Overview

The quest for happiness and fulfilment lies at the very heart of human life, but for Ibn 'Arabi there is a realm beyond our ordinary understanding of happiness, where the human stands truly fulfilled, in vision of Reality. This is a goal within the potential of every person. In this first English translation of a core chapter from the famous Meccan Illuminations (al-Futuḥat al-Makkiyya), Ibn 'Arabi comprehensively summarises all his major teachings on human perfectibility and true happiness. Using the imagery of alchemy and ascension, he gives the reader an extraordinary insight into the spiritual journey by contrasting two ways of acquiring knowledge: the rational and the mystical. With an introduction to Islamic alchemy, the Hermetic tradition and the mysterious elixir, this is an important text for anyone interested in Sufism, Islamic spirituality or alchemy.

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9781905937592

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Reviews

The Alchemy of Human Happiness is a major contribution to the study of Ibn 'Arabi in English. For researchers, Stephen Hirtenstein's translation and his accompanying introduction and notes will enhance the study of the relationship between classical Sufism and the premodern sciences, a lacuna in Islamic studies. For students and their teachers, The Alchemy of Human Happiness will serve as an excellent introduction to the reinterpretation of Neoplatonism and Hermeticism within the context of Islamic and Sufi cosmologies. And for the interested reader, the lucidity of this work will make for a fulfilling learning experience. Most important, Hirtenstein's mastery of Ibn 'Arabi's corpus results in an invaluable translation. Cyrus Ali Zargar, Associate Professor of Religion, Augustana College; The Alchemy of Human Happiness (chapter 167 of Ibn `Arabi's immense Meccan Illuminations) is an extraordinary 'road-map' of the process of spiritual ascension through all the levels of existence, carefully highlighting at each stage the indispensable role of the devoted practice and interiorization of the revealed guidance of the Prophet Muhammad and earlier prophetic messengers and guides. One of the most challenging chapters of the entire Futuhat, it constantly intertwines complex allusions to the Qur'an and hadith, alchemy, medicine, Ptolemaic cosmology, embryology, and classical Sufi discussions of spiritual psychology and guidance. Yet Stephen Hirtenstein's clear, polished English translation of this key section and his careful, essential annotation make this one of the most accessible, readable and lastingly important gateways to Ibn 'Arabi's masterwork. James Morris, Boston College; It is always a challenge to translate Ibn `Arabi. The message that his teaching conveys is meant to be universal, but it is expressed in an idiom peculiar to the Islamic tradition, and, what is more, an idiom that draws upon the infinitely rich and subtle semantic universes of the Quranic revelation on the one hand, and the koine of the men of God on the other. As a result, many attempts at translating his works tend to leave us disappointed to some degree. Not so with Stephen Hirtenstein's English rendition of chapter 167 of the Futuhat Makkiyya. A ceaseless reader of the Shaykh al-akbar, Stephen Hirtenstein makes comprehensible- or in other words passes on - to the English-speaking reader a doctrinal teaching whose understanding requires a seasoned acquaintance with the literary heritage of tasawwuf. In choosing to translate the 167th of the 560 chapters of the Futuhat, Stephen Hirtenstein was well inspired: the theme explored in The Alchemy of Human Happiness-the spiritual journey- could not be more universal and better shared by all religions in the broadest sense: a journey at whose end the wayfarer, once they have agreed to the renunciation inherent in travelling, is led to the highest bliss there can be, a bliss granted to the one who, annihilated from their own self and all things, is immersed in the contemplation of the Eternal.Claude Addas, author of Quest for the Red Sulphur

Author Information

Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi was an eminent scholar, mystic and teacher of Islam in the Moorish culture of Andalusian Spain during the 12th century. Stephen Hirtenstein is a cofounder of Anqa Publishing and the editor of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi Society.

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