GERALD T. ELMORE, Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness of Time: Ibn al-עArabi's Book of the Fabulous Gryphon (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1999). Pp. 775. $229.50

Extract

Gerald T. Elmore's Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness of Time: Ibn al-עArabi's Book of the Fabulous Gryphon marks another significant milestone in the ever-expanding realm of Sufi studies focused on the Andalusian master. Aside from the previous works of William Chittick, Michel Chodkiewicz, Claude Addas, Henry Corbin, James W. Morris, and so on, the past few years have seen the publication of some important translations of primary materials from Ibn al-עArabi. The most successful example of this, perhaps, is The Meccan Illuminations, a partial thematic translation of the Futuhat al-Makkiya. Elmore's task is significant because it represents the translation of a single text, the Kitab עAnqaء Mughrib. While obviously not on the same level of significance as either the Futuhat or the Fusus al-hikam, the current text is a minor classic of Ibn al-עArabi's that does shed some additional light on the great Sufi master's views on the nature of sainthood, particularly as articulated through the concepts of the seal of saints (also called the Mahdi in this text). Other sections of the book deal with the emergence of the world from the macrocosmic haqiqa al-muhammadiya (The Muhammadan Reality). A subsequent section deals with ten microcosmic “jewels” or pearls.