Upcoming Event

About the Lecture

Ibn ʿArabī was perhaps the most challenging writer in later Islamic history. Within a few generations of his passing, contrasting positions began to emerge around different aspects of his teachings in the scholarly literature. The Shaykh was a polarizing figure. One could be for him or against him but it was hard to have no position at all (though some may have tried). Central to the dynamic of criticism and response was the effort to understand what the Shaykh said or meant, particularly in his Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. This talk will explore some of the positions taken by scholars in their varying engagements with Ibn ʿArabī’s writings. It will also suggest how some of the discussions generated by his words or ideas can be seen as a microcosm of and thus a window into broader debates taking place among intellectuals (philosophers, theologians, Sufis, Quran commentators) in the later history of Islam.

About the Lecturer

Arjun Nair is Associate Professor of Religion at the University of Southern California. He holds a PhD in the History and Cultures of the Muslim World from the Department of Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations at Harvard University. A specialist in the study of religion, Islamic philosophy, and Sufi literature, Professor Nair has published in peer-reviewed venues including the Journal of Islamic Studies, the Journal of Qurʾanic Studies, the Journal of Sufi Studies, Religions, and the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ʿArabī Society. His first book, Interpreting Ibn ʿArabī: Philosophy, Theology, and Exegesis in Later Islam, was published in 2025 with Routledge.