Following early publications on
Al-Ghazali and
Ibn 'Arabi as noted above, Asín Palacios discussed, edited and rendered into Spanish translation many Arabic writings, and composed books and essays on related themes, including an occasional piece in Latin, French, or Italian.
Aquinas and Averroës , sculpture (17th century) (
Averroës), detail from the painting
Triunfo de Santo Tomás by
Andrea da Bonaiuto Asín Palacios researched Muslim influence on
Tomás d'Aquino (c. 1225–1274), which would most likely come from the philosopher
Ibn Rushd of
Córdoba (1126–1198), whether as protagonist or antagonist. Ibn Rushd came to be written
Averroës in Latin. The result was the 1904 article, "El Averroísmo teológico de Santo Tomás de Aquino" by Asín, the professor from
Zaragoza newly arrived in
Madrid. With respect to
Greek philosophy, particularly
Aristotle, Asín infers that the religio-philosophic world inhabited by Averroës is analogous to that of Aquinas, and also to that of ben Maimon or
Maimonides (1135–1204) the Jewish philosopher and
talmudist, also from Córdoba. Asín understood that it was with piety that Averroës used reason to interpret his Islamic faith, and probes this issue for the sake of clearly distinguishing Averroës from several of the not-so-pious Latin "
Averroístas". Asín also refers to medieval
voluntarism (called
asaries in Islam), in order to contrast and distinguish the similar rationalisms held by Averroës and by Aquinas. Yet, many
Thomists did not then accept without great controversy Asín's point of view.
Ibn Masarra In his 1914 book,
Abenmasarra y su escuela. Orígenes de la filosofía hispano-musulmana, Asín opens by describing the evolution of
Islamic philosophy and
cosmology at the
center of Islamic civilization in the East, in comparison with its later emergence in
Al-Andalus (Muslim Iberia). A brief biography of
Ibn Masarra (883–931) follows. There Asín posits the continuation of pre-existing Iberian culture among Hispanic natives who, following
its conquest,
converted to Islam. Because of AbeMnmasarra's father's
client status (to his Berber
mawla), Asín infers that he was such a Muslim 'Spaniard' (
muwallad). Asín describes his affinity to Greek philosophy, i.e.,
neoplatonism, then notes the accusations of heresy against him, and that he early concealed his teachings. At the time the
Umayyad Emir Abdullah ibn Muhammad al-Umawi challenged by political unrest, and armed rebels such as '
Umar ibn Hafsun, showed little tolerance for religious dissenters such as Abenmasarra. Ibn Masarra felt compelled to flee, traveling to
Qairawan and
Mecca. He eventually returned to Córdoba under the tolerant rule of the
Umayyad caliph Abd ar-Rahman III (r.889/91–961), where he founded a School with elements of Sufism. , influenced by Ibn Masarra's school Due to a lack of extant works by
Ibn Masarra of
Córdoba available to Asín, his book treats the general context of the School and teachings of early Muslim mystics in
al-Andalus. Asín discusses the
Batini, the
Mutazili, the
Shi'a, the
Sufi, the Greco-Roman mystic
Plotinus (205–270), and
Pseudo-Empedocles in particular. Mentioned several times by Asín is a perspective he favored: eastern Christianity's early influence on the young religion before Islam's arrival in the west. Asín infers that Ibn Masarra's school influenced
Ibn al-Arif (1088–1141) of
Almería. This Ibn al-'Arif became the focus of an emerging Sufi circle later called the
muridin. His followers spread out over al-Andalus, but they became too strong in the opinion of the governing power; they were variously suppressed by the
Almoravids who then ruled al-Andalus from
Marrakesh. Asín then discusses the influence of the school on Jewish figures of al-Andalus, for example,
Judah ha-Levi (c. 1085 – c. 1140), and in particular on
Solomon ibn Gabirol (c. 1021–1058), known in Latin as
Avicebron. Ibn Gabirol wrote in
Arabic the book
Fons Vitae which still survives. It apparently shows clear
neo-Platonic references to the school of Ibn Masarra. Asín points to the impact of these Muslim and Jewish thinkers of Spain regarding medieval
Christian theology, for example, the long drawn-out struggle between the
Aristotilean ideas of
Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) and those of
Duns Scotus (1266–1308). Asín's dogged research, on the persistent influence of Ibn Masarra's school of mystical philosophy, leads him to follow its tracks eventually to
Ibn 'Arabi (1165–1240), as well as to
Ramon Lull (1233–1315) and to
Roger Bacon (c. 1214 – c. 1294). Later another scholar would find evidence that may link the school of Ibn Masarra to the
philosopher of light [
al-Ishraq] and mystic of Iran,
Suhrawardi (c. 1155–1191). Asín's 1914
Abenmasarra y su escuela established a lasting influence on subsequent scholarship.
