1 Introduction

Max Weber famously defined charisma as “a certain quality of an individual personality by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities”.¹ Muḥyī al-Dīn IbnʿArabī identified the power required to break the conventional order of things (kharq al-ʿāda) as himma. God, the Creator, used this power to bring forth the universe from nonexistence (ʿadam) and advanced spiritual practitioners have later sought to use the same power to remake the world to their liking and get closer to Him. Akbarians believed that all spiritual feats, as well as every spell and miracle performed, are rooted in himma.² The present study pivots on the unconventional spiritual techniques and miracles stirring in Akbarian cauldrons. That is to say, we will examine the culinary recipes and food Akbarians consumed to further their spiritual endeavors.

At the heart of the Islamic religion, Naglaa Hassan said, lies the image of food. Hassan emphasized the importance of permissible and forbidden food and fasting in religious literature to lend credence to her statement, which is something of an exaggeration.³ That being said, the present study does not seek to downplay the role of fasting and the well-documented, well-known tendencies of associating food with the legal categories of ḥalāl and ḥaram among Akbarians. Hunger (jūʿ) was recognized as one of the pillars of divine gnosis in Ibn ʿArabī’s book Ḥilya al-abdāl and nowhere did he dispute that fasting (ṣawm) in the month of Ramadan is the fourth pillar of Islam.⁴ Emaciated bodies were not universally identified with spiritual accomplishments in Akbarian Sufism despite these facts. Ibn ʿArabī argued that the increased appetite of a spiritual practitioner sometimes indicates their heart is overflowing with divine lights and grandeur. He thought that a servant’s need for food can reflect their need for God. Akbarians believed that spiritual accomplishments also lead to the increase in body mass sometimes. Having reached advanced levels of spiritual development, Ibn ʿArabī found himself growing “fat and obese” even though he refrained from eating.⁵

Sufism and asceticism still tend to be perceived as synonyms in scholarly literature.⁶ The present study will not emphasize the benefits of fasting, nor will we pivot on the dangers associated with overeating in Ibn ʿArabī’s writings since these were the focus of accomplished scholarly works before.⁷ We will focus on quality, rather than the quantity of food Akbarians consumed as a part of their spiritual endeavours. In other words, our aim is to underline the notion of food as a divine blessing in Akbarian Sufism and to explain how the strange, subtle spirits (arwāḥ laṭīfa, gharība) of nutrients impact the spiritual development of human beings. Having previously studied the impact of sacral texts, amulets and talismans on the spiritual states and abilities of human beings,⁸ our present goal is to demonstrate Ibn ʿArabī taught that food can also stir a person’s himma, guiding them to spiritual elevation or destruction.

Whereas Ibn ʿArabī perceived some food spirits as benevolent, others were thought to be malevolent in nature and unripe. The present study will examine the properties of Ibn ʿArabī’s spiritual cuisine, his cooking recipes, table manners, dining etiquette and the types of food he recommended to his followers; depending on their personal goals and the spirits they were seeking to interact with. Contrasting the widespread associations between culinary delicacies and lay life, the present study lays emphasis on the food intake of the inhabitants of the paradise and those engaging in ritual seclusions from the world (khalwāt). This will help us form a clear notion of Ibn ʿArabī’s views on eating, fasting and the role of food in Akbarian Sufism.

2 Gifts of the Sustainer

Famine outbreaks were not uncommon in Muslim cultures and societies during the life and times of Ibn ʿArabī. Thus, it comes as no surprise that food was listed among the five things each person needs in al-Futūḥāt. Every other thing quickly becomes superfluous if a person has no food, water, knowledge of practical things, a roof above their head and/or clothes to wear. “All created beings need nourishment: this is the reality of their existence”, Ibn ʿArabī said.⁹ Food is essential for ensuring the continuation of human lives; with Ibn ʿArabī claiming that sustaining bodily constitution and balance are prerequisites for the success of a spiritual journey. In other words, Akbarians believed that “eating is a part of religion”.¹⁰

