The relationship between aeon and time in the view of Afdal al-Din Kashani

Abstract

Afdal al-Din Kashani, the philosopher and divine sage of the sixth and seventh centuries, has written several works, in particular in the field of self-knowledge. One of the most significant philosophical concepts to which almost every philosopher has paid attention and Afdal al-Din has also given an independent vote on, is the concept of the “time” and its relation to the aeon and eternity. He, like other metaphysicians, considers a transcendent principle for time which belongs to the world of immaterial things or intelligentsia. He considers “time” as the moving image of immortality, while he applies the word “aeon” instead of benefiting from the word of immortality. From Afdal’s point of view, Dahr is determined as the amount of existence. The important point is that the philosophy of Afdal is based on intuition and self- consciousness. Therefore, he is more likely to belong to the Ishraqiyun. Also, his emphasis on aeon, as the truth from eternity to eternity, leads us to the ancient origins of Afdal's viewpoint, in particular its relation to Zurvanite esoterism. In present paper, after mentioning the background about philosophical and mystical concepts of time, we will examine the Baba Afdal’s viewpoint in this regard beside explaining his mystical approach.

Keywords

• time
• aeon
• oriental metaphysics
• zurvanite esoterism
• afdal al-din kashani