Document Type : Research

Authors

• reza hesari ¹
• Hamid Reza Khademi ²

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy and Theology, University of Birjand

² Samat" Humanities Research and Development Institute

Abstract

Mullā Fanārī is among the theosophical mystics whose most profound mystical positions are articulated in his work Miṣbāḥ al-Uns. One significant aspect of his metaphysical inquiry concerns the reality of time. In discussing this subject, Fanārī presents two distinct interpretations of what constitutes temporal reality, followe d by his critical c ommentary on one of them. These two interpretations are: (1) the intelligible form of succession between the prior and the posterior, and (2) the very actuality of succession betw een the prior and the posterior.



Adopting a descriptive–analytical methodology, this study aims first to expound Fanārī’s position with precision and then to un dertake a critical evaluation thereof. The author’s view on time is analyzed and assessed through four principal considerations:



The lack of any intelligible justification for the quantitative re lation between time and the motion of the ninth celestial sph ere;

The incompatibility between the immaterial nature of succession (as posited in Fanārī’s first interpretation) and the inherently transi ent, corporeal essence of time itself;

The problem of circularity entai led in his second interpretation of tem poral reality; and

The inaccuracy of denying the particularized attribution of Divine Names and Attributes to material e ntities.

Keywords

• Time
• the celestial observer
• the amount of celestial motion
• advance and delay
• reasonable form

Main Subjects

• Islamic Philosophy