Sayyed Yahya Yasrabi, Iran

 

Abstract

Issues concerning the epistemology of the mystics have, though not by this name, been discussed in mystical texts. In the present article these problems shall be extracted, classified and presented within the context of Islamic mysticism. To attain this aim the author first quotes certain passages from mystical texts and then continues his discussion by quoting A'yn al-Quzat-e Hamadani, the twelfth century mystic. At the beginning of the article the manner in which the subject is treated is briefly discussed and the limitations, possibilities and difficulties of the task are briefly set forth.

 

Since epistemology, as an extensive, independent and serious field of intellectual endeavour, is a product of the efforts of modern Western thinkers and these issues have been, irrespective of our wishes, transmitted to us and drawn our attention to their fruits and consequences, we cannot remain indifferent to them. Furthermore, since we must begin our investigation into any field of knowledge by assessing what we have inherited from the past, we must first see what our predecessors have accomplished in the field of epistemology. Although Muslim thinkers of the past did not give a particular title to epistemological problems, they contemplated many issues in this category and set forth their views concerning them. For example, investigations by Ibn Sina and others into such topics as definition and proof contain significant epistemological points and the same may also be said of theological discussions about speculation and the statements made by mystics concerning intuitive perception.

What shall be presented to the reader in this and the following articles under the title of the epistemology of the mystics is an investigation and analysis of direct and intuitive inner perception of reality, a perception and knowledge that Islamic mysticism sets forth as its final goal and destination. In these articles we shall discuss the principles, foundations, origin and characteristics of mystical knowledge, to the degree possible and based on statements made by Muslim mystics. Moreover, in order to remain within the limits necessitated by the article and because of the need to avoid repetition, we shall refrain from discussing peripheral issues.

Since it lies outside the realm of human consciousness and self-awareness, direct inner knowledge is difficult to discuss and investigate. When we speak of a method of discussion we do not mean that there is a particular method that makes investigation of this topic possible and that we aim to present it here. What is meant is that we must first indicate, to the degree possible, the manner in which we plan to pursue this investigation, begin our discussions and reach conclusions. To clarify this issue, we must first consider the following points:

The first point is that all arts and sciences have gone through different stages of development before reaching their present state, and it is certain that they shall not stop at this particular stage, but shall continue to develop and enter still farther stages. Even if we do not accept that such evolutionary development exists in the case of fundamental truths and principles, it is undoubtedly true when it comes to the manner in which we understand, appreciate and make use of these principles and realities. Thus, not only arts and sciences, but also philosophical and mystical forms of knowledge are subject to change and transformation.

It is undoubtedly true that irfan and tasawuf, too, since their appearance in the Muslim world, have undergone numerous changes until they have appeared in their present forms. Without question, the mysticism of Ibrahim Adham (d.762), Rabe'eh (d. 736) and others like them is different from that of Sarraj Tusi (d. 979), Kalabadi (d. 981) and other such individuals, and the mysticism of this group is again different in many aspects from that of such mystics as Ibn Arabi (d. 1240) and Mawlawi (d. 1273). Another point to keep in mind in this regard is that the change and transformation that gives rise to different degrees and levels is in some ways historical and in others not. It is historical in that this evolution has, in any case, taken place in the course of history. In another sense, however, as is the case with other fields of knowledge, different levels of mystical insight and accomplishment can be found in different individuals in any given historical period. For example, in the seventh or tenth centuries there were individuals who were also on the same level as Ibn Adham, just as there were mystics who can be compared to Ibn Arabi and Mawlawi. Furthermore, every seeker experiences different stages of mystical illumination in the course of his life.

