vahideh akrami

Essential monotheism, also known as the unity of the divine essence (al-tawḥīd al-dhātī), stands as a pivotal tenet within monotheistic discourse. Crafting its formulation is a profound challenge for both mysticism and theology alike. Even subtle alterations in its interpretation and articulation possess the potential to veer away from the pristine monotheism upheld by the Ahl al-Bayt or the Prophet’s Household.Unitary (aḥadī) monotheism and singular (fardānī) monotheism represent two versions of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s conception of monotheism, each depicted uniquely and substantiated through specific proofs. Employing a descriptive-analytic and deductive approach, thisarticle delves into the core of essential unitary (aḥadī) monotheism, offering a distinct reinterpretation of Ibn al-ʿArabī’s perspective separate from singular monotheism. Furthermore, we assess his viewpoint in light of hadiths, conducting analyses of both the terminology and underlying significance of essential unitary monotheism to ascertain its alignment with the teachings of hadiths

Descartes, as a prominent representative of traditional foundationalism, starts from a general methodological doubt in order to achieve certainty and as the first step, he achieves certainty about his own existence whereby he explains knowledge of God and of the world. In his intellectual path, Descartes tries to reduce the credibility of senses and give more credit to intellectual intuitions. He takes clarity and distinctness to be criteria of truth and takes immunity to any doubts as a criterion of certainty. BonJour—a contemporary epistemologist—defends foundationalism but he modifies the Cartesian view in order to save it from objections and provide a new criterion for the infallibility of beliefs. BonJour’s ‘constitutive awareness’ theory seeks to account for infallible beliefs. Constitutive awareness is a level of non-conceptual awareness that can be transformed into a conceptual belief through a descriptive process. BonJour’s view might be compared with the theory of knowledge by presence in Islamic philosophy, though in BonJour’s view, there is fallibility in the beliefs formed from non-conceptual awareness, but it is not rational to care about such fallibility.