Food, nourishment and sustenance were commonly associated with archangel Michael in Islamic religious literature and the surviving works of Ibn ʿArabī are not an exception in this regard. Among the most beautiful Names of God (asmāʾ allāh al-ḥusnā) in Islam are al-Muqīt, the Giver of Nourishment and al-Razzāq, the Sustainer. Ibn ʿArabī thought that God sustains angelic spirits by allowing them to celebrate Him – just like He nourishes plants with water so that they could sustain the lives of animals in return. Plants were meant to be a sustenance for animals like animals serve as sustenance for humans.¹¹ The Qur’an repeatedly emphasizes the fact God provided humans with cattle (Q. 16: 5, 22: 36), riding animals (Q. 36: 72, 40: 79), fruits (Q. 23: 19, 36: 34) and grains (Q. 32: 27, 36: 33). These were His gifts to mankind and believers were encouraged to partake in them (Q. 2: 172, 5: 4, 5: 88, 16: 114, 23: 21). Ibn ʿArabī once compared human beings to a fruit tree that is being nourished and fed by God.¹² This is His special mercy to mankind that is oft denied to animals (Q. 29: 60). Hence, al-Ghazālī (d. 1111) suggested one should eat what they like in order to properly thank God for the lawful food He provided them with.¹³ Ibn ʿArabī likewise advised his readers to make good use of the Sustainer’s gifts in food.

3 The Subtle, Strange Spirits of Minerals, Plants and Animals

One needs to be alive to be able to embark on the path of wisdom and each person must eat to live. This is common knowledge among humans. Ibn ʿArabī taught there is also “a secret behind the desire of the stomach. No one knows this secret save for the one who witnessed the sustenance of the Sustainer”.¹⁴ The common folk are not generally aware of the spiritual properties of their daily bread and butter. Ibn ʿArabī, however, claimed to have witnessed the subtle, strange spirits inhabiting the corporeal forms of minerals, plants and animals at work. One can benefit from their stomach’s desires provided they are familiar with the properties of these spirits and the proper way of refining them through frying, smoking and cooking. This is the greatest secret pertaining to the sustenance of the Sustainer. Ibn ʿArabī said:

Learn there are subtle, strange spirits (arwāḥ laṭīfa, gharība) in all bread, water, foods, drinks, clothes and sitting places. They represent the secret of life, knowledge and praise of the Lord and they can raise your spiritual station in the presence of the vision of creation on the Dune. These spirits have a sacred trust with the tangible forms they inhibit.¹⁵

Minerals, plants and animals were collectively referred to as ‘the created things’ in Ibn ʿArabī’s works.¹⁶ The common folk assume that ‘things’ – as opposed to ‘beings’ – are either inanimate or lacking in self-awareness or both. Recipients of divine revelations are, however, aware that the whole world is alive and celebrates God through prayer. Minerals – which is the term Akbarians used for chemical elements, pearls, corals and gemstones, as well as for all things the earth engulfs and the soil itself – are not an exception in this regard.¹⁷ ʿAbd Allah al-Būsnawī (d. 1644), the seventeenth-century interpreter of Ibn ʿArabī’s works, claimed that the spirits inhabiting the corporeal forms of animals, plants and minerals are the places of manifestation of divine Names. God, the Sustainer, deposited high spiritual realities into lowly corporeal form so that humans could ingest them (and digest them) with food. The absorption process of the aforementioned realities can be indirect sometimes, as the spirits of minerals/soil were also made available to plants, which are then consumed by the livestock intended for human consumption. Al-Būsnawī referred to this process as mabdaʾ wal-maʿād, the Cycle of Creation.¹⁸ Ibn ʿArabī expressed similar ideas in his K. Mashāhid al-asrār:

Then He said to me, “The delights are in the nourishment, the nourishment is in the fruit, the fruit is in the boughs which branch out from the trunk and the trunk is one. If it were not for the earth, the trunk would not stand firm; if it were not for the trunk, there would be no branches; if it were not for the branches there would be no fruit; if it were not for the fruit, food would not exist and without food, delight would not exist. So, it all depends on the earth; and the earth needs water; water needs the clouds; the clouds need wind, wind is subject to the order, and the order issues from the Lordly Presence. Ascend from here, look, enjoy yourself, but do not speak”.¹⁹

