Ranking of Divine Names in Ibn al-Arabī and Muhyī-yi Gulshenī’s Two Treatises on the Subject

Abstract

Ibn al-‘Arabī discusses the relationship between divine names among themselves and the one with the universe by describing them as “the dialogue of divine names” in his works such as “Inshā’ al-Dawā’ir, ‘Anqā’ Mughrib and al-Futūḥāt.” According to that, the contingent beings convey their requests for existence to the divine names in the dialogue that took place in eternity. The divine names come into the presence of the name of Allah in accordance with these requests. The name of Allah, in turn, enters into Divine Essence’s (musammā) presence and initiates the process of creation with His permission. Ibn al-‘Arabī attempts to establish the structure of the relationship between the essence (dhāt), divinity (‘ulūhiyyah), lordship (rubūbiyyah), divine names, and contingent beings under this heading. Accordingly, the hierarchy among the divine names is also the criterion of order in existence. Muhyī-yi Gulshenī’s treatises of the same nature called Risāla fi asmā’illāhi’l-husnā’ and Ittiḥād al-asmā’ ba huwiyyah al-musammā also focus on these issues. In these short treatises, Muhyī follows Ibn al-‘Arabī‘s theme of “conversations of divine names taking place in eternity”. Muhyī describes the emergence of the leaders of the divine names and the process of manifestation of names into the universe with a descriptive language that makes it easier to explain ontological issues. It can be seen that Muhyī continued the Akbarī interpretation of existence in his treatises that focuses on the divine names and their relationships with each other, which serve as a means between Allah and the universe. This article deals with Muhyī-yi Gulshenī’s evaluations, based on the issue of the leaders of the divine names in the thought of Ibn al-‘Arabī.

Keywords

• muhyī-yi gulshenī
• ibn al-‘arabî
• divine names
• leaders of the divine names
• wahdat al-wujūd