Ibn-Al-Arabi: The Bezels of Wisdom (Classics of Western Spirituality) Paperback – January 1, 1980

Muhyiddin (reviver of the Faith) Ibn 'Arabi, known as "The Greatest Sheikh" in the Islamic world and called "Doctor Maximus" in the West, was a brilliant mystic, a great theologian, and a prolific author. This is the shorter and more accessible of his two greatest works. It was revealed to him, he says, in a single vision. It describes many of the prophets in the Qur'an, such as Adam, Seth, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus, as settings for various aspects of the divine wisdom.There have been a few translations of this book into English, but at this time, this seems to be the only reasonably-priced version that is available. It is more complete and more direct than Bulent Rauf's partial translation of Burkhart's French translation, which was my favorite for many years (and which is now out of print).Reading this book is a challenge in spots, especially at the very beginning, because the thoughts are very dense, and because a lot of knowledge is taken for granted that non-Muslims might not know, and because Arabic writing tends to be elliptical. But the patient reader will find many gems of insight that will enrich their understanding, whether they are Jewish, Christian, or Muslim. I strongly recommend this book.

Purchased this to add to my Classics of Western Spirituality collection. When I get around to reading it, probably years from now, I'll probably review it then.

love this book

its a great book very hard read at least i think but it teaches a lot its worth it.

Simply deep and beautiful.

I needed this text for the same Princeton seminar class, and again got it very quickly and fairly reasonably, and just as described.

Great book for anyone interested in Sufi Islam and specifically Ibn Al-Arabi, whose fusion of Platonic philosophy in the interpretation of Islam made for quite a good read. The secondhand book is given three stars because it was not as described — ie “like new” because of the extensive notes inside.

I bought this along with Dagli's "the ringstones of wisdom". The value of "Bezels" is to highlight the depth of "Ringstones". The two translations can be viewed as iconic, as a pair, of the direction, the nature of what is being depicted. If I were not in a position to buy both, and compare the translations of al-cArabi's introduction, I would recommend "Ringstones", albeit much the more difficult work to read. I do not think much of "Bezels", as it does not convey much meaning. The cover is fun, though -- the title is written bottom-to-top, and the picture may be more than aesthetic. benguile3