Who was Henry Corbin?
Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was a groundbreaking French philosopher, theologian, and Islamicist whose visionary work unveiled the power of the imaginal realm. Corbin’s unique approach synthesized Islamic mysticism, Western philosophy, Jungian psychology, and the perennial wisdom traditions to illumine the transformative potency of creative imagination. His penetrating insights into the mediating realm between matter and spirit continue to inspire seekers across disciplines, from religious studies to depth psychology. This article provides an in-depth exploration of Corbin’s life and key ideas, tracing their ongoing relevance for our age of disenchantment.
Publications & Resources: Corbin’s work on Islamic mysticism and philosophy can be explored through his books like Alone with the Alone and via the Henry Corbin Project.
2. Biographical Sketch
2.1 Early Life and Education
Henri Corbin was born in Paris in 1903 to a Catholic family. Tragedy struck early when his mother died just days after his birth. Young Henri was raised by his widowed father and aunt, his health fragile during his early years. A deep sensitivity to music and a Classical education at Catholic institutions would shape his early intellectual and spiritual development.
Corbin’s precocious spiritual sensibilities flowered during his studies at the Catholic University of Paris, where he encountered the work of medieval theologian and angelologist Étienne Gilson. Gilson’s exploration of Islamic influences on Western thought sparked Corbin’s lifelong passion for illuminating the hidden connections between East and West.
2.2 Influences and Intellectual Development
While pursuing his degree at the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) in Paris, Corbin studied under preeminent Islamicist Louis Massignon. Massignon’s intensity and bold insights into Islamic mysticism left an indelible mark on his young protégé. It was Massignon who first introduced Corbin to the Persian theosophical writings of mystic Suhrawardi, a figure who would become Corbin’s “Imam” and guiding light.
Corbin’s philosophical vision crystalized through his engagement with German thought, particularly the work of Martin Heidegger. In the 1930s, Corbin met with Heidegger in Freiburg and became the first French translator of his writings. Corbin’s copy of Being and Time was filled with notes in Persian and Arabic, reflecting his unique cross-pollination of Heideggerian phenomenology and Islamic mysticism.
2.3 Career and Legacy
In 1954, Corbin succeeded Massignon as Chair of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne. His groundbreaking work on Iranian Islamic thought, Avicenna, Suhrawardi, and Ibn ‘Arabi established his reputation as a singular luminary in East-West scholarship. For nearly three decades until his death in 1978, Corbin divided his time between Paris, Tehran, and the annual Eranos Conferences in Switzerland, where his profound presence and poetic lectures magnetized scholars like Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and D.T. Suzuki.
Through his more than 200 books and articles, Corbin tirelessly advocated for the transformative power of the imaginal realm – a world of angels, archetypes, and visionary encounters. By illuminating the affinities between Western and Islamic spirituality, he helped forge new pathways for intercultural understanding and reverence for the Sacred. Corbin’s passing in 1978 on the cusp of the Iranian Revolution presaged a growing need for his vision of a transcendent unity of spirit.
Resources on Henry Corbin
- Books: Alone with the Alone Princeton University Press
- YouTube Lecture: Henry Corbin and Mysticism
- Biography: Henry Corbin’s Life
- Article: Corbin’s Islamic Mysticism
- Institute: Temenos Academy
- Podcast: Corbin and the Imaginal World
- Archive: Corbin Archives
- Quotes: Corbin Quotes
- Research: Henry Corbin’s Spirituality
- Papers: Corbin’s Mysticism Papers
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The Imaginal Realm and Creative Imagination
3.1 The Realm of “Malakūt”
The heart of Corbin’s work revolves around the imaginal world, or what he called the realm of “Malakūt” in Islamic terminology. Drawing from Sufi mystics and theosophers like Ibn ‘Arabi and Suhrawardi, Corbin described this intermediary region between the sensible and intelligible worlds. The imaginal is not to be conflated with the merely imaginary; it is a very real realm of angelic archetypes, visionary encounters, and subtle bodies.
