Swedenborg and Esoteric Islam

By Henry Corbin
Translated by Leornard Fox
Swedenborg Studies #4

This first English translation contains two essays by the eminent French Islamic scholar Henry Corbin: “Mundus Imaginalis, or the Imaginary and the Imaginal” and “Comparative Spiritual Hermeneutics.” Corbin called Emanuel Swedenborg “the prophet of the internal sense of the Bible” and compared his biblical symbolism to the Quranic interpretations of the great Islamic mystics.

Paperback and e-book, 172 pages


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Description

This volume makes two essays by Henry Corbin, the eminent French scholar of Islam, available in English for the first time. Although his primary interest was the esoteric tradition of Islam, Corbin was also a lifelong student of the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg. The first essay, “Mundus Imaginalis, or The Imaginary and the Imaginal,” clarifies Corbin’s use of the term he coined, mundus imaginalis, or “the imaginal world.” This important concept appears in both Swedenborgian and esoteric Islamic spirituality. The second piece, “Comparative Spiritual Hermeneutics,” compares the revelation of the internal sense of the sacred boks of two distinct religions, Christianity and Islam.

About the Author

Henry Corbin (1903-1978) held the chair in Islam at the Sorbonne from 1954 to 1974. He also organized and was director of the department of Iranic studies at the Institut franco-iranien in Teheran. Corbin wrote many books and articles, and edited numerous works in Persian of important Sufi and Isma’ili authors.

Leonard Fox has published books on Albanian grammar and customary law and Malagasy poetry. For many years he edited the journal Arcana: Inner Dimensions of Spirituality.

About the Swedenborg Studies Series

Swedenborg Studies is a scholarly series published by the Swedenborg Foundation. The primary purpose of the series is to make materials available for understanding the life and thought of Emanuel Swedenborg (1688โ€“1772) and the impact his thought has had on others. The Foundation undertakes to publish original studies and English translations and to republish primary sources that are otherwise difficult to access.

Additional information

Author

Henry Corbin

Translator

Leonard Fox

Format

paperback, e-book

ISBN

978-0-87785-183-7 pb, 978-0-87785-637-5 e-book

Length

168 pages

Series

Swedenborg Studies #4