Course Themes

Preface: Introduction to Ibn Arabi and his perspective.
1. The unity of being
2. Creation, the coming into being and the love to be known
3. The human being
4 .The human being and the natural world
5. The spiritual path

Each theme is divided into one or more sessions (see full syllabus below) and supplemented with background reading/video/other formats that address the topic in a variety of ways – including the perspective of other traditions or modern thought.

Course Syllabus and Dates

• Introductory residential weekend: Friday 16th– Sunday 18th February 2024 at The Abbey, Sutton Courtenay
• Introduction to the course
• Full reading and discussion of Know Yourself introduced by Cecilia Twinch (translator)
• Introduction to meditation and 2-3 daily group meditation sessions
• Work as service
• The role of devotion and devotional practices

Online Presentations and Seminars

Live seminar dates: Thursday evenings, 19:00–20:30 GMT/BST

1. Different Faces of Unity (Jane Clark) – 29th February
2. The One and the Many – a sacred discourse in geometry (Richard Twinch) – 14th March
3. Creation and the Cosmos (Jane Clark) – 28th March
4. Singleness, Oneness and Singularity: the metaphysics of unity. Part 1 (Avi Abadi) – 11th April
5. Singleness, Oneness and Singularity: the metaphysics of unity. Part 2 (Avi Abadi) – 25th April
6. The Truly Human Being (Part 1): Adamic images and principles (Stephen Hirtenstein) – 9th May
7. The Truly Human Being (Part 2): Adam in the Fusus al-hikam (Stephen Hirtenstein) – 23rd May
8. The Human Being and the Natural World (Jane Clark) – 6th June
9. The Spiritual Path (Part 1): remembrance, receptivity and the “private face”. (Jane Clark) – 20th June
10. The Spiritual Path (Part 2): the road is long, the sea is deep. (Rim Feriani) – 4th July

The Learning Environment

Our main focus will be on the writings of Ibn Arabi, as a sound foundation from which to appreciate the metaphysics not just of Islam, but of other spiritual traditions. This proposes a different approach from the usual idea of knowledge as something one might acquire. It can nonetheless be very helpful to have a clear intellectual grasp of Ibn Arabi’s metaphysics, which are in themselves intrinsically beautiful, and can bring us to a place that is beyond the grasp of the rational mind.

Ibn Arabi often expounds that the reality he is referring to can only be known through unveiling or experience. This points to a different kind of knowledge or wisdom. Terminology such as “re-realisation of Divine taste” is also used. This implies that there is a place in us that can experience a kind of re-cognition of this knowledge of ourselves, although we are veiled by our creatural state. “Knowing “in this sense is experienced as a kind of remembrance or realisation. This knowledge comes from our ultimate reality which is the ultimate reality of everything.

As such we begin every session with an invocation or prayer for the meaning to be opened for us and to ask to be brought to its level rather than be confined to our own understanding. Equally we end with an acknowledgement and appreciation of the meaning we may have been given collectively and individually, whether it be an insight, image, feeling, greater clarity or movement of the heart. For all is ultimately a matter of love.

Inner Experience and Practice

As indicated above, the approach to the material will be from the point of view of the spiritual seeker rather than it being a matter of purely academic knowledge. To reinforce this element of practice, aspects of the spiritual path (theme 5) will be woven into themes 1–4.

In order to bring the knowledge alive, students will be given something related to the topic to contemplate or practice during the interval between sessions and for them to journal how this has affected or changed their everyday way of seeing things. These insights can be shared at the beginning of each following session.

Each session will begin with a short meditation. Depending on where in the world students are based, it might also be possible to meet for a meditation during the week we are not studying together.

Course Materials

Materials will include an introductory video presentation of each session’s subject matter (this will be recorded so can be viewed at any time), together with some reading material, as preparation for live online discussion meetings. A more extensive reading list of background reading will also be provided as a guide for anyone who wishes to go further.

Learning Platform

The materials will be available on Google Classroom, a learning platform used to store videos and files, keep in touch with the students, submit any assignments and provide the link to the live zoom sessions. It also offers a streaming facility for students to share questions and understandings linked to each theme.

Certificate of Study

Students will be invited to complete one piece of work at the end of the course (essay, reflective diary or video presentation) of approximately 1000 words/10 mins on a topic to be agreed. Students who complete the course in full will have their efforts acknowledged by a Certificate of Completion, listing all topics studied, hours spent and assignments. A Certificate of Attendance will be given to those who have attended a minimum of 80% of the live classes.

