The Queen of Sheba in the Mystical Thought of Ibn ‘Arabī-Reference-Cited by-同舟云学术

The Queen of Sheba in the Mystical Thought of Ibn ‘Arabī

Published:2023-07-09 Issue:7 Volume:14 Page:885
ISSN:2077-1444
Container-title:Religions
language:en
Short-container-title:Religions

Author:

Lala Ismail¹^ORCID

Affiliation:

1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Gulf University for Science and Technology, Mubarak Al-Abdullah 32093, Kuwait

Abstract

The mystical commentary on the story of Bilqīs, the Queen of Sheba, from chapter 27 of the Qur’an carried out by the highly influential Sufi thinker Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240), shows that he differs radically from exoteric Sunni exegetes. The principal reason for this is Ibn ‘Arabī’s complete reliance on spiritual unveiling (kashf) as a hermeneutic tool. In the chapter on Sulaymān of Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, Ibn ‘Arabī represents Bilqīs as the most perspicuous instantiation of the divine Name, “the Compassionate” (Al-Raḥmān). It is the divine trait of compassion, says Ibn ‘Arabī, that provides the existentiating impetus required to bring forth the entire cosmos. Due to her personification of this trait, Bilqīs’ ascent to the pinnacle of gnosis and her ontological superiority over her peers is extolled by Ibn ‘Arabī in her Qur’anic story.

Funder

Gulf University for Science and Technology

Publisher

MDPI AG

Subject

Religious studies

Link

https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/7/885/pdf

Reference60 articles.

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