We are taken by Dr. Eric Winkel behind the scenes of the Futūḥāt al-Makkiya project to catch a glimpse of grace in action like the imagery of the sun, the moon, and Nur Muḥammad (the Light of Muḥammad). Dr. Winkel shares his own personal journey into the works of Ibn al-ʿArabī: The Futūḥāt, which he says, is written from the Source. Its unfolding into this material plane is described as an intricate coming together from the world of the barzakh. The methodology of translation as he explains allows for the etymology of words to come into play, drawing meaning and inference from text. He provides a brief evaluation of the critical editions of the Futūḥāt books available today, with clarity to the pitfalls of using the electronic versions of the Futūḥāt for study. 

Ibn al-ʿArabī’s teachings on proximity and distance are brought closer to home as Dr. Eric Winkel explains ‘two bows lengths’, the geometrical, mathematical reality when two curves are brought closer and closer together. The study of the Futūḥāt is a counsel to mankind; a living continuation of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s job as a dragoman for our time to help us draw closer to the True. It provides counseling; it shifts our perspective; and throughout, Dr. Eric Winkel affirms this conveyor role that is anchored in his translations by pinning the directive question: ‘What does Ibn al-ʿArabī say in English, today?’ 

An introductory to Akbarian metaphysics, the role of Ibn al-ʿArabī as the conveyor of the universal message of Islam, the Nur Muḥammad and the seal of Muḥammadan sanctity, the culmination of fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence) and the seal of the sanctity of Ibn al-ʿArabī, and what it means to the everyday person to be an inheritor. of Ibn al-ʿArab.