COURSES

Endless Voyaging; Spiritual Journeying in ‛Attar and Ibn ‛Arabi
Saturday, 15th October 2022
19:00–20:30 AEDT
9:00–10:30 BST
An online talk followed by Q&A with Jane Clark.
How to Book
Cost
Free via Zoom
Contact
Mark Temple
markvtemple@gmail.com
Description
The metaphor of the journey is found in all religions and spiritual traditions, and it has generated some of the great works of literature – from Homer’s Odyssey to Dante’s Divine Comedy and Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. Islam is no exception, and in its mystical writings there are numerous examples of how the idea is imaginatively deployed to give a framework for spiritual progress – the seeker travelling from a starting point of ignorance to an end point of union and knowledge.
This illustrated talk will look at the work of two writers famous for their treatment of the subject: Farīd al-dīn ‛Attar (d. 1222), whose epic poem The Conference of the Birds is a classic allegory of the Sufi path, and Muhyiddin Ibn ‛Arabi (d. 1240), who radically extends the metaphor in several places, including his masterwork, The Meccan Revelations and a mid-life treatise on the journeys of the prophets, The Secrets of Voyaging. It will look at three aspects of spiritual journeying: the journey to God; the journey from God, and the journey in God.
Jane Clark is a teacher and independent researcher who lives in Oxford. She has been studying the Islamic mystical tradition for more than forty years and has given many lectures and courses both in the UK and internationally for organisations such as The Beshara Trust, Oxford University Department for Continuous Education and Temenos Academy. She is a Senior Research Fellow of the Muhyiddin Ibn ʿArabi Society, and also the editor of Beshara Magazine, in which capacity she is able to pursue her particular interest in the relevance of the perennial traditions of wisdom to contemporary life.
MORE COURSES
Mirrors of the Transcendent in the Cosmos of Ibn Arabi: The Body as Metaphor of Divine Self-Revelation
25th-26th July 2025
The Warburg Institute, University of London
A joint symposium held by the Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi Society and The Warburg Institute.
More details: https://ibnarabisociety.org/events/
Booking: https://warburg.sas.ac.uk/events/cosmos-of-ibn-arabi-2025
Aspects of Science, Imagination and the Mystical
Saturday 14th June 2025
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
With Peter Coates
This talk will consider the vital role of the Creative Imagination in Natural Science and in the Mystical Philosophy of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi.
Contact: Michael Cohen london@beshara.org
Paradise E’Now or The Smile of the Spirit
Saturday 24th May 2025
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
With Charles Mugleston
A special Birthday Celebration with music, exploring, experiencing & soulfully enjoying the Ruba’iya’t of Hakim Omar Khayya’m translated & adapted by the Anglo-Irish genius Edward FitzGerald of Woodbridge, Suffolk into “English Music” in 1859.
Contact: Michael Cohen london@beshara.org
Open Meetings
Mondays 7th April, 2025
Monday 5th May, 2025
17:30–18:30 BST
Saturday 26th April, 2025
Saturday 24th May, 2025
9:00am-10:00am BST
Are you interested in sharing your thoughts and in contributing to the development of Beshara? We are excited to invite you to another series of monthly online Open Meetings
Know Yourself
Saturday 26th April 2025
14:00–17:00 BST
The October Gallery, London
You yourself are the object of your quest
Reading and discussion of a classic explanation of the Oneness of Being, attributed to Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi and Awhad al-din Balyani and translated from the Arabic by Cecilia Twinch.
Contact: Michael Cohen, london@beshara.org
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