Ibn Arabi
Ibn Arabi
Ibn Arabi
Muhyiddin
Ibn ‘Arabi Society
January 2016
In the Library report, Jane Clark legacy of Ibn ‘Arabi in the year of
picked out some of the books the 850th anniversary of his birth.
which the Library has received in The symposium was organised in
2015. One of these, The Secrets partnership with the Institute for
of Voyaging (Ibn ‘Arabi’s Kitab Religion, Culture and Public Life
al-Isfār), translated by Angela at Columbia University.
Jaffray, includes a critical edition
using manuscripts from the Cecilia Twinch gave an account
The Annual General Meeting Manuscript Archive, as were three of the extraordinary succession
of the Ibn ‘Arabi Society is an critical editions printed alongside of symposia and events involving
occasion for reporting on its Urdu translations produced by MIAS-Latina, an independent
activities over the past year. Since the Ibn ‘Arabi Foundation in sister organisation of the
the membership of the Society Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society.
is very widespread (in some MIAS-Latina is based in Murcia,
36 countries), it would be very Jane also announced the third the birthplace of Ibn ‘Arabi, and
difficult for a lot of members to be Young Writer Award, which is has organised symposia there
in London for the presentations. now a tri-annual event. It offers since 2011. In the year from
So we have collected them here. a prize of US$ 1,000 for an essay October 2014, they organised or
by a writer under the age of 35 on participated in nearly one event
The Archive Project report came a subject related to the thought of per month, extending beyond
in two parts. In the first, Two visits Ibn ʿArabī or his school. Murcia to Barcelona, Madrid,
to Turkey, Stephen Hirtenstein Seville, Valencia, Granada, Lisbon
gives a flavour of what it was Richard Twinch gave details of in Portugal, and by video-link
like to look for manuscripts Events in the UK, notably the to Mexico. MIAS-Latina also
in some important libraries in Symposium held in Oxford in produced the second and very
Istanbul in April and May 2015. May 2015, A Living Legacy: Ibn substantial volume of its journal
Jane Clark’s report covers three ‘Arabi in Today’s World. These El Azufre Rojo (The Red Sulphur).
areas – Manuscript acquisitions days talks from the Symposium
by the Society over the past year, begin to become available on Martin Notcutt presented the
Developments in the Catalogue Youtube quite quickly, as well Treasurer’s Report. The facts
of manuscripts and the catalogue as through podcasts. The AGM and figures underline how
of works by Ibn ‘Arabi, and lastly itself was held in London for the Society is funded by the
Critical editions, a major fruit of the first time in 30 years, which membership, and how it works
the manuscript collection. enabled more members to attend through time freely given by those
it. More people came to the talk who value what Muhyiddin Ibn
David Hornsby reported on the by Stephen Hirtenstein after the ‘Arabi represents.
Journal, now at Volume 58. meeting. The next symposium
He outlined the increasingly will be held in Oxford in March Finally the Chairman welcomed
professional production process, 2016, on Light and Knowledge. the election of Bernard Sartorius
and raised the prospect of from Switzerland as Fellows
the Journal also appearing in The Chairman read a report from Representative for 2016, and
electronic format, something the Society in the USA, by Nick introduced him to the meeting.
which would be welcomed by Yiangou and Jane Carroll, which
University library subscribers and focused on the October 2015
many members in areas where symposium in New York. It was Issued by the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi
post is uncertain, not to mention on the same theme as those in Society, P.O. Box 892, Oxford OX2
the smartphone generation. Murcia and Oxford, celebrating the 7XL, United Kingdom
1
Archiving Report 2015
2
al-Qūnawī’s Fukūk (dated 700H).
For the second visit I was able to obtain permission to enter the Top-
kapi Palace Library to view a particularly interesting manuscript, and
then obtain a digital copy:
Muḥāḍarat al-abrār wa musāmarāt al-akhyār (RG 493)
• dated 712H (by far the earliest copy known, since other copies
are post-933, after the conquest of Syria and Egypt by Selim I).
