Ibn 'Arabi Heir to the Prophets
When God opened the door for him, Ibn ‘Arabi found that he
had inherited all the sciences of Muhammad.Among these sciences
was the knowledge that no one after him – except Jesus
at the end of time – would be Muhammad’s plenary inheritor.
It was this unveiling that allowed him to see himself as the Seal
of Muhammadan Friendship, that is, the last person to actualize
the specific mode of friendship that results from embodying the
fullness of the paradigm established by Muhammad.
By no means does Ibn ‘Arabi’s claim to be the Muhammadan
Seal imply that he was the last friend of God. Rather, it means
that no one after him, with the exception of Jesus, would
inherit the totality of prophetic works, states, and knowledge –
a totality that had been realized only by Muhammad among all
the prophets.
One should not be surprised that Ibn ‘Arabi privileges
Muhammad here. This is the Islamic tradition, after all, and
every tradition privileges its own founder. For those who prefer
a more universal language, we can say that for Muslims,
Muhammad is the full embodiment of the Logos, which is the
Divine Word that gives rise to all creation and all revelation.
Ibn
‘Arabi calls this Logos by several names, including “the
Muhammadan Reality.”
Ibn ‘Arabi maintains that there are friends of God in every
age and that they will continue to inherit from Muhammad, but
they will no longer have access to the entirety of Muhammad’s
works, states, and sciences. The modalities of the inheritance
will be defined by their connection to specific prophets
embraced by Muhammad’s all-comprehensive prophethood.
After the Muhammadan Seal, “No friend will be found ‘upon
the heart of Muhammad’” (F. II 49.26).
Ibn ‘Arabi’s claim to be the Seal of the Muhammadan Friends
has appeared pretentious and even outrageous to many people over the centuries. Hostile and critical scholars have dismissed
it out of hand.The fact remains, however, that no author writing
after him has come close to matching the profundity, freshness,
and detail of his interpretation of the sources of the
Islamic tradition. Whether or not one would like to call him
the Seal of the Muhammadan Friends, it is difficult to deny him
the title “Greatest Master.”
If the Muhammadan friends of God inherit all the sciences of
Muhammad, this means that they have been opened up to all
the knowledge and understanding given to all the prophets.
This is the knowledge that was given scriptural form in the
Qur’an. Thus the Seal of the Muhammadan Friends will somehow
embody the whole Quranic message. This is why Ibn ‘
Arabi can write concerning the Seal, “There is no one who has
more knowledge of God ... He and the Qur’an are siblings”
(F. III 329.27).
From: Ibn ‘Arabi Heir to the Prophets by William C. Chittick