Mirrors of the Transcendent in the Cosmos of Ibn Arabi: The Body as Metaphor of Divine Self-Revelation

The Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society and the Warburg Institute jointly present a symposium at The Warburg Institute, University of London, Woburn Square, London.

Speakers over the two day event include:

• Faris Abdel-hadi, whose recently published book is titled Ibn ‘Arabī’s Religious Pluralism – Levels of Inclusivity.
• Nur Ahmad, a PhD student of Islam in Java at the University of Leiden and winner of the Society’s Young Writer Award 2023 for his essay Akbarian Hermeneutics in pre-Modern Javanese Literature will present a paper on 'The Muḥammadan Circumference – The Reality of Human in the Letters of Muḥammad'.
• Mukhtar Ali, author of Philosophical Sufism: An Introduction to the School of Ibn al-‘Arabi and whose new book, Inscriptions of Wisdom: The Sufism of Ibn al-ʿArabī in the Mirror of Jāmī, will shortly be published.
• Gracia López Anguita, Lecturer in the Dept. of Arab and Islamic Studies at the University of Seville and currently part of the team of the research project funded by the Spanish Government and European funds: Cultural and Religious Identity in Sufism in Morocco and Senegal: Hagiographies, Gender and Symbology. Her presentation is titled: 'Human and Divine Breaths: Mirrors of Creation, Language and Love'.
• Dr Rim Feriani, Educational Director at The Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, UK, will present her paper titled: 'Reading Ibn Arabi: From the Body of the Text to the Heart of the Words'.
• Dunja Rašić, who will present her paper titled: .Conquest of the Great City – a Metaphorical Story of a Wicked Queen, Her Subjects, and a Talisman by Muḥyī al-Dīn Ibn ʿArabī'.
• Makoto Sawai, Associate Professor of Tenri University, Japan: 'Self-disclosure of the Existence and the Divine Names'.
• Gregory Vandamme, whose presentation will be titled, 'The Body of the Caliph: Corporeal Governance of the Human Kingdom in Ibn ʿArabi’s al-Tadbīrāt al-ilāhiyya'.

ATTENDANCE FEES

• Standard, two days: £40
• Standard, one day: £20
• Students / unwaged: £10 for one or both days

DRAFT PROGRAMME

Friday 25th July 2025

9.30am - Introduction by David Hornsby and opening 10 minute video by Alessandro Scafi

10.00 - Gracia López Anguita: 'Human and Divine Breaths, Mirrors of Creation, Language and Love' (chair: Cecilia Twinch)

11.15 - Tea and Coffee

11.45 - Mukhtar Ali: 'Divine Necessity of the Comprehensive Being: Unlocking Ibn al-ʿArabī’s Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam Through the Adamic Faṣṣ (chair: David Hornsby)

1.00pm - Lunch break

2.15pm - Gregory Vandamme: 'The Body of the Caliph: Corporeal Governance of the Human Kingdom in Ibn ʿArabi’s al-Tadbīrāt al-ilāhiyya and its Commentaries' (chair: Richard Twinch)

3.15 - Stefan Sperl: ' "Different Aesthetics" – A New Approach to Sufi Texts?' (chair: Charles Burnett)

4.15 - Tea and Coffee

4.45 - Plenary Session - chair: Charles Burnett

5.30pm - drinks reception

6.00 - End

Saturday 26th July 2025

9.30am - Opening remarks by Stefan Sperl

10.00 - Faris Abdel-Hadi: 'Ibn ‘Arabī’s Religious Pluralism – Levels of Inclusivity' (chair: Federico Campagna). Online presentation

11.00 - Tea and Coffee

11.30 - Dunja Rašić: 'Conquest of the Great City' (chair: David Hornsby)

12.45pm - Ali Porteous - Presents the Ibn Arabi Society’s Manuscript Archive Project

1.00pm - Lunch break

2.15 - Nur Ahmad: 'The Muḥammadan Circumference - The Reality of Human in the Letters of Muḥammad' (chair: Aishah Safdar)

3.15 - Makoto Sawai: 'The Divine Names and Human Names in the Self-Revelation of the Existence' (chair: Charles Burnett)

4.45 - Plenary Session. Chair: Mukhtar Ali

5.30 - End

SPACES ARE LIMITED. PLEASE BOOK IN ADVANCE.