Abstract:

In the early history of Islam, philosophy, theology, and the teachings of the Sufis did not overlap in any important way, but this would eventually change. Ibn Sina (d. 1037), among others, provided Muslim thinkers with a language for metaphysical speculation and was open to mystical ideas himself. Abu H[dotbelow]amid al-Ghazali (d. 1111), in refuting philosophical rationalism, paradoxically forced mainstream theology to adopt the language of philosophy. Suhrawardi (d. 1191), the founder of the Illuminationist (ishraqi ) tradition, made the first grand attempt at a philosophical and mystical synthesis. Ibn 'Arabi (d. 1240) provided an ontology and epistemology within the bosom of the Islamic textual tradition and Sufism. I argue that the early discourses between philosophy, theology, and mysticism in Islam set the stage for a synthesis of philosophical language, religious sensibility, and mystical ideas in later centuries.

One of the most unstudied facets of this convergence is the period of Sufism and philosophy following Ibn 'Arabi and leading up to Mulla S[dotbelow]adra (d. 1650). Through a close examination of their gradual adoption of the technical language of ontology, I trace the attempts of four generations of mystics to incorporate the prevailing philosophical and theological language of Islam. I show that the association of the school of Ibn 'Arabi with the concept of wah[dotbelow]dat al-wujud was more complex than commonly thought, since the early members of this school do not seem to treat wujud or "existence/being" as an important concept in its own right. This changes gradually as these Sufi thinkers enter into dialogue with philosophy and theology with an increased level of sophistication. The resulting fusion of Ibn 'Arabi's mystical doctrines with the mature form of Islamic Peripatetic philosophy presages the grand synthesis of Mulla S[dotbelow]adra, who began from the point of view of philosophy and incorporated the mystical worldview. I call this tradition of mystics and philosophers, "The School of the Oneness of Being ( wah[dotbelow]dat al-wujud )."