The Unfolding of Beauty: The Concepts Mercy, Cover, and Adornment in Ibn ‘Arabī Thought

Beauty carries meanings that unify the conceptual network necessary to understand Ibn ‘Arabī thought. There are two dimensions of beauty: one pertaining to the Haqq (the Real) and the other to the servant. The meaning of beauty varies depending on these dimensions. The relationship between the Haqq and the servant diversifies based on beauty and mercy and takes different shapes and forms. These changes are covered by veils, but at the same time, they reveal themselves clearly to the eyes that see and the ears that hear. It prompted the author to ask, “How is the nexus between beauty and mercy in Ibn ‘Arabi thought revealed in the realm of human experience?”. The intention is to illustrate that beauty in its aspect of Haqq is closely tied to mercy and elucidate how this mercy and beauty are revealed in the realm of human experience.

In the paper, firstly, we will point out that the fact that the divine names are relations (al-nisab) and dependencies (al-idafat) enables the grading of beauty. The reason for approaching the subject from two angles, that of the Haqq and the servant, lies at this point. Secondly, we will seek to establish the relationship between beauty and mercy. At this point, our guide will be Ibn ‘Arabī’s comments on the verse “My mercy encompasses everything” (7:156). Through this, we will aim to depict the relationship between beauty, divine names, and the act of creation. Finally, we will discuss how mercy and beauty in terms of the aspect of Haqq are revealed in the experience of the human being through adornment being a cover (setr). Adornment, which is an element of beauty, has a concealing aspect, as much as it is about revealing when we think about it in the context of the name al-Gaffar.

This paper suggests that mercy and beauty concerning Haqq are also linked to the concept of cover in the experience of human beings. The goal we will try to achieve by following the conceptual pattern of beauty, mercy, and cover is to show that in Ibn ‘Arabī’ thought, beauty and “ugliness” (al-qubh) and accordingly goodness (al-hasen) and “evil” (al-sayyie) are not mutually exclusive concepts, but on the contrary, they are concepts that are included in each other.

The distinction between Essence and divinity makes the divine names possible to consider as relationships and dependencies. From the dimension of Haqq, beauty is related to mercy. Because mercy encompasses “everything,” including the good and the evil, the beautiful and the ugly, the right and the wrong, faith and disbelief, and so on. At this point, it should be noted immediately that the all-encompassing nature of mercy does not mean justifying or encouraging the bad, the ugly, the wrong, denial, or, in fiqh terminology, sin. On the contrary, servitude, which is a human’s fundamental quality, becomes only possible through the manifestation of all-encompassing mercy.

The aspect of beauty as a servant exhibits a fluidity that we can trace through the concept of covering. Indeed, beauty and ugliness, goodness and evil in terms of being deeds in the experience of a servant, are revealed in one cover and concealed by another. This matter is closely linked to beauty. Adornment is an element of beauty that serves as a cover in one sense, and all covers that are put on and taken off eventually return to mercy. Consequently, we cannot think of beauty and ugliness or goodness and evil as opposing concepts; rather, these concepts are that one serves as a cover for the other, and they include each other.



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