AIN E HIKMAT
Year:2013 | Volume:4 | Issue:14|Papers Count:7

The term "tawhid lit. Unity" is used in various ways in theology, philosophy and mysticism. The most well-known usages are: Unity of Divine Essence, Unity of Divine Attributes, Unity of Divine Acts and Unity of God as only object of worship. Of these the first and foremost is the Unity of Divine Essence since it underlies all degrees of Unity. By this philosophers and theologians mean the Oneness of Holy Essence of God and that he is essentially wholly other than things and there is no partner whatsoever for Him. All sorts of multiplicity and combination are negated of His Essence. In other words the oneness of Essence consists of both Unity and Unicity of Essence for which philosophers and theologians offered various proofs. The present article is to examine the most important of these proofs that is concerned with essential unity of God as demonstrated by Islamic philosophers showing the development of Islamic philosophy in discussing the issue of "Unity of the Essence".

Holy Quran and Hadiths are laden with subtle points and allusions that at times found expression in Islamic Mystics' works. A Hadith on creation of the Names narrated in Al-Kofi of Kuleini is a treasure trove opened up to those eagerly interested in divine lore thanks to the infallible intuition of Imam Sadiq. divine lore thanks to infallible intuition of Imam Sadiq. Posteriority of Divine names from status of Essence, role of Exalted Name and that of mosta'thir in disclosure of other Names, external names being veil of light in relation to the Hidden Name, order of manifestation of Divine Names, mediation of All-encompassing Names for manifestation of other names as well as imparting divine grace to creatures are among excellent teachings of above-mentioned hadith discussed in the present article.

On the basis of divine command theory which has a long history the only criterion for moral rules is Holy Scripture reflecting the Divine commandments and prohibitions. This theory has taken on different epistemological, ontological and exciting formulations in the history of thought so that one should now speak of divine command theories. William Ockham is among those who drew a serious attention to the theory according to which found all ethical values originated from divine commands for which he offered an ontological statement. He considers the Divine commands to be necessary and sufficient conditions for ethics and that the only criterion of ethical value is Divine will or Law. Such a view, however, leads to denial of ethical rationality that urge human being to equality and justice. The present article is an attempt to review different versions of the theory and examine the ontological approach of Ockham in this issue.

Distinction of analytic and synthetic propositions and their applications is one of important problems in epistemology and analytic philosophy which was innovated by Immanuel Kant. The present article is to study the history of this division that can be trace back to the thought of Leibniz. Definition of analytic and synthetic as well as primary and common predications is to be discussed with a comparative approach. The focus of this article is on the question of relation of what is called in traditional logic "primary predication with Kantian analytic propositions and also those common predications with synthetic ones in Kant. The conclusion made is that although these two categories are in some ways similar, they are identical and have no similarities In details and the purposes they follow.

religious experience was brought to fore in philosophy of religion with a romantist approach at the beginning of 19th century by Schleiermacher with the aim of drawing attention to the relation between religion and emotions and search of its core in depth of religious feelings (experiences and moments). In twentieth century esp. in the second half of it, however, Religious experience is conceptually developed by analytic philosophers and was epistemologically interesting and more due to the role it can play in supporting and justifying the rationality of religious beliefs. Some thinkers have rejected its demonstrative force, and others including Maverdos have taken affirmative stance and in this way tried to make a foundation for faith in God. The result of such endeavors is the argument from religious experience.The present article is an attempt to study statement of the argument by Maverdos which contains interesting and precise points with reference to other versions of the argument including Alston's and Plantinga's, shedding light on the status of the argument in Islamic thought and the reason why it has been neglected. Critique on Chisholm's view on proper stimuli of senses, the plan of universal and partial data balance, role of judgment in determining the nature of experience and finally the problem of directness or otherwise is a psychological problem are among important matters discussed by Maverdos.

The role of imagination in many of philosophical and mystical treatments cannot be denied. The use of Imagination in ontological and epistemological discussions of mysticism always received much attention of the authorities of the related sciences. For it can play a crucial part in realization as well as justification of many a unveiling for mystics. According to Ibn Sina imagination can take effects in two ways: to begin with, it can lead wayfarer to conjunction with existential realities through perception and thus pleasure of perfection forms. Secondly, when the mystic begins to enter practical journey in order to reach the Real he experiences sorts of spiritual and formal unveilings. The latter constitutes the forms that are primarily immaterial and intellectual but become corporealized so that they can be perceived in vision and awakening states by soul.

The relation of mysticism and Sharia is important vital and essential in the mystical studies. In two domains of Islamic mysticism and theology (kalam) it dates back to the second century of Islam when mystic-minded thinkers appeared.The subject-matter of this article is a comparative study of the First Determination in mysticism and the Name mosta'thir in Sharia. The order of being and the emanation of everything other than God and the way of determination and delimitation of being particularly in the first stages are to be found in the discussions relating to the Names in Sharia. In the present article attempts are made to show that the Name mosta'thir is the first determination of God the Truth and acts as intermediary between the Essence and other Names. First, the status of the Name mosta'thir and its import in body of Hadith and the way it is related to the Essence of God, the first and second determinations is to be examined. Taking related discussions in mysticism and Sharia we stress on the theory that the first determination and the Name mosta'thir are the same though the latter is sometimes applies equivocally to the second determination. It is worth noting that some mystics identifies the name mosta'thir as a alluding to the status of Essence of God but this view is ambiguous and faulty. Perfect man's knowledge and manifestation of this Name as two applied themes are also among topics discussed in the present article.