The Image of Death in the Poetry of Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi

Abstract

Death is considered a significant Topic in Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi ideology because of the important role in revealing and that appreciation which is the purpose of every sophist. This study tackled the concept of death in Ibn 'Arabi poetry and sought to answer three major questions which they are: what is death for Ibn 'Arabi? How it was embodied in his poetry? And How far does the image of death in Ibn 'Arabi's representations match with his ideological ones? To answer these inquiries, the study used deductive and comparative analytical approaches. The study found out that the human being in Ibn 'Arabi perspective consists of two sides and they are the spiritual abstract and the physical tangible. Therefore, the spiritual life is fulfilled by the end of the tangible status and vice versa, and this is the morale death. There is another type of death which is the common tangible death, and it is in Ibn 'Arabi perspective a Limbo (Barzakh) which is a transference to that realm of spirits and meanings. Also, Ibn 'Arabi expressed his thoughts about death in his poetry. Moreover, the study noted that the morale death matched his ideological representations, unlike, the tangible death as it was common in the Islamic traditional culture.