For Corbin, the imaginal realm is the “place” of theophanic visions, prophetic dreams, and spiritual transformation. It is where the aspirant encounters the transcendent within the forms of their own shimmering inner landscape. By cultivating a relationship to this imaginal topography, the mystic undergoes a process of radical individuation, integrating the energies of their own celestial twin or “perfect nature.”
3.2 Creative Imagination as Theophanic
Perception Corbin’s vision hinges on a rehabilitation of the spiritual power of imagination. Far from a mere faculty of fantasy, creative imagination is an organ of theophanic perception – a means of unveiling the Divine within the forms of creation. Through the cultivation of a subtle attentiveness, the gnostic can experience each image as the self-disclosure of an angelic presence, transforming the world into a tapestry of signs and revelations.
This theophanic vision is central to the project of ta’wīl, or spiritual hermeneutics, which Corbin illuminated in Islamic and Western traditions. Ta’wīl involves a symbolic reading of phenomena that unveils their hidden spiritual dimensions, transmuting external forms into inner meanings. For the practitioner of ta’wīl, a living, personalized relationship with sacred texts and images is the key to their alchemical power of soul transformation.
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Towards a Harmony of Spiritual Worlds
4.1 Illuminating East-West Connections
One of Corbin’s great lifeworks was to illumine the spiritual unity underlying Western and Islamic esoteric traditions. By exploring resonances between Abrahamic faiths, Zoroastrianism, and pagan wisdom traditions, Corbin aimed to revive a sense of the transcendent unity of all spiritual paths. He saw in Iranian Islamic spirituality a profound resource for revitalizing the anagogical power of Western religions.
Corbin’s work particularly highlighted the cross-pollination between Islamic and Christian mysticism during the Middle Ages. He showed how figures like Suhrawardi, Ibn ‘Arabi, and the fedeli d’amore participated in a shared heritage of celestial angelology, Neoplatonic love mysticism, and chivalric spiritual quests. By tracing these hidden lines of influence, Corbin sought to heal the divide between East and West and reveal their common origin in Divine Wisdom.
4.2 Ecumenical Quest and Dialogue
For Corbin, the ultimate goal of comparative spiritual studies was not merely academic but profoundly ecumenical. He envisioned a new era of inter-religious dialogue based on a deep recognition of each tradition’s inner esoteric dimension. By highlighting the affinities between the “inner worlds” of different faiths, Corbin worked to foster a shared reverence for gnosis, direct spiritual knowing.
This ecumenism of the spirit required a shift from doctrinal debates to an existential openness to the living presence of the sacred. Corbin modeled this shift through his own passionate quest for experiential spiritual realization, whether through studies of Islamic theosophy or meditations on the Holy Grail. For Corbin, the great vocation of our time is to “return to the burning Bush” – to rekindle a direct, living encounter with the Divine across all traditions.
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Engaging the Angelic: A Prophetic Psychology
5.1 The Angelic Realm and Individuation
Corbin’s vision culminates in his unique fusion of Islamic angelology and Jungian individuation. For Corbin, the human psyche mediates between the sensible and intelligible worlds, participating in the realm of angelic intelligences. The process of spiritual individuation involves awakening to and integrating the presence of one’s celestial “twin,” the angelic archetype within.
This communication with one’s angel unfolds through a process of visionary encounters, symbolic exegesis, and creative imagination. The angel appears in dreams, rituals, and sacred texts, guiding the aspirant towards their own inner transformation. By engaging this personal angel, the individual fulfills their unique spiritual vocation and unites with the Divine.
5.2 The “Lost Speech” and Prophetic Knowledge
For Corbin, the ultimate goal of spiritual hermeneutics is the recovery of what he called the “lost speech” of the soul. This primordial spiritual language transcends words, residing in the imaginal realm of archetypes and symbols. By learning to commune with this inner world, the gnostic accesses a prophetic mode of knowing, an unmediated experience of the Divine Word.
