Concept essays
Time, appointed time and beginninglessness
Distinguishing a relation between events, a measured day and the absence of a beginning.
What does “time” describe?
Chapter 59 first asks what time means. It reports different uses: an imagined duration among some philosophers, the comparison of one event with another among theologians, and night and day in the Arabic usage selected for discussion. These are not interchangeable definitions attributed indiscriminately to Ibn al-Arabi. Distinguish the moving thing from the relation used to locate events; denying that the relation exists independently does not erase the events.
Beginninglessness is not an indefinitely long duration
Azal concerns the denial of a beginning in speaking of God. The question “when?” applies differently to contingent things. This contrast does not place two stretches of time side by side. When explaining something as “before the world”, ask whether “before” marks an order in the argument or a supposed duration. Preserve that distinction when translating.
A marker, an observer and a day
The opening of the prayer chapter describes a moving sphere, a marker and an observer. The marker’s return determines a circuit called a day; the example explains measurement through a relation, without adding a separate body called time. The discussion can then turn to appointed times of worship: asking what time is differs from asking when an act is to occur. Similar language of relations does not establish a modern physical law.
Specify what is renewed
Chapter 19 speaks of fresh knowledge in each act of perception, whereas the time chapter discusses differing days and the individual instant. Connecting these passages requires specifying whether knowledge, states or temporal measures are under discussion. The description of a smallest time supplies no experimental numerical value by itself. Keep time, an appointed occasion and beginninglessness distinct.
References from the Arabic article
These links reproduce the Arabic article’s references. A reader ID is a site identifier, not a printed page number.
- al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya · Cairo / Maymaniya · Reader ID 291
- al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya · Cairo / Maymaniya · Reader ID 389
- al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya · Cairo / Maymaniya · Reader ID 387
- al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya · Cairo / Maymaniya · Reader ID 388
- al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya · Cairo / Maymaniya · Reader ID 166
- al-Futuhat al-Makkiyya · Cairo / Maymaniya · Reader ID 292
Read in context
Cite this reading
Futmak, «Time, appointed time and beginninglessness», 2026-10-25.
Adapted translation of an Arabic editorial article; not a translation of the Futuhat book text.
https://www.futmak.com/english/concepts/?id=encyclopedia-time