Selected Bibliography of PhD Theses Abstracts on Ibn ʿArabī

Abstract

The Maghreb Review, Vol. 46, 4, 2021 © The Maghreb Review 2021 This publication is printed on FSC Mix paper from responsible sources SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF PHD THESES ABSTRACTS ON IBN ʿARABĪ COMPILED AND EDITED BY MOHAMED BEN-MADANI INTRODUCTION The following selected PhD theses abstracts in English language on Ibn ʿArabī presented in the United Kingdom and the United States, Universities covering all fields of research, are published here for the benefit of interested scholars, students and librarians who wish to discover what has been done on Ibn ʿArabī in recent times in these Universities. These abstracts have not been included in any bibliographical work in the past and are arranged in Alphabetical order. A few of these theses have subsequently been published in book form. Abdelkhalek, Saliha Osama Farid, Being, reification and ritual: the esoteric paradigm of Ibn ʿArabī, PhD, University of Exeter, 2018 Despite being a key notion in the examination of the process of human objectification, reification has not received sufficient attention in recent years, especially in the study of religion. Building on Axel Honneth’s analysis, I examine the concept of reification within a Sūfi context, more precisely, within the esoteric paradigm of Ibn‘Arabī’ soneness of being (waḥdat al-wujūd). I contend that the root of reification, not only lies in the forgetfulness of the origin of cognition in recognition, as Honneth argued, but also in the forgetfulness of the origin of recognition in pure consciousness, i.e. the oneness of being. I argue that since the problem of reification consists of the loss of the primacy of our non-discursive dimension over the discursive one, the solution must lie in the rectification of that order. This can only be brought about through mystical experience, in which a momentary suspension of thought occurs, and our identity as part and parcel of the continuum of consciousness is disclosed. Hence, I argue for the necessity of the preparation for mystical experience through ritual practice, as it moves us from discursive to nondiscursive states of being. Through physical activity, our sense of embodiment is increased, shifting us from a ‘thinking’ to a ‘sensory’ mode, which paradoxically detaches us from our identification with the physical body. Using phenomenological methods and knowledge by presence theories, I examine Ibn ‘Arabī’sesoteric approach to the ritual practice of purification, prayer and fasting. I maintain that the essence of ritual is the disclosure of one’s ontological poverty, which within the paradigm of the oneness of being (waḥdat 522 COMPILED AND EDITED BY MOHAMED BEN-MADANI al-wujūd), must also amount to the phenomenal self-differentiation of the divine. Thus, I conclude that the root of the problem of reification essentially lies in accounts of selfhood. Alsamaani, Nader Ahmed M, An analytic philosophical approach to Ibn ʿArabī’s conception of ultimate reality, PhD, University of Birmingham, 2017 In my thesis, I aim to develop a systematic and philosophically coherent thesis of ultimate reality for IbnʿArabī. In this pursuit, I adopt the style of analytic philosophy, seeking to employ and utilise some of its methods and theories. The philosophical aspects of IbnʿArabī’s doctrine are in dire need of conceptual clarification and systematic analysis with a closer focus on argumentation. The analytic tradition will prove most helpful in this regard. In my thesis, I begin by tracing IbnʿArabī’s related views and concepts as they are dispersed throughout his writings. I then clarify, sharpen and, in many cases, develop these views and concepts into fully constructed forms. Finally, I weave the developed concepts and views into a systematic thesis or set of sub-theses. Where necessary, I provide my own (or borrowed) arguments and concepts to help substantiate and strengthen the structure of Ibn ʿArabī’s thesis. I propose that IbnʿArabī’s various, and sometimes apparently inconsistent, views are best presented in terms of three main concepts: the concept of ultimate reality as existence (wujud), which has long been known as IbnʿArabī’s thesis of the oneness of existence (wahdat al-wujud); the concept of ultimate reality as the Divine Self (dhat); and the concept of ultimate reality as God (ilah). The three concepts...