Corbin’s angelology thus points towards a “prophetic psychology” – an approach to the psyche grounded in direct revelation and visionary awakening. This psychology treats the imaginal realm as the locus of spiritual individuation, recognizing the transformative power of symbols, myths, and poetic utterances. By apprenticing to the angelic guides within, the individual can awaken to their role in the greater pleroma of Divine manifestation.
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Legacy and Relevance
6.1 Influence Across Fields
Since his death in 1978, Corbin’s influence has continued to grow across a wide range of disciplines. His work has been foundational for the academic study of Iranian Islam, Islamic philosophy, and Sufi mysticism. Corbin’s unique approach to religious hermeneutics has also had a profound impact on philosophers and theologians seeking to renew the power of symbolic thinking in a disenchanted age.
In the field of transpersonal psychology, Corbin is frequently invoked alongside figures like C.G. Jung and James Hillman as a pioneer in the exploration of the imaginal psyche. Jungian analyst and author James Hillman considered Corbin to be “the master of the thought of the heart, of creative imagination in its deepest sense.” Corbin’s angelology has provided a framework for re-visioning archetypal psychology as a path of spiritual realization.
6.2 Traditionalist Thought and Perennialism
Corbin’s influence has also extended into the domain of perennialist and traditionalist thought. His vision of a transcendent unity of all spiritual traditions resonates with the perennialist focus on the common esoteric core behind the world’s great religions. Figures like Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr have all acknowledged Corbin’s work as a key influence in their efforts to revive traditional metaphysics and spirituality.
At the same time, some perennialists have criticized Corbin’s emphasis on individual spiritual experience and creative imagination, arguing that it deviates from strict adherence to orthodox tradition. Corbin’s approach, with its openness to personal gnosis and cross-cultural influences, sits uneasily with more conservative traditionalist perspectives. Nonetheless, his work remains a vital resource for those seeking to enact the transcendent unity of traditions in a postmodern age.
6.3 Towards Re-Enchantment and Spiritual Renewal
Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Corbin’s work is its power to re-enchant the world and reawaken a sense of the sacred in everyday life. By revealing the imaginal dimensions that suffuse all of creation, Corbin invites us to participate in a “theosophy of the concrete” – a spiritual vision that transfigures the whole of existence into a theater of Divine self-disclosure.
In an age of disenchantment, where the prevailing worldviews of scientism and materialism have drained life of its inherent meaning, Corbin’s work offers a potent antidote. He reminds us that the world is charged with the grandeur of the Sacred, if only we have eyes to see. By cultivating an imaginal vision, we can rediscover the mystery and wonder that lies hidden in each moment, each form, each encounter.
Corbin’s legacy also challenges us to become active participants in the work of spiritual transformation. His path is not one of passive belief or rote religiosity, but of creative engagement with the symbols, myths, and revelations that beckon to us from within. By apprenticing to the imaginal realm and its angelic denizens, we can become co-creators of a new spiritual reality – one that integrates the wisdom of the past with the unique needs of our time.
-
Legacy and Influence
The life and work of Henri Corbin stand as a testament to the transformative power of the imaginal realm. Through his visionary scholarship and spiritual quest, Corbin unveiled the hidden dimensions of Islamic esotericism and illuminated the deep affinities between Western and Eastern spirituality. His legacy invites us to cultivate a direct, experiential relationship with the sacred, mediated through the symbols, archetypes, and angelic presences that populate our inner landscapes.
In a fragmented world haunted by the specters of religious fundamentalism and materialist reductionism, Corbin’s vision offers a luminous alternative. He points us towards a path of spiritual renewal grounded in the creative power of imagination, the unifying wisdom of the heart, and the revelation of a transcendent reality that embraces all paths. By heeding his call to engage the imaginal, we can participate in the alchemical work of transfiguring both self and world.
