Renowned expert William Chittick covers the life and works of the legendary Spanish-born Sufi writer Ibn Arabi in this new biography. Discussing not only Ibn Arabi's work on the subject of mysticism, Chittick also examines Ibn Arabi's love poetry.

INTRODUCTION Ibn 'Arabi's Life Abbreviations Used in the Text1 THE MUHAMMADAN INHERITANCE Inheritance Opening The Muhammadan Seal Reading the Qur'an Understanding God Knowing Self God's Wide Earth The Inheritor 2 THE LOVER OF GOD Assuming the Traits of the Names The Divine and Human Form Imperfect Love 3 THE DIVINE ROOTS OF LOVE Wujud The Nonexistent Beloved The Entities The Genesis of Love Love's Throne Human Love Felicity Poverty Perfection 4 THE COSMOLOGY OF REMEMBRANCE Remembrance Prophecy The Book of the Soul The Breath of the All-Merciful Knowledge of the Names All-Comprehensiveness Achieving the Status of Adam The Perfect Servant The House of God 5 KNOWLEDGE AND REALIZATION Knowledge Benefit The Form of God Reliable Knowledge Following Authority Realization The Ambiguity of Creation Giving Things their Haqq The Rights of God and Man The Soul's Haqq 6 TIME, SPACE, AND THE OBJECTIVITY OF ETHICAL NORMS The Methodology of Realization Time and Space Location Time Eternity Constant Transformation Ethics Lost in the Cosmos7 THE IN-BETWEEN Relativity The Worldview of In-Betweenness Cosmic Imagination The Soul The Soul's Root Controversies The Gods of Belief 8 THE DISCLOSURE OF THE INTERVENING IMAGE Self-Awareness Death Love 9 THE HERMENEUTICS OF MERCY Interpreting the Qur'an Good Opinions of God The Return to the All-Merciful The Mercy of Wujud Mercy's Precedence Essential Servanthood Primordial Nature Sweet Torment Constitutional Diversity Surrender Resources Index