Seyyed Ruhollah Noorafshan; Ebrahim Shir Ali Nia; Maryam Baruti; Mohammad Hossein Zarei Rezaei
Abstract
The basis of "Apophatic Theology" (Ilāhiyyāt-e Tanzīhī) in the thought of Qāḍī Saʿīd can be sought through two distinct yet interrelated approaches: the ontological approach ...
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The basis of "Apophatic Theology" (Ilāhiyyāt-e Tanzīhī) in the thought of Qāḍī Saʿīd can be sought through two distinct yet interrelated approaches: the ontological approach and the epistemological approach. The epistemological system of Qāḍī Saʿīd's thought is delineated in harmony with the three worlds of " sense (ḥiss), the soul (nafs), and intellect (ʿaql)." These created worlds, while maintaining proportionality and homogeneity, are known within the cognitive apparatus of "sense, imagination (khayāl), and intellect," and a definition and description of each is obtained. From Qāḍī Saʿīd Qummī's viewpoint, knowledge (ʿilm) is encompassment of a thing, and cognition necessitates a kind of "vision" (ruʿyah). Sensory and imaginative cognition is accompanied by "occurrence upon the thing and attainment to it," while intellectual cognition is achieved through "the return of the intellective subject (ʿāqil) to itself and the observation of the intelligible (maʿqūl)," requiring a kind of "vision" and "homogeneity" (sinhīyat). Although there may be another type of knowledge, other than "sense, imagination, and intellect," which does not require homogeneity and similitude (mithliyyat) and is not dependent on the "existence of the known" (wujūd-e maʿlūm). The limitations of the human process of acquiring knowledge deprive it of the ability to cross the positive boundaries of knowing the Divine Essence and Attributes, thus establishing an "Apophatic Theology." This theology is accompanied by the recognition of human limits and his admission of inability to comprehend the reality (kunh) and modality of the Divine Essence and Attributes. Apophatic Theology is the foundation for glorifying and venerating God Almighty and focusing on the Divine Attributes of Action (ṣifāt-e fiʿlī), and it is the path of love and devotion to His Presence, the Glorified and the Exalted.