As we navigate the challenges of the 21st century, Corbin’s work remains an inexhaustible resource for all those seeking to reenchant the world and awaken to the sacred dimensions of life. May we have the courage to follow in his footsteps, to become intrepid explorers of the imaginal realm and co-creators of a new spiritual renaissance. For as Corbin himself wrote, “the world is not matter or mind, but the Angel that reveals itself to us in both of these, depending on whether our consciousness attunes itself to the spiritual or the material aspect of things.” May we attune our hearts to the angelic call, and in so doing, help bring forth a world transfigured by the light of the Divine.
- Introduction Henri Corbin (1903-1978) was a groundbreaking French philosopher, theologian, and Islamicist whose visionary work unveiled the power of the imaginal realm. Corbin’s unique approach synthesized Islamic mysticism, Western philosophy, Jungian psychology, and the perennial wisdom traditions to illumine the transformative potency of creative imagination. His penetrating insights into the mediating realm between matter and spirit continue to inspire seekers across disciplines, from religious studies to depth psychology. This article provides an in-depth exploration of Corbin’s life and key ideas, tracing their ongoing relevance for our age of disenchantment.
- Biographical Sketch
2.1 Early Life and Education
Henri Corbin was born in Paris in 1903 to a Catholic family. Tragedy struck early when his mother died just days after his birth. Young Henri was raised by his widowed father and aunt, his health fragile during his early years. A deep sensitivity to music and a Classical education at Catholic institutions would shape his early intellectual and spiritual development.
Corbin’s precocious spiritual sensibilities flowered during his studies at the Catholic University of Paris, where he encountered the work of medieval theologian and angelologist Étienne Gilson. Gilson’s exploration of Islamic influences on Western thought sparked Corbin’s lifelong passion for illuminating the hidden connections between East and West.
2.2 Influences and Intellectual Development
While pursuing his degree at the École pratique des hautes études (EPHE) in Paris, Corbin studied under preeminent Islamicist Louis Massignon. Massignon’s intensity and bold insights into Islamic mysticism left an indelible mark on his young protégé. It was Massignon who first introduced Corbin to the Persian theosophical writings of mystic Suhrawardi, a figure who would become Corbin’s “Imam” and guiding light.
Corbin’s philosophical vision crystalized through his engagement with German thought, particularly the work of Martin Heidegger. In the 1930s, Corbin met with Heidegger in Freiburg and became the first French translator of his writings. Corbin’s copy of Being and Time was filled with notes in Persian and Arabic, reflecting his unique cross-pollination of Heideggerian phenomenology and Islamic mysticism.
2.3 Career and Legacy
In 1954, Corbin succeeded Massignon as Chair of Islamic Studies at the Sorbonne. His groundbreaking work on Iranian Islamic thought, Avicenna, Suhrawardi, and Ibn ‘Arabi established his reputation as a singular luminary in East-West scholarship. For nearly three decades until his death in 1978, Corbin divided his time between Paris, Tehran, and the annual Eranos Conferences in Switzerland, where his profound presence and poetic lectures magnetized scholars like Carl Jung, Mircea Eliade, and D.T. Suzuki.
Through his more than 200 books and articles, Corbin tirelessly advocated for the transformative power of the imaginal realm – a world of angels, archetypes, and visionary encounters. By illuminating the affinities between Western and Islamic spirituality, he helped forge new pathways for intercultural understanding and reverence for the Sacred. Corbin’s passing in 1978 on the cusp of the Iranian Revolution presaged a growing need for his vision of a transcendent unity of spirit.
-
The Imaginal Realm and Creative Imagination
3.1 The Realm of “Malakūt”
The heart of Corbin’s work revolves around the imaginal world, or what he called the realm of “Malakūt” in Islamic terminology. Drawing from Sufi mystics and theosophers like Ibn ‘Arabi and Suhrawardi, Corbin described this intermediary region between the sensible and intelligible worlds. The imaginal is not to be conflated with the merely imaginary; it is a very real realm of angelic archetypes, visionary encounters, and subtle bodies.
