All the World an Icon: Henry Corbin and the Angelic Function of Beings

All the World an Icon is Tom Cheetham's fourth book in an informal quartet examining the spirituality of Henry Corbin, a twentieth-century scholar of Sufism and colleague of C. G. Jung whose influence on contemporary religion and the humanities is becoming increasingly recognized. Henry Corbin (1903-1978) was professor of Islamic religion at the Sorbonne in Paris and director of the department of Iranic studies at the Institut Franco-Iranien in Teheran. His work includes the first French translations of Heidegger, studies of Swedenborg and Boehme, writings on the Grail and angelology, and translations of Persian Islamic and Sufi texts. He introduced concepts such as "the imaginal realm" and "theophany" to Western thought. His use of the Shi'ite concept of ta'wil, or "spiritual interpretation," influenced psychologist James Hillman and literary critic Harold Bloom. His work was read by poets including Charles Olson and Robert Duncan. In Corbin's theology and spirituality, the creative, active imagination forms the mystical heart of the religious tradition centered on the divine Word. Cheetham demonstrates how Corbin viewed the living interpretation of texts—whether divine, human, or the world itself as the Text of Creation—as the primary task of spiritual life. This final book analyzes ta'wil, which Cheetham identifies as perhaps the most important concept in Corbin's work, exploring its implications and the role of language in artistic and spiritual practice.