Volume 17, Issue 2 (2026 2026)
JIM 2026, 17(2): 146-164 |
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Navabi Qamsari M S. (2026). Sidrat al-Muntahā as the Manifestation of Bewilderment: An Analysis of the Concept of Ultimate Bewilderment at Sidrat al-Muntahā in Light of Ibn ʿArabī’s Degrees of Bewilderment. JIM. 17(2), 146-164.
URL: http://erfanmag.ir/article-1-1736-en.html
URL: http://erfanmag.ir/article-1-1736-en.html
Farhangian University
Abstract: (341 Views)
The account of the Prophet Muhammad’s Miʿrāj in Sūrat al-Najm, together with expressions such as al-Ufuq al-Aʿlā (the Highest Horizon) and Sidrat al-Muntahā, has provided Sufi and mystical exegetes with a basis for interpreting the Prophet’s ascent in terms of mystical wayfaring. Among these expressions, Sidrat al-Muntahā occupies a distinctive position because of its lexical meanings and its descriptions in Islamic traditions. Interpreting Sidrat al-Muntahā as a locus of “ultimate bewilderment,” and considering its characterization as the limit of created knowledge and the endpoint of the angels’ ascent, raises the question of whether this expression bears a meaningful relationship to Ibn ʿArabī’s conception of ḥayra (bewilderment) and its degrees. The present study aims to clarify the significance of Sidrat al-Muntahā in the Qur’anic account of the Miʿrāj by examining its relationship to the mystical concept of bewilderment in Ibn ʿArabī’s thought. Employing a descriptive-analytical method, the study examines mystical interpretations of the Qur’anic verses concerning the Miʿrāj and analyzes Sidrat al-Muntahā in light of Ibn ʿArabī’s epistemological understanding of ḥayra. The analysis of exegetical descriptions of the Sidra and of that which veils it, particularly in relation to verses 14 and 16 of Sūrat al-Najm, reveals significant affinities between these interpretations and Ibn ʿArabī’s account of bewilderment and its degrees. In accordance with Ibn ʿArabī’s discussion of intellectual and contemplative bewilderment at the highest level of the realm of possibility, the mystical exegeses examined in this study point to three forms of bewilderment. The first two consist of intellectual and contemplative bewilderment arising from the multiplicity of divine theophanies that veil the Sidra at the station of proximity: the former renders the intellect bewildered through its inability to apprehend the Divine Reality, while the latter overwhelms the heart through the lights of the Divine Essence. The third form is a bewilderment arising from the knowledge of the presence of the One within the entities of existent things. According to some interpretations, this final form constitutes the ultimate degree of bewilderment experienced by the Prophet at the station of subsistence (baqāʾ) through his descent to Sidrat al-Muntahā.
Keywords: Prophet Muhammad, Sidrat al-Muntahā, Bewilderment, Qur’anic Exegesis, Spiritual Wayfaring, Ibn ʿArabī.
Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
عرفان
Received: 2025/09/11 | Accepted: 2025/11/25 | Published: 2026/07/28
Received: 2025/09/11 | Accepted: 2025/11/25 | Published: 2026/07/28
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