Taking into consideration the points made above, our discussion shall take the following form:

1. In order to delineate the foundations of the epistemological system of the mystics (intuitive inner perception), we shall make use of statements made by all mystics, irrespective of whether this system is fully expressed by a particular mystic or not. This is so because, for a variety of reasons, it is unreasonable to expect such statements to be comprehensive. These reasons are well known to those who are familiar with the manner in which mystics express themselves. Some of these reasons, in brief, are as follows:

1. The fact that not all mystics attain every spiritual station
2. The fact that mystical experiences and states cannot be described in words
3. The fundamentally secretive nature of direct intuitive perception
4. The commitment of mystics to refrain from divulging secrets revealed to them
5. The indirect nature of the language used by mystics
6. The relative dominance of the following factors in statements made by mystics:

• The spiritual state and station of the speaker
• The spiritual state and station of the listener
• The rhetorical and linguistic abilities of the speaker and his ability to choose appropriate terms and expressions

1. Delineation and classification of these principles and bases is based on the possibility of such delineation and not its precedence. It follows, then, that in many instances we have been obliged to innovate and speculate. Thus, accepting due responsibility for all shortcomings and faults, we expect and shall be most appreciative of the sympathy and kind guidance of scholars in the field.
2. We shall discuss the following topics:

1. Direct intuitive perception. Here we shall define direct inner perception, delineate its limits and describe its foundations.
2. Characteristics of direct intuitive perception, including certitude, clarity, being inexpressible, etc.
3. The relationship between direct intuitive knowledge and the speculative sciences, including the relationship of intuitive knowledge to experimental science, points of agreement and disagreement, the possibility of mutual criticism, the basis for mutual criticism.
4. Points of departure for attaining direct intuitive perception, including the ascending and descending curves, the cause of the effects of Being, Comprehensive Being, etc.
5. Methods of attaining mystical knowledge, including seeking, points of departure, asceticism, stages of the quest and signs of spiritual progress.

1. Presentation of the written and spoken words of the mystics

In this regard it is first of all necessary to consider a selection of statements made by mystics. This has two benefits: the first is that we enter the subject to be discussed through the description provided by the mystics, and the second is that we may refer to these statements in our later discussions.

Abu al-Ma'ali Abdullah bin Abu Bakr, known as A'yn al-Quzat, was born in Hamadan. Because of his prodigious intellect and unceasing effort he succeeded, while still young, in mastering the normal sciences of his age, such as mathematics, the natural sciences, divinities, Islamic law (fiqh) and traditions (hadith). However, he abandoned all these sciences for the sake of tasawuf (Sufism) or Islamic mysticism. His two most important works on this subject are Zubdat al-Haqayeq and Tamhidat. In spite of its brevity, Zubdat al-Haqayeq contains valuable material dealing with mystical epistemology. For this reason we shall first quote a selection from this book.

The reason for our choosing A'yn al-Quzat as the first mystic to consider is that he was the first person to deal with epistemological issues in a clear and detailed manner. The issues he investigates early in the 12th century were delved into about one and half centuries later by such commentators on, and masters of, Islamic mysticism, as Sadr al-Din Qunavi. A'yn al-Quzat lived for thirty-three years. Like all others who tried to go beyond the accepted dogma of the age, he was subjected to baseless charges, one of which was that he claimed to be God. He was tried and convicted, skinned alive, hanged and then burned.

In the Introduction to Zubdat al-Haqayeq A'yn al-Quzat states that before writing this book his writings were devoted to explicating Islamic doctrines by relying on the rules of logic. This, he says, he did on the behest of his friends. He maintains, however, that this volume was written after he had attained direct intuitive insight into spiritual realities. He goes on to say that in this book he intends to explain the doctrines of Islam, especially the issue of prophecy, in the light of mystical knowledge. Confessing that such intuitive spiritual insights cannot be expressed in words, he promises to do his utmost to set them forth in a clear and understandable manner. If he fails to do so, he begs the reader to excuse him for two reasons. His first excuse is that he did not have sufficient time and opportunity to search for the most precise and appropriate words. Of course, no matter how precise and well-chosen such terms may be they still could not express the spiritual truths the author wishes to convey. His second excuse is that this text is intended for those who, having already laboured long and hard to understand philosophical and rational concepts, now possess the ability to comprehend the spiritual realities these terms allude to. Ultimately, two motives lie behind the writing of this book: first, the urging of friends, and second, the desire to show the path to intuitive and direct inner realisation to the seekers of truth, so that they may not content themselves with rational and intellectual knowledge alone, mistaking conceptual understanding for Reality.¹

