Toshihiko Izutsu Sufism And Taoism P1.Ch11 XI The Self-manifestation of the Absolute

 SUFISM AND TAOISM: A Comparative Study of Key Philosophical Concepts

by Toshihiko Izutsu 1983

First published 1983 by Iwanami Shoten, Publishers, Tokyo
This edition is published by The University of California Press, 1984,
Rev. ed. of: A comparative study of the key philosophical concepts in Sufism and Taoism. 1966-67.

=====

Contents

Preface by T. Izutsu

Introduction

Part I - Ibn 'Arabi

1 Dream and Reality

II The Absolute in its Absoluteness

III The Self-knowledge of Man

IV Metaphysical Unification and Phenomenal Dispersion

V Metaphysical Perplexity

VI The Shadow of the Absolute

VII The Divine Nam es

VIII Allah and the Lord

IX Ontological Mercy

X The Water of Life

XI The Self-manifestation of the Absolute

XII Permanent Archetypes

XIII Creation

XIV Man as Microcosm

XV The Perfect Man as an Individual

XVI Apostle, Prophet, and Saint

XVII The Magical Power of the Perfect Man

Part II - Lao-Tzii & Chuang-Tzu

I Lao-Tzu and Chuang-Tzu

II From Mythopoiesis to Metaphysics

III Dream and Reality

IV Beyond This and That

V The Birth of a New Ego

VI Against Essentialism

VII The Way

VIII The Gateway of Myriad Wonders

IX Determinism and Freedom

X Absolute Reversai of Values

XI The Perfect Man

XII Homo Politicus

Part III - A Comparative Reftection 

I Methodological Preliminaries

II The Inner Transformation of Man

III The Multistratified Structure of Reality

IV Essence and Existence

V The Self-evolvement of Existence

===

XI The Self-manifestation of the Absolute

Reference has frequently been made in the preceding pages to the

concept of 'self-manifestation' (tajalli). And in nota few places the

concept has been discussed and analyzed in some detail. This is

proper because tajalli is the pivotai point of Ibn 'Arabï's thought.

Indeed, the concept of tajalli is the very basis of his world-view. All

his thinking about the ontological structure of the world turns round

this axis, and by so doing develops into a grand-scale cosmic system.

No part of his world-view is understandable without reference to

this central concept. His entire philosophy is, in short, a theory of

tajalli. So by discussing various problems relating to his world-view

we have been in fact doing nothing other than trying to elucidate

some aspects of tajalli. In this sense, we know already quite a lot

about the main topic of the present chapter.

Tajalli is the process by which the Absolute, which is absolutely

unknowable in itself, goes on manifesting itself in ever more con-

crete forms. Since this self-manifestation of the Absolute cannot be

actualized except through particular, determined forms, the self-

manifestation is nothing other than a self-determination or self-

delimination of the Absolute. 

Self-determination (-delimination) in this sense is called ta'ayyun (lit. 'making oneself a particular, individual entity'). 

Ta'ayyun (pl. ta'ayyunât) is one of the key-terms of Ibn 'Arabï's ontology.

The self-determination, as it develops, forms a number of stages

or levels. Properly and essentially, these stages are of a non-

temporal structure, subsisting as they do beyond the boundaries of

'time'. But at the same time they come also into the temporal order

of things and give a particular ontological structure to it.

At any rate, when we describe this process we are willy-nilly

forced to follow the temporal order. And this is naturally what Ibn

'Arabï himself does in his description of the phenomenon of tajalli.

But it would be a mistake if we thought that this is merely a matter of

necessity caused by the structure of our language, as it would be

equally wrong to suppose that the self-manifestation of the Absolute is an exclusively temporal process.

The Self-manifestation of the Absolute 153

The self-manifestation of the Absolute is, in fact, possessed of a double structure. It is a trans-historical, trans-temporal phenomenon, but it is also a temporal event. One might even say that this is precisely the greatest coi,,.cidentia oppositorum observable in the structure of Being. 

It is a temporal event because from eternity the same process of tajalli (the world) has been repeated and will go on being repeated indefinitely. Since, however, exactly the same ontological pattern repeats itself infinitely, and since,

moreover, it is done in such a way that as the first wave is set in

motion, there already begins to rise the second wave, the process in

its totality comes to the same thing: an eternal, static structure.