Dante Alighieri , at
Palazzo degli Uffizi, Florence Perhaps Asín Palacios is best remembered for his 1919 book,
La Escatologia Musulmana en la Divina Comedia, which sparked lively and extended discussions among Dante scholars. Asíin here suggests Islamic sources for the theological landscapes used by the Italian poet
Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) in his work
La Divina Commedia, written c.1308 to 1320. Specifically, Asín compares the Muslim religious literature surrounding the
night journey [al-'Isra wal-Mi'rag] of
Muhammad (from
Mecca to
Jerusalem and thence up with the
prophets through the seven
heavens), with Dante's story describing his spiritual journey in which he meets various inhabitants of the
afterlife and records their
fate. fresco at
Duomo di Orvieto Accordingly, Asín (I) discusses in detail the above night journey in Muslim literature, (II) compares it to episodes in the
inferno, the
purgatorio, and the
paradiso of
La Divina Commedia, (III) investigates Muslim influence on corresponding Christian literature predating the poem, and (IV) conjectures how Dante could have known directly of the Muslim literature in translation. Prior to Asín's
La Escatologia it was assumed that Dante drew from the long poem the
Aeneid by the ancient Roman poet
Virgil for the inspiration to create the memorable scenes of the afterlife. In his
Divina Comedia, Dante himself plays the leading role; he is guided by the deceased poet Virgil as they travel through the
Inferno and the
Purgatorio. Asín remarks that the addition of the Muslim sources in no way detracts from Dante's achievement, and that Dante remains a luminous figure and his poem retains its exalted place in world literature. Asín's book inspired a wide and energetic reaction, both positive and negative, as well as
further research and academic exchanges. Eventually two scholars, an Italian and a Spaniard, independently uncovered an until-then buried Arabic source, the 11th-century ''
Kitab al-Mi'raj'' [Book of the Ladder (or of the ascent)], which describes Muhammad's night journey. This work was translated into Spanish as [The Ladder of Muhammad] by a scribe (Abrahim Alfaquim) of the Spanish king
Alfonso X el Sabio in 1264. Information also surfaced about another translation of it into Latin,
Liber scalae Machometi, which has been traced to the Italian milieu of the poet, Dante Alighieri. Evidently Dante's mentor
Brunetto Latini met the Latin translator of the ''Kitab al-Mi'raj'' while both were staying at the court of king Alfonso X el Sabio in
Castilla. Although this missing link was not available to Asín, he had based his work on several similar accounts of Muhammad's ladder then circulating among the literary or pious Muslims of
Al-Andalus.
