Ibn ‘Arabi and the Shadhiliya of Tunisia

Abstract

Tunisian Sufi rituals are among a wide array of indigenous North African performance practices that have not received sufficient attention. Focusing on the hadra ritual of the Shadhiliya Sufi order, this article explores how ideas derived from Islamic intellectual history have been interwoven into popular Sufi culture, particularly Islamic understandings of epistemology. Citing the works of the twelfth century Islamic philosopher and saint, Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi, the author examines what constitutes knowledge from an Islamic Sufi perspective and how it is acquired through embodied practice. This not only reveals the intellectual value of indigenous Sufi traditions like the hadra ritual, but also raises important questions about how Islamic epistemology and understandings of embodiment can enrich theatrical practice, particularly for North African theatre-makers who are interested in experimenting with indigenous forms.