For Corbin, the imaginal realm is the “place” of theophanic visions, prophetic dreams, and spiritual transformation. It is where the aspirant encounters the transcendent within the forms of their own shimmering inner landscape. By cultivating a relationship to this imaginal topography, the mystic undergoes a process of radical individuation, integrating the energies of their own celestial twin or “perfect nature.”
3.2 Creative Imagination as Theophanic Perception
Corbin’s vision hinges on a rehabilitation of the spiritual power of imagination. Far from a mere faculty of fantasy, creative imagination is an organ of theophanic perception – a means of unveiling the Divine within the forms of creation. Through the cultivation of a subtle attentiveness, the gnostic can experience each image as the self-disclosure of an angelic presence, transforming the world into a tapestry of signs and revelations.
This theophanic vision is central to the project of ta’wīl, or spiritual hermeneutics, which Corbin illuminated in Islamic and Western traditions. Ta’wīl involves a symbolic reading of phenomena that unveils their hidden spiritual dimensions, transmuting external forms into inner meanings. For the practitioner of ta’wīl, a living, personalized relationship with sacred texts and images is the key to their alchemical power of soul transformation.
-
Towards a Harmony of Spiritual Worlds
4.1 Illuminating East-West Connections
One of Corbin’s great lifeworks was to illumine the spiritual unity underlying Western and Islamic esoteric traditions. By exploring resonances between Abrahamic faiths, Zoroastrianism, and pagan wisdom traditions, Corbin aimed to revive a sense of the transcendent unity of all spiritual paths. He saw in Iranian Islamic spirituality a profound resource for revitalizing the anagogical power of Western religions.
Corbin’s work particularly highlighted the cross-pollination between Islamic and Christian mysticism during the Middle Ages. He showed how figures like Suhrawardi, Ibn ‘Arabi, and the fedeli d’amore participated in a shared heritage of celestial angelology, Neoplatonic love mysticism, and chivalric spiritual quests. By tracing these hidden lines of influence, Corbin sought to heal the divide between East and West and reveal their common origin in Divine Wisdom.
4.2 Ecumenical Quest and Dialogue
For Corbin, the ultimate goal of comparative spiritual studies was not merely academic but profoundly ecumenical. He envisioned a new era of inter-religious dialogue based on a deep recognition of each tradition’s inner esoteric dimension. By highlighting the affinities between the “inner worlds” of different faiths, Corbin worked to foster a shared reverence for gnosis, direct spiritual knowing.
This ecumenism of the spirit required a shift from doctrinal debates to an existential openness to the living presence of the sacred. Corbin modeled this shift through his own passionate quest for experiential spiritual realization, whether through studies of Islamic theosophy or meditations on the Holy Grail. For Corbin, the great vocation of our time is to “return to the burning Bush” – to rekindle a direct, living encounter with the Divine across all traditions.
-
Engaging the Angelic: A Prophetic Psychology
5.1 The Angelic Realm and Individuation
Corbin’s vision culminates in his unique fusion of Islamic angelology and Jungian individuation. For Corbin, the human psyche mediates between the sensible and intelligible worlds, participating in the realm of angelic intelligences. The process of spiritual individuation involves awakening to and integrating the presence of one’s celestial “twin,” the angelic archetype within.
This communication with one’s angel unfolds through a process of visionary encounters, symbolic exegesis, and creative imagination. The angel appears in dreams, rituals, and sacred texts, guiding the aspirant towards their own inner transformation. By engaging this personal angel, the individual fulfills their unique spiritual vocation and unites with the Divine.
5.2 The “Lost Speech” and Prophetic Knowledge
For Corbin, the ultimate goal of spiritual hermeneutics is the recovery of what he called the “lost speech” of the soul. This primordial spiritual language transcends words, residing in the imaginal realm of archetypes and symbols. By learning to commune with this inner world, the gnostic accesses a prophetic mode of knowing, an unmediated experience of the Divine Word.