Ibn ʿArabī believed a flower produces a pleasant or vile smell depending on the soil it grows on. In other words, fruit spirits get to be influenced by spirits of the soil/minerals and they will likewise transfer these effects to those who ate them.²⁰ Ibn ʿArabī was personally convinced that spirits never really die, even when their corporeal forms are devoured by humans. They continue celebrating God as “food penetrates to the essence of the one being fed, permeating every part of their being”.²¹ Eventually, the spirits of eaten plants and animals merge with the human spirit, thus getting a chance to influence it directly. Food spirits can help a person fulfil their religious duties, ‘firm up their backbone’, become an eloquent orator and reach the rank of the Perfect Human, which is the highest station of spiritual development in Akbarian Sufism. However, they could likewise hurt humans; with the Qur’an attesting God also made food that chokes and a penalty grievous (Q. 73: 13). Ibn ʿArabī thus cautioned his readers to be conscious of what they eat and drink, lest the world of nature and pollution makes them blind to the Divine.²² Albeit he taught that food spirits are capable of determining if a person who devoured them is a pious Muslim, this is not to say Ibn ʿArabī believed these spirits make a conscious decision whether to help or harm someone on a case-by-case basis. He rather thought that each spirit has predetermined effects on humans. These he once compared to a passive verb of a sentence.²³ Spiritual seekers need not fear food spirits, for as long as they are familiar with their properties. In other words, it is of essence to ensure that the properties of an ingested spirit are aligned with the personal goals of a seeker and their general state of being.

4 Harvesting the Spirits

Knowledge of minerals, plants and animals, their properties and (im)perfections was associated with the Sphere of the Sun in Akbarian Sufism.²⁴ Ibn ʿArabī described the possessors of this knowledge as the serpents moving forward on their bellies (Q. 24: 45); examining their meals scrupulously so as to be able to gain divine knowledge with the help of food spirits.²⁵ On his side, Ibn ʿArabī felt that acquiring knowledge is not unlike eating. Humans process and absorb new information, elevating themselves in the process. Ingested and digested food likewise strengthens the spiritual and bodily constitution of a seeker. That being said,

The need of the self for knowledge is greater than the bodily constitution’s need for ameliorating food. There are two types of knowledge in general. The first type of knowledge is needed in the same way as food is needed. It is necessary to search for this type of knowledge to fulfil our personal needs. An example of this knowledge are the rulings of Sharia. One should only look into the rulings concerning their current needs and practices, rather than concerning themselves with the regulations about worldly events. One’s search for the other type of knowledge needs not be curtailed, for it is concerned with what is absolute: God and the stations of arising.²⁶

Not only did he compare learning to eating, but Ibn ʿArabī also claimed that some spiritual insights literally taste like food. For instance, “meeting the Real (al-ḥaqq) in death has a food taste that cannot be experienced when meeting Him while being alive still in this world”.²⁷ Human curiosity and greed are the major factors behind the desire to master as many sciences as possible and advance in rational knowledge. There is no set answer to how much knowledge of this type is sufficient for a person. Akbarians yearning to purify their hearts by the means of ritual seclusion were also faced with a similar dilemma, for Ibn ʿArabī maintained “there is no universal time limit on how long should a person seclude themselves from the world and likewise, hunger and food follow the constitution and they are not specifically determined”.²⁸ Although God endowed each person with 1) attracting faculty (al-quwwa al-jādhiba) which is responsible for giving them an appetite, 2) grasping faculty (al-quwwa al-māsika) which helps them absorb food, 3) digestive faculty (al-quwwa al-hāḍima) and 4) repelling faculty (al-quwwa al-dāfiʿa) that is in charge of passing gasses, sweat and excrement,²⁹ not all people feel the same need for food.

