Islam and Gender Questions: Ibn Arabi's Approaches to Divinity and Sexuality
By
Grace Mubashir, New Age Islam
8 December
2023
By Adopting
Sexuality As A Metaphor, Ibn Arabi Challenges Hierarchical Views Of Gender And
Sexuality. Ibn Arabi Challenges Gender Hierarchies By Equating The Ultimate
Reality Of Marriage, Called Fana' In The Technical Language Of Tasawwuf, With
Sexual Intercourse. Ibn Arabi Questions Religious And Secular Understandings Of
Gender.
Main
Points:
1.
The teachings of Islamic Sufism need to be
revived to advance inclusive and modern Islam.
2.
Ibn Arabi articulates the gender: 'The
relationship between man and woman is like the relationship between God and
nature.
3.
Duality does not exist in Ibn Arabi's
masculine-feminine relationship.
-----
Here I
intend to present the views of Ibn Arabi on issues of gender and sexuality. It
seems that we can start with the words of Prophet Muhammad Mustafa (PBUH). He
said: 'Three things are dear to me in this world. They are women, perfumes and
salutations.'
Ibn
Arabi
-----
Humans live
in a world of connection and separation. I take women and sex as an example.
Sexual intercourse is commonly understood as an intense expression of love
between a man and a woman. But for Ibn Arabi, the act of seeing and
experiencing God is what a believer enables through sexual intercourse. Because
there is an act of union challenging the fixation of duality. It is a desire
that drives us to do it. It is through the instrumentality of desire that the
search for union with the One arises in us. Ibn Arabi talks about desire by
telling the story of Prophet Ilyas. He says: 'Prophet Ilyas (Idris) had a
vision in a dream. In it, he saw Mount Lebanon. Prophet Ilyas, who climbed the
hill, lost all his wishes. Thus Prophet Ilyas became a mere intellect without
desires. Thus in him, God became merely transcendent. Because a self which is mere
intellect could only see the transcendent God. Immanent God can never be
experienced by such a self. Whereas for Ibn 'Arabi everything is God's
revelation (Tajalliyat) and He is simultaneously transcendent and
immanent. Only when these two realities of God can be understood can one
experience Him.
Ibn Arabi
narrates the story of Prophet Ilyas to indicate the mystical realities inherent
in human desires. When one abandons his desires, he becomes unable to
experience the blessings of God. He can get only the transcendent God. Or, the
intellect blocks the possibility of attaining God's presence through desires.
Then the intellect exists as a veil between God and man. That veil is removed
only when you travel in search of desire. Because it is through desire that one
can attain the object of his quest by eliminating the ego self in him.
Ibn Arabi
also cites the story of Hazrat Maryam which refers to desire. He says: Maryam
mistook the Angel Gabriel who came to her in human form to be someone who came
to sleep with her. So they sought salvation from God. Through it, they were
able to attain complete intimacy with God. Later, when Jibreel informed Maryam
that he was only a messenger of God, they achieved inner peace. It was at that
time that the angel Gabriel blew Isa to Maryam.' The story narrated by Ibn
Arabi overturns Christian-Islamic formal understandings. It will become clear
when Ibn Arabi is explained further.
Ibn Arabi
uses the word 'Shahwa' (carnal desire) when describing the story of
Maryam and Ilyas in Ibn Arabi's Fusus al-Hikam. Shahva can be translated as
desire or lust. Here, Ibn Arabi speaks by connecting lust with Prophet Ilyas
and desire with Maryam. Through it, Ibn Arabi reads intercourse and sexual
interests as manifestations of divine intimacy. 'Let's go back to Mary. When
they first saw the angel Jibreel (in human form), they sought refuge in Allah
(from what was forbidden). Through it, they rejected human emotions and sought
complete merging with Allah. Or, Maryam's desire was with Allah. That is what
happened to Prophet Ilyas. All that remained before him was the Wajh of
Allah (Face of Allah). When the angel Gabriel announced to Maryam that he was
the messenger of Allah, she came down from the transcendent state and felt
desire. But even there (immanence) Maryam sought the presence of Allah. Because
there is nothing in this world that is not His glory.' Here, Ibn Arabi presents
the human emotions of desire and lust as the release of divine quality. That is
why Ibn Arabi says that Maryam and Idris could see Allah in all physical and
non-physical desires.
Now let's
talk about the ontology of femininity and masculinity. For Ibn Arabi,
femininity is not just a biological condition. but also ontological. See how
Ibn Arabi articulates it: 'The relationship between man and woman is like the
relationship between God and nature (Ibn Arabi compares woman to nature.)
Nature accepts divine commands. Nature cannot exist without divine orders. Or,
nature means God's self-manifestation (Tajalliyat). Ibn Arabi here
imagines divine commands as male and nature as female. Both elements converge
ontologically at the point of love. On the other hand, activity is the self of
a man, while a woman has the activity of receptivity. The activity of
masculinity can be likened to the divine activity of 'Kun, Fayakun'.
That is why
Adam was created in the first place. But here the hierarchy involved in
male-female relationships is only temporary. It means that there is no
ontological or cosmological power relationship between man and woman. Or, man
and woman do not exist as a power duality. Duality does not exist in Ibn
Arabi's masculine-feminine relationship. Rather, the fusion between the two
bodies takes place. Therefore the power does not exist there. Therefore,
masculine and feminine activities are possible for both males and females.
Because for Ibn Arabi, gender is performative. Hence masculine and feminine
cannot be strictly defined. Or, gender does not exist because of biological
differences.
Man and
woman overcome the male/female duality
through sexual union. Love brings the two together. Ibn Arabi says: 'So Allah
took out of man an image of Himself. That's the girl. It came from the desire
of both of them to meet. That is why women became a favourite of the Prophet
(PBUH). Because it is in Adam that Eve, created in Adam's image, is to be
sought. Adam, on the other hand, had to seek Eve within himself. This can be
read in conjunction with the Qur'anic saying that whoever knows himself knows
God. For Ibn Arabi, men and women do not exist in the form of hierarchical
authority. Rather, it is through longing. The physical form of this quest is
physical union. It is the greatest possible combination of love in this world.
It is said that bathing after sexual intercourse is due to the desire to meet
and cover the body of the male and female. Because He does not want from
creation any look other than Allah. Bathing after sexual intercourse is
obligatory because one turns away from the face of Allah even for a moment
during sexual intercourse (which means that one should seek Allah during sexual
intercourse as well). With purification, he/she turns back to Allah. Ibn Arabi
says that if a person sees the face of Allah in sexual intercourse, then he/she
does not need to be pure.
By adopting
sexuality as a metaphor, Ibn Arabi challenges hierarchical views of gender and
sexuality. Ibn Arabi challenges gender hierarchies by equating the ultimate
reality of marriage, called 'Fana' in the technical language of Tasawwuf,
with sexual intercourse. Ibn Arabi questions religious and secular
understandings of gender.
-----
A regular columnist for NewAgeIslam.com, Mubashir V.P is a PhD scholar
in Islamic Studies at Jamia Millia Islamia and freelance journalist.
URL: https://newageislam.com/debating-islam/gender-ibn-arabi-divinity-sexuality/d/131276
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