Now let us take a look at a brief selection from the writings and sayings of Ayn al-Quzat:

…It should be noted that the expectations from reason harboured by those scholars who are infatuated with it are like the man who witnesses the precision of the scale used by a goldsmith and then desires to weigh a mountain with it. This, of course, is impossible, but it does not mean that that the scale in question does not do its job correctly when it is properly used. Remember, then, that reason is a trustworthy scale and its decrees are certain and reliable. It is honest and without error. However, despite all this, if someone tries to judge everything in its light, even such maters as the Hereafter, prophecy and divine Attributes, he is attempting the impossible and shall be sadly disappointed.

With the dawn of the light of metareason this inappropriate expectation gradually disappears, just as the stars begin to fade with the coming of dawn. There is a difference between voluntary abandonment of this expectation and its natural fading away. Be careful not to err! You cannot abandon this improper expectation on your own accord, for this abandonment or dropping away hinges on the dawning of the light I have already mentioned. Then you will let go of your improper expectation whether you want to or not.²⁷

Considering their historical precedence, Ayn al-Quzat's statements are very profound and fruitful. We can classify what has been set forth above in the following manner:

1. It is Possible for Man to Reach Metareason- Ayn al-Quzat believes that it is possible for all men to enter the realm of metareason (point 24). He believes that all human beings are involved in an evolutionary process which qualifies them to eventually realise some level of metareason, though not all human beings may attain all the stages and levels of that realm.

 

2. Metareason Cannot be Comprehended and Realised Through Reason and Thought- He discusses this subject in sections 3, 6, 7, 15, 16, 20 and 23. He emphasizes the point that truths realised by the intuition remain an undecipherable mystery to reason and intellect and can never be understood through instruction, verbal description and explanation. The only path open to reason in this regard is to take the existence of metareason on faith.

 

3. The Limits of the Capabilities of Reason and Thought- Ayn al-Quzat considers reason to be a reliable measure if applied to fields lying within the limits of its capability. Within such limits, he maintains, its decrees concerning right and wrong are fully credible (section 26).

 

4. The Boundaries of Spiritual Insight- Inner spiritual insight has its own domain, to which reason and thought have no inroads. This domain includes the following fields:

1. Perceiving the existence of Truth (section 4)
2. Perceiving the attributes of God (section 9)
3. Perceiving the states of love (section 10)
4. Perceiving the impotence of reason (section 11)
5. Perceiving other aspects of existence lying beyond the scope of rational and intellectual perception and comprehension

1. Some Points about Insight- Sometimes Ayn al-Quzat compares spiritual insight to the sense of sight or to poetic taste (section 3), while on other occasions he compares perceptions made by insight to those made by the rational mind concerning axioms and first principles, and wishes, in such a manner, to give us some indication of the nature of this faculty (section13). On still other occasions, he compares the relation of spiritual insight to reason to the relationship between spirit and body (section 25).

 

2. Characteristics of Metareason- In order to give us a conception of metareason, he enumerates certain traits for it, including the following:

1. Lack of need for reason and logic
2. Union with intuitive and spiritual realities. This means that, in contrast with the findings of reason, that can be violated or ignored by the individual, the mystic is united with what he perceives and cannot separate himself from it (section 5).
3. Intuitively perceived truths cannot be transmitted or taught to others (sections 14, 15, 16 and 20).

1. Preconditions for Attaining Spiritual Insight- In order to acquire spiritual insight one must purify one's soul (section 17), turn away from the world (section 19) and practice self-discipline and self-denial (section 21).

 

2. Different Types of Truths Realised by Metareason- Ayn al-Quzat divides truths apprehended by metareason into those realized directly and those that are realized indirectly (section22).

 

3. Other Subjects- Other points are also made in these selections. These include the way to strengthen faith in metareason (section 8), the recounting of a revelation (section 18) and the relation of reason to metareason (section 25).

