The beginning of a long undertaking
Shams al-Maghrib associates the beginning of the Futūḥāt with Ibn al-ʿArabī’s residence in Mecca around 598 AH/1202. The work was not completed there in a single period: writing continued for decades, eventually reaching Damascus. Its title identifies the Meccan opening in the author’s account, rather than the location of every chapter’s composition.
The youth of Chapter 1
The first chapter describes a symbolic spiritual encounter at the Kaʿba, connecting the youth’s form with the knowledge recorded in the book. Read its symbolic and experiential language attentively, rather than treating it as an ordinary travel report. Begin with the chapter, then compare its narrative with the later study of the work’s origins.
Zāhir ibn Rustam and Niẓām
The introduction to the Tarjumān commentary describes Ibn al-ʿArabī’s relationship with Zāhir ibn Rustam al-Iṣfahānī and discusses his daughter Niẓām and her learning. These accounts connect Mecca with poetry and love. They do not make every poetic image a direct personal record: his commentary opens the images to several intellectual and spiritual meanings.
Related Futūḥāt chapters
Sources and further reading
The source language appears beside each link. External books and sources may remain in their original languages.
- قدوم مكة ولقاء زاهر بن رستم العربية
- حديث ابن العربي عن نظام العربية
- بداية تأليف الفتوحات المكية العربية