Al-`Ilm al-Hudûrî Knowledge by Presence Al-`Ilm al-Hudûrî Knowledge by Presence An Epistemological Bridge between Philosophy and Mysticism Dr. Sayyed Mohammad Reza Hejazi, H.I.M. Printed in the United States of America © Copyright: All rights reserved First Edition 2010 Islamic Studies and Research Academy (ISRA), USA [email protected] ; [email protected] Book Title: al-`Ilm al-Huduri: Knowledge by Presence Authored by: Sayyed Mohammad Reza Hejazi, Ph.D., H.I.M. Pages: 190 / Language: English / First Published: 2010 © Copyright: All rights reserved The Book: This book explores the issue of knowledge by presence as an epistemological problem in philosophy. Al-`Ilm al-Huduri (knowledge by presence) deserves as an epistemological bridge between philosophy and mysticism. This book is a comparative study of the epistemology of Suhrawardî and Mullâ Sadrâ Shîrâzî, two Muslim thinkers of the 6th/12th and 11th/17th century. It focuses on two main issues: Illuminative theory of knowledge and, in the framework of this theory, Mullâ Sadrâ's doctrine of knowledge by presence (al-'ilm al-hudûrî) studied in the context of his philosophical system (al-hikmah al-muta'âlîyah). Mullâ Sadrâ's doctrine of knowledge by presence is the corner stone of his epistemological system. In the light of this doctrine, he gives a new definition of knowledge, an innovative interpretation of its division into al-'ilm al-hudûrî and al-'ilm al-husûlî, and, finally, a systematic chain of various kinds of knowledge by presence (e.g., self-knowledge, God's knowledge of His Essence and God's knowledge of things). These three aspects of his doctrine have been surveyed and, in comparing them with Suhrawardî's theory, evaluated in this book. The Author: Dr. Sayyed Mohammad Reza Hejazi is Professor of Islamic Philosophy, Mysticism, Religious Studies and Islamic Theology at I.M. Seminary, Director of the Islamic Studies and Research Academy (ISRA), California, USA, Chairman of A.B.A. Assembly of North America, and a founder member and a Trustee of the Ibn Sina Health Foundation of North America (ISHFNA). He has also served as Director at the I.E.C., Washington D.C. and was a Chairman at the I.I.N.Y., New York, USA. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Islamic Jurisprudence from Elmiyeh Seminary of Qom, a doctorate in Islamic Philosophy from B.U.C. Institute of Qom, a second Master of Arts degree in Epistemology and Islamic Mysticism from McGill University, Montreal, Canada; and a second doctorate in Philosophy of Ethics from Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., USA. Dr. Hejazi has published 22 books in Arabic, Persian and English. He has also published more than 18 articles in different languages and participated in about 28 international and inter-disciplinary Seminars, Conferences and Academic Workshops. In addition to his teaching and writing, Dr. Hejazi serves as a consultant in the fields of education, morality, religion and philosophy. ISBN-13: 978-1453779040 (CreateSpace-Assigned) ISBN-10: 1453779043 BISAC: Philosophy / Epistemology Printed in the United States of America IN THE NAME OF ALLAH THE MOST BENEFICENT THE MOST MERCIFUL Table of Contents Transliteration table …………………………………………………………. 11 Notes on technicalities ………………………………..….………………… 13 INTODUCTION …………………………………………………………………… 15 I. General ………………………………………………………………. 17 II. The philosophy of Mullâ Sadrâ …………….…………….. 19 III. This study and its methodology ………………………… 23 PART I Knowledge, Definition and Division CHAPTER 1 The Definition of Knowledge ……………..…….…. 33 I. General ………………………………………………..….………. 33 II. The concept and the nature of knowledge ………. 34 III. The definition of knowledge ………………………..….. 37 CHAPTER 2 The Division of Knowledge ………………………..…. 53 I. Al-‘ilm al-husûlî …………………………………….….……….. 55 II. Al-‘ilm al-hudûrî ……………………………..……….………… 59 III. A characterization of the two kinds of knowledge ………………………….……………………………… 64 CHAPTER 3 Immateriality and " Knowledge by Presence" ………………………….…………. 75 I. Tajarrud (Immateriality) …………………………..………… 75 II. Tajarrud al-‘ilm (Immateriality of knowledge) …… 79 10 Table of Contents III. Ibsâr (vision) …………………………………………………… 85 PART II Knowledge by Presence ( al-‘ilm al-hudûrî ) Introduction …………………………………………………….………………… 99 CHAPTER 4 The “human soul” and knowledge by presence ……………………………....……... 105 I. Self (al-dhât) ……………………………..………………………. 105 II. Self-knowledge (al-‘ilm bi al-dhât) …………………….. 109 III. The human soul knows its attributes, dispositions and faculties by presence …….. 116 CHAPTER 5 God and knowledge by Presence ……………………………………………………..……….. 131 I. God’s knowledge of His Essence (al-‘ilm bi-dhâtihî) ………………………..…………… 131 II. Causal relationship (al-‘illîya) ……………….…………… 135 III. God’s knowledge of the things ……………….……….. 138 CONCLUSION ………………………………………………………….…………. 157 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………… 167 Transliteration Table CONSONANTS Arabic Persian Arabic Persian ء ‘ ‘ ص S S ب B B ض D Z پ - P ط T T ت T T ظ Z Z ث TH TH ع ‘ ‘ ج J J غ GH GH چ - CH ف F F ح H H ق Q Q خ KH KH ک K K د D D گ - G ذ DH DH ل L L ر R R م M M ز Z Z ن N N ژ - ZH و W V/U س S S ه H H ش SH SH ى Y Y VOWELS ا long ā آ Ā و ū ي ī ى Doubled īy or iyy (final form ī) و Persian) uww (final form ū), uvv (for و Diphthongs au or aw ى ai or ay Short –َ- a –ُ- u –ِ- i Notes on technicalities 1. The system of transliteration that has been used throughout this work for both Arabic and Persian is the one employed by the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University with the following exceptions: The transliteration of the feminine ending “tâ marbûta” (É, ÜÉ) is rendered as [a] when it is not pronounced, in words such as Nihâya, and [at] when it appears in a construct (idâfa) formation, like in the case of Hikmat al-Ishrâq. I have used [â], [î] and [û] instead of [a], [i] and [u]. 2. The article ‘al’ is almost always dropped from Arabic family names in the text. 3. All translation from Arabic and Persian into English are mine unless otherwise stated in the footnotes. 4. Since this book has focused on an analysis based on primary sources, the convention of citing the original text in brackets (parentheses) has been used, immediately following the translation or exposition of the author’s writings. This has the advantage of enabling the reader to turn to the original immediately if he so wishes. 5. Dates have generally been cited according to the lunar Islamic date (Hijrî) followed by its equivalent Christian date.