Document Type : Original Article

Authors

• Mohammad Javad Zakavi ¹
• Saeed Elahi Nasab ¹
• Mehran Rezaee ²

¹ Negative

² Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran.

Abstract

The term "possibility" (=Imkan) is one of the most widely used and common terms in philosophy and theoretical Sufism. Failure to recognize this group of common terms, which may have different meanings in philosophy and theoretical Sufism, can cause errors in understanding the propositions of these two sciences. The purpose of this study on the semantics of the term "possibility" is to examine its similarities and differences from the perspective of Mulla Sadra Shirazi as the founder of Transcendental wisdom and Mohaqiq Qeysari, a prominent commentator on the mystical school of Ibn Arabi. In this study, the authors aim to answer the main question of what similarities and differences the term "possibility" has in the thought systems of Mulla Sadra on the one hand and Mohaqiq Qeysari on the other. This research is a fundamental study that has been prepared using a descriptive and analytical method. Based on the research findings, the common point of Mulla Sadra and Mohaqiq Qeysari in using the term possibility is "what is not God", which is described by both thinkers with the description "possibility"; However, the instances of "possibility" in the view of the Qeysari have a broader scope and include fixed objects (الاعیان الثابتة) that are possible to appear; just as in the case of the term "impossibility" in the view of Qeysari, it also includes fixed objects that are prevented from appearing. In Transcendental Wisdom, "possibility in the sense of need" is a description of existence, but from the view of Qeysari, possibility is never a description of existence.