Arthur Saniotis

Abstract

One of the major contributions of Sufi philosophy has been its theory of music. Through the ages Sufi teachers have encouraged humanity to become acquainted with the mysteries of music as a way of apprehending the Divine order (amr). As in other areas of Sufi philosophical and mystical thought (al-ma'rifah, 'irfan), music became appropriated within an ontological model which explained the correspondence between the macrocosm and microcosm. Inayat Khan (d. 1927) an Indian Sufi teacher and musician who assisted in the transmission of Sufism to the west in the early twentieth century, elaborated on this central theme of music. In this analysis I draw attention to Inayat Khan's theory of music in relation to his notion that music conveys universal unity, symmetry and beauty. My overview of the nature of Inayat Khan's musical theory is both attentive of its cosmological underpinnings as well as highlighting its unique aesthetic and ontology.

 

Sufis have often likened music to the aural gossamer by which God fashions the web of creation. The conception of nature as being a manifestation of Divine sound is mentioned in the Quran in relation to its creative and governing potentialities.

To him is due the primal origin of the heavens and the earth. When He creates a thing, He has just to say ‘Be’ and it evolves into ‘Being’ (Quran 21:30).

The notion of music as a medium for cosmic creation is also noted by the Sufi poet Hafiz when he claims that the spirit of life had entered the human body through the assistance of music. One eastern folk tale tells how God made a statue of clay and commanded the soul to enter it. However, the soul refused on the grounds that it did not want to relinquish its state of paradisiacal freedom for the encumbrance of corporeal existence. God then ordered the angels to sing. The soul became so enraptured by their singing that it unwittingly entered the statue. Two important ideas are denoted by this story; firstly, the nature of music as maintaining universal harmony; and secondly, humanity’s ‘state of spiritual exile.’

In relation to the first point, the Indian Sufi teacher Inayat Khan explains that various musical rhythms are fundamental in shaping all cosmic processes. The universe being an expression of Divine manifestation (sifat’ullah) is constituted by infinite multiplicity and divisibility which conveys unity, symmetry and harmony¹. These tri-partite qualities which are intrinsic to all physical forms are characterised by the centrifugal and centripetal motion of the celestial spheres. The ikhwãn al-safa (brethren of purity) had initially expounded a treatise on music which demonstrated how the ‘universe is composed in conformity with…geometrical and musical’ correspondences which manifest harmony^2. The correspondence between microcosm and macrocosm was also noted in Chinese mysticism which considered music as the vital integument of all universal forms which express ‘all the frequencies of heaven and earth, as several zithers tuned to one tonic’³. Bakhtiar also claims that traditional music consists of symmetrically repetitive melodies (gushah-ha) that imitate nature’s unbroken life rhythms:

Nature contains continual repetition, inspiring man to imitate her in her mode of operation through an open-minded, continuous movement system.⁴

Similarly, Inayat Khan deemed music to be a microcosm of the universe which found its ultimate distillation in the human form. Thus, the harmonious and disharmonious rhythms and vibrations, or the movement between change (talwin) and stability (tamkin) which keep creation intact, are also constitutive of the existential pulsations of human life.⁵

Corresponding with Ibn Arabi’s influential concept of ‘Unity of Being’ (wahdat al-wujud) which declares the unity of all things within the universe of Divine manifestation, Inayat Khan considers all physical forms and their existential rhythms as expressing principles of Divine unity (tawhid) and symmetry. In this schema, all the universe is music and nothing exists beyond it.

What we call music in our everyday language is only a miniature, which our intelligence has grasped from that music or harmony of the whole universe which is working behind everything, and which is the source and the origin of nature.⁶

Having said this, Inayat Khan goes beyond naturalistic prescriptions of music to one that asserts music as a psychological method for understanding human nature and the various grades of human action in the world.

The more one studies the harmony of music, and them studies human nature, how people agree and how they disagree, how there is attraction and repulsion, the more one will see that is all music.

