خلاصة:
The main subject of this study is to examine the possibility of discussing the divine essence in Ibn ‘Arabī‘s school of mysticism. The author of this article intends to investigate the possibility of the relative discussion of the divine essence. However, opposing theories such as ‘Allāmah Ṭabātabā’ī’s stance in Al-Rasā’il al-tawḥīdiyya favor the absolute impossibility of talking about the divine essence. In this paper, we examine and criticize the opposing views discussed in Al-Rasā’il al-tawḥīdiyya. The method used in this article is quotation and analysis of the mystics’ opinions about his issue in line with a critical approach to the opposing views (as viewed by this author’s stance to the issue). The relative expressibility of the divine essence from the viewpoint of mysticism and the criticisms of the opponents’ thoughts are among the main findings of this study.
ملخص الجهاز:
The Mystic View on the Possibility of Discussing the Divine Essence and the Criticism of its Opposing Theory (of ‘Allāmah Ṭabātabā’ī) Masūd Ḥājī Rabī Assistant Professor, Department of Religions and Mysticism, Shahid Beheshti University,Tehran, Iran (Received: May 24, 2019; Revised: November 23, 2019; Accepted: November 28, 2019) Abstract The main subject of this study is to examine the possibility of discussing the divine essence in Ibn ‘Arabī‘s school of mysticism.
This issue has been answered by Muslim thinkers in the form of discussions on the reality and analogy (the interpretive approach of Sayyid Raḍī and Ibn Qutayba), declarative attributes and equivocation (the theological approach of Ashā‘ira), univocality (Fakhr Rāzī), and apophatic approach (Shaykh Ṣadūq and Qāḍī Sa‘īd Qumī) (Sayyid Raḍī, 1986: 330; Ibn Qutayba, 1981: 132; Ibn Aḥmad, 2019: 227; Makkī ‘Āmilī, 1991, vol.
Through terms such as “the absolute being as the source of division”, this language provides an image of the divine essence that is deeper than the names and perfections, while all of them are undetermined and rely for their existence on the unique divine essence.
This language is an affirmative and real language; the term “the absolute being as the source of division” does not attribute negation and non-being to the divine essence; rather, it attributes a pure existence to the divine essence that has all perfections without giving privilege to any of them.