• one of the longest works without any critical edition, but printed
in two volumes in Beirut – through our acquisition of this copy,
work has now begun in Spain on a new edition.
It only remains to express our deepest gratitude to all those who re-
sponded so generously to the archiving appeal: through this support we
have been able to go on working in these treasure-trove libraries, and
building up this incredible resource and encouraging new scholarship.
Thank you so much.
3
Since 2002 the Society has been ing to obtain copies of some very valuable mss that they hold.
supporting visits to Turkish libraries
by its researchers to identify and One feature of the modern age is that digital copies of mss are increasingly
collect copies of historic manuscripts available as digital downloads, and as a result of Julian’s assiduous trawling
connected with Ibn ‘Arabi. The first of the internet sites, we have begun to add some of these to our collection.
thought was to ensure the preservation Highlights include:
of these documents. It has acquired over
900 digital copies of manuscripts of • A copy of a work which was previously thought to have no
works by Ibn ‘Arabi. The catalogue of surviving manuscripts, Lawāqiḥ al-asrār wa-lawāʾiḥ al-anwār
manuscripts has been made available to (RG368A in Yahya’s classification), linked with Ibn Sawdakīn.
scholars through the Society’s Archive
Project website, and to a wider audience
• Mecca al-Ḥaram 2838, a collection of works including a unique
on the general Society website. The
version of the Dīwān.
Archive Project has been made possible These latest acquisitions mean that the total now held in the archive are
by donations from members and grants approximately as follows:
received from TIMA, The Islamic
Manuscript Association. Total copies: 1335
One of the triggers for starting the Copies of Ibn ʿArabī mss: 909
Archive Project was the appearance of
Others: 423
an Ibn ‘Arabi manuscript in a London
auction. Two members of the Society Works catalogued: 3064
noticed the similarity of the manuscript
to one illustrated in Stephen Hirtenstein’s The archive is held on my main computer at the moment, and the other
biography of Ibn ‘Arabi, ‘The Unlimited members of the “team” hold copies as well. When we want to pass on
Mercifier’, and it emerged that this copies to people who want to work with them, we send them by email,
manuscript was stolen from the Yusuf but this is a cumbersome business. One of the projects underway is to
Aga Library in Konya, Turkey. It was put the whole thing into a kind of cloud, so that it will exist in a single
one of 103 Seljuk-era manuscripts, seven place and be accessed by a file name. The system will have the facility
rare printed books and 63 golden inlaid to keep a record of who has downloaded each mss, and keep them up-
covers stolen from the Library in 2000. to-date with new acquisitions of the same work etc, so it will be a big
The Society was able to prove that this improvement. When this system is up and running, Julian will take on
one was a stolen manuscript by means the role of looking after the actual digital archive for the Society.
of a microfilm copy that it had. The sale
was stopped, and the manuscript itself
was returned to the Library in 2003. B) Catalogue
As recently as July 2015 it was The digital archive is one part of the project. Alongside it there is a
reported that a Turkish Ph.D student catalogue which is slowly developing into an extraordinary tool for
at Utrecht University identified two research, as well as being now far and away the best source of informa-
further manuscripts from the Yusuf Aga tion on Ibn ʿArabī works and manuscripts for researchers. At the mo-
theft in a collection in the University ment this exists in three different forms:
of Pennsylvania’s Rare Books and
Manuscripts Library, and these have also 1) An old-fashioned database which is accessed only by the two Senior
been returned to Konya. Research Fellows of the Society involved and is basically the MIAS
library catalogue plus archiving lists.
