own stance on Islamic mysticism. The article, written in a manner that draws on al-£Al¢us³'s own stylistic devices, aims among other things to reproduce the climate of opinion that prevailed at the time as well as the character and personality of al-£Al¢us³ himself. The analysis gives special attention to Ibn 'Arab³, as al-£Al¢us³ seems to have found in him, in many respects, a kindred spirit. Al-£Al¢us³ is, however, not just another bewitched admirer of Ibn 'Arab³'s. For despite the Andalusian master's dazzling command of Arabic and his verbal artistry, al-£Al¢us³'s perspicacity and his uncommon touch with common sense never depart him. He has both the courage and wit to criticize Ibn 'Arab³ or to fault him where he finds him errant or swept away, by a heavy dose of mystic euphoria, from the path of shar³'a or reason. His criticisms are not grounded in malice or spurred by ostentation, and he quotes chapter and verse in the course of his argument. While appealing to common sense or reason, al-£Al¢us³ never forgets the spirit and that 'le coeur', as Pascal put it, 'a ses raisons que la raison ne connaît point.'