Walayah : an analysis on the hierarchy of awliya` in the works of Ibn `Arabi

Abstract

This dissertation runs a critical analysis on Ibn 'Arabi's perspective on the hierarchy of awliya'. The study itself is a library based research which attempts to analyse his perception on a number of important subjects related to such a hierarchy. They are, the meanings and divisions of walayah; the similarities and differences between the awliya' and both the Legislative Prophets and Messengers; the issue of superiority of awliya' above the Legislative Prophets (tafdil al-wali 'ala al-nabi); the position of this hierarchy in light of Qur'anic verses, prophetic ahadith and spiritual thought of early Sufis; the sources of Ibn 'Arabi's hierarchy of awliya'; his construction of the hierarchies of awliya'; and finally, the specific features of the holders of such hierarchies, as well as their relation to the Divine Names and their status as the heirs to the Legislative Prophets. Utilizing the writings of the Shaykh with a special reference to chapter 73 of the Futuhat, this study shows that walayah in his thought was fundamentally ontological and spiritual in nature. It follows that he divided walayah into that of God and that of the creatures, where the latter is further divided according to the number of species in the universe, two of which are the walayah of angels and of human beings. A number of strong points are also found in relation to his perspective on the similarities and differences between the awliya' and both the legislative Prophets and Messengers, as well as to his standpoint regarding the inferiority of the former to the latter. The study also demonstrates that the Sufi idea of hierarchy of awliya' as especially reflected in the thought of Ibn 'Arabi bears scriptural justification from the Qur'anic verses and prophetic ahadith. A historical survey on the flow of this idea in Sufi thought testifies that the Shaykh was the first among the Sufis to come with a full set of this doctrine, taking as his sources both the Qur'an and prophetic ahadith, the spiritual thought of his Sufi predecessors, as well as his own method and spiritual illumination and experiences. On the basis of Ibn 'Arabi's categories of the groups of awliya' into those whose numbers are fixed and not fixed at any given epoch, this study demonstrates that the hierarchy of awliya' in his thought are held by the Men of Mother Levels (ummahat al-tabaqat) and the Men of Ranks (rijal al-maratib). This study also makes some suggestions for future research.