Straightforward preservation of
historic manuscripts remains a role 2) An on-line searchable database of this catalogue – mostly the mss
of the Archive, but its collection of records but also integrated printed works and papers – which has been
digital copies of manuscripts has developed, and is administered by Julian Cook. This is accessed by
become a foundation for refinement of password only for technical reasons, and it has an interactive facility
the catalogue of Ibn ‘Arabi’s works, which allows people to add to the information in a comments field.
and critical editions and translations 3) A public-access system on the MIAS web-site in the form of PDFs
prepared on a much sounder basis. giving basic information about Ibn ʿArabī works plus an assessment
of their authenticity, and the best manuscripts available, which is also
uploaded from the database periodically.
About 40 people have password access to the searchable on-line cata-
logue at the moment, although there are probably less than a dozen who
use it on a regular basis, and even fewer who have made substantial
comments. Nevertheless, some very useful things have been added.
4
Abrar Ahmad of the Ibn ʿArabī Foundation in Rawalpindi, Pakistan,
has made some very valuable contributions, feeding back information
from the manuscripts that he has been editing. There has also been
much input from Julian himself and from Claude Addas about various
aspects pertaining to manuscripts’ validity, etc. Some really important
and extensive research has taken place, largely held in the comment
fields of the on-line database.
Highlights include:
• Julian’s expertise in Ibn ʿArabī’s poetry now enables him to
correlate many of the odd poems which appear at the end, or in
the margins, of mss, with the Diwān. This is an enormous help
in working out whether a work is really by Ibn ʿArabī, or which
work it is.
• Julian and Claude Addas together have worked out a number
of ‘markers’ which allow us to work out whether a copy of the
Fuṭūḥāt is a first or second recension.
• Research, undertaken generally, into the people who are named
on the manuscripts. It is possible that there will at some point
be an extension of the database to encapsulate the expertise
which is being developed in this area; already Julian has
made available in the catalogue a searchable list of the many
people who appear in readings during Ibn ʿArabī’s last years in
Damascus.
• Ongoing research, led by Stephen, into Ibn ʿArabī’s
handwriting on the manuscripts he wrote out himself, allowing
us to determine the provenance of these mss much more
precisely.
• In general, work into sorting out all sorts of little problems of
attribution that were not possible to solve at the time of the
original bibliography produced by Osman Yahya.
One fruit of all the work is some slight amendment to what we under-
stand Ibn ʿArabī’s corpus of works to be:
Verified 86
Probable 11
Total works written by Ibn ʿArabī = 97 on the basis of current
manuscript evidence
This number was 95 when Stephen and I wrote our article in JMIAS
a few years ago, so recent research has added two to the total corpus.
This change is not just the addition of two manuscripts, but has in-
volved several works being demoted from verified status and several
being added, changes in classification as we find that some works are
actually extracts from others, etc, etc.
From the online catalogue - part of a pdf The system for updating the on-line database – and subsequently the
page listing works which are considered PDF lists – is cumbersome. It is uploaded periodically from the founda-
certain to be by Ibn ‘Arabi. See MIAS tional database, which means that it requires my input in order to feed
Archive Report the information that appears in the comments fields into the database.
The amendment process is fascinating but very time-consuming work,
and I spent most of my summer going through about 3,500 comments
which have accumulated over the last few years. We hoped to get this
done by now, but I had not quite finished when my vacation came to an
end, so it will be delayed now until early 2016.
5
In the long-term, therefore, the plan is that two foundational catalogues
will become one, so that we will be able to amend the on-line catalogue
directly. This is rather a large project, which Julian has generously
agreed to undertake. When it is done, further possibilities will open
up for making the catalogue more widely available, or for bringing in
other people to update it. Hopefully this will happen before too long–
certainly before next year.
The main problem we now have is dissemination. As I have said, the
archiving catalogue now contains a great deal of very valuable re-
search, but it is in note form in the comments field. Somehow or other,
we have to start converting all this knowledge into articles so that it can
be widely known.
7
The Library
Report by Jane Clark
It has become usual to do a presentation of new books as part of the
AGM, and in the past I have arrived with a whole suitcase of them.
