Authors

• Mahdi Zamāni
• Muhammad Javād Qāsemi

Abstract

The issue of perceiving God in Islamic theology, philosophy and mysticism is very important. It seems that there is no concern regarding the consensus among the proponents and opponents of perceiving God by the visual sense, though mystics have made a lot of efforts to reconcile the visual perception and intuitive discernment. Of these efforts, a typical example can be found in the interpretation of these two verses from Najm chapter: “The heart did not deny what it saw” (11), and “The gaze did not swerve, nor did it overstep the bounds” (17). These verses tell about the quality of the day when messenger of Islam meets Gabriel in his spiritual journey or his ascent to heaven. Among Muslim Mystics, Faraqāni in his Mashāriq al-Darari, insisting on the :::union::: between sight and mind, considers the second verse as a case of God’s perception with the mind rather than with the visual sense. Seyyed Heydar Amoli, also, by attributing the second verse to the second journey of so-called four-fold journeys, relates the visual sense to the returning position and from unity to multiplicity. In this course, the wayfarer sees, hears and speaks with the divine eye, ear and tongue. So, there is a kind of strong relation between sensory perception and intuition in Quran and mysticism.

Keywords

• Heart of Muhammad
• Vision of God
• The Vision of Muhammad
• Muhammad′s Ascension to Heaven
• The Last Prophet (Muhammad)