Divine governance of the human kingdom
التدبيرات الإلهية في إصلاح المملكة الإنسانية
al-Tadbīrāt al-ilāhiyya fī iṣlāḥ al-mamlaka al-insāniyya
Ibn ʿArabī (560–638/1165–1240)
Ibn ʿArabī · Counsel and governance · Arabic · 6th century AH · Listed only
Counsel on governing the human being as a kingdom under the intellect. Its preface sets it against the Sirr al-asrār's governance of the worldly kingdom, and addresses both the servant of kings and the traveller on the path.
- Attribution
- authentic: The text opens in his own name, 'Muḥammad b. ʿAlī al-ʿArabī al-Ḥātimī al-Ṭāʾī' (Nyberg, first text page, unnumbered), and speaks in the first person of its composition (pp. 120–121). Yahia 1964, the specialist reference, is not yet in hand. checked in H. S. Nyberg (ed.), Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-ʿArabī (Leiden: Brill, 1919); the Tadbīrāt is printed in the Arabic section, text pp. 103–240 (see LEDGER)
- Date
- Composed at Mawrūr (Morón) 'in under four days' (dūn al-arbaʿa al-ayyām, Nyberg p. 121); the year is not yet established (draft: before 598/1202), Mawrūr (Morón), al-Andalus (basis: date of composition) probable
- Editions
- H. S. Nyberg (ed.), Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-ʿArabī (Leiden: Brill, 1919), Arabic text of the Tadbīrāt pp. 103–240 (title page unnumbered; p. 240 ends 'tamma al-kitāb'), with sigla B1, B2, B3, U · public domain checked in H. S. Nyberg (ed.), Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-ʿArabī (Leiden: Brill, 1919); the Tadbīrāt is printed in the Arabic section, text pp. 103–240 (see LEDGER)
- Critical Arabic edition with Urdu, Abrar Ahmed Shahi (Ibn al-Arabi Foundation, 2020, 3rd ed.) · cite only (unchecked) not yet checked
- Translations
- Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi, Divine Governance of the Human Kingdom (Fons Vitae, 1997), reported by the draft as made from Ottoman Turkish; unchecked · en · cite only not yet checked
Connected works
- Resonance, not influence: Opinions of the people of the virtuous city The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
- Resonance, not influence: Epistles of the Brethren of Purity; The Case of the Animals versus Man before the King of the Jinn The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
- Resonance, not influence: The refinement of character The first draft claims influence; not yet checked. not yet checked
- Lineage: The Secret of Secrets The preface names it (Nyberg pp. 120–121, read from the page images). At Mawrūr, with Abū Muḥammad al-Mawrūrī, Ibn ʿArabī found the 'Kitāb Sirr al-asrār', which 'the sage' (al-ḥakīm) composed for Dhū l-Qarnayn; he was asked to set against it the governance of the human kingdom, 'in which is our happiness'. He says he put into his book more on governing a kingdom than the sage did and made clear what the sage left out, and that the sage's book is a quarter or a third of its size. He names the author only as 'the sage' and the king as Dhū l-Qarnayn; the title identifies the book. Confidence: high. checked in H. S. Nyberg (ed.), Kleinere Schriften des Ibn al-ʿArabī (Leiden: Brill, 1919); the Tadbīrāt is printed in the Arabic section, text pp. 103–240 (see LEDGER)
- Resonance, not influence: Republic Both treat the ruled soul as a polity under reason. No source seen documents a route from the Republic to the Tadbīrāt; the Tadbīrāt's preface names the Sirr al-asrār, not the Republic or al-Fārābī. Confidence: low. probable