However, there are not many books to announce this year. Here is a list
of the most important ones that I am aware of.
1. ʿAnqā’s new translation of Ibn ʿArabī’s K. al-Isfār entitled The
Secrets of Voyaging. This is a dual language edition, with a critical
edition of the Arabic text displayed alongside a translation into
English by Angela Jaffray, supported by a whole host of notes and
commentary.
2. A new translation of Fuṣūṣ al-Hikam (Routledge, London and
New York, 2015) by Professor Binyamin Abrahamov, which is
a welcome addition to the growing number of translations into
English. It is perhaps the clearest in English so far, but, although it
says that it is an “annotated” translation, you should be warned that
the notes are nothing like as comprehensive as those made by Caner
Dağli in his 2004 translation.
8
Young Writer Award
Report by Jane Clark
The winner of the Young Writer Award We are pleased to announce that the next Young Writer Award will be
in 2013 was Axel Takács, for his es- made in 2016. This tri-annual award offers a prize of US$ 1,000 for an
say “Beyond the Intellect: Perpetual essay by a writer under the age of 35 on a subject related to the thought
Expansion and Transformation in the of Ibn ʿArabī or his school, It must be in English, and no more than
Anthropocosmic Vision of Thomas Gallus 9,000 words in length. All entries will be submitted to the Journal of
and the Akbarian Tradition.” Axel was Muhyiddin Ibn ʿArabī Society for consideration. There is no guarantee
part of the doctoral program in religion
that an essay will be accepted, but for previous awards, not only the
at Harvard University, where he also re-
ceived a Masters of Theological Studies
winners but also other entries have been published.
in 2010. The essay appeared in Vol. 55 of Entries much be received before 1st October 2016 and the winner will
the Journal, 2014. be announced at the AGM next November. Essays can be sent digitally
to mias.uk@ibnarabisociety.org, but they need to be accompanied by
The Award in 2009 was won by Dr. Jari
Kaukua, for his paper “I in the Eye of
an entry form which can be downloaded from the Society website or
God: Ibn ‘Arabi on the Divine Human obtained by email request.
Self.” He was an Academy of Finland We have received some excellent entries for this Award on the two pre-
research fellow at the University of
vious occasions when it has been run, and we are very concerned that
Jyväskylä, in the Department of Social
Sciences and Philosophy. He came from
its existence is known by as many people as possible. So we would
Finland to present his paper at the Soci- like to ask members to pass on information about it to anyone they
ety AGM in 2009, and it appeared in Vol. think may be interested, and there will be posters available if anyone
47 of the Journal, 2010. wants to put one up on a notice board somewhere.
This award is supported by a private donation and, once again, by the
If you know somebody who might be
interested in entering an essay for the
Beshara Trust, as well as drawing upon Society funds. Our thanks to all
Award, please draw it to their attention. those who have contributed.
For further information, please email me, Jane Clark, on jane.clark@
gathorne.co.uk, or consult the website.
Part of the poster inviting entries for the Young Writer Award
9
UK Symposium and Events
Report by Richard Twinch
In keeping with the magnitude of the 850th anniversary of the birth of
the illustrious Muhyiddin, events have been taking place around the
world.
Here in the UK, we gathered again in St. Anne’s College at the end
of May to discuss the title ‘A Living Legacy: Ibn ‘Arabi in Today’s
World’. Our wide range of international speakers were:
• Robert Darr – San Francisco : Waking to the Embrace: Applying
Ibn ‘Arabi’s Teachings on Embodiment
Mahmud Kılıç speaking at the • Sou’ad Hakim – Beirut : A Living Legacy
Symposium in Oxford in May 2015, one
of the talks from the Symposium now • Mahmud Kılıç – Istanbul : If You Meet Ibn ‘Arabi in
available on Youtube. Damascus...
