A Comparative Study of Dream from the Viewpoint of Ibn  Arabī and Mullā Ṣadrā

Dream as a window to the invisible world is brought up in the works of most philosophers، theologians، and mystics، denoting the importance of dreams. From among the philosophers and mystics، Ṣadr al-Muti’allihīn of Shīrāz and Ibn ‘Arabī have dealt in detail with discourses concerning dreams. Mullā Ṣadrā and Ibn ‘Arabī accord an extensive role concerning dreams to the world of Imagination and the relation of human faculty of imagination to the discontinuous world of Imagination. Ibn ‘Arabī considers dreams as the most extensive expanse of activity and creativity of imagination and has employed such terms as “restricted paradigm” and “absolute paradigm” in this respect. According to Ibn ‘Arabī and Mullā Ṣadrā، veracious dream and death are both ways for uncovering of veil and transferring to a higher world; however، this uncovering of veil in a dream is temporary and transient and in death it is permanent. Dreams and their manifestation and how to interpret them are among other discourses propounded in the issues concerning dreams and Ibn ‘Arabī and Mullā Ṣadrā believe in the existence of veracious dream and its being needless of interpretation. In contrast، the dreams that are the product of imitative image need interpretation and the confused dreams، which are the product of imitative mischiefs، have no foundation and origin، and have no interpretation; rather، they are the by-products of imaginative imitation. This paper is aimed at undertaking a comparative study of these two thinkers concerning dreams and extracting their similarities and differences in this philosophical issue.