His traditional title was Muḥyiddīn (Arabic: محيي الدين, lit. 'The Reviver of Religion'). After his death, practitioners of Sufism began referring to him by the honorific title Shaykh al-Akbar (Arabic: الشيخ الأكبر, lit. 'The Greatest Shaykh'), from which the term Akbarism is derived.
Life and Career
Ibn ʿArabī is considered a wali (saint) by some scholars and Muslim communities.
Ibn 'Arabī is known for being the first person to explicitly delineate the concept of wahdat al-wujūd (unity of existence), a monist doctrine that claimed that all things in the universe are manifestations of a singular reality. Ibn 'Arabī equated this reality with the entity he called "the Absolute" (al-wujūd al-muṭlaq, "the Absolute Existence").
Key Facts
- Born: July 26, 1165 in Murcia, Taifa of Murcia
- Died: 1240
- Field: Philosophy
Legacy and Impact
The influence of Ibn Arabi extends far beyond his own lifetime. He fundamentally shaped human thought and intellectual discourse, and his ideas and philosophical frameworks remain foundational to this day.
Though he passed away in 1240, his ideas continue to be studied, debated, and built upon by scholars and practitioners worldwide.
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