This dynamic-static self-manifestation of the Absolute is

described in terms of the 'strata' (maratib,sg.martabah). 

Let us first observe how al-Qashani explains the 'strata' .1

He begins by saying that there is in Being nothing except one

single Reality ('ayn) which is the Absolute, and its 'realization'

(IJ,aqiqah), which is Being in its phenomenal (mashhüd) aspect. But,

he adds, this phenomenal aspect of Being is not a one-stratum

structure, but it comprises six major strata.

The first stratum: Being at this stage is still completely free from

any limitation. This stratum represents 'Reality' in its non-

determination (lâ-ta'ayyun) and non-delimination ('adam

In other words, there is as yet absolutely no self-manifestation

occurring; Being is still the absolu te Essence itself rather than a part

of phenomenal reality. And yet it is capable of being considered a

part of phenomenal reality in the sense that it forms the starting-

point of all the subsequent ontological stages. It is no longer the

Essence perse in its metaphysical darkness.

The second stratum: Being is here 'determined' in itself by a kind

of all-comprehensive self-determination comprising all the active

determinations pertaining to the Divine aspect of Being (i.e., the

Divine Names) as well as all the passive determinations pertaining

to the creaturely or phenomenal aspect of Being. The Absolute at

this stage still remains One. The One is not yet actually split into

multiplicity; yet there is observable a faint foreboding of self-

articulation. The Absolu te, in other words, is potentially articulated.

The third stratum: this is the stage of Divine Unity (al-al:zadfyah

al-ilahfyah) or that of Allah, where all the active (fa'iliy) and

effective (mu'aththir) self-determinations are realized as an integral

whole.

The fourth stratum: this is the stage at which the Divine Unity

(3rd stage) is split into independent self-determinations, i.e., the

Divine Names.

The fifth stratum: this stage comprises in the form of unity all the

self-determinations of a passive nature (infi'iiliy). It represents the

i:l 111',

Ili, :!l',I

11

!11111 !

11

'I /!

1

lill

Il

154 Sufism and Taoism

unity of the creaturely and possible things of the world of becoming.

The sixth stratum: here the unity of the preceding stage is dis-

solved into actually existent things and properties. This is the stage of

the 'world'. AU the genera, species, individuals, parts, accidents,

relations, etc., become actualized at this stage.

As we see, this description by al-Qâshâni of the Divine self-

manifestation as a multi-strata structure presents the phenomenon

of tajallï in its static, i.e., non-temporal, aspect. Ibn' Arabi himself

prefers to present the same thing in a much more dynamic way. He

distinguishes two major types of tajallï to which we have often

referred in the preceding; namely, 

• the 'most holy emanation' (alfay4 al-aqdas) and
• the 'holy emanation' (al-fay4 al-muqaddas).

It is to be remarked that Ibn 'Arabi uses the Plotinian term 'emanation' (fay4) as a synonym of tajallï. But 'emanation' here does not mean, as it does in the world-view of Plotinus, one thing overftowing from the absolute One, then another from that first thing, etc. in the form of a chain. 'Emanation', for Ibn' Arabi, simply

means that the Absolute itself appears in different, more or less concrete forms, with a different self-determination in each case. It means that one and the same Reality variously articulates and determines itself and appears immediately in the forms of different things.

The first type of 'emanation', the 'most holy emanation', corres-

ponds, as we have seen, to what is described by a famous Tradition

in which the Absolute per se, i.e., the absolutely Unknown-

Unknowable, desires to leave the state of being a 'hidden treasure'

and desires to be known. Thus we see that the 'most holy emana-

tion' is for the Absolute a natural and essential movement.

