This is a discussion between Pablo Beneito and Stephen Hirtenstein on their latest book Patterns of Contemplation, which was published at the end of December 2021. It was hosted by David Hornsby (Ibn Arabi Society) in February 2022.
The title for this talk by Stephen Hirtenstein is drawn from the final mysterious book-title mentioned by Ibn ʿArabi in his listing of his own writings in the Fihrist (‘Catalogue’). It would be impossible to appreciate Ibn ʿArabi’s writings without encountering the notion of al-insān al-kāmil explicitly or implicitly, but how and where does Ibn ʿArabi actually use the term in his writing? What are the key features of this perfect human? In what way could it apply to each and every human being?
This book is an expanded and fully revised version of The Seven Days of the Heart, which was first published in 2000.