The Young Woman at the Ka'ba - Love and Infin...

The statement attributed to Ibn al-ʿArabī, “kunnā ḥurūfan ʿāliyāt” — “We were exalted letters” — offers a profound affirmation of the pre-existent and sacred nature of all beings as articulations of Divine Speech. This is not merely poetic imagery, but a metaphysical vision: each ...  Show more

The statement attributed to Ibn al-ʿArabī, “kunnā ḥurūfan ʿāliyāt” — “We were exalted letters” — offers a profound affirmation of the pre-existent and sacred nature of all beings as articulations of Divine Speech. This is not merely poetic imagery, but a metaphysical vision: each ...  Show more

Joseph E. B. Lumbard (General Editor of The Study Quran) is Assistant Professor in the Department of Arabic and Translation Studies at the American University of Sharjah and an Associate Editor for the Integrated Encyclopedia of the Qurʾān (in progress). A specialist in Quranic s ...  Show more

It's often touted that Rumi is one of the best-selling poets in the United States. That may be the case but popular renderings of the writings of this 13th-century Muslim have largely detached him from the Islamic tradition, and specifically Sufi mysticism. In Radical Love: Teach ...  Show more

Sources/Recomended Reading:

Addas, Claude (1993). "Quest for the Red Sulphur". The Islamic Texts Society.

Austin, R.W.J. (translated by) (1980). "The Bezels of Wisdom". Classics of Western Spirituality Series. Paulist Press.

Chittick, William (198 ...