Akbarian Metaphysics in the Ottoman-Bosnian context: Ibn ‛Arabi’s thought in the works of Alauddin Ali-dede Bosniak Cover Image

Akbarijanska metafizika u osmansko-bosanskom kontekstu: IbnArebijeva misao u djelima Alauddina Ali-dede Bošnjaka
Akbarian Metaphysics in the Ottoman-Bosnian context: Ibn ‛Arabi’s thought in the works of Alauddin Ali-dede Bosniak

Author(s): Berin Bajrić
Subject(s): Cultural history, Metaphysics, Social history, Middle-East Philosophy, 16th Century, The Ottoman Empire, History of Islam
Published by: Naučnoistraživački institut »Ibn Sina«
Keywords: Ali-dede; Ibn Arabi; Akbarian wisdom; Al-Futūḥāt; 16th century; Bosnia;

Summary/Abstract: This study examines the intellectual and spiritual relationship between Ibn ʻArabi (1165–1240) and ʿAlī-dede Bošnjak (1540–1598), one of the most prominent Bosnian-born scholars and Sufi thinkers of the sixteenthcentury Ottoman world. By analysing Ali-dede’s major works – particularly Muḥāḍarat al-awāʾil wa-musāmarāt al-awākhir and H̱̱awātim al-ḥikam ḥall al-rumūz wa-kašf al-kunūz – the article demonstrates that Ali-dede operated within the broader Akbarian intellectual tradition and that his metaphysical framework is deeply indebted to concepts articulated by Ibn ʻArabi in the Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya and the Fuṣūṣ al-ḥikam. Special attention is given to Ali-dede’s understanding of time, cosmic cycles, the hermeneutics of the “eternal now”, and the structure of spiritual realms – all of which reflect a direct reception and creative rearticulation of Ibn ʻArabi’s ontology. Rather than a mere compiler, Ali-dede emerges as an original thinker who adapted Akbarian metaphysics into a distinct Ottoman-Bosnian intellectual idiom. The article thus contributes to a deeper understanding of how Ibn ʻArabi’s school spread across the Ottoman scholarly milieu and highlights Ali-dede Bošnjak’s significance within the broader history of Islamic thought.

  • Issue Year: XXVIII/2025
  • Issue No: 103-104
  • Page Range: 106-130
  • Page Count: 25
  • Language: Bosnian
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