Corbin’s angelology thus points towards a “prophetic psychology” – an approach to the psyche grounded in direct revelation and visionary awakening. This psychology treats the imaginal realm as the locus of spiritual individuation, recognizing the transformative power of symbols, myths, and poetic utterances. By apprenticing to the angelic guides within, the individual can awaken to their role in the greater pleroma of Divine manifestation.
-
Legacy and Relevance
6.1 Influence Across Fields
Since his death in 1978, Corbin’s influence has continued to grow across a wide range of disciplines. His work has been foundational for the academic study of Iranian Islam, Islamic philosophy, and Sufi mysticism. Corbin’s unique approach to religious hermeneutics has also had a profound impact on philosophers and theologians seeking to renew the power of symbolic thinking in a disenchanted age.
In the field of transpersonal psychology, Corbin is frequently invoked alongside figures like C.G. Jung and James Hillman as a pioneer in the exploration of the imaginal psyche. Jungian analyst and author James Hillman considered Corbin to be “the master of the thought of the heart, of creative imagination in its deepest sense.” Corbin’s angelology has provided a framework for re-visioning archetypal psychology as a path of spiritual realization.
6.2 Traditionalist Thought and Perennialism
Corbin’s influence has also extended into the domain of perennialist and traditionalist thought. His vision of a transcendent unity of all spiritual traditions resonates with the perennialist focus on the common esoteric core behind the world’s great religions. Figures like Frithjof Schuon, Titus Burckhardt, and Seyyed Hossein Nasr have all acknowledged Corbin’s work as a key influence in their efforts to revive traditional metaphysics and spirituality.
At the same time, some perennialists have criticized Corbin’s emphasis on individual spiritual experience and creative imagination, arguing that it deviates from strict adherence to orthodox tradition. Corbin’s approach, with its openness to personal gnosis and cross-cultural influences, sits uneasily with more conservative traditionalist perspectives. Nonetheless, his work remains a vital resource for those seeking to enact the transcendent unity of traditions in a postmodern age.
6.3 Towards Re-Enchantment and Spiritual Renewal
Perhaps the most enduring legacy of Corbin’s work is its power to re-enchant the world and reawaken a sense of the sacred in everyday life. By revealing the imaginal dimensions that suffuse all of creation, Corbin invites us to participate in a “theosophy of the concrete” – a spiritual vision that transfigures the whole of existence into a theater of Divine self-disclosure.
In an age of disenchantment, where the prevailing worldviews of scientism and materialism have drained life of its inherent meaning, Corbin’s work offers a potent antidote. He reminds us that the world is charged with the grandeur of the Sacred, if only we have eyes to see. By cultivating an imaginal vision, we can rediscover the mystery and wonder that lies hidden in each moment, each form, each encounter.
Corbin’s legacy also challenges us to become active participants in the work of spiritual transformation. His path is not one of passive belief or rote religiosity, but of creative engagement with the symbols, myths, and revelations that beckon to us from within. By apprenticing to the imaginal realm and its angelic denizens, we can become co-creators of a new spiritual reality – one that integrates the wisdom of the past with the unique needs of our time.
Legacy and Influence
The life and work of Henri Corbin stand as a testament to the transformative power of the imaginal realm. Through his visionary scholarship and spiritual quest, Corbin unveiled the hidden dimensions of Islamic esotericism and illuminated the deep affinities between Western and Eastern spirituality. His legacy invites us to cultivate a direct, experiential relationship with the sacred, mediated through the symbols, archetypes, and angelic presences that populate our inner landscapes.
In a fragmented world haunted by the specters of religious fundamentalism and materialist reductionism, Corbin’s vision offers a luminous alternative. He points us towards a path of spiritual renewal grounded in the creative power of imagination, the unifying wisdom of the heart, and the revelation of a transcendent reality that embraces all paths. By heeding his call to engage the imaginal, we can participate in the alchemical work of transfiguring both self and world.