The 'most holy emanation' represents the first decisive stage in

the self-manifestation of the Absolute. It is the stage at which the

Absolute manifests itself not to others but to itself. It is, in modern

terminology, the rise of self-consciousness in the Absolute. It is

important to remark, further, that this kind of self-manifestation

has occurred from eternity. It is, as Nicholson says, 'the eternal

manifestation of the Essence to itself' .2

The self-manifestation of the Absolute to itself consists in the

forms of all the possible existents making their appearance in poten-

tia in the Consciousness of the Absolute. Another way of expressing

the same idea is to say that the Absolu te becomes conscious of itself

as potentially articulated into an infinity of existents. The important

point here lies in the word 'potentially' or in potentia. It indicates

that the Consciousness of the Absolute being split into plurality

an event occurring only in the state of possibility; that the Absolu te

is not yet actually split into man y, and, therefore, still main tains its

original Unit_y. It is, in other words, a state in which the potential

rrr

The Self-manifestation of the Absolute 155

Many are still actually One. In contradistinction to the real Unity in

which there is not even a shadow of the Many, i.e., the Unity of

aJ:iadïyah, this Unity which is potentially plurality is called

wo/:iidïyah or Oneness.

Since the Many in the plane of Oneness are Many as the content

of the Consciousness of the Absolu te (Divine 'Knowledge' as the

theologians call it), they are, philosophically, pure intelligibles, and

not real concrete existents. They are nothing more than 'recipients'

(qawabil) for existence. They are those that would be real existents

if they receive existence. In this sense the Many in this plahe are

'possible existents' (mawjüdat mumkinah) or 'existents in potentia'

(mawjüdat bi-al-quwwah) .3

On this level, there is as yet nothing existent in actuality. The

world itself is not existent. Yet there are dimly discernible the

figures of the would-be things. 1 say 'dimly discernible'; this is

merely an imaginary picture of this ontological situation supposedly

seen from outside. In reality and in themselves, these figures are the

content of the Consciousness of the Absolute, and as such, nothing

can possibly be more solidly definite and distinct. They are

(IJ,aqa'iq) in the full sense of the word. They are in themselves far

more "real than what we regard as 'real' in this world. They look dim

and hazy from our point of view, because they belong to the world of

the Unseen (ghayb ). These realities as intelligibilia are called by Ibn

'Arabi 'permanent archetypes' (a'yan thabitah) of which details will

be given in the next chapter.

The word 'emanation' (fay4) is, as remarked above, completely

synonymous for Ibn' Arabi with 'self-manifestation' (tajallï). And

he calls the 'most holy emanation' also 'essential self-manifestation'

(tajallï dhatiy ). This latter term is defined by al-Qâshâni as follows: 4

The essential self-manifestation is the appearance of the Absolute

under the form of the permanent archetypes which are ready to

receive existence and whose domain is the Presence (i.e., ontological

level) of Knowledge and Names, i.e., the Presence of Oneness

(wiil:zidïyah ). By this appearance the Absolute descends from the

presence of Unity (al:zadïyah) to the Presence of Oneness. And this

is the 'most holy emanation' of the Absolu te, which consists in that

the pure Essence not yet accompanied by any Names manifests itself

(in the plane of the Names). So there can be no plurality at ail (in

actuality) in this self-manifestation. It is called 'most holy' because it

is holier than the self-manifestation which occurs in the visible world

as actualization of the Names, which therefore occurs in accordance

with the 'preparedness' of each locus.

The second stage of the self-manifestation, the 'holy emanation -

also called 'sensuous self-manifestation' (tajallï shuhüdiy) - means

I

l!!

Ill,' :11 I· ljJi

1

, ,j

'1 11: 1,

1'1

1

11

1

, li

1 11

'I 'I

Ili

111

1

11

1111

1

1

11 1,

156 Sufism and Taoism

that the Absolute manifests itself in the infinitely various forms of

the Many in the world of concrete Being. In common-sense lan-

guage we might say that the 'holy emanation' refers to the coming

into being of what we call 'things', including not only substances, but

attributes, actions, and events.

From the particular point of view in Ibn' Arabï, the 'holy emana-

tion' means that the permanent archetypes, which have been

brought into being by the 'most holy emanation' leave the state of

being intelligibles, diffuse themselves in sensible things, and thus

cause the sensible world to exist in actuality. In plain Aristotelian

terminology, it means the ontological process of the transformation

of things in potentia into corresponding things in actu. This is clearly

a deterministic ontology, because, in this world-view, the actual

form in which everything exists in the world is an ultimate result of

what has been determined from eternity. As al-Qâshânï says: 5

The sensuous self-manifestation which occurs through the Names

follows the 'preparedness' of the locus in each case. This kind of

self-manifestation is dependent upon the 'recipients' which are no

other than the loci in which the Names become manifested. In this

respect it is completely different from the essential self-

manifestation, because the latter is not dependent upon anything

whatsoever.