Ibn Hazm The importance of
Ibn Hazm of
Córdoba (994–1064) to the Muslim culture of Spain was earlier recognized by Asín. He had outlined Ibn Hazm's influence on medieval Islam, and had published a study with translation which addressed his ethical thought, followed by a volume concerning Ibn Hazm's views on religious history. During his career, Ibn Hazm became a remarkable figure, not least for the wide scope of his abilities, e.g., producing significant writings as a
theologian, as a
jurist, and as a
poet. at Córdoba From 1927 to 1932, Asín published a 5-volume study, [Ibn Hazm of Cordoba and his "Critical History of Religious Ideas"]. Asín's first volume presents a biography, including his life as a jurist/politician and his trail through the world of intellect; Asín here gives a critique of the writings of the medieval Spanish Muslim, focusing on Ibn Hazm as a theologian and as an early
historian of religions. The remaining four volumes comprise an incomplete yet lengthy translation of Ibn Hazm's
Fisal, a very long work on the history of religious ideas, its Arabic title being [Book of Separation. Concerning
Religions,
Heresies, and
Sects]. Ibn Hazm's
Fisal has six parts: 1. non-Muslim religions (in Asín's volumes II-III), 2. Muslim sects (Asín's III-IV), 3. Muslim faith and theology (IV), 4. several constitutional questions regarding Islamic government (V), 5. Muslim heresies (V), 6. theology in 29 questions (V). In part 1 of the
Fisal, Ibn Hazm gives a polemical description of Christian
scriptures and
trinitarian doctrine, its putative errors and contradictions, showing familiarity with the texts. He also comments on
Judaism,
Zarathustra,
Brahmans,
sophists,
atheists, and
polytheists. According to Asín, many subsequent anti-Christian polemics by Muslims more or less followed part I of Ibn Hazm's
Fisal. Asín, in his "Disertación preliminar" to the
Fisal, compares the late emergence of
comparative religious history in Christian Europe with its relative early start in Islam, noting the geographical proximity of Islam to a variety of differing religions. For example, an early Islamic work that discusses
Buddhism appeared in the 9th century. Yet Asín more than once refers to Ibn Hazm as the first historian of religions. Asín Palacio's biography shows Ibn Hazm as once
vizier to the declining
Umayyad caliphs before retiring to his study. During the course of his career Ibn Hazm had become a Muslim
jurist of the
Zahiri (or "literalist")
school of law. His legal treatise on
fiqh,
Ibtal, is referenced by Asín and regards the Zahiri rejection of the
heuristic use of
analogy,
learned opinion,
social equity,
juristic authority, and
'spirit' of the law, as unacceptable
legal method. Late in his
Fisal, as a jurist Ibn Hazm addresses possible rebellion against an unjust
Imam; the distinction is made between not obeying an unjust order and taking action to overthrow an unjust ruler. Ibn Hazm enters another controversy, opining that women may be given inspiration by God, referring to the "mujer de Abraham" (i.e.,
Sarah) and to the "madre de Jesús"
María (like
Mahoma visited by the "ángel
Gabriel"). After publication of Asín's 5-volume study, additional writings of Ibn Hazm were discovered in the library of the
Fatih Mosque in
Istanbul, including legal
responsa, to which Asin devoted an article.
Ibn 'Arabi Arabic: Spanish: Abenarabi Another work by Asín, which became well known to scholars of Islam, addresses the life and the
Sufi philosophy of
Muhyiddin Ibn 'Arabi (1165–1240) of the
Iberian city of
Murcia. Asín Palacios had already written a number of studies and translations of Ibn 'Arabi, the revered (and controversial) mystic, but his major work was (Madrid 1931). Following an introduction that proposes that Sufism emerged from the influence of Christian monasticism on Islam, the book presents three parts: first, a short life of Ibn 'Arabi [31–118]; second, commentaries that approach the complexity of his voluminous writings, his
mystical teachings, his place in
sufism, and his subsequent influence [119–274]; third, selections translated from seven of Ibn 'Arabi's works, including the Meccan
Fotuhat [275–518]. Asín's brief biography describes Ibn 'Arabi's youthful 'conversion' to an inward path and first teachers, his adolescent meeting with
Averroës, three of his visionary encounters with the 'maestro de verde' [green master]
Jádir, and his travels visiting various sufis in
al-Maghreb (e.g., Fes, and Túnez). In 1201 Ibn 'Arabi traveled further east across North Africa in pursuit of his spiritual journey, to Meca, Bagdad,