As we navigate the challenges of the 21st century, Corbin’s work remains an inexhaustible resource for all those seeking to reenchant the world and awaken to the sacred dimensions of life. May we have the courage to follow in his footsteps, to become intrepid explorers of the imaginal realm and co-creators of a new spiritual renaissance. For as Corbin himself wrote, “the world is not matter or mind, but the Angel that reveals itself to us in both of these, depending on whether our consciousness attunes itself to the spiritual or the material aspect of things.” May we attune our hearts to the angelic call, and in so doing, help bring forth a world transfigured by the light of the Divine.
For Corbin, the “active” or “creative imagination” is the cognitive function, or organ of perception, that allows us to access the imaginal realm. When activated through spiritual practices, the creative imagination becomes a “theophanic” faculty – an ability to directly encounter the self-disclosure of the Divine through symbolic forms. The imaginal is thus the realm where the spiritual is embodied and the physical is spiritualized.
Corbin contrasts this experiential mode of knowing with the dogmatic rationality of orthodox theology. Whereas exoteric religion focuses on outer forms, laws, and collective beliefs, the imaginal path values the inward, symbolic dimension of spirituality. Mystics who claimed direct contact with the Divine risked persecution from the orthodoxy, as their experiences threatened established power structures. Yet for Corbin, the imaginal is precisely where the apparent conflicts between philosophy and theology, faith and reason, are transcended.
A key aspect of Corbin’s thought is his phenomenology of visionary experience. Drawing on the testimonies of Sufi and Shi’ite mystics, Corbin maps out the contours of a highly personal encounter with the sacred that unfolds within the imaginal realm. This realm obeys its own ontological laws, distinct from both material and mental realities. Within it, normal spatial and temporal constraints are superseded, cause-and-effect is subverted, and symbolic meanings take on a life of their own.
Corbin emphasizes that each visionary experiences this realm in a unique way according to their own spiritual capacities and needs. The God that is revealed is the God that the soul has the ability to know and imagine. In this process, the soul is guided by a personal “angel” or “celestial twin,” who initiates the individual into the world of symbolic meanings.
This intimate spiritual bond, Corbin suggests, is the basis for an authentic individuality rooted in a direct connection to the Divine. It stands in sharp contrast to the depersonalized “I” of orthodox religion, subordinated to a pre-defined set of beliefs and practices. The angelically-guided journey into the imaginal is a process of deep self-discovery and creative participation in the theophanic unfolding of the Real.
Bibliography:
Almond, I. (2004). Sufism and Deconstruction: A Comparative Study of Derrida and Ibn ‘Arabi. Routledge.
Avens, R. (1980). Imagination is Reality: Western Nirvana in Jung, Hillman, Barfield, and Cassirer. Spring Publications.
Cheetham, T. (2003). The World Turned Inside Out: Henry Corbin and Islamic Mysticism. Spring Journal Books.
Cheetham, T. (2005). Green Man, Earth Angel: The Prophetic Tradition and the Battle for the Soul of the World. SUNY Press.
Cheetham, T. (2007). After Prophecy: Imagination, Incarnation, and the Unity of the Prophetic Tradition. Spring Journal Books.
Cheetham, T. (2012). All the World an Icon: Henry Corbin and the Angelic Function of Beings. North Atlantic Books.
Cheetham, T. (2015). Imaginal Love: The Meanings of Imagination in Henry Corbin and James Hillman. Spring Publications.
Corbin, H. (1969). Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sufism of Ibn’Arabi. Princeton University Press.
Corbin, H. (1976). The Man of Light in Iranian Sufism. Omega Publications.
Corbin, H. (1977). Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shi’ite Iran. Princeton University Press.
Corbin, H. (1986). Temple and Contemplation. KPI.
Corbin, H. (1989). Cyclical Time and Ismaili Gnosis. Kegan Paul International.
Corbin, H. (1994). The Voyage and the Messenger: Iran and Philosophy. North Atlantic Books.
Corbin, H. (1997). Alone with the Alone: Creative Imagination in the Sūfism of Ibn ‘Arabī. With a new preface by Harold Bloom. Princeton University Press.
Corbin, H. (1998). The Voyage and the Messenger: Iran and Philosophy. North Atlantic Books.
