Inscriptions of Wisdom: The Sufism of Ibn al-ʿArabī in the Mirror of Jāmī

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Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign) Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

Inscriptions of Wisdom

The Sufism of Ibn al-ʿArabī in the Mirror of Jāmī

Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)

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English

State University of New York Press
01 November 2025

Translation & interpretation; Philosophy of religion; Comparative religion; Sufism & Islamic mysticism

Series: SUNY series in Islam

Two important texts in the Sufi tradition made available together in English for the first time.

Inscriptions of Wisdom brings together, for the first time in English, two pivotal Sufi texts that illuminate Ibn al-ʿArabī's (d. 1240) celebrated work Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. The first, Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ (the Inscription of the Fuṣūṣ), is Ibn al-ʿArabī's own distillation of Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, presenting a concise yet profound articulation of its core teachings. The second, Naqd al-nuṣūṣ fī sharḥ Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ (texts commenting on Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ), by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān Jāmī, is an anthology of carefully selected passages from the earliest and most authoritative interpreters of Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam, enriched with Jāmī's own insights. Together, these works explore the quintessential knowledge and divine principles embodied by each of the twenty-seven major prophetic figures of the Islamic tradition, from Adam to Muhammad. If Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam represents the culmination of Ibn al-ʿArabī's thought, then Naqsh al-Fuṣūṣ distills its very essence and inner mystery. Mukhtar H. Ali's meticulous presentation of the Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam commentarial tradition—featuring the first complete English translation of Jāmī's Naqd al-nuṣūṣ, chapter-by-chapter analysis, and extensive notes on key Sufi terms and concepts—establishes this volume as a landmark study in Islamic metaphysics and Sufi thought.

Notes by: Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Introduction by: Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Translated by: Mukhtar H. Ali (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign)
Imprint: State University of New York Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 37mm
Weight: 748g
ISBN: 9798855803631
Series: SUNY series in Islam
Pages: 465
Publication Date: 01 November 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Primary
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

A Note on Names and Transliteration Introduction The Quintessence (Faṣṣ) of Wisdom (Ḥikma) Concerning... 1. Divinity (Ilāhiyya) in the Word of Adam 2. Exhalation (Nafthiyya) in the Word of Seth 3. Glorification (Subbūḥiyya) in the Word of Noah 4. Holiness (Quddūsiyya) in the Word of Idrīs 5. Rapturous Love (Muhaymiyya) in the Word of Abraham 6. Veracity (Ḥaqqiyya) in the Word of Isaac 7. Sublimity (ʿIllīyya) in the Word of Ishmael 8. Spirit (Rūḥiyya) in the Word of Jacob 9. Light (Nūriyya) in the Word of Joseph 10. Unity (Aḥadiyya) in the Word of Hūd 11. Opening (Futūḥiyya) in the Word of Ṣāliḥ 12. The Heart (Qalbiyya) in the Word of Shuʿayb 13. Strength (Malkiyya) in the Word of Lot 14. Destiny (Qadariyya) in the Word of Ezra 15. Prophethood (Nabawiyya) in the Word of Jesus 16. Mercy (Raḥmāniyya) in the Word of Solomon 17. Existence (Wujūdiyya) in the Word of David 18. The Soul (Nafsiyya) in the Word of Jonah 19. The Unseen (Ghaybiyya) in the Word of Job 20. Majesty (Jalāliyya) in the Word of John 21. Sovereignty (Mālikiyya) in the Word of Zachariah 22. Intimacy (Īnāsiyya) in the Word of Elias 23. Excellence (Iḥsāniyya) in the Word of Luqmān 24. Leadership (Imāmiyya) in the Word of Aaron 25. Supremacy (ʿUlūwiyya) in the Word of Moses 26. Recourse (Ṣamadiyya) in the Word of Khālid 27. Uniqueness (Fardiyya) in the Word of Muḥammad Translator's Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index of Qurʾānic Passages Index of Hadiths and Sayings Index of Poetic Verses General Index

Mukhtar H. Ali is Associate Professor of Islamic Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He is the author of Philosophical Sufism: An Introduction to the School of Ibn al-ʿArabī and The Horizons of Being: The Metaphysics of Ibn al-ʿArab in the ""Muqaddimat al-Qaysòar.""

Reviews for Inscriptions of Wisdom: The Sufism of Ibn al-ʿArabī in the Mirror of Jāmī

""Thanks to Mukhtar H. Ali's laborious efforts, we now have a complete translation of Jāmī's masterpiece of philosophical Sufism known as Naqd al-nuṣūṣ, which itself is a commentary upon Ibn ʿArabī's own summary of his extremely influential Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. One of the great merits of Jāmī’s work is that it forms a veritable anthology of the mainstream tradition of the School of Ibn ʿArabī, citing extensively from its major representatives such as Qūnawī, Kāshānī, and Qayṣarī. Inscriptions of Wisdom therefore offers contemporary readers a lively presentation of a major Sufi metaphysical text with its robust commentarial procedure, spiritual teachings, and various layers of sophisticated argumentation on full display."" — Mohammed Rustom, author of Inrushes of the Heart: The Sufi Philosophy of ʿAyn al-Quḍāt