MullaSadra and Ibn-e Arabi on Proving Pantheism;Evaluation and Comparing their Methods and Principles

In Mulla Sadra’s and Ibn-e Arabi’s thought, the unity of existence could be proved in ontological, epistemological and anthropological aspects and we can say that the three aspects are integrated, and are the faces of one thing. The gist of Ibn-e Arabi’s thought is nothing but pantheism; a kind of pantheism that is based on realism or the priority and originality of discovery, intuition, and experience. Mulla Sadra also through priority of existence pave the way for the unity of creatures and considers creatures, except God, as the rays and the beams of true light or the reality of existence (eternal nature of God). Only the existence or the nature of God is original and unique. Sadra unlike Ibn-e Arabi, who thinks that the rational method in theology is neither sufficient nor necessary, has done efforts to rationalize what is beyond the mind, for public understanding. In this article, it is tried to review and compare the principles and styles of these two divine sages in the formation of the theory of pantheism, from three mentioned aspects, i.e. epistemology, ontology and anthropology.