Journey to Union: Exploring Ibn ꜤArabī’s Nomadic Philosophy and Imaginal Spaces in Sufism

Tayeb Bouchoir; Rachid Acim

doi:10.21580/tos.v12i2.17682

Authors

Tayeb Bouchoir Department of English Studies, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco
Rachid Acim Department of English Studies, Faculty of Letters and Human Sciences, Ibn Zohr University, Morocco

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21580/tos.v12i2.17682

Keywords:

Nomad thought, journey, hermeneutic approach, Ibn Arabi, empty space

Abstract

This paper sheds light on Ibn ꜤArabī’s concept of the continuous spiritual journey, where the initiated can commune with the prophets of God. Employing the hermeneutics approach to Sufi discourse and Gilles Deleuze’s concept of nomadic thought, this study demonstrates that Ibn ‘Arabī understood Sufi wayfarers as nomads travelling both inwardly and outwardly. Their mobility in the Realm of the Seen and the Realm of the Unseen liberates Sufi practitioners from the confines of the space-time dimension and allows them to access various spiritual states and multiple becomings, ultimately attaining the spiritual stations of stability and certainty.

Contribution: This article explores the breadth and depth of Ibn ‘Arabī’s nomadic philosophy underlying the spiritual journey. It argues that the innate human desire to unite with God is expressed through a series of spiritual movements in an imaginal space, where the mystical wayfarer can communicate with the saints and the prophets of God.

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