{"id":1808,"date":"2026-09-25T14:37:46","date_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:37:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/?post_type=cu-events&#038;p=1808"},"modified":"2026-09-25T14:37:46","modified_gmt":"2026-09-25T18:37:46","slug":"understanding-ibn-arabi","status":"publish","type":"cu-events","link":"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/cu-events\/understanding-ibn-arabi\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b: Spectrums of Interpretation in Muslim Scholarly Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-1809\" src=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"1545\" height=\"2000\" srcset=\"https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1.png 1545w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1-240x311.png 240w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1-400x518.png 400w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1-160x207.png 160w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1-768x994.png 768w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1-1187x1536.png 1187w, https:\/\/carleton.ca\/islamstudies\/wp-content\/uploads\/CCSI-Nair-2026-11-23-Poster-1-360x466.png 360w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1545px) 100vw, 1545px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong>About the Lecture<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-justify\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b was perhaps the most challenging writer in <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">later Islamic history. Within a few generations of his <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">passing, contrasting positions began to emerge around <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">different aspects of his teachings in the scholarly literature. <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">The Shaykh was a polarizing figure. One could be for him or <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">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 <\/span><em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Fu\u1e63\u016b\u1e63 al-\u1e25ikam<\/span><\/em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">. This talk will explore some of the positions taken by scholars in their varying engagements with Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b&#8217;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.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-center\">\n<p class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-center\"><strong><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">About the Lecturer<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"cvGsUA block-font-kerning-none block-font-feature-liga-off block-font-feature-clig-off block-font-feature-calt-off direction-ltr align-justify\"><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">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 &amp; 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 <\/span><em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Journal of Islamic Studies<\/span><\/em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, the <\/span><em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Journal of Qur\u02beanic Studies<\/span><\/em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, the <\/span><em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Journal of Sufi Studies<\/span><\/em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, <\/span><em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Religions<\/span><\/em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, and the <\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\"><em>Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b Society<\/em><\/span><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">. His first book, <\/span><em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">Interpreting Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b: Philosophy, Theology, and Exegesis in Later Islam<\/span><\/em><span class=\"a_GcMg font-feature-liga-off font-feature-clig-off font-feature-calt-off text-decoration-none text-strikethrough-none\">, was published in 2025 with Routledge.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","meta":{"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"daevent-type":[46],"event-audience":[],"event-featured":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Understanding Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b: Spectrums of Interpretation in Muslim Scholarly Literature - Events - Carleton Centre for the Study of Islam<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"&nbsp; &nbsp; About the Lecture Ibn \u02bfArab\u012b was perhaps the most challenging writer in later Islamic history. 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