Hallward, P. (2001). Absolutely Postcolonial: Writing Between the Singular and the Specific. Manchester University Press.
Hirtenstein, S. (1999). The Unlimited Mercifier: The Spiritual Life and Thought of Ibn Arabi. Anqa Publishing.
Nasr, S. H. (1981). Knowledge and the Sacred. SUNY Press.
Nasr, S. H. (1996). The Islamic Intellectual Tradition in Persia. Curzon Press.
Shayegan, D. (1992). Henry Corbin: Penseur de l’islam spirituel. Editions de la Différence.
Wasserstrom, S. M. (1999). Religion After Religion: Gershom Scholem, Mircea Eliade, and Henry Corbin at Eranos. Princeton University Press.
Further Reading:
Adams, C. J. (1985). “The Hermeneutics of Henry Corbin” in Approaches to Islam in Religious Studies, edited by R. C. Martin. University of Arizona Press.
Addas, C. (1993). Quest for the Red Sulphur: The Life of Ibn Arabi. Islamic Texts Society.
Almaas, A. H. (2002). Spacecruiser Inquiry: True Guidance for the Inner Journey. Shambhala.
Almond, I. (2003). “The Shackles of Reason: Sufi/Deconstructive Opposition to Rational Thought” in Philosophy East and West, Vol. 53, No. 1.
Avens, R. (1984). The New Gnosis: Heidegger, Hillman, and Angels. Spring Publications.
Bashier, S. (2004). Ibn al-‘Arabi’s Barzakh: The Concept of the Limit and the Relationship between God and the World. SUNY Press.
Bloom, H. (1975). Kabbalah and Criticism. Seabury Press.
Caputo, J. D. (2000). More Radical Hermeneutics: On Not Knowing Who We Are. Indiana University Press.
Casey, E. S. (1991). Spirit and Soul: Essays in Philosophical Psychology. Spring Publications.
Chittick, W. C. (1989). The Sufi Path of Knowledge: Ibn al-Arabi’s Metaphysics of Imagination. SUNY Press.
Chittick, W. C. (1994). Imaginal Worlds: Ibn al-‘Arabi and the Problem of Religious Diversity. SUNY Press.
Chodkiewicz, M. (1993). Seal of the Saints: Prophethood and Sainthood in the Doctrine of Ibn Arabi. Islamic Texts Society.
Corbin, H. (1971). En Islam Iranien: Aspects Spirituels et Philosophiques (4 vols.). Gallimard.
Corbin, H. (1972). “Mundus Imaginalis, or The Imaginary and the Imaginal” in Spring, 1972.
Corbin, H. (1993). History of Islamic Philosophy. Kegan Paul International.
Daly, M. W. (2007). “Henry Corbin and the Prophetic Tradition” in Empirical Models Challenging Biblical Criticism, edited by R. S. Hess & G. J. Wenham. Eisenbrauns.
Elmore, G. T. (1999). Islamic Sainthood in the Fullness of Time: Ibn Al-Arabi’s Book of the Fabulous Gryphon. Brill.
Faivre, A. (1994). Access to Western Esotericism. SUNY Press.
Green, N. (2012). Sufism: A Global History. Wiley-Blackwell.
Hillman, J. (1975). Re-Visioning Psychology. Harper & Row.
Hillman, J. (1979). The Dream and the Underworld. Harper & Row.
Hillman, J. (1989). A Blue Fire: Selected Writings. HarperPerennial.
Izutsu, T. (1983). Sufism and Taoism: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts. University of California Press.
Knysh, A. D. (2000). Islamic Mysticism: A Short History. Brill.
Landau, R. (1959). The Philosophy of Ibn Arabi. Allen & Unwin.
McGinn, B. (2001). The Mystical Thought of Meister Eckhart: The Man from Whom God Hid Nothing. Crossroad.
McNamara, P. (2016). Dreams and Visions: How Religious Ideas Emerge in Sleep and Dreams. Praeger.
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