Entanglement of Being and Beings: Heidegger and Ibn Arabi on Sameness and Difference

Martin Heidegger was reported to have considered his work Identity and Difference (based on two seminars delivered in 1957) to be “the most important thing he … published since [his magnum opus] Being and Time.” (Heidegger, 1969, 7) While Being and Time begins with the human being (Da- sein; being-there), aiming to proceed to an understanding of the Being of beings, in Identity and Difference the focus is on the very “relation” between the human being and Being. (Ibid., 8) The present work highlights the intertwined and entangled sameness/difference between beings and Being. This entanglement and belonging, as we shall see, is also one of the most foundational concepts and prominent themes by the renowned and highly influential Muslim mystic Ibn Arabi (1165-1240). We particularly focus on his important compendium of mystical teachings, Fusus al-Hikam (Bezels of Wisdom). We also touch upon the sameness/difference of thoughts between these two thinkers.