Ibn Arabi was not a Pantheist
By Angga Arifka
23/06/2022
4 Mins read
Wahdat al-wujud (unity of existence) is a term commonly used in Ibn Arabi's view of God and the universe, that God and the universe and its contents cannot be distinguished. Although in fact the term wahdat al-wujud was never strictly used by Ibn Arabi, the term is often paired with pantheism.
Pantheism comes from two words: pan means all, and theos means God. In simple terms, this term means that everything is God or God is immanent and identical with the universe.
We should be careful not to hastily match one view with another. That is, we must trace Ibn Arabi's views on God and the universe and also investigate the definition of pantheism, which we then see by juxtaposition whether the two are really the same.
Wahdat al-Wujud and Ibn Arabi's View
In language, wahdat al-wujūd consists of two words, wahdah and jasa . Wahdah means single or unity, and Being means existence or existence. In terms, wahdat al-wujūd describes the unity of being between God and other than God. Simply put, because God is Existent, it means that everything other than God has no form.
The word " being " in Ibn Arabi's system of thought is used to refer to the existence of God, that the only form is the form of al-Haqq or the form of God, and there is no form other than His form. Which means that, anything other than God has no form ( 'adam ).
In fact, Ibn Arabi uses the word "existent" also to indicate something other than God. However, he uses it in a metaphorical sense ( majazi ) to assert that existence only belongs to God. Meanwhile, the existence in the universe, as a metaphor, is basically God's existence lent to the universe. Or existence other than God is completely dependent on God's existence.
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Here, Ibn Arabi gives an analogy of sunlight. According to him, sunlight belongs only to the sun. The light is only lent to the inhabitants of the earth.
The relationship between God and the universe is often described as that between light and darkness. This meant that, without sunlight, the universe would be pitch black. In other words, this universe actually does not exist because existence belongs only to God.
Thus, the meaning of form shows that God's form is the only form. There is no existence other than His existence.
Simply put, this means that anything other than God has no form. Logically, it can be concluded that existence cannot be given to other than God ( ma siwa Allah ).
The central topic of wahdat al-wujud is the unity of God with the universe or in other words God encompasses all. Thus, the understanding of wahdat al-wujud means a teaching that equates God with the universe or equates the universe with God.
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Roughly speaking, this understanding admits that there is no difference between God and creatures; if there is, then only on the belief that God is the totality. While creatures are part of the totality of it. God appears in everything in the universe. All are His appearances. There is nothing in this world but God.
If this is the case, then we can hastily conclude that wahdat al-wujūd is the same as “pantheism”. That is the answer if we hastily conclude and simplify this complex matter. In other words, it is that simple, but wahdat al-wujūd in Ibn Arabi's view is not so simple.
Although Ibn Arabi understood existence as a single being associated with God, he did not fully understand reality in a monorealistic sense. He uses the term al-Haqq which refers to God and al-khalq which refers to any creature or anything other than al-Haqq .
As we have previously understood that the only being is al-Haqq . Then the question is, "What is the ontological position of al-khalq (creature)? Is the universe really identical with al-Haqq or is this universe really without a cause, there is only al-Haqq ?”
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Ibn Arabi answered this question in a simple but very ambiguous way or taks. This universe is al-Haqq and not al-Haqq : “ huwa la huwa ” (He and not He). This means that this universe is al-Haqq , but at the same time, the universe is not al-Haqq (Noer, 1995).
There are two ontological sides proposed by Ibn Arabi. First , as is generally understood, God is immanent and similar to the universe. Second , which is often overlooked in Ibn Arabi's view, God is truly transcendent and distinct from the natural world.
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These two points, although they contradict each other, are the views of Ibn Arabi, and we must affirm both, that one cannot choose one over the other.
It looks taxa. The inadequacy of such an explanation was acknowledged by Ibn Arabi himself. "There is no question more taxa or more strange or more mysterious than this problem" (Noer, 1995). Therefore, it is not surprising if many people misunderstand Ibn Arabi's ontological views and accuse him of equating God with creatures.
Here we see that in fact Ibn Arabi never really asserted that this world is completely al-Haqq (God). If the term wahdat al-wujūd describes such a systemic view of Ibn Arabi, then the question is whether wahdat al-wujūd can still be understood as pantheism?
Definition of Pantheism
The most common definition of pantheism was put forward by Henry C. Thiessen: “Pantheism is the theory that considers God as one unit with the universe. God is all; all is God” (Thiessen, 1979). Other definitions of pantheism would sound similar.
For example, ER Naughton defines pantheism more clearly, “Pantheism ... is a view of reality that tends to identify nature with God or God with nature. Pantheism emphasizes God's immanence in nature and does not emphasize, or ignore, His transcendence over nature” (Naughton, 1967).
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From the two definitions that have been proposed, we can highlight several important points of pantheism.
First , pantheism emphasizes God's immanence (God's likeness to nature) and ignores God's transcendence (God's incomparability to anything). Second , God and the universe are considered identical to each other and all are God.
Ibn Arabi was not a Pantheist
Of course, from these definitions we cannot at all assert that wahdat al-wujūd in Ibn Arabi's view is the same as pantheism, because Ibn Arabi still places great emphasis on God's transcendence over the universe. This last passage confirms that Ibn Arabi was not a pantheist.
That is, although wahdat al-wujud is a view of the unity of existence attributed to Ibn Arabi, in fact Ibn Arabi did not stop at the unity of existence alone, which equated God with the universe, but also firmly asserted God's transcendence, that God is completely unreachable by anything, so that God is absolutely not similar to anything.
Editor: Yahya FR
Ibn Arabi Ibn Arabi pantheism
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Angga Arifka
ABOUT AUTHOR
Alumnus of Ushuluddin Faculty and Philosophy of UIN Sunan Ampel Surabayaarticles
