STUDY GROUPS
The Secret of God’s Most Beautiful Names
Weekly from Saturday 26th April 2025 (USA) / Sunday 27th April 2025 (Australia)
Weekly on Saturdays (USA)
18:00–19:30 CDT online via Zoom
Weekly on Sundays (Australia)
09:00–10:30 AEST online via Zoom
An opportunity to study and explore a recent translation of a seminal work of Muhyiddin Ibn ‘Arabi.
There is room for a few additional participants who would like to join the group.
How to Book
Please note: this study group is timed for participants in the Pacific Rim.
Participation is free but participants will need to have a copy of the book, which is available here from Anqa Publishing.
Contact: Mary Boyd-Brent, mboydb3.11@gmail.com
Book Description
From the publisher’s website:
‘Because He created us in His image, alone among all the forms in the world, and because not a single Name has come that we do not manifest and have ascribed to us – we contain Him.’ (Ibn ʿArabī, al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya)
The ‘naming’ of God is one of the essential pillars of the monotheistic traditions, and every Name of God has its own ‘presence’. According to ‘the greatest spiritual master’ Ibn ʿArabī (1165–1240), the 99 Names of God in Islamic devotional practice and spiritual teaching are the fundamental way of expressing the full relationship between the human being and the Divine. The Divine Names are thus the ways in which the One God bestows His beauty and beneficence upon the multiplicity of the created world, and on human beings in particular.
The Secret of God’s Most Beautiful Names presents, for the first time in English, two of the most profound teachings on the 99 Names: Ibn ʿArabī’s Kashf al-maʿnā, depicting each of the Names according to three complementary perspectives; and The Summary, drawn from his Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya. A comprehensive introduction and notes are provided alongside the translation and edition of the Arabic text.
MORE COURSES
Open Meetings
Monday 13th April, 2026
From 17:30 GMT
An ongoing open, creative discussion space and e-gathering for sharing thoughts and contributing to the development of Beshara. Please join us in exchanging ideas, having meaningful discussions, the chance to be heard and the chance to listen and for understanding to develop and flourish.
The Nightingale in the Garden of Love
Saturday 7th March 2026
14:00–17:00 GMT
The October Gallery, London
Contemplative reading of the spiritual poems of one of the greatest Ottoman Sufi masters, Mehmed Muhyīddīn Üftade (1490-1580).
Contact: Michael Cohen london@beshara.org
The Practical Wisdom of Ibn ‘Arabi
13th January – 3rd March, 2026
Tuesdays at 19:00 – 21:00 GMT (8 sessions)
Exploring Ibn ‘Arabi’s great metaphysical vision and its many implications for our conduct in everyday life. No previous knowledge is required, all texts provided.
This course is now fully booked. To join a reserve list or to receive notification of a future possible iteration of the course, email besharacourses3@beshara.org
Interweavings: Christian and Sufi Threads in a Divine Tapestry
Poetry and meditation workshops
Fortnightly from 11th October – 21st February
Saturdays: 10:00am – 11:30pm (UK time)
or
Fortnightly from 1st November – 14th March
Saturdays: 5:00pm-6:30pm (UK time)
Workshop series following a format of reading lines of poetry with contemplative meditation and shared reflections.
Daily Meditation
From 6th January 2025
07:30–08:00 GMT
Daily 30-minute silent meditation beginning with a dedication of intent and ending. All welcome.
Contact: John Brown at besharacourses@beshara.org for a Zoom invite
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