Muhammed Ibn ‘Ali Ibn ‘Arabi was born in Murcia in southern Spain in 1165 AD (560AH), at the time of the flowering of the Hispano-Arab culture. Since the invasion of the Iberian peninsula by the Moors in 711 AD, the southern half of Spain had been ‘arabised’ under Islamic rule, and Arabic became the common […]
Category: Sufism and Mysticism
Tales of rumi:The Harper
In the time of the Khalifa ‘Omar there lived a harper, whose voice was as sweet as that of the angel Israfil, and who was in great request at all feasts. But he grew old, and his voice broke, and no one would employ him any longer. In despair he went to the burial-ground of […]
Tales of rumi:Another Tyrannical Jewish King.
A certain Jewish king, the same who is referred to in the Sura “Signs of the Zodiac,”1 made up his mind to utterly exterminate the Christian faith, and with that view he set up a huge idol, and issued commands that all who refused to worship it should be cast into the fire. Thereupon his […]
Shams of Tabriz’s 40 Rules of Love(part2)
Rule 21 When a true lover of God goes into a tavern, the tavern becomes his chamber of prayer, but when a wine bibber goes into the same chamber, it becomes his tavern. In everything we do, it is our hearts that make the difference, not our outer appearance. Sufis do not judge other people […]
Shams of Tabriz’s 40 Rules of Love(part1)
Rule 1 How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we. Rule 2 The path to the […]
Ibn al-‘Arabi expressions
As for the theorists and thinkers, and the scholastic theologians, with their talk about the soul and its properties, none of them have grasped the Reality; such speculation can never grasp it. He who seeks to know the Reality through theoretical speculation is flogging a dead horse; … for he who seeks to know It […]
Tales of rumi:The Jewish King, his Vazir, and the Christians.
A certain Jewish king used to persecute the Christians,desiring to exterminate their faith. His Vazir persuaded him to try a stratagem, namely, to mutilate the Vazir himself, and expel him from his court, with the intent that he might take refuge with the Christians, and stir up mutual dissensions amongst them. The Vazir’s suggestion was […]
Tales of rumi: The Oilman and his Parrot.
An oilman possessed a parrot which used to amuse himwith its agreeable prattle, and to watch his shop when hewent out. One day, when the parrot was alone in the shop,a cat upset one of the oil-jars. When the oilman returnedhome he thought that the parrot had done this mischief,and in his anger he smote […]
The Snake-Catcher and the Serpent
There was once a man in Iraq who decided to go into the cold and snowy mountains in search of a snake. He wanted to display the snake to the townspeople and thereby raise a few coppers from the incredulous crowd. Foolish man that he was, he searched through the mountains and lo and behold! […]