Mosul, Cairo,
Conia,
Medina, Jerusalén,
Alepo, and Damasco, where he died and where his tomb now draws pilgrims. Ibn 'Arabi was prolific teacher, leaving us a vast corpus of written works. Asín functioned as a western pioneer in Sufi studies, particularly with respect to the difficult and demanding Ibn 'Arabi, the
Shaykh al-Akbar. Not surprisingly Asín assumes the viewpoint of a spiritually involved Christian academic; he sees in the works of Ibn 'Arabi many similarities with his own religion's mystics and doctrines. Consequently, Asín brings his specific, spiritually-informed consciousness to his discussion of the principles and practices taught by Ibn 'Arabi. According to Prof. Alexander Knysh, Asín was one of the earlier western scholars of Ibn 'Arabi, a motivated European clergyman who was: "concerned with detecting the underlying affinities between Christian and Islamic theology with a view to advancing an Islamo-Christian dialogue. Such Christian scholars treated Ibn 'Arabi, if not exactly as a crypto-Christian, then at least as a freethinker open to other religious confessions, especially Christianity. However, a scrutiny of Ibn 'Arabi's attitude toward other confessions, reveals little direct indebtedness to, or sympathy for, Christian doctrines." Asín Palacios begins his second part by discussing the Sufi spiritual journey, its methods and discipline, and its various supporting societies. Here, Asín describes the distinct approaches found or developed by Ibn 'Arabi. For example, Asín mentions the purgative preparation required by Ibn 'Arabi regarding the
four deaths, i.e.,
white, death to hunger;
red, dying to passion;
black, to endure suffering;
green, to enter poverty. While some see adjacent virtues clearly when young, and others take first a hard path of trials and of sorrows ... eventually to meet a challenging paradox and become humbled in the wilderness; yet each soul may mercifully receive a spiritual transformation, to become ultimately possessed by divine love in a felicitous vision of unity. Ibn 'Arabi has described several varieties of sacred experience, including one in which, having known
an awareness of unity with the Divine, a soul may return to the former daily life, yet nonetheless remaining aware also of the fruit of mystical events, conscious both of the "I and the not I", the commonplace and the transcendent. Here Asín apparently "avoided any analysis of Ibn 'Arabi's metaphysics." In his introduction, Asín observes that while Christian Spain later became deeply influenced by Muslim mysticism, previously the
oriental Church had equally influenced early Islam. Islam then arrived in the far west, the Maghreb al-Aksa and Andalusia, where Ibn 'Arabi would be born. From the perspective of
religious studies, it might be said that Asín Palacios here presents us with a multidimensional, polyphonic text for
comparative religion. In his other works on Sufi practice, Asín mentions precursors of Ibn 'Arabi in
al-Andalus (i.e., the school of
Ibn Masarra), as well as those who drew on his teachings afterwards (for example, the
tariqah of the
Sadilies [or
xadilíes]). Asín refers to the many parallels between
al-Ghazali and Ibn 'Arabi, both well-known and still studied teachers.
Various Among the many articles of Asín Palacios are studies concerning the following subjects: •
Blaise Pascal (1623–1662) and his notion of placing a wager concerning the chances of reward or punishment after death, with respect to similar ideas in Al-Ghazali; •
Alumbrados, dissident religious groups organized in Spain during the 16th and 17th centuries, similarities compared with the
Sadili school (
tariqah). •
Ramon Lull (1233–1315), mystic who sought to convert Islam to Christianity, whose ideas Asín discussed in his book on Ibn Masarra, and also with respect to Ibn 'Arabi; •
Ibn al-Arif (12th century) de
Almería, influenced by
Ibn Masarra, mentioned by Ibn 'Arabi;
arif meaning "contemplation", although his practice was associated with
quietist tendencies; •
Ibn Bajjah (1106–1138) of
Zaragoza, known in Latin as Avempace, particularly with regard to
Aristotle's impact on European and
Arab philosophy. Although Asín carefully followed the leads he found, nonetheless he continually seemed to remain grounded to his core area of research: the mutual influence of the distinctive civilizations of Islam and of Christianity during the centuries of Muslim rule in Spain, and thereafter, and the multilateral implications. Here is the transliteration of Asín's name to reflect its
Arabic pronunciation: Asīn Balāthīus.
