Ṣadr al-Dīn Qūnawī’s ‘The Key to the Unseen’

Özgür Koca is an Associate Professor of Islamic Studies and Philosophy at Bayan Islamic Graduate School. He is the author of Islam, Causality, and Freedom: From the Medieval to the Modern Era (2020) and Islam, Causality, Science: Perspectives on the Reconciliation of Islamic Tradition and Modern Science (2024).

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgements PrefaceIntroduction Chapter 1. On the Classification of Sciences and Metaphysics Chapter 2. On the Principles of Metaphysics Section: The Real as Being itself Section : Knowing the Real Section: The Divine Names Chapter 3. On Union and Creation Chapter 4. On the Cosmos and Order A Precious Completion Chapter 5. On the Spiritual Path Section: Love, Its Rulings and Secrets Section: The Secret of Supplication Section: On Veil Supplement on This Topic Knowledge Must Lead to Action Additional Note Chapter 6. On Speech Chapter 7. On the Perfect Human What is the reality of the human being? Where Did the Human Come From? Where Did the Human Exist? How Did the Human Come into Being? Who Brought Him into Being? Why Did He Come into Being? What Is the Purpose of the Human's Coming into This World? What is the Purpose of the Human from the Perspective of the Divine Will? Has the Human been assisted? What exists in man as meaning, and what exists outside him as form? How Many Categories Are the Kinds of the Cosmos Limited to? Reciprocity Between the Divine and the Created Realm What Is the Priority of the Levels? Second Knowledge on the Correspondence of Divine and Cosmic Archetypes The Essential Difference Between the Agent and the Acted-Upon The Absence of Witnessing Conclusion: Advice and Supplication Bibliography Index

"We are grateful to Ozgur Koca for bringing one of Sadr al-Din’s masterpieces, Miftah al-Ghayb to the attention of the English-speaking world. His translation is superb, and his commentary is immensely insightful and helpful. Sadr al-Din Qunawi stands as a “meeting of the two oceans” in the history of Islamic spirituality: son-in-law to Shaykh al-Akbar, Ibn ‘Arabi, and close companion to Mawlana Rumi. It is through Qunawi that the legacy of Ibn ‘Arabi is introduced to the East. Among other gifts, the Miftah al-Ghayb demonstrates how the Ibn ‘Arabi focus on wujud (being, connected to ecstasy) becomes connected to love, leading us on a path to becoming a realized and completed human being (insan al-kamil). Here, it is God as the Real who is ultimately both the Lover and the Beloved. Highly recommended for all students of Sufism."Omid Safi, Professor of Islamic Studies (Duke University); author of Radical Love: Teachings from the Islamic Mystical Tradition."In translating al-Qūnawī’s Miftāh al-Ghayb, Ozgur Koca has rendered an invaluable service. The detailed teachings of one of the most important metaphysical treatises of Islam are rendered with precision and care. The meticulous translation is complemented by an extensive commentary that plumbs the depths of the tradition to provide essential guidance for students of Islamic thought. This text should be required reading for anyone who wishes to understand Islamic metaphysical traditions.” Joseph Lumbard, Hamad Bin Khalifa University. The author of Aḥmad al-Ghazālī, Remembrance and the Metaphysics of Love (SUNY Press, 2016)."Prof. Koca’s translation of Qunawi’s extremely influential but difficult text is a welcome addition to the study of Islamic spirituality and metaphysics in the West—in particular the growing literature on the school of Ibn al-ʿArabī. Despite Qunawi’s reputation for being an expositor of the more “difficult” Ibn al-ʿArabī, in fact Qunawi’s writing is even more challenging in terms of its conciseness and its reliance upon and use of technical vocabulary related to the broader Islamic intellectual tradition. These terms must be rendered precisely in order for any sense to be made of the text at all. Koca’s excellent translation is explained by extensive commentary—absolutely essential for a work of this kind—which will be of enduring value both to scholars and to students."Caner K. Dagli, Professor of Religious Studies, the College of the Holy Cross.