Maisonneuve & Larose

Imm Ghazl's Cosmology Reconsidered with Special Reference to the Concept of "Jabart" Author(s): Kojiro Nakamura Reviewed work(s): Source: Studia Islamica, No. 80 (1994), pp. 29-46 Published by: Maisonneuve & Larose Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1595850 . Accessed: 24/09/2012 09:21
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Maisonneuve & Larose is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Studia Islamica.

http://www.jstor.org

Imam Ghazali's cosmologyreconsidered* with special reference to the conceptof jabarut

(I)
the of Concerning cosmology Imam Ghazali(d. 1111), we have only sinceA.J. Wensinck Thismay a fewstudiesand occasionalcomments (1). is in be due to thefactthattheproblem deeplyinvolved thecomplicated

* Thisis the of and of edition thepaperreadfortheXVIthCongress the enlarged revised for of Association theHistory Religions, International 1990. Rome,3-8 September, " betweenGhazali'sCosmology His Mysticism and (1) A.J. Wensinck, On the Relation der Akademievan Wetenschappen, Ser. Letterkunde, Afdeeling Mededeelingen Koninklijke A, LXXXV (1933), 183-209; do.,La pensee de Ghazali (Paris,1940),Ch. III; do., " Ghazalal-Anwar (Niche of Light) Semietische Studienuitde Nalatenschapvan i's Mishkat ", Prof. dr A.J.Wensinck "'Alam", EF, I, 349-52; A.A. 'Affifi, (Leiden,1941), 192-212; L. Gardet, " Tasdir'amm" in hisedition Mishkat, " " to of 1-35; W.H.T. Gairdner, Introduction histransal-Anwar(Repr.Lahore, Mishkat al-Ghazali's Mishkat lation, 1952), 1-72; do.," Al-Ghazall's al-Anwar and theGhazali-ProblemDer Islam,V (1914), 121-53; W.M. Watt, Forgery "A ", in al-Ghazali's ? Mishkat "JRAS,1949,5-22.

30

KOJIRONAKAMURA

> of issues of Ghazall's <<esoteric? teachings and the authenticity his (2) in thecosmological ofmulk, (3). I will, this writings paper,clarify concepts thatofjabarut, whichis little touched malakCt andjabarut, especially on by Wensinck. orderto conductourresearch a solidbasis,I will In on to confinemyself the following textesregusas the sourcematerials:

al1) Arba'in:Kitabal-arba'in uszl al-din.Cairo: al-Maktabah ft 1344/1925. al-Kubra, Tijariyah in 3) Iljam: Iljam al-'awamm'an 'ilmal-kalam, ?Q)uar al-'awali (Cairo:Maktabah n.d.), al-Jundi, 239-301. 4) Imla': Kitabal-imla' ishkalat I, f al-Ihya'.Ihya'(ibid.), 55-203 (margin). 5) Jawahir:Jawahiral-g~r'an. Beirut:Dar al-Afaqal-Jadidah, 1393/1973. : 6) Kimiya Kimiya-yisa'adat. Tehran: Kitabkhanahwa1334 Markazi, 3. Chapkhanah-yi 7) Maqsad: al-Maqsad al-asna ft sharh maant asma' Allah al-husna. byF.A.Shehadi. Ed. Beirut: al-Mashriq, Dar 1986. Beirut:Dar al-Nahdah 8) Mihakk:Mihakk al-nazar fi 'l-mantiq. al-Hadithah, 1966. Ed. Mishkat al-anwar. byAbu'l-A'la Cairo 9) Mishkat: 'Affifi. : al-Dar 1964. al-Qawmiyah, Cairo:Dar al-Ma'arif, 10) Mizan: Mizan al-'amal.Ed. byS. Dunya. 1964. 11) Munqidh: min al-Munqidh al-dalal.Ed. byJ.Saliba& K. 'Iyad. Damascus:Maktab al-'Arabi, 19393. 12) Mustasfa: al-Mustasfamin 'ilm al-usal. 2 vols. Cairo: al-Matba'ah 1322-24 AH. al-Amiriyah, Ed. 13) Tahafut:Tahafut al-falasifah. by S. Dunya.Cairo: Dar 1966. al-Ma'arif,
" in refesee of (2) For thisproblem, myarticle, The Study al-Ghazali Retrospect with " Vol. 22, No. 1 (1979), 1-20. renceto hisalleged'esoteric' Oriento, teachings (inJapanese), Mu see and works articles (3) Forthis Badawi, al:'Abd al-Rahman problem, thefollowing Essai de chronologie Oeuvres al-Ghazali des de lafatal-Ghazal. Cairo,1961; M. Bouyges, " of Beirut, 1959; G.F. Hourani, The Revised Chronology Ghazal(Algazel). Ed. parM.Allard. Termsas a i's Writings", JAOS, 104/2(1984), 289-302; H. Lazarus-Yafeh, "Philosophical of Criterion AuthenticitytheWritings al-Ghazall StudiaIslamica,XXV (1966), 111-21; of in ", " to W.M. Watt, The Authenticity theWorksAttributed al-Ghazali of 1952,24-45. ",JRAS,

n.d. 2) Ibya': Ibya 'ulam al-din. 4 vols.Cairo: 'Isa 'l-Bab al-Halabi,

GHAZALI'SCOSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED

31

(II) is Ghazali'scosmology represented the triad:mulk,malakat and by In thearticle hiscosmology on and mysticism Wensincktrajabarat. (4), of from Qur'an,Hadith, ced theorigin and development theseterms the to Ghazali.According him, the Farabi,Ikhwanal-Safa',Ibn Sina through occursin theHadith, termjabarat does notappearin theQur'an.It first in combination withmalakat and otherterms, denotingthe greatness of and sovereignty God. As formalakat and mulk,theyare used in the " same sense of " sovereignty "kingdom and " kingship period.But " ", because it is a malakat appearsin the Qur'an onlyfourtimes, probably the of loan word,likejabarat, from Aramaic twiceas " the kingdom (5): the heavensand the earth" (6:75, 7:185), and twiceas " the sovereignty

" ofallthings(23:89,36:83).