So far two of the talks – Cecilia Twinch • Mohammed Rustom – Toronto : Akbarian Aphorisms for the
and Robert Darr – have been released 21st Century
as podcasts and others will follow. • Sa’diyya Shaikh – Cape Town : Intimate Echoes of Self: Gender
The Society has been making available And Sexuality in Ibn ‘Arabi’s Cosmology
recordings of talks given at Symposia in • Cecilia Twinch – Oxford : Refreshing Repose and a Reviving
the USA and UK since 2006. Scent
Some 88 delegates attended the Oxford symposium where we also
showed the film ‘Looking for Muhyiddin’ in the afternoon and even-
ing – the second public showing in the UK, in the city where the initial
scenes were shot during the 2008 Symposium at Worcester College.
The UK Society AGM for 2015 was held in London at the end of No-
vember. This was the first time the AGM had been held in London for
over 30 years, and the event, which included a talk by Stephen Hirten-
stein, was well attended by over 60 people, which is a measure of the
prominence that Ibn ‘Arabi’s work is having upon a new, predominant-
ly urban, generation.
2015 has also seen the publication of Angela Jaffray’s translation of the
Kitab al-Isfar and published by Anqa Books as ‘The Secrets of Voyag-
ing’. This formed the basis of the talk given after the AGM by Stephen
Hirtenstein who edited the publication for Anqa Books.
On March 19th, 2016 in Wolfson College, Oxford we are holding
a one-day symposium on ‘Ibn ‘Arabi – Light and Knowledge’ with
speakers Todd Lawson, Sara Sviri and Ahmad Sukkar. It is serendipi-
tous that this event should take place as the sun passes through the
equinox which is widely celebrated as the Night of Norooz which is the
Iranian New Year on 20th March.
The change of venue, with ample parking and proximity to a new rail
station, will hopefully allow many to make the journey from London.
By including lunch for all as part of the event, it will also make for the
even further integration of the symposium. We are holding our talks in
the brand new, award-winning Leonard Wolfson Auditorium which can
accommodate up to 150 people.
We are also linking up with MIAS Latina and Anqa Books to arrange
the one day symposium in English in Murcia on May 27th and we hope
that weekenders will come , as they did in 2014, and join the sympo-
sium as well as those on the full Anqa Tour.
10
The Ibn ‘Arabi Society in the USA
Report by Nick Yiangou and Jane Carroll
The Ibn ‘Arabi Society in America has recently returned from the
Symposium in New York held on October 23-24th on the same theme
as those in Murcia and Oxford, celebrating the legacy of Ibn ‘Arabi in
the year of the 850th anniversary of his birth. The event was a great
success and we continue to have a strong presence and good support in
the New York area.
Prof. William Chittick delivered the keynote lecture on the Friday
night on knowledge and recognition, the living knowledge which is
Ibn ‘Arabi’s legacy. The evening finished with a beautiful concert by
Amir Vahab and his group. On Saturday morning there were excellent
talks by James Morris on inspiration and discernment, Sa’diyya Shaikh
on re-imagining gender, Todd Lawson on friendship, Pierre Lory on
the animal world and Zahra’ Langhi on peace. All of the talks were
recorded, the first is on the web site as a podcast and the others are to
follow. Each of the speakers as well as Jane Clark and Axel Takacs
(from Boston College) led workshops in the afternoon. The event
finished with a challenging panel discussion.
As in previous years, we found a partner, in this case the Institute for
Religion, Culture and Public Life at Columbia University which was
of great help logistically, financially and with outreach. The Institute
covered the cost of the venues, audio equipment and refreshments and
An exhibit from the recently restored advertised well throughout the University such that we had a number
(and spectacular) Islamic collection at of students attending the event, which is always important to us. The
the Metropolitan Museum of Art - which New York Open Center, a previous partner of ours, also helped with
many people revisited. publicity. Reporters from Anadolu, the official Turkish government
news agency and South-South News from the United Nations attended
and we are waiting to hear of their reports.
