“Oneness of being” (wahdat al-wujud) is widely used in later descriptions of Ibn al-Arabi’s thought, but its status as a fixed name for his own doctrine is contested. It can invite misunderstandings when reduced to the formula that all things are simply God. Scholarly interpretations must respect his distinctions between the Real, the world and their relations.
How to study this subject
These terms belong to a network of Qur’anic language, theological argument, spiritual experience and philosophical interpretation. An apparently familiar modern translation may distort their range. Begin with the exact Arabic expression, check the passage’s genre and purpose, and then compare explanatory traditions without collapsing their disagreements.
A good conceptual study compares several occurrences of the term across distinct passages and identifies the question each passage answers. Then review how translators and commentators explain it, noting which interpretation is their own. Distinguish statements about being, language, knowledge and religious practice; a single diagram or modern analogy cannot replace the vocabulary’s textual history.
State whose interpretation you are reporting and from which text it follows. The phrase’s later history and polemical uses are part of the subject, not merely footnotes.
Primary sources and further reading
These are contextual reading links, not exact passage-level citations.