The same is truewiththeQur'anicusage of thewordmulk.It is used of in the sense of " the sovereignty the heavens and the earth" twenty to to timesreferring God. But mulk,in contradistinctionmalakat,is also to employedforthe humans(2:247). And laterit came to refermostly to them,and further the phenomenalworld.Parallelwiththisdevelopto the of ment, meaning malakat narrowed connotethedivine, spiritual or withthe Qur'anical-ghayb, the worldof world,and to be identified mystery. As forthe philosophers (Farabi,Ibn Sina and Ikhwanal-Safa'),Wenused in thesense of sinckconcludesthatmalakat orjabarat is certainly world" in the " the ActiveIntellect (al-'aql al-fa' 'al) or " the spiritual " but schemeof Neo-platonism, it is not used in combination emanational withthe word mulk.It is Abo Talib al-Makkiwho used the two terms and thisinfluenced Ghazali'susage of theseterms, the time, together first the relationbetween malakat and jabarat is reversedin alalthough Makki(6). UnforThen,Wensinck proceedsto discussGhazall'sown cosmology. drawstoo muchon Neo-platonism, his however, interpretation tunately, on dubious works as Durrah relying such disputed, Ma'ari" al-quds,

and al-laduntyah. al-fakhirah al-Risalah

" and His Mysticism" betweenGhazali'sCosmology (4) A.J.Wensinck, On the Relation (ibid.). The (5) Wensinck, 3 (Baroda, ibid., (185); A. Jeffery, ForeignVocabulary theQ2gr'an of 1938),270-71. like in also (6) Considering theusageof theseterms laterauthors Suhrawardi Maqtoland (See below,p. 16). It maybe worth Ibn 'Arabi, Ghazallseemsto be in quitea uniqueposition on speculating thereasonbehindit.

32

NAKAMURA KOJIRO

(III) The worldof mulk('alam al-mulk)forGhazaliis the material world seen by the physical called " the worldof kingeye (basar), and usually " dom and witnessing('alam al-mulkwa 'l-shahadah), the denoting phenomenalworld.Behindthisworldlies another world: theworldof mysor and whichis knownonlybythe tery theworldof divinespirits angels, and inner, (bastrah).Ghazalicallsit " the worldof mystery eye spiritual " sovereignty('alam al-ghaybwa'l-malakat),or whatwe call the invisible world. The phenomenal worldand the invisible worldshouldnot be literally takento be simply two partsof the physical world: one is visibleto the different dimension. physical eye, and the othernot.They are of totally the Ghazali also calls themrespectively 'alam al-khalq and the 'alam as al-amr, and explainsthe former the worldof quantity (kammfyah) and extent(miqdar), whichis the objectof estimation (taqdir),and the latteras the world beyond quantity and extent(Ibya', III, 370-71), or " the worldwhichGod has brought intoexistencewithout by gradation the eternalcommand(al-amr al-azalO), and whichremains one and in the same statewithneither increasenor decrease in it" (Imla', 187)(7). The malakit is also the world of the PreservedTablet (al-lawb from beginning the of al-mabfa.) in whichall the divinepredestination the worldto the Hereafter recorded Certainly is a creationof is it (8). from ordinary the world God, butitis an everlasting world, distinguished of constant vicissitudes changes(Ibya', IV, 489). and The malakat is also theworldofprophecy (nubuwwah)and revelation reason('aql) and imagination as (waby),whichtranscends (khayal).Just the stage of reason is beyondthatof sense-perception, the stage of so of as malakat is beyondthat reason.Therefore, thosewho are bornblind do notadmit existenceof theworldof colorsand forms, the even ifthey
" (7) The arguments the verses, Theywill concerning khalqand amr come from Qur'anic ask theeconcerning Spirit the is (rah). Say : The Spirit ofthecommand myLord(minamr of " his Rabbt) (17:85) and "Verily, are the creation and the command (al-khalq wa 'I-amr)" to (7:54). In contradistinction the ordinary exegesis thattakes amr as "thing"(sha'n) or " " to ", "command in opposition "prohibition(nahy),and khalq as "creation Ghazalihere " takeskhalq as " estimation(taqdir) rather than"creation and thushe takesamr as diffe", rent from that but and estimable, is,something created, non-corporeal unchanging something " (Cf.Arba'in,53-54; D.B. Macdonald, The Development theIdea ofSpirit Islam",Acta of in Orientalia,IX (1931), 307-51). (8) In the Qur'an,it is theTabletpreserved the heaven,meaning original in the Qur'an " all (85:22-23).It also means"a clearregister (imam mubin)whichrecords thathappenin theworld(36:12). Ghazalirather this emphasizes latter meaning.

GHAZALI'SCOSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED

33

hear about it,so thosewho remainin the stageof reasonwould not believe the existenceof the malakat (Munqidb, 138)(9). The worlds of mulk and malakat also correspondto this world (akhirah) Uhya',IV, 22-23). This worldfor (dunya) and the Hereafter each personis the worldof the presentlifeuntilhis death,and the Hethat theworldofthespirit his reafter theworldafter death, is is, separated fromthe body and senses afterthe Small Resurrection (al-qiyamah by al-sughra). It is the world in the tomb,where the Inquisition two until GreatResurrection the Munkar Nakir, and takesplace,lasting angels, (al-qiyamah al-kubra). On the level of humanbeingsas a whole,this worldcomes to a completeend, and thenthe Hereafter begins,where the theJudgement Scales (mizan) theResurrection, Assembly by (hashr), eventstake place, and and the Bridge(sira() and othereschatological distinction Ghazalidoes notmake anyessential Paradiseand Hell follow. betweenthesetwo Resurrections. Thus the two worldsof mulk and malakat are completely different,

