Divine Needs, Divine Illusions: Preliminary Remarks Toward a Comparative Study of Meister Eckhart and Ibn AlʼArabi

Abstract

Author in his article compares the elements of the teachings of the Dominican preacher Meister Eckhart and the Sufi saint Ibn al-ʼArabi. The author selects some parallels: Oneness and multiplicity, “God” and “Deity”, the doctrine of the soul and its ability to know God, the way of knowing of God, the interpretation of Holy Scripture. Behind the superficial similarities of the teachings of these two thinkers, the author reveals some radical divergences. The author also comes to the conclusion that, in spite of the general moments of mysticism of Ibn al-ʼArabi and Meister Eckhart, the way to God and the knowledge of God are considered by these thinkers in different ways.