li-l-murîd minhu, Cairo, 1328AH, 1921 and
1967.
· Al-Amr al-muhkam al-marbût fî mâ yalzamu... , Istanbul, 1302
AH; Beirut, 1312AH (the sequel to Dhakhâ'ir al-a'lâq).
· Al-Anwâr fî mâ yumnaha sâhib al-khalwa min al-asrâr, Cairo,
1914 and Hyderabad 1948, in Rasâ'il, no. 12.
· Risâla lâ yu'awwalu 'alayhi, Rasâ'il, no. 16.
· Kitâb al-wasiyya, ibid. no. 24.
· Kitâb al-wasâyâ, ibid. no. 25.
· 'Advice to a friend' transl. of an unedited text by M.Vâlsan in
Etudes Traditionelles, Paris, 1968.
· 'Advice to the aspirant' transl. Ch. 22 of the Tadbîrât
al-ilâhiyya, by M. Vâlsan, Et. Trad., 1962.
· Passages from the Futûhât al-Makkiyya, Ch. 53: 'the work a
disciple must undertake before finding a master', I, pp. 277-8.
· Ch. 181: 'on the veneration of spiritual masters', II, pp.
364-6, transl. M. Vâlsan, Et. Trad., 1962, Paris. See also Ch. 560,
IV, pp. 444-553, etc.
Back to text
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