Registration was handled by Eventbrite and book sales by Square both
of which made accounting much more simple and Nick sent out a
questionnaire after the event which solicited some helpful, and mostly
very appreciative, responses.
Other than the Symposium, the Society has started a programme of
afternoon events in Berkeley, California. The first, with Jane Carroll
and Nick Yiangou presenting the papers they had delivered for the
Beshara Lecture series, was held in July and was both well received
(and easy to arrange!). The next event with Bob Darr presenting the
paper he delivered at the Oxford Symposium in 2015 was held in
December. We potentially have Angela Jaffray and Todd Lawson lined
up for the spring and hope to hold at least two more events before the
end of 2016.
There are currently 93 members and 996 people on the mailing list.
The US Facebook page has 2250 “likes”. Maren Gleason continues to
handle book sales which are steady throughout the year.
The US Society’s finances are self-sustaining through membership
dues, donations, book sales and occasional grants. As in the UK none
of this would be possible without the free labour of the Society’s board
members.
The Symposia recently have been managed by partnering with suitable
organisations to share the costs and for the past few years have not
operated at a loss to the Society.
11
The Society’s coffers are healthy, thanks in part to a generous donation
from the Adobe Foundation through Nick Yiangou’s employer Adobe
Systems.
Exhausting though all this is we look forward to next year!
MIAS-Latina 2015
Report by Cecilia Twinch
12
Mora. Fernando Mora is the author of an excellent introduction to Ibn
‘Arabi’s life and thought entitled Ibn ʿArabī: Vida y enseñanzas del
gran místico andalusí.
In May in Murcia there was a weekend symposium which for the
first
time this year was planned to coincide with the Festival of Three
Cultures rather than with IBAFF (the International Ibn ʿArabi Film
Festival) which took place as usual in Murcia in March. That March
conference was moved to Seville University simply because the
Cultural Centre for Murcia did not have enough resources to put on two
major Ibn ʿArabi symposia within a couple of months of each other,
in addition to the Film Festival. This Fifth MIAS-Latina International
Symposium on Ibn ʿArabi of Murcia was entitled: A Living Legacy:
100 years of Ibn ʿArabi Studies – A Tribute to Miguel Asín Palacios.
As you may know, Miguel Asín Palacios, the Roman Catholic Priest
and scholar of Islamic studies, was the pioneer of Ibn ʿArabi studies in
western European languages, publishing studies over more than three
decades. He wrote Muhyiddin, a Moslem Writer of the twelfth century
(Mohidin, escritor musulmán del siglo XII) in 1899, and Psychology
according to Mohidin Abenarabi (La psicología según Mohidin
Abenarabi) in 1906, as well as his better known Muslim Eschatology
in Dante’s Divine Comedy (La escatología musulmana en la ‘Divina
Comedia’,1919) and his Study of Sufism through Ibn ʿArabi’s works:
El Islam Cristianizado published in 1931, which included several
translations of Ibn ʿArabi texts into Spanish, as well as various other
works.
In May in Granada there was a weekend seminar on Sufism and the arts
in the light of the Alhambra, it being the United Nations International
Year of Light 2015. This was held of course at the Alhambra and
enjoyed the participation of Jane Carroll, architect and geometer, who
is one of the mainstays of MIAS USA.
Then after the summer break, in October, in Madrid again, there was
the International Seminar on Ibn ʿArabi and (Ramón) Llull in the light
of current maths and physics.
Beyond Spain, MIAS-Latina has participated in events in Portugal and
Mexico:
Portugal: There was a conference entitled O Gharb al-Andalus nas raízes
do misticismo de Ibn al-‘Arabî at Lisbon University (Universidade Nova
de Lisboa) in April, and in November the International Conference Ibn
ʿArabi: between the East and the West of al-Andalus, and the impact of
his teaching in the 21st Century with old friends of this society like Eric
Geoffroy, Jaafar Kansoussi and Jaume Flaquer.