The presenters will offer pre-recorded video introductions related to the different themes, created especially for this course. These are:

• Avi Abadi has been studying the teachings of Ibn Arabi, and the Fusus al-Hikam (Ringstones of Wisdom) in particular, at the Beshara School for over forty years.
• Jane Clark MA is a Senior Research Fellow of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society. She is a student of the Beshara School, has a Masters’ degree in Medieval Arabic Philosophy from the University of Oxford, and has been studying, teaching and lecturing on the ideas of Ibn Arabi for more than forty years. She is the Editor of the Beshara Magazine which aims to bring together traditional wisdom with contemporary thought.
• Dr Rim Feriani is Educational Director at the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, UK where she has developed a series of courses inspired by the concept of the journey, which occupies a central position in Ibn ‘Arabi’s teachings. She has previously lectured in Arabic language at King’s College, London and taught Arabic language and cultural studies at the University of Westminster, London.
• Stephen Hirtenstein is editor-in-chief of the Journal of the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society (MIAS), a MIAS senior research fellow’ and director of Anqa Publishing. He is an editor for Encyclopaedia Islamica (Brill), and teaches Sufism and Sufi poetry at the University of Oxford. Since 2001 he has been working on the MIAS archiving project cataloguing the historic manuscripts of Ibn Arabi. He lectures internationally on Ibn ‘Arabi, and his publications include Patterns of Contemplation (2021) and Prayers for the Week (2021), both with Pablo Beneito, The Alchemy of Human Happiness (2018), and The Unlimited Mercifier (1999).
• Cecilia Twinch is a Senior Research Fellow of the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, Oxford. She studied Modern and Medieval Languages at Cambridge University and has also spent several periods of study at the Beshara Schools. Besides working as a teacher, translator and editor, she has lectured on Ibn ‘Arabi and mysticism worldwide since 1990. Her publications include an English translation, with Pablo Beneito, of Ibn ‘Arabi’s Contemplation of the Holy Mysteriesand a translation of Know yourself: An explanation of the oneness of being (Ibn ‘Arabi/Balyani).
• Richard Twinch trained at Cambridge University and the Architectural Association where he studied under Keith Critchlow. He studied at the Beshara Schools in the 1970s and 80s. He was a senior lecturer at the Prince of Wales’ Institute of Architecture, a tutor at Oxford Brooke’s University and at the Visual Islamic & Traditional Arts Department at the Royal College of Art (now The Prince’s Foundation School of Traditional Arts ). He is currently a Trustee for the Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi Society, Oxford and a member of the MIAS Education Committee.

Three facilitators will support the students throughout the course, encouraging questioning of texts and correlating the group discussions. These are:

• Elizabeth Roberts studied English at Oxford, Philosophical Inquiry at Glasgow University and gained an education in the principles and practice of spirituality through the Beshara School. After a career spent in education she now teaches and practices yoga and ayurveda in the Scottish Borders, and was Philosophy Tutor on the Yoga Scotland teacher training course for 9 years. She was Chairman of the Beshara Trust from 2008 – 2014.
• Hamid Van Koten is a Director of the Chisholme Institute, where he has been a student since 1978 and has facilitated courses. After completing his degree at Glasgow School of Art Hamid has worked as a Design Consultant on many architectural commissions, including listed buildings. He also lectured extensively at the University of Dundee where he was the programme Leader for History and Theory and Practice in Design and engaged in inter-disciplinary research. He lives with his family in an intentional community in Devon.
• Hugh Tollemache studied under Bulent Rauf for 10 years and was instrumental in helping to establish the Beshara School in the 1970’s both in Gloucestershire and at Chisholme House in Scotland. Since then, Hugh has been involved in a number of NGOs and public duties without losing sight of the main objective.

The course fee varies depending on mode of participation in the introductory weekend.

• Full Abbey weekend accommodation and food + zoom course – £525 (single room)
• Full Abbey weekend accommodation and food + zoom course – £465 (shared room)
• Day attendance including food but no accommodation at Abbey + zoom course – £365
• Zoom attendance at Abbey + full zoom course – £245

A non-refundable deposit of £125 is required on acceptance onto the course in order to secure your place. The remainder of the fee is payable by 25th January 2024. Spaces on the course are limited so early booking is recommended.

Discretionary concessions for students are available on application to The Beshara Trust.

The course is open to students 16 years of age and over.

To request an application form please contact: besharacourses3@beshara.org