"The equivalence" (Al-Taswiya) of Muhibb Allah Ilahabadi
Subtitle: Avicennan neoplatonism and the School of Ibn 'Arabi in South Asia
By: G.A. Lipton
Publisher: VDM
Published: 2009
Place of publication: Saarbrücken
Language: eng
Number of pages: 92
ISBN-13: 9783639157796
Subjects: Muslims; Islamic philosophy; Sufism
Description: "The equivalence between giving and receiving (Al-Taswiya bayna al-Ifada wa-l-Qabul)" is an unpublished Arabic treatise written by Muhibb Allah Ilahabadi (d .1648), known in India as "the second Ibn Arabi." Although this text is one of the most controversial interpretations of Ibn Arabi's metaphysics written in India, it and its author are rarely mentioned in contemporary scholarship on Sufism. The author argues that The Equivalence evinces a deeply Avicennan neoplatonic idiom that is distinct from Ibn Arabis synthesis, which serves as its wider framework. The text thereby demonstrates an innovative integration of philosophical traditions within the larger context of Ibn Arabis school in seventeenth century India, showing that Muhibb Allah's unique philosophical synthesis is in conversation with his diverse intellectual milieu. The Equivalence reveals a dynamic philosophical discourse among intellectual communities of seventeenth century South Asia.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-92).