Existential worlds from the point of view of Ibn Arabi and Seyyed Haydar Amoli

The concept of “the five entities” is one of the main concepts of Ibn Arabi’s mystical school. The five entities are the general levels of existence that show the degrees and levels of manifestations and appearances of absolute existence and, in descending order, are: oneness; unity; absolute imagination; sense; and the universal universe. Each of these entities is also attributed to a world, which includes divinity; power; kingdom; kingdom; and the perfect human being. In this article, we will conduct a comparative study of the views of Ibn Arabi and Sayyid Heydar Amoli on the entities and the worlds attributed to them. Although Sayyed Heydar follows Ibn Arabi, he courageously and critically separates his path from Ibn Arabi on at least two important issues: the end of guardianship and the necessity of combining Shiism and Sufism, in other words, Shariah and Tariqah, and takes a path that can be referred to as Shiite mysticism or the Shiite approach to Ibn Arabi’s mysticism. One of the similarities between these two mystics is the belief in two types of manifestation: one is the unseen scientific manifestation in the field of God's knowledge, which takes the form of "fixed objects", and the other is the intuitive manifestation in the external world, which includes the universe. The difference between the two views is that Ibn Arabi, by way of comparison, discusses the worlds and their order, and presents them in more detail and precision than Sayyid Heydar.
Keywords: existential worlds, Hazrat Khams, Ibn Arabi, Sayyid Heydar Amoli, Feyd al-Aqdas, Feyd al-Muqaddas, Oneness.
 
* Ph.D. Candidate of Mysticism& Sufism, Department of Humanities, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran, sanammorovati@semnan.ac.ir, 09911049067
** Full Professor of Religions& Mysticism, Department of Humanities, Semnan University, Semnan, Iran (Corresponding Author), khayatian@semnan.ac.ir, 09122316295
 
 
 
Introduction
Ibn Arabi (560-638 AH) did not specifically mention the term "Hadrat Khams" in his famous works, including Al-Futuhat Al-Makkiyyah, Fosus Al-Hikam, Al-Tadbirat Al-Ilahiyah, and others, but he refers to terms such as "Al-Hadrat" and "Al-Awalam" in the same field of discussion, namely cosmology.Thus, in fact, it was the followers and commentators of his thoughts who integrated these scattered concepts and definitions and presented them in the form of a key concept, and used this term as one of the tools and methods of classifying and explaining various types of beings and objects, and placing them in different levels of determination. Among the Shiite commentators of Fosus al-Hikam is Sayyed Heydar al-Amoli (720-787 AH), whose cosmological views on issues such as the divine essence, the beautiful names of God, the two graces of the holy and the holy, the classification of existential worlds, and others are noteworthy. Although Sayyed Heydar belongs to the Akbari school, wherever he deemed it necessary, he expressed his opinion with scientific courage and boldness in criticizing Ibn ‘Arabi and other commentators of his works.
Materials & methods
In the fifth chapter of his introduction to Sharh al-Fosus, Qaysari states that although the partial worlds are infinite, since the total divine beings are five in number, the total worlds will also be five. Here we should pay attention to the point that sometimes in the works of mystics, including the text quoted above from Qaysari and also Farqani in Mashariq al-Dirari, at the end of the second principle, they first discuss the absolute unseen and the absolute testimony, and then mention the world of reason and the world of example. This way of presenting the discussion has led to considering the world of matter as the second being; however, it should be noted that this title and number merely refer to expression and speech, otherwise the second order of beings is the world of reason. Of course, Jami believes that perhaps the two levels of determination, the first and second, can be considered the same due to their common unity and the difference in the generality and detail of the names, and in this case, they can be counted as one level, so that the Imams become five. If we consider this assumption, then the First Imam will be the Absolute Unseen, which is accompanied by two manifestations of the Unseen, the One and the Unseen, and encompasses all divine credentials and decrees in a general and comprehensive manner according to the first determination and in a differentiated and detailed manner according to the second determination.
Discussion & result
Ibn Arabi and Sayyed Heydar's views on the existential worlds have similarities and differences: 1- Similarities
1-1 As we have seen, both great Islamic mystics have a view of the unity of existence in ontology and interpret and discuss the arrangement of the worlds in terms of this central point; of course, some have said that Ibn Arabi himself did not specify the unity of existence in his works, but it seems that this statement is not entirely correct; because he has mentioned the expression "unity of existence" in some of his works. Of course, this term was well-known and famous in Sayyed Heydar's time.
1-2 Also, their discussion on the arrangement of the worlds is mainly focused on the interpretation of Quranic terms such as heaven and hell, heaven, heaven, heaven, heaven, angels, heavens, etc., and is aimed at the mystical explanation of these terms. Ibn Arabi's eschatological discussions on the position of Paradise between the Throne and the Chair and the position of Hell below the Chair, and that the inhabitants of Paradise or Hell are present in them with bodies appropriate to these worlds, and Sayyed Heydar's discussion on the hierarchical position of angels and the heavens, as mentioned above, can be presented in this framework.
2- Differences
2-1 As we have seen, the cosmological discussions in Ibn Arabi are an introduction to explaining the Hereafter, because his interpretative system is marginal to religious texts and subordinate to religious concepts and categories; But in Sayyed Heydar Amoli, these discussions acquire esoteric and secret aspects and as a result become mysterious and therefore are expanded and interpreted in his works based on symbolic circles.
2-2 Although both Ibn Arabi and Sayyed Heydar are interested in matching the material and spiritual worlds and matching the worlds with their numbers and secrets, this interest is more in Sayyed Heydar than in Ibn 'Ari; because Sayyed Heydar is strongly influenced by esoteric schools; but Ibn Arabi is more subject to Quranic interpretations.
Conclusion
Conclusion Although, as mentioned, Sayyed Heydar is influenced by Ibn Arabi in ontology and is considered, so to speak, among the mystics who believe in the unity of existence. Sayyed Heydar believes in the world as something other than Allah, which is the realm and existential aspects of truth - although at the same time, they are ontologically different from Him. Sayyed Heydar also believes in two types of manifestation and appearance: one is an unseen scientific manifestation in the field of God's knowledge, which is interpreted in the form of "fixed objects", and the other is an intuitive manifestation at the level of the external world, which includes the universe, which are manifestations of fixed objects and are subordinate to them. It is this sequence of the two sciences of compilation and the science of creation that comes to the aid of Sayyed Heydar, and with this tool, he studies the spiritual and material worlds in a comparative manner, and it expands to such an extent that the comparison of the objective and subjective books of creation with the codified book of the Quran is also justified in light of it. This is why, in Sayyed Heyder's view, the coherence and harmony of the system of the worlds of existence encompasses all components of creation, and the plurality of worlds is based on the unity of existence.