Mexico: Several videolink talks have been given to the Ibn ʿArabi
Reading Circle in Mexico City.
These were followed in November 2015 in Murcia, Spain, by the First
Concert with Ignacio Bejar at Seville International Meeting of Ibn ʿArabi Reading Circles from Murcia,
University, once the
Royal Tobacco Cartagena, Sevilla, Talavera, Valencia, Melilla, Barcelona and Granada
Factory of Bizet’s Carmen fame. It under the title: From the text to the heart which included, among its
was part of the First International 14 talks, a videolink presentation by Ariosto Matus of the Mexican
Symposium of MIAS-Latina in Seville: Reading Circle.
entitled “Spiritual Geometry in Ibn
ʿArabi”, in March 2015. On 4-5 December, 2015, the Second MIAS Latina Symposium took
place in Barcelona: Affinities between the mystic Ramon Llull and Ibn
ʿArabi against the background of Mediterranean thought at the Centre
for Christian Studies – including a screening of the documentary made
by Miguel Valls, Ibn ʿArabi and the Splendour of al-Andalus.
13
I would also like to announce that the next Anqa Publishing tour,
to be led again by Stephen Hirtenstein and Jane Carroll, will take
place 26 May – 9 June 2016 and will again start with a symposium in
Murcia. This three day International symposium on Ibn ʿArabi, entitled
Presence, will take place within the framework of the Festival of Three
Cultures, beginning with one all-day conference entirely in English
on 27th May. Those not taking part in the Anqa tour are also most
welcome to attend this symposium held in the place of Ibn ʿArabi’s
birth. (The talks and workshops on 28th and 29th of May will be in
Spanish with possible contributions in Portuguese and Italian.) See the
Anqa and MIAS-Latina websites for more details.
The second volume of the MIAS-Latina Journal of Ibn ʿArabi Studies,
El Azufre Rojo (The Red Sulphur), appeared in 2015.
Details of other upcoming events may be seen on MIAS-Latina’s
website: ibnarabisociety.es
Besides Spanish, some parts of the website, including many articles,
The second volume of the MIAS- are available in Catalan, Portuguese and Italian by clicking on the
Latina Journal of Ibn ʿArabi Studies, appropriate flag at the top of the page.
“El Azufre Rojo” (The Red Sulphur),
appeared in 2015 Pablo Beneito has again been the main inspiration and academic
director of all of these events. However, there is also now a small
but growing
dedicated group of helpers, in the region of Murcia and
elsewhere, who work with the support of Puertas de Castilla Cultural
Organization in Murcia, as well as universities and other cultural
organizations there and elsewhere. Of course, Ibn ʿArabi is recognized,
and becoming more so, as part of Spain’s heritage. Perhaps he will
come to be seen more as part of humanity’s heritage, especially in these
difficult times when his inclusive wisdom is so much needed.
San Salvador Church in Seville which still has the remains of the arches at the Great
Mosque where Ibn ʿArabi would have prayed.
14
The Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society was
founded in the United Kingdom in 1977.
Treasurer’s Report 2015
The intention was to make Ibn ‘Arabi’s Report by Martin Notcutt
meanings and writings better known
and understood. The Society in the USA
was established in 1983 as a non-profit Thank God, the Society has been given money to do a lot of things.
corporation in California. Although they The money which really keeps the Society going comes from its mem-
are distinct legal and financial entities, bers in the form of annual subscriptions, and sometimes special dona-
the Society in the UK and the USA act tions. The Society remains a voluntary body. That means most of what
as one body. The Society’s activities are is done in its name is given freely, and the money it gets pays for things
funded by the annual subscriptions and and outside services.
donations of its members. The Society
in the USA is responsible for members These notes describe the finances of the Society in the United King-
in North and Central America, the dom, which administers the membership of the Society in about 36
Society in the UK administers members countries round the world, except for North and Central America. Be-
in all other countries, 36 countries at ing carefully used, the money enables the following things:
this time. MIAS-Latina, an independent
organisation in Spain, was established
• Production of the Journal, printing and posting, costs at present
in 2011.
about £4,500 per year for two volumes of the Journal.
