The revival of Sufism: Parallels between Ibn ʿArabī and šayj al-ʿAlāwī

Abstract

In this paper we discuss four common aspects of two transcendental figures of Sufism: Muḥyiddīn Ibn al-ʿArabī (d. 638/1240) and šayj Aḥmad al-ʿAlāwī (d. 1934). Despite their distance in time, both spiritual masters share, at least, four common elements: The importance for both of Abū Madyan’s figure (m. 1198) and his teachings, as a link between akbarī thought and the later šādiliyya spiritual trend, whose most contemporary exponent is šayj al-ʿAlāwī; the role of the saint (walī) as heir to the prophetic function and as a truthful and authoritative intermediary; the spiritual hermeneutics as a living and experiential entity; and the universal calling of their teachings. Both authors fulfil the function of revitalisers of the Eastern and Western Islamic spiritual tradition, as representatives of fresh, organic and current teachings for each time and place.