Ibn ʿArabī set a few general rules concerning table manners and dining etiquette to help his students maximise the impact of food spirits on their spiritual and bodily constitution. The students were instructed not to eat between the meals and to make sure no living being had been unnecessarily harmed upon being harvested and/or processed for food. “Do not pull up a plant or ruin its organic structure (niẓām) or arrangement (tartīb) pointlessly, for something other than the benefit that can accrue from it to an animal, by which it [the plant] either brings about something good or dispels something harmful”, he said.³⁰ Ibn ʿArabī’s students were furthermore advised not to eat so little they would be distracted by hunger or so much that they would feel heavy. They were expected to nourish their bodies instead of neglecting them. A spiritual seeker should not pay attention to those telling them to eat less. Rather than being distracted by other people while dining, Ibn ʿArabī advised them to focus on God, the Sustainer, even when eating in company. Akbarians were encouraged to eat slowly, taking only medium-sized bites and chewing them thoroughly; silently thanking God for the food He provided them with.³¹ Instead of framing their meals as simple acts of indulging the attractive faculty, Ibn ʿArabī asked of his students to try turning them into dhikr, which is an act of remembrance of God. He said:

Eat the food a poor person would eat and leave the table without being full. Do not drink while eating and be sparing in the amount of water you drink. Do not accept special treatment while you eat; do not put on airs and affectations. Do not ever show your hunger. Measure the amount of food you eat so that you only partially satisfy your need. Remember God at each bite and chew well before you swallow. Each time you swallow, give time for the food to descend in your stomach and praise the Lord. The practice of the faithful while eating is not to listed to the appetite of the flesh but to eat whatever is in front of them.³²

This is not to say Ibn ʿArabī perceived savory food and the attractive faculty as something negative per se. He argued these and similar misconceptions are rooted in the fact that scholars have long equated eating, drinking and carnal pleasures in general with the animal spirit (al-rūḥ al-ḥayawānī) each human is endowed with. Joys of the animal spirit were traditionally dismissed in favor of intellectual activities, reflections and observations the rational soul prefers.³³ Ibn ʿArabī, however, maintained that the rational soul also enjoys the pleasures that can be gained through the human sensory faculties. Apart from savoury meals, these include fine clothes, sex and music, as well as the joys that can be gained from beautiful forms that invoke desire (e.g. swelling breasts, lovely faces, vivid colours, trees and rivers). God, the Sustainer, never asked believers to refrain from savouring these and similar pleasures. Who dares to outlaw divine adornments and the nourishment He provided for His servants, reads the thirty-second verse of the surah al-Aʿrāf (Q. 7: 32). Throughout the centuries, joys of the animal spirit were a synonym for worldly delights. Ibn ʿArabī, however, argued that humans undergo a literal physical resurrection in the afterlife, where believers will (continue to) revel in the joys of the flesh – hence his argument that the human body and desires of the stomach are not inherently evil.³⁴ In other words, Ibn ʿArabī deemed a person should be free to enjoy their meals. The prophet Muhammad, Ibn ʿArabī said, ate sweets and honey for pleasure and God did not begrudge him for it. The same goes for inhabitants of the heavenly gardens, who continue indulging their appetites despite the fact they feel neither thirst nor hunger.³⁵

Shahwa, which is the Arabic word for desire, was also a general term used for sensory and intangible pleasures in Akbarian Sufism. Ibn ʿArabī described it as an instrument of the animal spirit; seeking pleasures both elevated and depraved. Food cravings also fall under this category.³⁶ A true spiritual practitioner, Ibn ʿArabī maintained, will “set aside every affair causing their heart to be preoccupied with anything but God”.³⁷ That being said, Akbarians believed that God is everywhere and that even the movement patterns of worms on the ground can be sign directing a spiritual seeker to Him. Savory food and pleasures of the animal spirit are not an exception in this regard. A poem Ibn ʿArabī wrote reads:

The Perfect Humans are well-aware that God discloses Himself in all things. Those who reached this station do not give preference to one self-disclosure of the Divine over another. Ibn ʿArabī expected his students to act the same, even if they were yet to actualize the state of perfection.³⁹ He furthermore argued only an ignorant person would scorn food spirits and the possibilities they offer. Yet, he conceded it would be difficult for a person with no access to the Sphere of the Sun – who therefore has no direct knowledge of food spirits – to determine which of these spirits are malevolent. Such a person can either rely on their sensory faculties and inclinations – or put their trust in religious scriptures, medical practitioners and Sufi teachers.