Al-Ghazali : the last page In the 1930s, Asín began yet another study of
Al-Ghazali (1058–1111), which is entitled,
. Asín expressly declared that the work was limited to a Christian interpretation of the celebrated Muslim and his work. His investigation focuses on themes of spiritual practice from the forty volume
magnum opus of al-Ghazali, the ''Ihya 'Ulum ad-Din
[Revival of the Religious Sciences'']. British scholar
A. J. Arberry in 1942 called Asín's multivolume study "by far the most important monograph on Ghazali so far written," but adversely noted the importation of foreign religious sentiments into Asín's work on the Muslim theologian. Yet Asín, noting the multiple interpenetration of the two rival faiths, felt justified in his course. After addressing Al-Ghazali the person, including a short biography, Asín analyses the teachings of his
Ihya in four parts: •
first, his purgative ascetics, for example, how to overcome sensuality, idle talk, anger and hatred, envy, worldliness, greed, glory, hypocrisy, pride, vanity, and spiritual illusion (in volume I); •
second, his path to unity, for example, penance, patience, gratitude, hope and fear, voluntary poverty, renunciation of the world, trusting in God, and love of God (vol. II); •
third, his way to perfection, for example, the life plan, purity and sincerity, conscience, meditation, and the religious song (vol. III); •
fourth, al-Ghazali's mystical doctrine, to which Asín also provides a Christian interpretation (also in vol. III). In Asín's concluding volume IV, he translates selections from works by Al-Ghazali (21 titles other than the
Ihya) and provides a brief analysis of each.
John of the Cross In 1933 Asín published in the first issue of the journal
Al-Andalus an article about
San Juan de la Cruz (1542–1591) and a doctrine he shared with spiritual Islam. This work can be seen to be equally about the saint's suggested forerunner, a Muslim mystic from
Ronda,
Ibn Abbad al-Rundi (1332–1389); and also about Ibn Abbad's own sources in the
Sadili school (
tariqah). The shared doctrine concerns the soul on the path toward union with the Divine. God, being unreachably transcendent, the soul's only approach is to renounce everything but God. Thereby the soul enters a desolation in which he (or she) lives only for God, yet the desolation may become too severe, causing the soul to despair, so that the merciful Deity grants him (or her) inspiration, followed by a phase of elation; afterwards the soul returns to the way through desolation in order to move closer to God. The doctrine shared teaches that the soul passing through these alternating states of "
night" (contraction, due to despair) and "day" (inspired expansion) may relinquish the
charismata of God's inspiring favors, i.e., the "day", so as to pass more quickly beyond the difficult rhythm of "night" and "day". Thereafter the soul finds repose, wherein to enter the transforming union. Asín analyses the technical vocabulary used by the sadilis and by San Juan de la Cruz in order to further establish the connection. While not disputing these similarities as discussed by Asín, a subsequent scholar, José Nieto, remained critical of any implied linkage between the earlier teachings of the
Sadili sufis and San Juan de la Cruz. To the contrary, the suggestion is that this 'shared mystical doctrine' functions at such a level of generality that it will arise spontaneously.
Teresa of Ávila , by
Peter Paul Rubens In a posthumously published article, Asín discusses
Santa Teresa de Ávila (1515–1582). The similes and analogies she employed to communicate the experiences of her spiritual life are discovered by Asín to parallel those previously employed by mystics of Islam. In this instance the image used is of seven dwelling places or castles, one inside the other. Asín mentions the
Tanwir of the
sadili Ibn 'Ata Allah; the
Tayrid of Ahmad al-Gazali (brother of
Algazel); and, the anonymous
Nawadir compiled by Ahmad al-Qalyubi, with its seven concentric castles. Asín draws out other mutualities in the matrix of symbols, for example, the Divinity being in the central dwelling.
Luce López-Baralt further explores this association of images, tracing the parallel to a 9th-century Islamic mystic of Baghdad,
Abu-l-Hasan al-Nuri (died 907), whose
Maqamat al-qulub [
Stations of the Heart] describes seven castles, one inside the other, through which the soul travels toward God. After quoting a passage in which Sta. Teresa describes her spontaneous acquaintance with the castle image, López-Baralt infers that Sta. Teresa's acquisition of the Islamic parallel was indirect, probably from a popular allusion that lay dormant within her for years, resurfacing later to help her communicate her mystical experiences. Following other similar studies, Catherine Swietlicki took a new but related direction, discussing Saint Teresa's Jewish heritage, and her mysticism as filtered through the mutual presence of three faiths. The Catholic writings of Santa Teresa de Ávila, widely recognized and revered, may accordingly be understood to reflect as well a generality of shared values among the Judaic, Christian, and Islamic faiths during those blessed periods of
convivencia in medieval Spain. ==Perspectives==