The relation between these two forms of self-manifestation is dis-

cussed by Ibn' Arabï in an important passage of the Fu$Û$. In this

passage he happens to be talking about the coming into being of the

'heart' (qalb). But we are entitled to replace it by anything else and

th us to understand it as a general theoretical explanation of the two

forms of self-manifestation.6

God has two forms of self-manifestation: one is self-manifestation in

the Unseen and the other in the visible world.

By the self-manifestation in the Unseen He gives the 'preparedness'

which will determine the nature of the heart (in the visible world).

This is the essential self-manifestation whose reality is the Unseen.

And this self-manifestation in the Unseen is (that which constitutes)

the He-ness which rightly belongs to Him (as the objectifying projec-

tion of Himself toward the outside ), as is witnessed by the fact that

He designates Himself by (the pronoun of the third person) 'He' .7

Thus God is 'He' eternally, everlastingly.

Now when the 'preparedness' is actualized for the heart, there occurs

correspondingly in the visible world the sensuous self-manifestation.

The heart, on its part, perceives it, and assumes the form of that

which has manifested itself to it.

We may summarize all this in a general theoretical formas follows.

The first self-manifestation of the Absolute brings into being the

permanent archetypes which are the self-manifesting forms of the

The Self-manifestation of the Absolute 157

Divine Names, i.e., the ontological possibilities contained in the

Absolute. These archetypes are 'recipients' waiting for concrete

existentiation. They provide loci for the second type of self-

manifestation. And each locus (ma}Jall) has a definite 'prepared-

ness' which, as an immediate effect of the first self-manifestation of

the Absolute, is eternal and unalterable. Even the Absolute cannot

alter or modify it, because it is a form in which the Absolute

manifests itself. Thus the Absolute, in making each 'recipient' a

locus of its second (sensuous) self-manifestation, determines itself

in strict accordance with the eternal 'preparedness' of the 'reci-

pient'. The Absolute in this way takes on indefinitely various forms

in its sensuous self-manifestation. And the totality of all these forms

constitute the phenomenal world.

Such a description is liable to suggest that there is an interval of

time between the first and the second self-manifestation. In reality,

however, there is no relation of priority and posteriority between

the two. Everything occurs at one and the same time. For, in the

very moment in which 'preparedness' arises on the part of a thing (in

truth, however, every 'preparedness' is already in existence from

eternity because the first type of self-manifestation has been going

on from eternity ,) the Divine Spirit ftows into it and makes it appear

as a concretely existent thing. As we have remarked at the outset,

the relation between the two kinds of self-manifestation is a tem-

poral phenomenon, being at the same time a non-temporal or

trans-temporal structure. In this latter sense, the self-manifestation

in the Unseen and the self-manifestation in the visible world are

nothing but two basic constituent elements of Being.

The Divine procedure ( concerning the self-manifestation) is such

that God never prepares any locus but that it (i.e., that locus) receives

of necessity the working of the Divine Spirit, a process which God

describes as 'breathing into' it. And this refers to nothing else than

the actualization, or the part of the locus thus formed, a particular

'preparedness' for receiving the emanation, that is, the perpetual

self-manifestation that has been going on from eternity and that will

be going on to eternity .8

Notes

1. p. 239. Cf. Chapter 1, where al-Qâshârii gives a slightly different explanation of

the matter.

2. R.A. Nicholson, Studies in /slamic Mysticism, Cambridge, 1921, p. 155, N. 1.

3. FU-$., p. 10/49.

•H11

158 Sufem and Taoism

4. p. 10.

5. pp. 10-11.

6. pp. 145-146/120.

7. In the Qoran God frequently speaks in the third person, referring to Himself as

'He' instead of 'I'.

8. p. 10/49.