Whereas the common folk presume the senses are deceitful, Ibn ʿArabī maintained this is not the case. Touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste, which are the five basic human senses, “see the truth” the rational mind distorts.⁴⁰ Chapter 178 of Ibn ʿArabī’s al-Futūḥāt al-Makkiyya, however, argues a seeker should not unconditionally rely on their sensory faculties and preferences when evaluating food spirits. Sometimes, food that is repugnant of taste can be beneficial for the spiritual and physical well-being of humans.

This is like taking medicine that is odious of taste, which is part of His trial. It is a trial for a person who would be destroyed otherwise – i.e. for a sick person who uses the medicine against sickness. The affliction nests in an irritating place of pain and then comes the presumed antagonist wishing to remove it – with the medicine being the presumed antagonist. Although you may deem the medicine hateful, bear in mind this odious thing contains something blessed within, for it is the remover of pain […]. Think carefully about this.⁴¹

Another thing to be considered is that God’s objective taste differs from the subjective taste of humans. For instance, Ibn ʿArabī noted that healthy humans and angels are naturally repelled by the taste and smell of garlic, onions and leek – with the sound hadith reporting that the prophet Muhammad banned his followers from eating them (Saḥīḥ al-Bukhārī #564a). Ibn ʿArabī described how once he set off to chastise a certain man on the basis of the quoted hadith. The man served as a muezzin at a mosque near al-Ḥazwarahl gate and he was known for his love of onions, which made his breath foul. But before he had a chance to speak with muezzin, Ibn ʿArabī saw God in a dream.

“Do not speak to him of food”, He said, “since its odour is judged differently by Us than by you lot”. When Ibn ʿArabī told muezzin of his dream, the man cried out and bowed down to God in gratefulness. However, rather than sticking to his diet, he decided to stop eating onions altogether since he reasoned “it is more important to be courteous in the eyes of the law”.⁴²

Islamic religious law forbids the consumption of pork, blood, carrion and animals which were not slaughtered in the name of God. The same goes for the meat of any other animal that was strangled, killed by blows, fell from high grounds or turned out to be a victim of a beast of prey (Q. 5: 3, 6: 121). These prohibitions were also reiterated in Ibn ʿArabī’s works.⁴³ However, this does not necessarily mean the prohibited food is impure. On his side, Ibn ʿArabī believed that all animals, plants and minerals celebrate God in a state of purity (ṭahārah). Albeit no animal is inherently impure, some species exhibit blameworthy traits that would be transmitted to humans who ate of their flesh. For instance, Ibn ʿArabī thought that pigs are drawn to filthy things – which is the reason why the Qur’an prohibits the consumption of pork. A person’s diet can cause them to be smart like an elephant, dull like a donkey, brave as a lion or cowardly as a cockroach – depending on the type of meat they prefer.⁴⁴

Ibn ʿArabī also recognized several instances where powerful, benevolent spirits should best be avoided. One such example are the spirits inhibiting the flesh of squids and whales, which is otherwise permissible to inhabitants of the heavenly gardens.⁴⁵ Another example would be wine, which is specific to the gardens, apart from this world. The pleasure of the one drinking “wine is associated with paradise and this is not said of other liquids. This is due to the fact that complete joy and rapture are denied to drinkers.”⁴⁶ Although wine spirits are neither malevolent nor corrupt, Ibn ʿArabī deemed them too strong for living humans to process. He argued that inhabitants of the heavenly gardens have different constitutions than the living humans on Earth. This makes it possible for them to benefit from the divine self-disclosures that are brought forth by wine spirits without being overwhelmed and/or corrupted in the process.⁴⁷ In conclusion, not all spirits that are nourishing to deceased humans and animals are suitable for human consumption. If we were to take from nature something that was intended for another animal, it may easily bring us destruction.⁴⁸ Ibn ʿArabī argued a person can only benefit from food spirits that are similar to them. In other words, there needs to be an affinity between the source and recipient of spiritual realities:

Natural things accept nourishment only from what is similar to them, never from what is dissimilar. Anything that does not share with them in kind will not be absorbed as nourishment at all. For instance, the kingdoms of the minerals, plants and animals are all made of four natural elements [i.e. from fire, water air and earth]. These kingdoms receive nourishment because there is mutual sharing between them. If a created thing wanted to secure nourishment for its body, which is made of the four elements, from something that is not made of these elements, it would not be able to do so.⁴⁹

The visible, organic bodies of human beings consist of four humours. These are yellow bile, black bile, blood and phlegm and they “occur newly amidst the mixing the [four] elements”.⁵⁰ Well-balanced humours are essential for the spiritual and physical well-being of humans. Minerals, plants and animals, Ibn ʿArabī said, are perfectly capable of discerning which nutrients would be safe for them to absorb so as not to disbalance their constitution. Humans do not possess the inherent ability to do so, which can lead to defective soul traits developing from the disbalances caused by incongruous food spirits. Ibn ʿArabī thus advised his students to consult with medical practitioners to determine which type of food is best suited for their constitution: “They will make you a list of foods which will last you many days, during which you will not want for food/need to eat more or to satisfy a call of nature”.⁵¹ Alternatively, the common folk could consult with accomplished spiritual practitioners whether it would be safe for them to eat one thing or another. Ibn ʿArabī described advanced spiritual practitioners and teachers as the heirs of God’s prophets and substitutes for the Real in this world.⁵²

Ibn ʿArabī, who thought himself the heir of the prophet Muhammad, was one of these teachers. He was generally reluctant to endorse specific nutrients and food spirits in his works, for he was well aware of variations in the spiritual and bodily constitutions of human beings. “Lots of people will read these pages, he said, ‘and should someone take that [specific] food when it doesn’t agree with him, he will be harmed, and we will be punished by God for it”.⁵³ The following paragraphs will discuss a few general advices he was willing to offer on the topic. Ibn ʿArabī said:

What we can explain is the generally applicable order (al-amr al-kullī), which is that one should only have food which is light, suitable for the constitution and slow-release for digestion, and satisfying to the appetite.⁵⁴

Ibn ʿArabī strongly emphasized correspondences between microcosm and macrocosm in his works. He found that human hair is not unlike forests and that bodily fluids like blood and saliva – “some bitter like tears, some poisonous like nasal secretions” – are comparable to the waters on Earth.⁵⁵ Based on this assumption, he advised spiritual practitioners to seek out food spirits that are macrocosmic counterparts of the microcosmic traits they are seeking to evolve. For instance, Ibn ʿArabī believed that minerals are the macrocosmic counterpart of human knowledge and actions. Whereas the spirits of gold have the best overall impact on human knowledge, silver is well-suited to enhance action-based spiritual endeavors. Sheep, cattle and camels correspond to the human spirit, soul and body respectively.⁵⁶ In case a spiritual seeker is reluctant to eat meat, Ibn ʿArabī also provided them with the macrocosmic alternatives for the human body, soul and spirit from the kingdom of plants. Thus, he claimed that wheat is the most noble of grains which corresponds to the human spirit. He furthermore taught that fried dates correspond to thoughts and desires of the soul like barley corresponds to the human body.⁵⁷

The opening sections of Ibn ʿArabī’s K. al-Khalwa encourage spiritual seekers to refrain from eating meat when seeking to purify their heart in seclusion. The consumption of animal fats was also discouraged, lest they cause a seeker to suffer from satanic visions.⁵⁸ The closing sections of the same book, however, demonstrate this was not the universally applicable rule in Akbarian Sufism. Namely, K. al-Khalwa strongly recommends eating powdered, dried hearts of hoopoe to experience divine visions and revelations. Ibn ʿArabī said:

The Hoopoe Retreat (khalwa al-hudhud) is amazing. You take up the retreat as prescribed for you, and employ in your food hoopoe hearts, crushing them into a powder and putting them in your mouth dry. You will see wonders. And let your invocation be: ‘There is no god but God, Lord of the Mighty Throne’.⁵⁹

Spiritual seekers who were pressed on time were advised to follow the example of inhabitants of the heavenly gardens and eat livers – especially fish livers – as this organ contains the highest concentration of food spirits in the body of an animal. Those who sought to meet their guardian angel or jinni doppelganger were, however, advised to consume olive oil with bread and raisins for forty days.