is relation correspondence or butthere a certain munasa(muwazanah, of is to the them. bah)between According Ghazali, world mulk themirror in As of the inwhich world malakatis reflected. an image (sasrah) the so is of is mirror thereflection therealobject, theformer an imitation comes second stands and in of The (mubakin) thelatter. image themirror when but of fortheeffect a causeon thelevelofbeing, itcomesfirst is Thusreversal This youwantto knowyourself. is a sortof reversal. man of in inevitable thisworld mulk. Therefore, has to learna lesson of of the from world mulkandpassover('ubar) to theworld ('ibrah) in world are since" all thehappenings this malakat(Ibya',IV, 99-100), " of of thesymbols (mithal) theworld malakat (Jawahir, and" there 28), in of is in that nota symbol (mithal) a thing the is nothing thisworld in of one thing be a symbol many other world. things the may Perhaps
or (nubuwwah)is above reason('aql), (9) When Ghazalisays thatprophecy revelation " worldwhich it in involved it.Forone thing, means" a super-rational thereare twomeanings like the transcends humanrational Secondly, cognition, thedivineessence and itsattributes. " phenomena, once knownor reveawhichare natural, italso meansa kindof " super-natural suchas a foreknois that led,butwhose origin super-natural, is,beyondthegraspof reason, of the effect opium, number Salatand of the rak'absin of the wledgeof thefuture, freezing to it,etc. (Munqidh,140, 145-46,157). On the otherhand,according Ghazall(see below), into and individual beingsare classified abstracted an essenceby meansof reason('aql), and from workofmulk. the theworld malakatis notcompletely of separated (Ghazaliparticularly this emphasizes aspectof reasoninMtzan al-'amal). It is in thissense thatGhazalicharacteto 66). According rizesthe malakat and the mulkas 'aqlt and bissrrespectively (Mishkat, is as of the Watt, " Ihya'" periodin the development Ghazall'sthought characterized thepawhileGhazaliadvancedlaterin Munqidb and of rallelism reasonand religious experience, to intuition reason.But to mymind, of of to thereafter, thethought thesuperiority religious (See W.M. Watt, the matter does notseem so simpleas is seen in our previous explanation " The Authenticity theWorksAttributed al-Ghazali to of 1952, 27). ",JRAS,

34

KOJIRONAKAMURA

" world falsehood delusion ~alam al-zzr wa'l-ghurar) of and (Arba'in, " of 74. 56) or" theworld deception(alam al-talbis) (Arba'i-n, Cf.Ibya', difference between is the and Ghazali Plato that world III, 39).The only of malakatis notabsolute pre-andpost-eternal that Ideas, nor of like a butis rather creation God,in thesamewayas angels, of and spirits hearts (Jawahir, are 11). also that between malakatandthe the Ghazali asserts thedifference is between " hand " face",and" eye" ofGod the mulk thesameas that ", andthose a human of Botharedifferent, notunrelated. but The being. truth between masculinitytranscendence lies of the al-tanzih) (fubklah (unathah al-tashbih) IV, similarity (Ibya', 245). As itis necessary employ to in to plain parables order makechildren understand world adults, man explain world malakat the of so can the of (mathal)and symbols (mithal), onlyby meansof analogues namely, of world. Ghazali things this says: Wemean metaphor oranalogue to a meaning (ma'na) into (mathal) render by the external (sarah)("). if seesits form So one inner it he meaning,findstrue. if But heseesonly external hefinds deceiving... prophets its it The can form, to people bymeans the talk the of metaphors since (amthal), itisnecesonly
to to in with intellect. intellecton Their is sary talk thepeople accordance their

worldof malakat. Or perhapsone thing themalakat mayhave many of in the worldof shahadah " (Mishkat, 67). symbols theworldof malakat comesveryclose to thePlatonic worldof Thus, or ideas, and the worldof mulk is its imperfect imitation, a shadow of the real world reflected the wall of the Cave. Ghazali denies real on existence(wujftd it world,and regards as somebaqiqD) to the physical likea shadow of a body(Arba'in,53-54),and goes so faras to say thing " thatit is " pure nothing ('adam mahd) (Mishkat, ho58). Man usually, deceiand himself wever,takesthe worldof mulkforreality thusfinds ved by itsexternal forms and figures Therefore, Ghazalicallsit " the (10).

the because their of of go beyond apparent meaning, ignorance theinterpre" (ta'wif), thedecipherment called" metaphorical as of tation, interpretation
(10) The image(sarah) happening theimagination in from worldof malakat by nathe ture to nature. the the Therefore, evilidea (ma andttakesinevitably corresponds theessential evilform. or Satan,forexample, appearsas a dog,a frog, a pig,and theangelsas a beautiful in wheretheforms figures dominating, do notalways and are However, this world, figure. they of reflect meaning idea exactly the onlythedreamsof the (Ibya, I, 49; III, 39). Therefore, honestand justpersonare right real,and thoseof the liarsand theevil-doers butiland are Wensinck takesma 'n as Platonic idea in theabove-mentioned article. (11) In fact,

the level. to use toexplain to sleeper's So itisnecessarymake ofmetaphors the For reason, MessengerGodsaid, the of "Theheart the of sleeper... this faithful is between two the fingersthe of Merciful isa metaphor that ".This the understand. the Asfor ignorant, understanding does their not only gnostics

lusions (Ibya'IV,488-89).

GHAZALI'SCOSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED

35

" in is of dream (ta'bir) bya' IV, ( symbols dream called" theinterpretation 23-24).

(IV) to manis able to get a glimpse theworld of of According Ghazali, dreamis a message from malakat, the malakatin hissleep.In fact, clad and the heart though inmetaphors symbols. Verily human (qalb) is subtle(latifah), and spiritual " something (rabbant), lordly (r1bani)" can Thisheart called is III, by (Ibya', 3),which notbe grasped thesenses. " soul "a 'innah), precious "spirit(r4b)," theserene " (al-nafs al-mutma " substance (jawharnafis),"one of God's hidden (sirrmin secrets" " asrar Allah),or " a noblepearl (durr'aziz) (Ibya',I, 54). It is nota of it to heart a in bodily part man.Nonetheless, is related thephysical to way onlya feware qualified know.It is "thatpartof manwhich " knows (mudrik), (alim), andintuits perceives (Crif) (Iya', III, 3), naa continuous ofmanorthesubject thinks, that and mely, entity perceives moves body, the is which itsinstrument vessel. is something It and that be cannot theobject thinking perception. short,is" the of In and it essence of man" (haqtqahal-insan)(Iya', III, 3). Anditbelongs nature to by of theworld malakat. Thusitis a stranger this in world mulk, of and it thereforeis to yearn after original its home. insleep, sense-faculties to a temporary and so While the come stop, theheart becomes somewhat from undisturbed free and outside stimuli. Whenthestate theheart of thus becomes likethewaveless still surface of a pond, a polished, or the mirror, veilis removed shiny momentarily between Preserved the Tablet theheaven theheart, therecord in and and is oftheTablet reflected theheart, theimages reflected on as are from to theimaginative a mirror another. catches Thereupon, faculty (khayal) is eveninsleep.It copiestheknowledge with it,as thefaculty working or nearat hand, in which remain memory (See (mithal) symbols images n. of them the above, 10).Thescience deciphering andtelling realmeathe ofdream (ma ning ant) is called interpretation ('ilmal-ta'br) (Ibya', IV, 489). The world thePreserved of of the Tablet, namely, world malakatis of theworld essences, definitions meanings or of (ideas),andtheworld thedivine and In attributes acts. short, is theworld pattern it of essence, or paradigm. knowledge transmitted theworld malakat is Real from of and to thatof mulkonlyby meansof thelanguages images (khayal) to in The is which remains the belonging themulk. image (khayal) that whenone closestheeyesafter mind an object. The essenceor seeing of can definition a thing be obtained abstraction. this Ghazali by explains as follows:

