Ibn al‑ʿArabī and Islamic Epistemology: Knowledge in The Meccan Openings in Context
Date of Award
Spring 2024
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Religious Studies
First Advisor
Griffel, Frank
Abstract
Among the most influential authors of Islamic history, Muḥyī l-Dīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) is gradually becoming one of its most studied as well. Despite this, the majority of texts attributed to him still remain unedited and untranslated, and those that are available have, as a general rule, been read in semi-isolation from the broader intellectual-historical contexts in which they are rooted. The present study examines key elements of Ibn ʿArabī’s epistemology, endeavoring to situate them more deeply than has yet been done within the contexts of falsafa, kalām, and earlier Sufism, and it focuses squarely on the dozen or so texts in which Ibn ʿArabī most directly addresses the question of knowledge, including several either previously unexamined or else only partially so. Among the preceding authors of greatest significance to Ibn ʿArabī’s thought, including those of earlier Sufism, Maghribī-Andalusian mysticism and legal thought, and Ashʿarite theologians, al‑Ghazālī (d. 505/1111) is arguably his most important predecessor with specific regard to his engagement with the intellectual tradition at large. Through close comparative analysis of his central epistemological texts with those of al‑Ghazālī this study provides the clearest view yet available of Ibn ʿArabī’s concrete contributions to tradition-wide discussions concerning knowledge, including critical refinements concerning the interrelations between rational and inspired means of knowing.
Recommended Citation
Brizendine, Ryan Lawson, "Ibn al‑ʿArabī and Islamic Epistemology: Knowledge in The Meccan Openings in Context" (2024). Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertations. 1251.
https://elischolar.library.yale.edu/gsas_dissertations/1251
