Imaginal Worlds: Ibn Al-'Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity (Suny Series in Islam)

Rating:
Summary: As is usual, magisterial
Review: Bill Chittick is the finest academic in North America writing about Islam. As is usual with his work, this work is splendid.

Rating:
Summary: Shaykh al Akbar Ibn Arabi was NOT a perrenialist!
Review: I have read bits of this book (and not all of it) and all I want to say is the following:

Undoubtedly, Mr. Chittick knows a lot about Ibn Arabi and is very interested in him; however for an academic--who are supposed to look at all the evidence before coming to any conclusions--I find it very disappointing that this book, though no doubt a labour of love and beautifully written, attributes positions and beliefs to Ibn Arabi (may his secret be sanctified!) which are totally opposed to what Ibn Arabi himself believed. What is even sadder--as the link below clearly shows--is that this position is arrived at by selective quoting of Ibn Arabi's works.

This book--and others like it, for some reason like to depict the great Sufi Shaykh Ibn Arabi as a perrenialist in his beliefs. This is totally wrong as Ibn Arabi category states in his magnus opus his belief in the traditional doctrine of the Ahle SunnaH w'al JamaaH (Sunni Islamic orthodoxy) which is totally opposed to the idea of the validity of all religions.

Because of this vital flaw in this work, I advise people to keep away from it despite its good points as one will be left with an incorrect view of Hazrat Shaykh al Akbar's ideas. The traditional sufis do not even let their discipless tudy Ibn Arabi until they have reached a certain high stage in their own spiritual journey as to do so is to invite confusion which is clearly what has happened to the self-declared Orientalist "interpreters" of Ibn Arabi (quds sirruhu)...

Rating:
Summary: Misleading
Review: This book is to make us believe that Ibn Al-Arabi is a truly universal man who respects religious diversity( maybe even encourages it). But as Chodkiewicz in his book " seal of the saints" makes it abundantly clear, Ibn Al-Arabi is not at all a fan of diversity or if he is, he is very selective about it. For example, Chodkeiwicz mentions Arabi's strong Anti-Shiism which he puts it rather interestingly as those who have been influenced by " demonic souls". This reminds us of Adolph Hitler's views of Jews as "Rats". Ibn Al-Arabi also attacks the theologians of Sunni Islam, who happen to disagree with him, as "anti-Christ" or " Pharaoh" of their time. I don't think Ibn Al-Arabi even remotely qualifies for a man who respected religious diversity.