36

KOJIRONAKAMURA

in of Theessences things Tablet, (jaqa 'iqal-ashy') arewritten thePreserved orthe who near hearts " theangels arebrought (toGod)" (al-muqarraban). of a of and the As thearchitect draws plan(nuskhah) a houseinpaper, builds of and draws house to so according theplan, theCreator theheavens theearth Thus a plan and the (sarah)intheTablet creates world accordingly. theworld is produced accordance thepattern in with (sarah). Nowfrom world this comeimages (sarah)tothesenses (hiss)andtheimagiSo and and nation (khayal). whenone looksat theheavens theearth closes remain theimagination, he wereseeing real in as if the theeyes, their images in the an eventhough aregone.Thus images objects, they produce effect the in and the of involved thesenseheart, henceareproduced essences things Whattakes to and placein theheart corresponds what perceptions images. What takes imagination. takes placeintheimagination corresponds placeinthe world world external theheart. to Thustheexisting to what intheouter lies with drawn thePreserved in Tablet is identified theplan (nuskhah) (Ihya'III, 19-20).

or (1) The levelof thePreserved Tablet, therealbeing(al-wujad al-baqiqd or (2) Thephysical material being (al-wujadal-jismand) (3) The imaginative (al-wujud being al-khayalt) (4) The intelligible (al-wujayd being al-'aqld(12). to the in has scheme, world itsrealbeing thePreserved According this Tablet On the other isthe end man (1). (2), being which perceives physical The of in or byhissenses. sensible image eachobject this being physical thephenomenal world theworld theimaginative (3). From is of being these sensible are the the images extracted essence (haqiqah), universal or (ma'na). Thisis theintelligible being(4). All this concept meaning heart mind. or And (2) process -- (3) -- (4) takesplacein thehuman or of vedTablet, theworld therealmeaning. On theother oncetheveilbetween human and the heart the hand, man Preserved Tablet lifted, sees therealities there, true is in or knowfrom there to This (1) ledgeemanates directly hisheart. istheprocess -+ is For (4), which thegoaloftheSufis. this they purpose, simply polish and cultivate their heart the and through mystical practices exercises
of (12) Ghazaligives us variousclassification being.For example,(I) the worldof the sensibles the (masaisat); the imaginatives (mawhamat); and (mutakhayyalat); estimables the intelligibles (baqiqah) or individuals (ma'qalat) (Kimiya,99). (II) the worldsof reality and knowledge in (dhihn); their (a'yan); image(mithal) ('ilm)inthemind expressions sound in (kitabah)(Mibakkal-nazar, 119-20; Iljam, (laft, lisan); and their expressions writing classification apparently refers the to I, (II) 290; Mustasfa, 21-22; Maqsad, 18-19).The latter of human activity speechor language.

III,20):

mentions levels being four of Thus Ghazali (Ibya', (wujad)intheworld

in whatthusobtainsis essentially same as whatis written thePreserthe

GHAZALI'SCOSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED

37

thanreadbooks to obtainknowledgethe(riyadah,mujahadah), rather refrom (13). Now we have two ways forthe humancognition truereality:one of is (2) -* (3) -* (4), and the otheris (1) -+ (4). In thislatter case, when on directknowledgefrom highis conveyedby the prophets wordsor in it to symbols, goes like (1) -+ (4) -+ (3). All thiscorresponds two " windows " of the heart: one is open to the worldof mulkand the otherto thatof malakat. from worldof malakat is exthe Thus,the Qur'an,or the revelation or and mustbe interpreted pressedin the symbols metaphors, therefore as such.Each beinghas an essence(baqiqah) or a definition (hadd), which is its spirit When man is thusled to the world of spirits ('alam (rah). al-arwab), he becomes spiritual (raihanO,and the door of the worldof malakat is opened to him.The Qur'an is the signs(isharat) revealedin thisway. Therefore, is necessaryto interpret Qur'an allegorically it the in the same way as to decipherthe dreams(Jawahir, 30-31). For example,if we definethe " pen " (qalam) as something write to it with, is possibleto call " a pen " thatwithwhichto writeknowledgein the " tablets of the humanheart(alwab al-qulab). In fact, God is said " to have given knowledgeto man withthe pen (Cf. Q 96: 4-5). What matters hereis theessence of a pen,notitsexternal form. likemanner, In the Resurrection, Judgement the the the thereafter, Scale forweighing humanconducts, Bridgeto pass over and so forth, of theseterms the all have both apparent (zawahir jaltyah) and inner meanings(asrar are for ghamidah).These two meanings bothtruerespectively the common people and the elect (Jawahir, 14). In the same way,the meanings of the description the Qur'an and the Hadithabout the Paradiseand in of " Hell, the number Salat and itsrak'ahs in it,the various" peculiar rites in Hajj, the freezing of effect opiumin the blood,the harmful effect of honeyto hot things, future events,and othersimilar phenomenacan be known only by reading the world of malakat (Mrzan, 353-54: Arba'in,93-94; Munqidh,155-57)(14).
(13) Hence, "the Sufistend to seek inspirational (al-'ulam al-ilhamtyah), knowledge rather thaninstructive (al-ta'lfmiyah). thisreason,theydo notwantto learnknowFor one the of and the and Rather ledge,master works theauthors study theories theproposed proofs. the right to and the method, theysay,is to givepriority practices removing evilqualities... " the to on (Ibya' III, 18). Ghazalicompares former thewayto obtainwater keeping digging by the earth, to and the latter thatby making ditchto draw waterfrom river. also a the He to the and to on compares former seeingthe sun directly the latter seeingthesun reflected the waterindirectly the but (Ibya' III, 18-19).It is truethatGhazalistresses innermeaning, thisdoes not meanthatGhazalidisregards literal the and external On (gahir) meaning. the he suchan attitude 73). contrary, oftenwarnsagainst (Misbhkat, (14) It maybe worthnoting here,on thisoccasion,to mention briefly Ghazah'shermeneutics 'wil)of the holytexts. myknowledge, has two mainprinciples. To (ta he One is that it is impossible provethings the invisible to in world(al-ghayb)from in things thisworld

38

KOJIRONAKAMURA

In sum, realknowledge from worldofmalakat reachesthehuman the heart and is there transformed expressed in symbols(mithal) or and (mathal) by imagination metaphors (khayal). On the otherhand,man also graspsreal knowledgeby extracting essence fromthe images the of worldas symbols and (khayal) whichare reflections thephenomenal Thusmanis theintermediate betweentheworlds mulk link of metaphors. and malakat.