15
at least 15 languages. In 2014 and 2015 the total expenditure through the Society’s books
was over £20,000.
32 Symposia have been held in the UK
since the first one at Durham in April In the light of this, it may surprise you to know that, since the main
1984, and particularly since 1993 source of spendable money for the Society is the money it receives
these symposia have been events with from members as annual subscriptions, over the past five years this
speakers from many countries. The first has been between £5,000 and £6,000 per year.
symposium was held in the United States
in 1987. Many speakers have testified to In 2015, however, because of particular needs, there was an appeal to
the encouragement they have received members for help in funding the Archive project and the Symposium,
from the existence of the Symposium. and altogether donations and grants came to £7,745 – nearly half as
Speakers from the Society have taken much again as membership income.
part in conferences in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Another regular source of income is profit from the sale of books,
Indonesia, Morocco, Spain, Syria, which may produce £1,500 per year. These days most books are sold
Turkey, the USA and more. at the Symposium, but there are also sales of the Fusus al-Hikam and
The Society has had a website since full sets of the Journal.
1996. Apart from news about events, The Society has some cash in the bank. Some of that cash can be con-
the website has rich content, making sidered as already committed. Some of it is working capital. “Already
available more than 200 articles and committed” means things like money to pay for production of those
100 podcasts. About 300 people visit the Journals people or universities have already paid subscriptions for,
website each day. Podcasts have been and funds received for the Archive project which have not already
available through iTunes as well as the been spent. Saving to reprint Hizb, Wird. We now also contribute to
Society’s website since 2009. The Society the Young Writer Award, which has been fully sponsored up to now.
in the USA has had a Facebook page
since 2011, and the Society in the UK The rest is “Working capital”, and is what makes it possible to put on
has had a Facebook group since 2014. a Symposium, for example, when you have expenses such as book-
Videos have been published on Youtube ings and airfares to pay before you have any income. If you don’t
since 2014. have this sort of money in the bank, you would have to borrow, and
we are not able to borrow from a bank.
Since 2002 the Society has been
supporting visits to Turkish libraries What I would like to leave you with is that the Society’s income
by its researchers to identify and from subscriptions, and on special occasions donations, goes a long
collect copies of historic manuscripts way. It does this because the Society receives as gift the efforts of
connected with Ibn ‘Arabi. The first many people who love what the Society is there to serve. If it were
thought was to ensure the preservation necessary to pay for what these efforts produce, ten times the present
of these documents. It has acquired over income would not be enough.
900 digital copies of manuscripts of
But as time goes by,
works by Ibn ‘Arabi. The catalogue of
manuscripts has been made available to • Things like the Symposium are getting more expensive, and
scholars through the Society’s Archive our aspirations have been creeping up for both the Journal and
Project website, and to a wider audience the Symposium.
on the general Society website. The
Archive Project has been made possible • The Society’s income from Membership is pretty much the
by donations from members and has same year by year.
received grants from TIMA, The Islamic
Manuscript Association. • The number of people who want to (and can afford to) give
their time for nothing may be dwindling.
The catalogue of manuscripts has been
the basis for the first revision of the I would encourage more people to become involved in the Society as
catalogue of works by Ibn ‘Arabi since members, helping to fund it, and as contributors to the work it does.
the seminal study by Osman Yahya, The value of the gift represented by the meaning and works of Ibn
published in 1964. The resources of ‘Arabi is incalculable. It seems more than ever important that it is
the Archive Project have helped many available to those who find themselves in need.
scholars in their work of producing
critical editions and translations of Ibn
‘Arabi’s works, and for groundbreaking
work in elucidating the structure of Ibn
‘Arabi’s Diwan.
16