IBN ARABI The Tree of Being, Shajarat al-kawn, An Ode to the Perfect Man, Interpreted by Shaykh Tosun Bayrak al-Jerrahi al-HalvetiAccording to the Qur’an, ‘A good word is like a good tree whose root is firmlv fixed, and whose branches reach up into the sky’ (14:24).The Creative word. or Logos, and the World Tree are two ancient cosmologicalsymbols which are the subject of this treatise entitled The Tree ofBeing attributed to Ibn Arabi (1165-1240), that is introduced and interpretedby Shaykh Tosun Bavrak. Pictured here the cosmos is a tree which hassprung from the seed of 'Kun'. and has sent down roots to the deepest underworld.sent up a trunk and spread out its branches to embrace East and West,with its topmost branches penetrating to the highest heaven, so that all threekingdoms, mulk. malakut and jabarut. are in the Tree beneath the DivineIhrone. In the Qur’an this tree is associated with God’s light, for the processof bringing the tree into existence is to show forth God’s names and attributes.The first light formed from God’s Light, is the Light of Muhammad, and thehuman form is constructed in the image of the name of Muhammad. This volumealso includes an outline of the character and actions of the ProphetMuhammad and a list of his 201 names and attributes.Shaykh Tosun Bayrak is a Sufi master of the Halveti-Jerrahi order. Bom in Istanbul,he studied art. architecture and art history becoming a well-known artist with worksin many museums and universities. After he met his teacher, Muzaffer Ozak Ashki al-Jerrahi. in 1970, he devoted his life to the study and teaching of Islam and Sufism andin 1974 he became the shaykh of the Halveti-Jerrahi Order in America. In additionto two books of poetry in Turkish and many articles about art and religion, he has written and translated and edited numerous books on islamic spirituality.