(V)
Now we are readyto discussour mainsubjectin thispaper: Ghazali's however,are veryfew,and their conceptofjabarat. His descriptions, is vague and ratherenigmatic This formsa striking and meaning (15). to of contrast his descriptions theothertwo worldsof mulkand strange in them. malakat. So we mustbe verycareful interpreting The following the mainpassageswe have onjabarat: are what hear about definitionthe the of world (1) Asfor it you ofjabarat, belongs tothe is for intellect andknowledge which produced the (qudrab), power ('aql) and lies of (al-quwwah ('ilm)in thehuman, which in thefaculty estimation that the does existence notrequire body, a al-wahmtyah) perceives onewhose it to as a and though may enmity perceiveswolf's happen be ina body, a lamb tender he so to away mother-sheep's love, that is attracted theloveandruns the from enmity (Imla' 183-84). of of it (2) ... thedefinition theworld jabarzTt that liesbetween two is the worlds mulk themalakcat); seems belong theworld mulk and to it to of (the to but of Power externally, itis conjoined theworld malakatbytheEternal (ofGod)(Imla',187). to the are into of (3) According another division, worlds divided theworld which external thesenses, theworld malakat, is to and of is which inmulk, sidetheintellect andtheworld jabarat,which the of is (al-batin '/-'aql), fi intermediate that world partly to of Thus in man divided is belongs both them. thesamedivision: to Similar theworld mulk thesensible of are which parts,
who approvethe continuity the two worlds.So the of (al-shahid),againstthe Mu'tazilites no former shouldbe literally how unusual and irrational appearsto be, unless it taken, matter it is a logical contradiction. eventssuchas thebodily Thus,all theeschatological resurrection, thephysical and painin theHereafter in are described theQur'anand Hadith literally true joy and shouldnotbe interpreted metaphors. is wellknown, is thetraditional as this (As Ash'arite for to However,it is notpossible, example, supposethatGod is literally standpoint.) sitting on thethrone theheaven, that in or mancan see Himbyhisphysical since eyesin thisworld, itis a logical to contradiction admit transition theliketoGod. These and form, space,direction, must is (ta 293). Allthis forthecommon therefore, be interpreted wtl)(Tahafut, expressions, is so we people.The other principle theinterpretation have discussed farfortheelect.They and thanthe physical sensuous and enjoythespiritual intellectual whichis muchgreater joy one in theHereafter (ibid.,287). 1970),46. Essai sur le lexique de Ghazali (Beirut, (15) Cf.F. Jabre,

GHAZALI'SCOSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED

39

to you alreadyknow; similar the worldof malakat are thosepartssuch as the spirit (rz'), intellect ('aql), power (qudrah), will(iradah) and the like; similar theworldofjabarat are theperceptions to producedby the in the bodilyorgans(Imla', 190). senses and faculties (quwa) the of (4) Knowthat purelight realknowledge (mabdanwar al-ma'rifah) the sinceit(theheart) heart from world malakat, of emanates theinner to such to As its likewise joy, belongs themalakat. for effects as awe,fear, dread Their from world the andsimilar they descending feelings, descend ofjabarat. is which theworld jabarat. It is one of your of worlds to placeis thechest to which alluded " chest as we alluded thefirst "heart since we as the ", ", by of and of as of the world jabarat liesbetween world malakat that shahadah, thechest between heart thelimbs thebody lies the and of 49). (Arba'in, in The is of that are (5) Know theworlds... three number. first theworld mulk with andshahadah. (when write a pen) ink, you Certainly paper, penandhand The world. havealready these areallofthis You stages easily. second passed which behind (16). Ifyoupassmeover, me of lies is theworld malakcit, you and reach stages, its where there huge are high spaces, mountains deepoceans. howyoucanbe safeinthere. third theworld jabarat, The is of I do notknow the of of You havealready which between world mulk that malakat. lies and of the of are crossed three stages, beginningswhich thestage power, the (sic) It between worldof mulkand the will and knowledge. is intermediary it of sincetheworld mulk easier of is than (jashahadahandthat malakat, of than and is difficult itas a passage. barat)as a path, theworld malakat more and well between worlds mulk malakat resembles the of Theworld ofjabarat The in a ship that moves between landandthewater. shipis neither the the of of nor of boundary theconfusion thewaters, intheboundary theserenity in one on walks theworld andsecurity theland. of Any whowalks theearth to on ofmulk shahadah. and Whenhisability becomes enough ride a strong in of like he ship, becomes a manwhowalks theworld jabarat.Whenhe fihe in able on withoutship, walks theworld a becomes towalk thewaters nally without wavering ofmalakat IV, 244-45). any (I/yat the whodeny world malakat), arelike Sumaniyah, of those (the (6) Asfor they whoconfine to of whodenytheworld jabarat.Theyarethose perceptions are the because senses deny power, andknowledge, and thefive will, they not senses IV, by (Ihya', 247). perceived thefive Fromallthesepassages,itis clear,first, thatjabaratis theintermediate world between the world of mulk and thatof malakat. Second, it is relatedto thehuman faculties processesofperception and and somewhat it and cognition, to the power leadingto action.Third, also denotesthat part of the chest between the heartand the limbswhere the various worldmeanthatit feelings appear.Does thejabarat as theintermediate to worldwithin him? is also external man as itis an internal
intellect to (16) Here thepersonified ('aqD is supposedto be talking theant.See below, p. 16.

