The Reception of Badr al-Dīn Ibn Hūd’s waḥda Sufism in the East: Texts and Commentaries

This article explores the life, thought, and reception of Badr al-Dīn Ibn Hūd (b. 633/1235–36, d. 699/1300), a prominent figure of waḥda muṭlaqa (absolute existence) Sufism in the seventh/thirteenth-century Islamicate world. A native of Murcia and a member of the Banū Hūd dynasty, Ibn Hūd emerged as a charismatic ascetic and mystic, ultimately establishing himself in Damascus, where he left a lasting—though polarizing—impression. Closely affiliated with the metaphysical doctrines of Ibn Sabʿīn, Ibn Hūd presented a distinctive articulation of divine unity, positing that God is the only real existent. His rigorous asceticism and unconventional persona drew both admiration and fierce opposition, particularly from traditionalist scholars such as Ibn Taymiyya. Through a critical examination of biographical sources and the reception history of his key texts—including the Qaṣīda lāmiyya and the so-called al-Tajallī al-dhātī—this study reveals the extent to which Ibn Hūd’s legacy was mediated, and ultimately overshadowed, by the more systematized doctrines of Ibn ʿArabī. Nonetheless, Ibn Hūd’s presence loomed large in the intellectual imagination of the Mamlūk period, personifying for many the challenges posed by waḥda Sufism to traditionalist authority. The present article also provides editions and translations of two commentaries on Ibn Hūd’s Qaṣīda lāmiyya and al-Tajallī al-dhātī, the latter by Ibn Turka Iṣfahānī (770/1369–835/1432).