Quest for the Red Sulphur. The Life of Ibn 'Arabi - Softcover

Addas, Claude

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0946621454 ISBN 13: 9780946621453

Publisher: The Islamic Texts Society, 1993

Synopsis

Claude Addas' "Quest for the Red Sulphur: The Life of Ibn Arabi" is the first work of its kind: a comprehensive overview of the life and works of Ibn Arabi, known to some as "Shaykh al-Akbar", the `Greatest of Sufi Masters'. Until recently, anyone who wanted to learn about the life of Ibn Arabi has had little choice of material to work from. "Quest for the Red Sulphur" by Claude Addas has helped to fill in this gap by basing itself on a detailed analysis of a whole range of Ibn Arabi's own writings, as well as a vast amount of secondary literature in both Arabic and Persian. The result is the first-ever attempt to reconstruct what proves to have been a double itinerary: on the one hand, the journey that took Ibn Arabi from his native Andalusia to Damascus-and on the other hand, the `Night Journey' which carried him along the paths of asceticism and prayer to the ultimate stage of revelation of his mystic quest. "Quest for the Red Sulphur" is undoubtedly a landmark in Ibn Arabi studies, and its author's gift of narrative allied to a consummate understanding of the subject make this volume compulsory reading for anyone interested in Islamic mysticism.

About this title

Review:

'I read it like a novel, a novel written in captivating style and with a seeming infinite love for its hero - a novel distinguished by its meticulous care for details and full of trustworthy information taken from manuscripts and printed sources... It is more than a translation: with the author's help, some additions have been made, some points clarified.'--Annemarie Schimmel

'The first serious biography of the most influential figure in the history of Islamic mysticism. It is based on an enormous amount of documentary evidence... In his voluminous writings Ibn 'Arabi recounted his visionary experiences, his journeys, real and imaginary, and his meetings with other mystics, both alive and dead.'

'This excellent biography is the first of its kind.'
--L'evenement du Jeudi

From the Publisher:

‘I read it like a novel, a novel written in captivating style and with a seeming infinite love for its hero - a novel distinguished by its meticulous care for details and full of trustworthy information taken from manuscripts and printed sources...It is more than a translation: with the author’s help some additions have been made, some points clarified.’
Annemarie Schimmel (Journal of Islamic Studies)

‘The first serious biography of the most influential figure in the history of Islamic mysticism. It is based on an enormous amount of documentary evidence...In his voluminous writings Ibn `Arabi recounted his visionary experiences, his journeys, real and imaginary, and his meetings with other mystics, both alive and dead.’ TLS

About this edition

• Publisher: The Islamic Texts Society
• Publication date: 1993
• ISBN 10: 0946621454
• ISBN 13: 9780946621453
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 362