A group of my reliable brothers mentioned [this method] to me and confirmed its authenticity – although I have not practiced it myself because of the names used in this method. The people who told me about it said that new clothes (thawb) are put on each day for forty days, and the food is bread with olive oil at one meal and bread with raisins at another meal. These names are continuously repeated following the blessing- prayers (ṣalawāt) and, in most circumstances, the names are: bahluṭf[in], salayṭiyiʿ[in], ashmāṭūt[in], aṭūn[in], bahakshin, tahakkashin, yūqashin.⁶⁰

Ibn ʿArabī’s students were furthermore advised to procure, cook and serve their food themselves. Processed food was generally thought to be more potent than raw nutrients in Akbarian Sufism. But despite the fact that fried dates were the recommended food intake of those working on their soul, Ibn ʿArabī also spoke of the ongoing debates between scholars with regard to whether a person ought to perform a ritual purification (wuḍūʾ) after they have eaten something that was in direct contact with fire. He noted that even the companions of the Prophet disagreed on the matter. By the eighth century AD, Ibn ʿArabī said, most scholars reached the consensus that no wuḍūʾ is necessary unless a person ate fried camel meat. Albeit he disagreed with their conclusion, Ibn ʿArabī cautioned his student against eating camel meat in general, for he found that camels are close to evil jinn in nature. It is not without a reason, Ibn ʿArabī said, that the Prophet referred to these animals as “devils”. Their flesh stirs the element of fire in the human body, thus making it difficult for a person to submit themselves to God’s will. The spirits inhabiting camel meat could also make a person lose patience and contentment. They have particularly strong impact on the human liver and may empower the devils nesting in the human heart. Ibn ʿArabī thus conceded a person would be wise to perform wuḍūʾ after eating camel meat so as to ensure they will remain in the state of purity.⁶¹

Purity, veracity (ṣidq) and pleasing God with virtuous conduct were seen as necessary preconditions for spiritual growth and gaining access to himma in Akbarian circles. Ibn ʿArabī believed that God may personally send a sign to those who pleased Him; informing them which food and drinks should best be avoided. For instance, such was the case with a certain shaykh whose fingers would begin throbbing every time he was about to consume a harmful substance. Other shaykhs Ibn ʿArabī encountered were capable of drinking polluted water safely and/or cooking full meals for many people from several morsels of food.⁶² Cooking was thought to be different to frying in Akbarian Sufism. It was said to have a good impact on both food spirits and humans, which Ibn ʿArabī compared to the impact of sun rays. It is no coincidence that inhabitants of the heavenly garden cook their food as well, he said. Not a few malevolent spirits will turn benevolent when exposed to the heat of a cooking pot, just like the light of the Sun, Moon and stars nourishes and enlivens the world. Ibn ʿArabī taught that the need of food spirits for cooking is not unlike the need of plants for light and compost.⁶³ To summarize, his recommended approach was to eat cooked, lawful food (ḥalāl) a person has prepared for themselves while consulting with advanced Sufi practitioners and medical professionals to come up with a diet that is best suited to their present needs. Adhering to this advice could even help a person become the Perfect Human – with some Akbarians suggesting God entrusted humans to help the spirits of minerals, plants and animals ascend by eating them as a part of mabdaʾ wal-maʿād, the Cycle of Creation. Or, as Bulent Rauf expressed it,

cooking is an integral part of esoteric training because it is a twofold means of service: service to humanity and service to the food prepared. There is no higher state than that which a man can reach; all other forms of life in this world find their possibility of reaching a higher state through their conjunction with man.⁶⁴