40

NAKAMURA KOJIRO

(VI)
Before we proceed to discuss these questions and narrowdown Ghazali'sconceptofjabarat, I would like to quote the following para'ulam al-din on theTawhid. phrasedpassage from I4bya'

An antis creeping a sheet paper. of of on the being Seeing surface thepaper The "Whatis thematter?" paperanswers, he "I blackened, asksthepaper, " do notknow. theink Being the says, I do notknow, because Ask ". asked, ink I wasjust drawn oftheinkpot a pen.So askthepen".Thepenanswers out by "I to theant, ammoving thehandmakes so move. askthehand as me So ". the "I bonesandbloodlikea dead Then, handreplies, ammadeofmuscles, ". and So madetomove a power. askthepower Being asked, hand, simply by I am but controlled a thepower by "Certainly a power, I amcompletely says, "I when will. askhim Thereupon, will So the answers, wasresting, thecate". That me is order (bukm gorical way. amrjazim)cameanddrove that qahir, to tosay, when messenger knowledge' al 'the of (ras al-'ilm) brought theheart to the I to the from intellect decree drive power, wascompelled move the the ". of I servant theintellect andknowledgeSo the power. amanobedient ('aql) antaskstheintellect, andknowledge. theintellect " I amlike heart First, says, " a lamp. I amnotburning myself, madetoburn Theheart but ". But by says, I board. amnotlying I but amlikea writing bymyself, madeto do so ". open The knowledge " I amlikean inscription inscribed says, (naqsb).I amsimply of when lamp theintellect shines. amnotinsI intheboard theheart, the of ". The Pen(qalam ilahi)does so. So askhim This cribing myself. Divine by various of in hearts. it But Divine describes Pen kinds knowledge thehuman " hand control. theant asks" theright oftheangel isalsounder Then complete " who the role al-malak), says, I amsimply playing same as theearthly (yammn Power' controlled 'theworld theDivine of pen,andtotally by ('alam al-qu" ". the Attributes. drab).So askhim Then, Power says, I amoneoftheDivine So askthePossessor thePower Qhir) ".Thus antisledtotheOne of the (alGreatMighty God al-Wahidal-)qfair), King(al-Malik namely, al-Jabbar " 241-42). Himself(Ibya', 243-46:Arba'in, IV,

ofjabarat citedabove.

conduct thepaper, pen, (a) The visible ink, aspectof thehuman handandtheir movements. inside human the (b) Theinvisible conduct thehuman aspect power, heart will, intellect, andknowledge. outside human the conduct theDivine (c) The invisible Pen, aspect theright handoftheangels. Power Attriof (theDivine (d) Theinvisible aspect God - theDivine the Essence. butes), Divine before of (See Withthisschemeand the theory beingmentioned six let and GhazalI's descriptions above, 12) inmind, usreview analyse p.

control the humanconducts: of

In this we four of passage, are able to distinguish stages thedivine

GHAZALI'SCOSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED

41

In thepassage (1), Ghazalisaysthatthejabarat belongsto thehuman to and given by the intellect power or faculty execute the directions and love notionslike enmity and to perceivethe abstract knowledge, expressedin the concreteobjectsand to drivethe subjectintoa certain to movement. thisrefers the stage(b), i.e.,invisible All aspectof human conduct. This is moreclearly expressedin the passage (6). In the passage (2), Ghazalisays," it (thejabarat) seems to belongto the the worldof mulkexternally 'l-zahir)", meaningapparently hu(fi to and manexternal conduct, whenhe says," butitis conjoined theworld of malakat by the EternalPower", he means the innerprocessin the dominated theDivinePowerand whichis completely humanbehavior by Decree outsidethehumanbeing(malakat), as seen in thestages(c) and (d) in the passage (above, p. 16). Thus thejabarat here means a man himself. In the passage (3), it is said thatthe worldsconsistof the mulk,the and thejabarat which belongs malakat which is inside the intellect, to the othertwo worlds.In thiscase, too,thejabarat shouldbe partially And thishumanbeinghimas understood a humanbeingin his totality. " selfis said to be " dividedin the same division intothreeparts: mulk, malakat andjabarat. His " sensibleparts" are of mulk; " thespirit (rab), intellect ('aql), power (qudrah), will(iradah) and the like" are of ma" lakat, and " theperceptions producedby thesenses and faculties appato refer the images(khayal) producedin the heartin the passage rently and drivesleading (above, p. 12). These imagesgive riseto the feelings in as to actions, mentioned the passage (4). is The problem, intellect, however, that" thespirit, power,willand the and like" are said to belong to the malakat. Except the spirit, perhaps said to belong whichbelongto themalakat,theyare usually theintellect, to the worldofjabarat, as seen in thepassages(5) and (6) below. How we ? can we solve thiscontradictionAt thisjuncture, mayquote the followingpassage: or aboveyourself, either God'sjustice ('adl) is realized things through Verily desire are since (da'iyah), yourself, youyourself alsoofHisActs;your through causesof your and your knowledge, behavior, anyother your power, your with He are consideration allHisActswhich hasarranged under movements the acts so that orderly (al-af'alal-mu'tadilab) comethereupon. may justice (in but You see,however, IV, nothing yourself them) (Tbya' 95). " movements (asbab all In this passage,itis saidthat the" causesofyour harakat-ka),such as desire,power,knowledgeand so on have two asis pects: one is humanand theotherdivine.If theformer of thejabarat is Ghazali (and mulk),and thelatter ofthemalakat,thenitis possiblethat to (divine)aspect of the power,willand the is here referring the latter like in the humanbehavior.

42

NAKAMURA KOJIRO

In thepassage (4), Ghazalisaysthatthefeelings suchas awe, fear, joy and thelikedescendfrom worldofjabarat, and thatthedescending the are caused by the perceptions place is thechest.The feelings apparently producedby the images. In the passage (5), the worldofjabarzt is said to " resemblethe ship thatmovesbetweenthelandand thewater". Thissoundslikean enigma. But Ghazalielaboratesthismetaphor little a morein another place. back in of His walking andforth theworld thesensibles ('alam-imabstisat) and can in islike on going theland, so everybody do so.Hiswalking thefourth of and or (sic) world, that thepurespirits therealessences (baqa'iq) ofthe is on in works likegoing thewater. walking andforth theworld His back of is and in is imaginatives (mawbamat) likegoing theship, so hislevel between and the thewater theland.Beyond levelof theintelligibles (ma'qalat)is a for saints Their levelis likegoing theair in stage theprophets, andtheSufis.
(Kimiya,100).

