Ibn El’Arabi - there is no separation
Andalusian Spain of the 12thc CE was a centre of a great flowering culture - the finest in Europe. The Muslim rulers invited those of many different religious faiths to live, and created a centre remarkable for its religious harmony. The area was a centre for science, art, literature, architecture, and so on. Great libraries were built and filled with works from the known world. It was into this time and place that Ibn El’Arabi was born. Not much is known about the details of his life. At one point he was persecuted for implying that the difference between him and the diety was imaginary only - something which would never happen in our own more enlightened time, of course (ha ha!). At any rate, it is known that he travelled extensively, was formally trained in Sufism, and wrote many literary and mystical works. Here is an excerpt from my personal fave:
“I know my Lord by my Lord.”
The Prophet (upon whom be peace) points out by that, that thou art not thou: thou art He, without thou.
Not He entering into thee, nor thou entering into Him, nor He proceeding forth from thee, nor thou proceeding forth from Him.
And it is not meant by that, that thou art aught that exists or thine attributes aught that exists, but it is meant by it that thou never wast nor wilt be, whether by thyself or through Him or in Him or along with Him.
Thou art neither ceasing to be nor still existing.
Thou art He, without one of these limitations. Then if thou know thine existence thus, then thou knowest God; and if not, then not.”
– from a translation of an Arabic manuscript in the Hunterian Collection, Glasgow University. Translation by T.H. Wier.
