Ibn Arabi Unveiling the Secret of the Most Beautiful Nmes

Great Book

Not a good translation. Syyed Hossien Nasr inserted his own agenda in this book. Ibn Al Arabi never in any of his works mentioned Shia or Sunni. Sheikh Kabir himself was Sunni. But this Nasr bruh totally messed up the real work of Iban Al Arabi.

This is a review of the Kazi Publications edition. I'm delighted that they've undertaken to make available an affordable version of this remarkable text, but this translation is not ready for publication. On the other hand, it's infinitely better than nothing.

The book itself is very profound*, however, it has been translated by a group of translators who, it appears, had varying degrees of understanding of the meanings of the original text, and/or the english language. Therefore, some sections make perfect sense whilst other sections are virtually nonsensical strings of words or read like they have been translated by google translate. That being said, even with the translation issues, there are still vast oceans of meanings to be gained from the text. So, I would still suggest buying it, but just be prepared to be a bit frustrated by the translation issues. As with most books by ibn Arabi they are written for those who have already attained Marifah (gnosis), or those being guided by a Shaykh who has attained Marifah. They clarify and point out tangible realities that are, or can be, directly experienced by the knower/gnostic. Therefore, they may seem obscure or complex to the unrealised person or the seeker in the early stages of the path. *If it were not such profound source material, I would have given the book less stars due to the translation issues.