In thispassage justcited, four Ghazalimentions stagesor worlds- the worldsof (1) the sensibles(metaphorically expressedas land), (2) the and the realitiesof the works (3) the pure spirits imaginatives (ship), the (kar-ha) (the intelligibles) (water),and (4) the prophets, saintsand the Sufis(air). The first threeof these fourworldscorrespond mulk, to The jabarat and malakat respectively. problemis the world(4) of the the to the prophets, saintsand the Sufis.Thoughit is difficult pinpoint exact meaning thisworld,it is certain of thatit belongsto the malakat, since itis the highest the fourworlds(Probably refers the world of it to of "the pure oneness", "the absolute unity" mentionedbelow in pp. 21-22). In anycase, theworldof shiporjabarat is thatof the imagiwiththehumanknowledge, natives, which, will, together power and the the But the issue like,constitutes innerprocessof the humanbehavior. is how to interpret symbolism the "land ", " water", "ship" and the of Lair". It is easy to know that"the land" standsfor the sensibles,or the phenomenalworld,which the commonpeople can know for certain. the Then,whatabout " the ship"? In thisconnection, following passage is illuminating. abouttherelationship betweenthe Ghazaliis heretalking Divine Determination the human" freewill". and of wish(da'iyahal-iradah)is totally to subject the .. thedrive thehuman of and judgement theintellect (qudrab)is ('aql) and thesenses, thepower to and is (of totally subject thedrive, themovement thelimbs) totally subject tothepower. ispredetermined All in (bi by (muqaddar) necessity 'l-darazrah) himina placewhere does notknow. is simply locuswhere he He the these comes from So the him. of being things happen. Nothing meaning his compelled is all occur him from in not within but other himself, from (majbar) that those than The himself. meaning hishaving will of free (mukhtar) that is the is he locusfor willwhich the to under the happens him compulsion (jabran)after

GHAZALI'SCOSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED

43

that act intellect a judgement a certain is pure And gives goodanduseful. the takes he too, Thus, is judgement placeunder compulsion, (after knowledge). to will freely hisfree (majbar'ala 'l-ikhtiyar) IV, by (Ibya', compelled choose 249.Cf.5-7). to citedone on theTawhid According thispassage,and thepreviously to on (p. 16), in addition thecitation thedual aspectsofman(p. 17),every humanconductis completely dominatedthrough series of occasions a (asbab) by God, even when itis done by his own freewill.Ghazalicompares thisto a puppet(Ihya', IV, 95). Thus we may concludethat" the ship" standsforeach humanbeingas the locus (mahall) forGod's exeWhat takes place within man such as a cutionof His predetermination. is not will,power and variousfeelings certainly knowledge, judgement, and therefore is notof theworldof mulk.Nor is itof theworld it visible, of malakat,sincehe is consciousof all theseand knowstheyare his.But or itis extremely difficult himto knowin reality, to realize, for thatthey Thus the ship are God's, thoughhe may know thistruth intellectually. in movesbetweentheland and the water, namely, theworldofjabarat, above whichlies the worldof malakat. On the otherhand,to walk on the watermeansnot onlyto know thathe is a merepuppetof God, but himself. also to becomea merepuppetby annihilating thatthe worldofjabar~t stands, for We maysay in conclusion first, the as thehumanindividual a whole,and,secondly, humaninnerprocess from knowledgeto impulseto overtbehavior. (VII) Ghazali's cosmologyin comparisonwith FinallyI will characterize those of Suhrawardi (d. 1191) and Ibn 'Arabi(d. 1240)(1"). AcMaqtol the cordingto Suhrawardi, world (being) is divided into fourlevels: (2) (1) the worldofjabarat, or thatof cherubicpure intelligences, the worldof malakat,or thatof celestialangelsor soulsand of humansouls, or (3) the mundus imaginalis (alam al-mithal), the worldof self-substateof " subtle or autonomousforms imagesin the immaterial sisting, to matter whichlies at the entrance the worldof malakat, and (4) the ", world. worldof mulk,or the phenomenal
de 1986; do.,Creative Paris, Paris, 1971-72; Histoire la philosophie do., vols., islamique.

En iranien. 4 see following H. Corbin, Islam works: two these thinkers,the (17) For

A Princeton, 1969; T. Izutsu, Imaginationin theSufismof Ibn Arabt.Tr. by R. Manheim. in and Taoism.2 vols.Tokyo, Concepts Sufism Studyof theKeyPhilosophical Comparative The The 1989 ; A.E. Affifi, Mystical 1966-67; W.C. Chittick, SufiPathofKnowledge. Albany, Din-IbnulArabi.Repr.Lahore,1964. of Philosophy Muhyid

44

NAKAMURA KOJIRO

Thescheme Ibn'Arabi's of is the but cosmology almost same, he emtheconcept Imagination of He distinguisphasizes particularly (khayal). hestwokinds it: oneistheworld " animagination in of to conjoined the and from " (18) imagining subject inseparable him (khayal muttail) and theother world " a self-subsisting the of from dissociable the imagination " (khayal The to subject belongs a conscious process munfasiD. former of themind within subject, the while latter an autonomous the has and on of sui world, subsisting reality generis theplane theintermediary that of wa 'alam al-mithal 'lis,theworld Ideas-Images (alam al-mithal, The of the ('arif)is capable influencing detached Imagikhayal). gnostic or nation theworld Images of his and through creative imagination himin world. mah,andthus changes theouter produce to Ghazali's malakatcorresponds thejabarat and maApparently lakatofSuhrawardi Ibn'Arabi and taken : the is together mulk thesame for them Then, problem the all. the is jabarat ofGhazali the'alam and Bothare often called" theintermediate al-mithal. world between the ". the mulkand themalakat Fromourprevious discussions, however, from different the'alamal-mithal is understood that jabarat is quite by Ibn 'Arabi. is true that jabarct forGhazali theworld the It is a within of imagination image or with knowman, consisting (khayal), together and but an external world. will, ledge, power thelike, itisnot independent In fact, Ghazall, terms for the and are the mithal mathal usedtodenote world itselements thesymbols metaphors the and as or of phenomenal of world malakat.Sincetheworld mulk Ghazali an imperfect of for is or of of and are mithal mathal used replica analogue theworld malakzt, rather since is in negatively, there no reality them;theyare certainly in but usedinthesenseofthearchetypal images theimagination, never forms ideas-images. consider following or Yet the passage: Thefirst istogotoward (al-dhahab Allah) then gointo God and to ila step God(al-dhahabAllah). isthe This annihilation andimmersion ft (is(fana)9 in But immersion like sudden occurs a atthe tighraq) Him. this lightning outset. seldom It stable remains anddoesnot long. last When lasts, becomes it it asa established custom a permanent Then, goes tothe and form. he higher up world al-a'la)andknows purer being the real (al-'alam (al-wujrid al-baqiqi and inhim ofthe and al-asfa), impressed isthe inscription malakatt disclosed the The that to from al-labat). first Holy Divinity (qudus things appear him
that world theforms theangels are of of the (jawahir al-mala'ikah), spirits

