Sufism and Ethics [659]

• Sufism and Ethics.
• This manuscript is now IO Islamic B412, 415 in the India Office collections.
• [metadata: Otto Loth, A Catalogue of the Arabic Manuscripts in the Library of the India Office, (volume 1), no. 659 here with further notations and hyperlinks].

659.

B 412.415. Size 10 in. by 6 in.; foll. 26. About twenty-one lines in a page.

I.Foll. 1-11. كتاب الاجوبة اللائقة عن الاسئلة الفائقة للشيخ القطب الربانى محيى الدين بن عربى الخ.

A treatise by IBN ‘ARABÎ, on the knowledge of God.

It was written in answer to the question of a friend.

An account of it is given by Flügel, Hdss. Wien, iii. 356.

Plainly, but inelegantly written. The following statements concerning the original and the present copies are found at the end:انتهى ما وجدته بخط سيدى الكامل المكمل العارف بالله تعالى عز وجل الشيخ احمد بن علان الصديقى المكى نفعنى الله به آمين.

نقل ذلك من خط من نقله من خط الشيخ المذكور احمد بن علان رضى الله عنه و نفع به آمين آمين آمين.

It is followed (fol. 10) by Fatwa, which begins:وسالونى عن الرويات (!) الصادقة هل هى من قسم الوحى , in a clumsy handwriting ; and (fol. 10v.-11) an extract from IBN ‘ARABÎ’S رسالة القدس (see below), ill written.

An extract from SHA’BÂNÎ’S كشف الران عن وجه اسالة الجان (sic,-- see, Ḥ. Kh. v. 204) is written on the title-page.

Bound with this is: ----

II. Foll. 12-26. An extract from IBN ‘ARABÎ’S parenetical treatise, رسالة القدس . See , regarding this work, Ḥ. Kh. iii. 427, and Cat. Bodl. i. 91.

This extract is inscribed:بسم الله .. هذه نبذة منقولة من كتاب رسالة القدس فى مناصحة النفس تاليف الشيخ العارف محمد ابن عربى.

It begins:ثم اعرّف الولى ابقاه الله بما جرا بينى و بين نفسى .

Plainly written, with frequent omission of the diacritical points. The whole text is spotted with red dots and strokes. Emended.

It is followed (fol. 26) by another short extracts from the same treatise, which begins:قال الشيخ محيى الدين فى رسالة القدس فلا شىء انكى (انكر.r) على ابليس الخ. ; and a tradition regarding ‘Alî. The latter is taken from IBN ḤAJAR’S كتاب الصواعق (see no. 181).

Both these extracts are ill written.

Cat. 232, xxi. 226, xxx.