Document Type : Biannual Journal

Author

• Fatemeh Sadeqzadeh Qamsari

Imam Sadeq University

Abstract

In their theological works, Muslim philosophers tend to elaborate on the unity and other attributes of the Necessary Existent (wājib al-wujūd) after establishing its existence. In such discussions, they examine the essence (dhāt) alongside its attributes but remain silent regarding the essence independent of the attributes. In some of their works, Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna), Mullā Ṣadrā, and ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī address the reasoning behind this silence. Drawing upon the principle of simplicity (bisāṭa) and the transcendence (tanazzuh) of the essence from any form of composition or multiplicity, Avicenna arrives at the theory of the conceptual unity of attributes. He considers essential attributes such as knowledge and power to be inextricable concomitants (lawāzim) of, and posterior to, the essence. From Ṣadr al-Mutaʾallihīn’s perspective, all determinations dissolve in the Unique Essence (al-dhāt al-aḥadiyya), while attributes, names, and their manifestations are collectively present at the level of Oneness (wāḥidiyya). ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī holds that each of God's perfectional attributes (al-ṣifāt al-kamāliyya) encompasses other perfections. Emphasizing the absoluteness of the essence and distinguishing between the two ranks of Uniqueness (aḥadiyya) and Oneness (wāḥidiyya), Ṭabāṭabāʾī regards names and attributes as posterior to the rank of essence. Given the indescribability of the essence, any discourse on the Unique Essence is deemed impossible.

The present study employs a descriptive-analytical method, seeking to examine the philosophical silence in confronting the Unique Essence by analyzing the views of Ibn Sīnā, Mullā Ṣadrā, and ʿAllāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī.

Keywords

• simplicity
• uniqueness
• silence
• Avicenna
• Mullā Ṣadrā
• Allāma Ṭabāṭabāʾī

Main Subjects

• Philosophy