This assertion is no less an espousal for a phenomenology of music of human action. Because Inayat Khan believed that human action could be explained within the parameters of previous Sufi ideations of music is no less contentious than Ibn Arabi’s claim that all things are God. Perhaps, it is plausible here to comment that Inayat Khan’s theory in this area characterised his tendency to incorporate aspects of Hindu metaphysics relating to the science of sound. Judging from his systematic writings, it is not tenuous to claim that this syncresis between Sufi and Hindu theories enabled Inayat Khan to diverge from the naturalism of previous Sufi concepts of music and re-locating them within the sphere of humanism. It is likely to suppose that such a convergence between Sufi and Hindu cosmologies was a significant exercise, and continued the syncretistic tradition of various Indian Sufi and Hindu spiritual teachers who often combined the metaphysical teachings of Islam and Hinduism in expounding their metaphysics. Several commentators, including Inayat Khan, indicated that Vedantic philosophy held a parallel view of creation as having originated from the primordial vibration called nada brahman which is symbolised by the seed syllable ‘Om’ and is analogous to the Quranic ‘Kun’. Moreover, the monistic panentheism of Ibn Arabi is cognate with the Advaita Vedanta, that most profound magnum opus of Hindu ‘ontological subjectivism’ whose ãtmatology identifies the ãtman (soul) and brahman as being one and the same⁷. In Sufism, the Godhead in its absolute essence is referred to az-zhat and is analogous with the Vedantic nirguna brahman, being totally complete in itself, self-existing and eternal (al-ha'yy, al-qayyum)⁸. In both metaphysical paradigms there is an identification of quiddity as being intelligibly imponderable and amenable to no kind of qualification other than to claim that it is neither this nor that. The Divine essence remains forever hidden from the realm of created forms and corresponds with the first part of famous hadith qudsi which declares, 'I was a Hidden Treasure and I desired to be known'. Hence, it is 'beyond-beyond' (wara al-wara), or equally the unqualified sunyata. While it is not my intention to pursue this discussion of correspondences any further here, I wish to outline those philosophical influences which are germane to Inayat Khan’s theory of music.

Inayat Khan’s writings are replete with analogies and aphorisms which seek to convey in a practical sense his notions of harmony. For Inayat Khan harmony can be defined as that which expresses those aspects of symmetry, unity and existential consonance. As is often the case, he uses musical idioms as a pedagogical tool for espousing his ideas on human behaviour. In the same vein as the Ikhwan al-safa’s and Jalaluddin Rumi’s neo-platonic ideations view an evolutionary ascendancy of life forms as they progress through the mineral, vegetable and animal realms of existence, Inayat Khan uses this neo-classical ideal of chain of being into his phenomenology⁹. Inayat Khan writes:

The gradual progress of all creation from a lower to a higher evolution, its change from one aspect to another, is shown as in music where a melody is transposed from one key into another. The friendship and enmity among men, and their likes and dislikes, are as chords and discords. The harmony of human nature, and the human tendency to attraction and repulsion, are like the effect of the consonance and the dissonance intervals in music.¹⁰

This picture of human action as being predicated on the harmonic rhythms of attraction and repulsion underscore Inayat Khan’s mysticism of sound and music. At its core it represents an aesthetics of rhythm and tone that continues on from the Ikhwan’s theory of correspondences which demonstrate the ‘cosmic qualities’ contained in human beings.¹¹

Concomitant with the idea of harmony is Inayat Khan’s exegesis on vibration which is an innovative development of Hindu science of sound. The universe is grounded and maintained by vibration; each of the three terrestrial kingdoms are different modulations of vibration. The various human sensory perceptions are also posited on varying degrees of vibratory activity which have a marked effect on human cognitive and affective states¹². Each universal genre of vibration has been determined with specific lifespan and is endowed with autogenetic activity, able to produce myriads of vibrations. Similar to the Vedic story of the cosmic net of Indra in which all things are interconnected by an endless matrix of jewels ¾ an allusion of the ‘totality of existing things’¹³, the universe in Inayat Khan’s thought is constituted by a network of many myriad multitudinous vibrations which having manifested become merged in their original source, or what could be called as the play of cosmic activity (fa’iliyya)^14. One is reminded here of the discoveries in Quantum theory that contends that all matter consists of oscillating atoms. For example, on a sub-atomic level the various bands of light and electro-magnetic waves differ only in the ‘frequency of their oscillation’¹⁵. Like the Greek philosopher Heraclitus, Capra avers that universal matter is in a perpetual state of flux. Capra declares: ‘Quantum theory has demolished the classical concepts of solid objects and of strictly deterministic laws of nature’¹⁶. Unsurprisingly, this notion of an oscillating universe is recorded in Hindu sacred scripture where ‘each element in creation embodies the divine vibration of Shiva’.¹⁷