the and saints a beautiful through some in which realities prophets the shape, emanate him. happens the to This in beginning, then passes the and he over level ideas-images of he the na(mithal). Finally, confrontsReality (al-Haqq) in When back world metaphors of (al-'alam kedly everything. hecomes tothe
(18) For thisaspectof Ibn 'Arabi's khayal,see MabmodQasim,al-Khayalft madhhab Muhi 'i-Drn b. Cairo,1969. Arabi.

GHAZALI'S COSMOLOGY RECONSIDERED theyare unable to know the beautyof the Holy Precinct (jamal

45
al-

is and he because al-majazi),which buta shadow, seesthepeople, feels pity, to are with .atzrahand they satisfied theshadow qudus),and is surprised see that of deceived the in world deception and of ('alamal-ghurar) that fantasy ('alam

54-55). (Arba'tn, In thispassage," the level of ideas-images with (mithal)" is identified theworldof" theforms the of (jawahir) oftheangels, spirits theprophets and the saintsin a beautiful shape ", whichcould be takento mean the worldof ideas-images thecosmological in sense. On theotherhand,itis of also possibleto take it as the description the mystical experienceof the in theSufi. And I think latter is morenatural thewhole interpretation context. L. Gardetseems to identify thejabarat with" the worldof the archethe typalimages"(19). Since he does not mention sourcesforthisinterto itis notclearthathe refers thispassage.As we see, Ghazall's pretation, or to khayalis limited theimagination the imaginative usage of the term So of faculty man,and thusthe imagesin theimagination. khayalis closelyconnectedwithmithalor mathal. elaborated But whyis itthattheworldofjabarat or mithalis little by ? withthe othertwo concepts Why is it thatit is Ghazali in comparison like into roleand notdevelopedfurther something " the givenbuta minor " worldofthedetachedimagination('alam al-khayalal-munfasil)?This has thatGhazali'sontology when we remember is all the morepeculiar, in hisMishkat almostreachedthatof Ibn 'Arabi, particularly (20).
Nay,justas thereis no god butHe, so thereis no itbutHe, for" it" (huwa) is how it that no an expression(isharah) of anything one can indicate, matter what no (isharah) butto Him.Rather, matter maybe. So thereis no indication to an it you youindicate, is,inreality, indication Him,even though do notknow of itthrough yourignorance therealities (haqtqah al-haqa'iq) whichwe have but mentioned. as one cannotindicate Just sunlight onlythesun,so therelation like to of thesumof things God is,in thevisible analogue(mithal), therelation " of light the sun.Therefore. There is no god butGod " is the commoner's to of of confession the Unity God; thatof the elect is " There is no it but He ". more real, more comprehensive, is more particular, The latter more perfect, it into and and moresubtle, giveshimwho confesses entrance thepureoneness

them but in al-khayal).Thushe is amongwith personally, is a stranger hisheart

The and unity al-.irfah). al-mabidah) absolute (al-wabdaniyah (al-fardaniyah

of ascent; thereis no ascenkingdom onenessis theultimate pointof mortals' " (kathrah), plurality dingstage beyondit; for" ascending (taraqqi) involves two from and an beinga sortof relation (idafah) involving stages,an ascent has ascentto.Butwhenplurality been eliminated, (wabdah) is established, unity " all from here" to " there" fallaway,and there is relation effaced, indications "'Alam EF, I, 351. (19) L. Gardet, ", 'amm 14. (20) A.A.'Affifi, " tasdir ",

46

NAKAMURA KOJIRO

nor nor one The remains neither height depth, any tofare ordown. upward up is and ascent, become for then, beyond progress the impossible, there noheight nor with thehighest, plurality no of along-side theunity, ascent plurality being Ifthere anychange, is bywayof" thedescent thelowest is it into terminated. " I downfrom heaven (nuzal ila sama' al-dunya), which meanlooking by above(ishraf);for highest, the it has This havenohigher, a lower. though may of is thegoalofgoals, final the destinationspiritual known him to who search, knows denied him of whois ignorant it(Mishkat, 60-61.Cf.Gairdner's it, by translation, 112-14). pp. The ascentfrom worldof plurality thatof " the absoluteunity" the to or " the pureoneness" reminds of thetransition us from Wabidtyah the to theAhadiyahin Ibn 'Arabi. Thisis particularly whenwe remember so, theabove citation theitinerary an anttowardGod's essence(p. 16). on of We are,however, in theposition answerthe above-mentioned not to all First, questionshere in thispaper. But we may hintsome solutions. thepassagesand descriptions Ghazaliare,in the end,experiential raby therthanontological. interest in the processof human advanceHis is menttowardGod and human descenttherefrom, thedivinedescent not or theophany. God forGhazaliremains, after a Creator ex all, Secondly, nihiloof the phenomenalworldaccording the ideas in the worldof to the malakat. This does not necessitate existenceof the externalworld of Imagination betweenthemalakat and themulk.He has onlyto create the worldof mulkout of nothing. contrast, In man is able to obtainthe knowledgeof the truenatureof things only by means of imagesand in For on hand,theUltimate imagination him. Ibn 'Arabi, theother Reality is theimpersonal absoluteOne (Ahad), and thephenomenal worldis the

self-manifestation ofthis One through various (tajallr) stages (badarat). " Personal "Allah is regarded thefirst as of the self-manifestation One within Itself. it for One to reveal Therefore,is necessary theAbsolute Itself in theworld thedivine first of namesand attributes, then and in theconcrete material world the of through world detached imagination as immaterial concrete In is in that sense, images. this 'Affifiright saying " (wabdahshuhad), is of rather Tawhid " theunity witnessing Ghazali's than theunity being'" of " (wahdah wujud) (21). NAKAMURA Kojiro of (University Tokyo)

(21) A.A. 'Affifi, 15. ibid.,