Theology
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Akbarian-Sunnī Mystics (‘Urafā’) On Divine Simplicity
Shared below are the statements of some of the most significant Sunnī mystics of the school of Ibn ʿArabī on the issue of divine simplicity. 1) Ṣadr al-Dīn Qūnawī: “His name is identical with His attribute, and His attribute is identical with His Essence. His perfection is the same as His Essential Wujūd, fixed for… Continue reading
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Contra the Leibnizian notion of “The Best of all Possible Worlds”
The Leibnizian notion of “the best of all possible worlds” implies the possibility for God to choose [to create] from multiple available alternatives, where each is possible-in-itself with respect to existence. But this renders God an agent that is merely possible-in-itself with respect to the procession of its act from its essence. That is to… Continue reading
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The Rule of One (qāʿidat al-wāḥid): Proof, Implications & Objections-Part 3
Imagine yourself taking a stroll in a garden, and therein you come across a puddle of water, and within that puddle you observe an ant struggling to come out of the water; you realize that if you were to grasp the ant by means of your hands or fingers to take it out of the… Continue reading
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On the Necessity of God’s Knowledge being Knowledge-by-Presence [al-ilm al-hudhurī]
![On the Necessity of God’s Knowledge being Knowledge-by-Presence [al-ilm al-hudhurī]](https://illuminationistphilosophy.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/tumblr_mjcivvejgr1qhm2mso1_500.jpg?w=500)
Knowledge can be classified as: [a] Knowledge-by-Correspondence [al-ilm al-husulī], and; [b] Knowledge-by-Presence [al-ilm al-hudhurī]. Knowledge-by-Correspondence involves the apprehension of the known [ma’lum] through something other than the known i.e., a knowledge-form or concept [mafhum al-dhehnī]___ present within the knower___ that seeks to represent the known to the knower, and therefore, implies an ontological distinction between… Continue reading
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Knowing an Attribute Vs. Knowing the Essence
According to the Doctrine of Absolute Divine Simplicity, the divine attributes of perfection are identical to the Essence, and every attribute is identical to all the other attributes with respect to reality. That is to say, that the attribute of life is the same as the Essence, and is also identical to the attributes of… Continue reading
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On Contingent Beings as Theophanies & Manifestations
The Necessary Being must be necessary in every respect. Therefore, the Necessary Being must be absolutely self-sufficient. But every composite is dependent upon its parts for the constitution of its reality, and dependence is contrary to absolute self-sufficiency. Hence, the Necessary Being cannot be a composite of parts. Thus, the Necessary Being must be absolutely… Continue reading
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On Plato’s Allegory of The Cave
For Plato, the similitude of the material world is as a dark cave; a place that is essentially devoid of light and illumination. Those who reside within the material realm are as captives within a prison, enchained by their desire_ to seek that which is transient and ephemeral_ and ignorance. They are ignorant of the… Continue reading
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ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabā’ī On God’s Foreknowledge & Man’s Freewill
If God is omniscient, and all-knowing, then, He necessarily possesses foreknowledge of all our decisions and actions. Now, man can either act contrary to God’s foreknowledge of his decisions and actions, or he cannot. If man can act contrary to God’s knowledge of his decisions and actions, then, this implies ignorance and imperfection in relation… Continue reading
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On Ghazālī’s al-Iqtisād-Part 4
“The occurrence of every occurrent has a cause; the world is an occurrent; it necessarily follows that it has a cause. We mean by “the world” all existents other than God. And we mean by ‘all existents other than God’ all the bodies and their modes” _Ghazālī, al-Iqtisād.I.§1 According to Ghazālī, God is the proximate cause… Continue reading
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Emanation Ex Deo Vs. Creation Ex Nihilo
“God, the Glorious, the Majestic, created the intellect from His light, and it was the first creation of the spiritual world“ _Imam Jaʿfar ibn Muḥammad aṣ-Ṣādiq (as), Kitāb al-Kāfī.I.14 A thing cannot give to another_in terms of perfections_that which it does not have, that is to say, that a cause can only give to its effect… Continue reading
About Me
A Chartered Accountancy Professional by qualification with a passion for Philosophy, Theology, Logic and Mysticism.
Recent Posts
- Akbarian-Sunnī Mystics (‘Urafā’) On Divine Simplicity
- On Mutual Ontological Affinity (Sīnkhīyyah)
- Contra the Leibnizian notion of “The Best of all Possible Worlds”
- The Rule of One (qāʿidat al-wāḥid): Proof, Implications & Objections-Part 3
- On the Necessity of God’s Knowledge being Knowledge-by-Presence [al-ilm al-hudhurī]
Illuminationist Philosophy 