Inayat Khan instructs that the archetypal movement of all vibration, and hence, music, is circular. As he states; ‘there are circles beneath and circles above circles, all of which form the universe’¹⁸. In accordance with Aristotelian theory which asserts nature’s abhorrence of vacuum, Inayat Khan considers the universe as not being void but replete with the Divine resonance of the music of the celestial spheres — saut-e-sarmad¹⁹. Certainly, his prescriptions relating to the circular and repetitive patterns of cosmic vibration are evident in the ritual organisation of core Sufi practices such as dhikr. On this note, dhikr’s emphasis on the gnostic (ãrif) reciting repetitive cycles of Divine Attributes may be likened to an aural mandala which symbolises infinity and unity; its visual correspondence being the circle where the vertical and horizontal lines converge at its centre to express the quadrature — the point of intersection of the four cardinal points where space and time are unified^20. Ardalan and Bakhtiar also envisage movement as coalescing ‘space and time into a unity’ that is embodied by space yet integral at any particular point in time.²¹

Even here, Inayat Khan’s concept of vibration is transposed to a human milieu. That which is communicated by the one is reproduced by the many. As he tells us, one person coughing in an audience is likely to trigger a similar response by others around him/her. This also applies to other emotions, i.e. sadness, anger, excitements and happiness^22. In this way, consciousness is carried through space by what Inayat Khan calls a ‘chord of sympathy’ which activates the area surrounding it with a particular vibration, where it becomes a unifying principle, or a barzakh, coining Ibn Arabi ¾ a threshold where the essences of oppositional qualities or agents are unified. Ibn Arabi’s conception of barzakh is elucidated in the following:

The true barzakh is that which meets one of the things between which it separates with the very face with which it meets the other. It is in its essence identical to everything that it meets.

Hence the separating between the things and the separating factor become manifest as one in entity.²³

Music is the accretion of this unifying principle of existence, an aural barzakh, where it links the ‘gulf between the form and the formless.’²⁴

‘Allah is beautiful and He loves beauty’, instructs the Prophet Muhammad in an oft-cited hadith. The Prophet’s pronouncement is not without implication, for it is the human soul that reflects Allah’s beauty. Inayat Khan suggests that the human soul is essentially beautiful and ‘naturally’ inclined to beauty²⁵. For this reason, he claims, human beings are unconsciously drawn to the beauty of nature which is harmony. Hence, beauty is harmony; each finds its origin and effect in the other. Indeed, it is the soul’s predilection towards beauty which traces its ascent to the Divine, and it is music that delineates the soul’s path.

According to this conception, music is invested with the power of ontological transformation. Reminiscent of Ibn Sina’s doctrine of the universe as a ‘vast cosmos of symbols’²⁶, which permits the gnostic to integrate the ‘influx of spiritual forces’²⁷ within his being, Inayat Khan emphasises the transformative capacities of music for promoting a spiritual catharsis of the self. The essence of music, which is beauty, facilitates in the soul’s vertical movement, a movement from matter to spirit. Sharia’ti proposes that in Sufi dictum human beings are bi-dimensional, a compound of earth and spirit. One dimension of human corporeality is inclined towards matter and ‘lowliness’ while the other dimension ‘aspires to ascend to God and the spirit of God.’²⁸ Inayat Khan further outlines this metaphysical consideration where he states:

The nature of creation is the doubling of one. And it is this doubling aspect which is the cause of all duality in life…Therefore spirit and nature in this creation of duality stand face to face.²⁹

