Ibn ‘Arabi, the
twelfth-century Spanish mystic, is considered by many the greatest master of
Sufism. His large body of writings includes The Meccan Revelations (in 560 chapters) and The Bezels of Wisdom
(exploring aspects of understanding through the lives of the Prophets of Islam).
Contained in this volume is his powerful but little-known work, Divine
Governance of the Human Kingdom, rendered into English for the first time. In a
particularly startling way, the text uses metaphors from worldly politics to
illuminate details of the spiritual search.

Ibn ‘Arabi wrote: "This little book contains vast
knowledge of great benefit to all. It is gathered from the gardens of Eden and
from divine providence. It is meant to be a guide to believers. There are
neither conjectures nor doubts in it. Even if some may find faults in it, they
will concede that they are small, fine, and beautiful. I call this book Divine
Governance of the Human Kingdom.

"The book is divided into twenty-one chapters. Each
section contains instructions for achieving unity, the Lord’s gift to humankind.
They show how to keep order within the divine order while improving ourselves;
how to guide our lives in the right way; how to protect His kingdom, which is
the human being, from oblivion; how to rule it in the way that it is meant to be
ruled, by the soul that the Lord has placed in it as His deputy. This book is a
fountain that both high and low will be able to quench their thirst by drinking
from it. For those who are able to see beneath the evident, there are signs
that, if followed, will lead to the Source. For those who see the surface, there
are things plain as could be."

Shaykh
Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi, working from
Ottoman Turkish texts of Ibn ‘Arabi’s works, has rendered this and two shorter
texts, What the Seeker Needs and The One Alone, into modern
English. In an Epilogue, Shaykh Tosun restates Ibn ‘Arabi’s teachings on Sufi
practice and the strict duties binding a disciple to his master. Tosun Bayrak is
also the author of an interpretation of ‘Abd al-Qadir al-Jilani’s The
Secret of Secrets, a translation
of Ibn al-Husayn al-Sulami’s Way of Sufi Chivalry and his own book, The Most
Beautiful Names.

"Shaykh Tosun’s book offers an
easy-to-understand interpretation of three mystical treatises by the celebrated
twelfth-to-thirteenth century Sufi master Ibn ‘Arabi. The largest al-tadbirat,
is a fascinating treatise on the divine design and management of the world, and
the central role the human model plays in the creative and governing process.
The other two are kitab kunh ma la budda minhu lil-murid (trans. “What
the Seeker Needs”), a brief guide for those wanting to follow the Sufi
path, and kitab al-ahadiyyah (translated as “The One Alone”), an esoteric
essay on transcendental unity. The book also offers a modest introduction to the
life of Ibn ‘Arabi. Inspired by Ibn ‘Arabi’s teachings, Shaykh Tosun writes with
great passion and devotion to the extent of blurring the line between his own
words and those of Ibn ‘Arabi. The book is useful to students of Islamic
mysticism, especially those who are searching for spiritual insights and
mystical teachings."