Sufi Aesthetics: Beauty, Love, and the Human Form in the Writings of Ibn 'Arabi and 'Iraqi PDF
Preview Sufi Aesthetics: Beauty, Love, and the Human Form in the Writings of Ibn 'Arabi and 'Iraqi
Sufi Aesthetics Studies in Comparative Religion Frederic!? M. Denn)~ Series [diwr Sufi Aesthetics Beauty, Love, and the Human Form in the Writings of Ibn 'Arabi and 'Iraqi CYRUS ALI ZARGAR ~~..J ~ The University of South Carolina Press "'2011 llnivcrsity ofSmuh C~rolina Published by the University of South Carolina Press Columbi<~, South Carolina 2'J201l www.sc.edufuscpres.~ M<~mil;1ctured in the llniled States of Amerir<1 20 I 9 Ill J7 16 I S 14 1.1 I 2 II 10 'J ll 7 (, S 4 1 2 I l.iiH<~ry of Congress CH<~loging-in-Puhlic;ltion Jhta ZilrgM, Cyrus Ali. Sufi <~esthetics: beauty, love, <~nd the hum:1n form in the writings of llll1 'Arabi <~nd 'Iraqi / Cyrus Ali Z~rgar. p. em.-(Studies in comparative religion) Includes bibliogr<lphic<~l referenn's and index. ISBN 971l-I-S7001-999-7 (doth: alk. paper) 1. Sttfism-Doctrincs. 2. Aesthetics. 1. l'nrcption (Philosophy) 4. Ibn ai-'Arabi, 1165-1240-Criticism and intcrprclation. S. 'lr;Hii, F:1khr <11-J)in Ibrahim, d. 121l97-Criticism and intcrprt<ltion. I. Title. IW189.3.Z16 2011 297.4' 167-dc22 2011010278 This hook was printed on Ci;Hfclter N<HLJres, ~ r<·rycled paper with .10 11CITl'nt postconsumcr waste content. Contents Series l~ditor's l'refare vii Preface ix Introduction Perreption arrording to Ibn 'Arabi: C:od in Forms 11 2 Perception acmrding to 'Iraqi: Witrwssing and Divine Self-Love 31 3 fleauty according to Ibn 'Arabi and 'Iraqi: That Which Causes Love 45 4 Ibn 'Arabi and I Iuman Beauty: The School of 1'<1s~ion<1te Love (,J 5 'Iraqi and the Tradition of Love, Witnessing, and Shahidbazi 85 6 The Amorous Lyric as Mystical L~mguagc: llnion of the Sacred and Profane 120 Conclusions 151 Notes 157 Selected Bibliography 20'J Index ofQur'anic V~::rses 2Ll Index ofTraditions 225 Cener<JI Index 227 Series Editor's Preface This study <1ddresses Sufi mysticill poetry within the conceptual universe of the poets themselves, which is a world of llesthetic ilWilreness rooted in love llnd connected to ontology <1nd humans in relation to divine reality. The author addresses love and beauty as understood and celebrated by two great Sufi poets who created their art in a most productive era of such discourse. Of particular significance is the author's straightforward treatment of erotic verse, which is a major emphasis of Sufi poetry animated by profound adoration of the human form as a foundation of their iles thetics. This book is grounded in a profound milstery ilnd understanding of the Arabic and Persian texts of the Sufi poets studied, ilS well as the vernacular secondary sources within this discourse. Specialists will value this study as a major contribution to lit erary theory. It is also accessible for thoughtful reilders to appreciate, whether in aca demic settings that encompass mysticism, lslilmic studies, and literature courses or among the general reading public which includes l;nge numbers worldwide who love to learn about Sufi mysticism both for intellectual stimulation and personill en I ightenment. Frederick M. Denny Preface The following book considers closely the writings of two thirteenth-century Sufis, Muhyi al-Oin ibn ai-'Arabi and Fakhr al-Oin 'Iraqi. Patience is the reader's only pre requisite, for a study of the "aesthetics" of vision and the human form in the com plex thought of these mystics often requires extensive explanation until we can finally reach the interpretive heart of the matter toward the end of the book. If you, like me, have long marveled at the human experience of beaury, then I hope you enjoy, as much as I did, discovering a perspective that is so distant yet so insightful and relevant. A Note about Readings I have avoided ·a biography of either Ibn 'Arabi or 'Iraqi, mainly in hopes of relative breviry, but also in recognition of the efforts of others in this regard. In English, Julian Baldick, William C. Chittick, and Peter Lamborn Wilson have considered closely the life of 'Iraqi, and Claude Addas's carefully researched biography of Ibn 'Arabi has been translated from the French, among others who have concerned themselves with one