The expression of this duality is sound, in its first aspect, and light in its second aspect. Of these it is sound which has pre-eminence to light by its ability to penetrate the realm of the soul. It is for this reason, Inayat Khan tells us, that the doyens recognised the science of sound to be the most significant science in every sphere of life^30. Sound, as denoted here, is linked with the supra-sensorial domain (ma’nawi), and light with the sensorial domain (hissi). In this schema, sound finds its correspondence with the hidden (bãtin) and light with the visible (zãhir). Whereas light makes things appear in relation to the body’s state of sensate corporeality, it is sound that engages the self in disclosure of itself (tajalli). Ibn Arabi defines self-disclosure as being connected with ‘receptivity (qubul) and preparedness (isti’ dãd)³¹. Related to this idea of disclosure is music’s ability in encouraging the soul’s journey of ascent, by virtue of making the soul become lighter from the heaviness of its corporeal embodiment. Inayat Khan claims that all beautiful qualities such as love, compassion, forgiveness and balance are an outcome of the soul being light³². Here, lightness is analogous to the state of realisation of the heart as an ‘instrument of gnosis’ (ma’rifa)³³, and the actualisation of the Divine in human action.

This brings to mind Ibn Arabi’s belief that the qualities of beauty are crucial for the soul’s spiritual development³⁴. So saying, for both Inayat Khan and Ibn Arabi the qualities of beauty are the integument and the effusion of the cosmic process of Divine compassion (rahma). As Inayat Khan says, ‘The nature of creation is that it is progressing always towards beauty’³⁵. If the universe could be defined as having a specific moral trait, this trait would be compassion assuaged in beauty.

The conception of nature as a reflection of Divine manifestation — a theophany which reconciles all living creatures with their Creator is conveyed in the symbolic and performative aspects of Sufi collective ritual practices such as sama and dhikr. The ritual organisation of these practices provides the gnostic a conceptual and symbolic framework for enacting the allegorical journey of the soul from the periphery of existence to the centre; from separation to union with the Divine. As Lawrence poignantly notes:

Music was said to help the lover in attaining the ecstasy derived from the imminent union with the beloved…for the genuine seeker, music was intended optimise the dyadic relationship between a human lover and a divine Beloved.³⁶

Among the qualities of beauty which is central to music is contemplation (shuhud). Bakhtiar describes contemplation as the ability to concentrate on any one of the cosmic virtues³⁷. These virtues are internalised where they aspire the gnostic towards spiritual union with the Divine source³⁸, where the soul is restored to its ‘primordial state’ (fitrat) of illud tempus. In Sufism, the act of listening to religious scripture and music is a spiritual exercise and requires a contemplative attitude as a way of becoming disclosed to their hidden meanings³⁹. In this sense, contemplation may be referred to as the wine bearer (saki) of beauty and music is the wine. Through contemplation the gnostic is led to pure knowledge or knowledge of the self, the apogee of the mystical quest. Music is the cosmic language of beauty ¾ the aural syncresis of Divine immanence, and encompasses the triune creative principles of the Divine; Al-Khãliq (The Creator), Al-Bari’ (The Evolver) and Al-Musawwir (The Fashioner).

As I discussed earlier, Inayat Khan’s theory of music proposes that existence originates from the primordial command ‘Be’ (kun) whereby physical forms evolve and are shaped according to their vibratory activity. All existence is poised in unity, symmetry and harmony, where its rhythmical resonances constitute the music of the celestial spheres ¾ saut-e-sarmad. My exploration has given attention to the cosmological and aesthetic implications of Inayat Khan’s theory of music. By all accounts his musical theory uncovers an aesthetics of sound which is consistent with Heidegger’s vision of reality or aletheia in which existence is essentially the ‘unconcealing’ of Being (dasein). This ‘uncovering’ function of music follows on from both Sufi and Hindu philosophical schools and their concern with recovering an ‘Adamic language’, a concern that had also led Inayat Khan to construct the cosmic universe as a concatenation of vibrations and their consequential effect on human existence.

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Reza Akbarian, Tarbiat Modarres University, Iran

 

Abstract

Transubstantial motion (al-harakat al-jawhariyyah) is one of the most important philosophical issues in the history of Islamic Philosophy and has become closely associated with the name of Mulla Sadra. One must admit that the greatness of this theory and its deep and widespread influence on the philosophical thought of Muslims is no less than that of Einstein’s theory of General Relativity in physics and Whitehead’s Process Philosophy in philosophy.

