The Secrets of Voyaging

Book excerpt: According to Ibn 'Arabi, voyaging never ceases, and this applies in all worlds and dimensions. The paradigmatic voyages recounted in this remarkable book offer the reader an inexhaustible source of reflection. As a well-known Sufi saying puts it, 'the spiritual journey is called "voyage" (safar) because it "unveils" (yusfiru) the characters of the Men of God'. The Secrets of Voyaging explores the theme of journeying and spiritual unveiling as it plays out in the cosmos, in scripture and within the soul of the mystic. Beginning with a series of cosmological contemplations, Ibn 'Arabi then turns to his own selective readings of Prophetic lore, in which he gives profound insights on the voyages of Muhammad, Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Lot, Jacob and Joseph, and Moses. Angela Jaffray's translation brings this major treatise to an English-speaking audience for the first time. It is accompanied by a new edition of the Arabic text based on a manuscript in Ibn 'Arabi's own hand, an introduction and extensive notes. It also includes a rich in-depth commentary that will guide the reader through Ibn 'Arabi's subtle and allusive writing.