or even both of these mystics. For an astute overview of Ibn 'Arabi's ontological and cosmological insights, one can refer to the writings of William C. Chittick, since I have concentrated on one par ticular aspect of this worldview and, thanks to his efforts, can avoid reiterating what would have to be a long discussion. I also have been able to avoid a broader dis cussion of aesthetics as founded in classical Sufi thought, on account of the accom plishments of Seyyed Hossein Nasr, Titus Burckhardt, and others. There are other important and related topics, such as sama', the Sufi practice of "audition," and wine imagery, that are intimately connected to the thematic and historical contexts of this book yet covered only briefly herein because of limitations. Again, I refer inquisitive readers to the bibliography for resources. Text Editions As for the most relevant primary texts, the edition of Ibn 'Arabi's Fusus al-Hikam I have used corresponds to the A. E. Affifi edition, printed in Beirut in 1946, here reprinted in Tehran in 1991, although al.l page numbers correspond. The edition of al-Futuhat al-Makkiyah used throughout this book is the one published in 1997 in X Preface Beirut by Dar Ihya' al-Turath al-Islami. It is a reprinting of the Dar Sadir edition, based on the Bulaq edition published in Cairo in 19ll, which is often cited in stud· ies of Ibn 'Arabi. Unfonunately the Dar Sadir edition is no longer in print or in the market, so those introduced more recently to Ibn 'Arabi often do not have ready access to it. In order to make citations accessible to most, I have cited both versions but have placed the more available Dar Ihya' edition first in every instance and have included its line number. The Tarjuman al·Ashwaq cited throughout was also pub lished by Dar Sadir in 1961, which I have favored mainly because of its conformity with the commentary and a deanh of more authoritative, carefully edited versions. The edition of Ibn 'Arabi's commentary on his Tarjuman al·Ashwaq, the Dhakha'ir al·A'laq, Sharh Tarjuman al-Ashwaq, is that of Muhammad 'Abd al-Rahman al-Kurdi (Cairo, 1968), an edition used by Michael Sells, Chittick, and others. Sometimes, however, the edition of Tarjuman al-Ashwaq published by Reynold A. Nicholson in 1911 seems to have been more discerningly edited than the Dar Sadir edition-such instances are indicated in the endnotes. As for 'Iraqi, the main text used throughout for the author's complete works is a critical edition published as a second edition in 1382 shamsi-hijn/2003-4 by Nasrin Muhtasham. This is, as far as I know, the most recent edition of 'Iraqi's collected works, and the editor has carefully compared fifteen manuscripts, eight of which penain to 'Iraqi's diwan. This edition is referred to as Kulliyat. Despite its strengths, because of difficulties inherent in editing 'Iraqi's collected works, this text has been complemented by two other editions. For the Lama'at, this study makes use of Muhammad Khwajawi's 1992 critical edition as a second reference. For all other instances, a reprinting of Sa'id Nafisi's revised edition of 'Iraqi's collected works has been employed; this edition is cited as Diwan. Jmponant textual variances are indi cated in the notes. All translations are mine unless otherwise indicated. Diacritical Markings I hope that the lack of diacritical markings does not confuse anyone, but diacritics serve a somewhat strange purpose anyway, since those who understand them usu ally do not need them. In case there are some ambiguities, the index and biblio graphy both include diacritical markings. In such instances, the markings I use correspond to those of the International Journal of Middle East Studies, with a few minor adjustments; most notably, I add an h to words ending in ta' marbutah and prefer a long i and one y for the -iyya ending suggested by liMES. Also, because many of the authors quoted here use Arabic terms and phrases in Persian contexts as pan of an Arabic-Persian Sufi vocabulary, I have transliterated all Persian names and words using Arabic consonant and vowel transliteration equivalents, except, of course, when the consonants in question do not exist in the Arabic alphabet.
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