This theory provides the basis for Mulla Sadra’s world view. In the light of this theory, he presents a new philosophical explanation for the physical and metaphysical problems which include the temporal contingency of the world, the relationship between the permanent and the changing, the creation of the world, the perpetual creation, the relationship between the soul and the body, the resurrection of the body, and many different issues about resurrection. He also analyses and explains the process of motion and transformation, its spread and generality, together with its philosophical results and consequences, in a deep and meaningful way and from a very powerful and effective viewpoint.

As a comprehensive and unifying theory which deals with the origin (mabda), and the return (ma’ad) at the same time, it must be considered to be one of the fundamental and distinguished characteristics of Mulla Sadra’s theorising. This article is intended to explain and introduce the consequences of this theory and to determine the role of each in creating a new outlook in the domain of Philosophy. It also tries to shed some light on the history of the evolution of Transubstantial motion and discusses the new ideas proposed by Mulla Sadra which have brought about a change in this theory.

 

Before the rise of the theory of Transubstantial motion, scholars generally agreed upon the point that motion or change in the substance of an object is impossible. The ideas of the Islamic Gnostics and theologians who believed in perpetual creation can be viewed as compatible with this theory.¹ But the one who has proposed this problem explicitly, and bravely insisted on proving, it is the most prominent philosopher of the Islamic world, Mulla Sadra. He considers motion nothing but perpetual renovation and renewal of the world in each moment. He concludes that not only accidents but also the very substance of the world is constantly in a state of motion and renovation.

Mulla Sadra’s words in defence of motion within the category of substance, and in proof of essential instability and instability in the essence of the whole material entities, are so deep and considerable that they still leave the field open for further research and weighty deliberation of their various angles. In his book, al-Shifa,² Ibn Sina refers to the problem of non-subsistence of the subject and he attempts to explicitly refute the Transubstantial motion and considers it impossible. In his opinion, the phenomenon which vaguely represents the extended Transubstantial motion in fact lacks extension and is an interrupted process full of intervals which is under the control of a force beyond the domain of nature. With respect to the unity of the four causes, and using precisely the Aristotelian example about the creation of the individual human being and the evolution of his dispositions, Ibn Sina states:

And it thus undergoes metamorphosis and transformation until it is intensified and then disconnected. But on the surface, it gives rise to the mistake that it is a single journey from one form to another. As a result, it is assumed that there is motion within substance, while it is not so; rather, there are multiple motions and moments.³

The important and fundamental point in Ibn Sina’s words lies exactly within these moments of immobility. Ibn Sina considers moments of immobility as non-extended temporal moments like distances within which the Giver of forms grants a substance when the preliminaries are provided. In his opinion, the creation of human beings is not that different forms of sperm, coagulum, lumps of flesh, etc., are realised in the outside in the form of extended and continual motion. Rather, he believes that special quantitative and qualitative motions make the matter vulnerable to accepting form, and at a moment when this vulnerability reaches perfection, the Giver of form grants it. Hence, motion is not within the substance because substantial forms are not the products of motion; rather, they are created by the will of a creator beyond the internal activities of nature.

It is exactly at this point that Ibn Sina’s philosophy in particular, and Muslims’ philosophical thought in general, depart from Aristotle’s philosophy. Ibn Sina considers the agency of God to be a creative one. Aristotle has referred to this issue where he has explored the relationship between the sensible and changing world with pure actuality and considers pure actuality as the ultimate cause of being.⁴ Pure act is not the agent that causes the world. Contrary to the Islamic thought, the Greek philosophy is based on the idea that nothing comes into existence from non-existence; but existence only originates from existence. That is why in Greek philosophy the manner of the origination of beings from non-existence was not considered a philosophical problem; rather, the manner of the origination of existence from existence provided the basis for their scientific and philosophical explorations. In order to solve this problem, Aristotle has proposed the principle of motion as a fundamental issue in his philosophy.

It is within this philosophical framework that Aristotle directs the range of m