A Reflection on the Evidences for Personal Unity of Existence

The discussion on 'unity of existence' (with innumerable interpretations provided for it) is among the most complicated discussions in mysticism and philosophy. It is based on the mystic's intuition and has its roots in centuries before the advent of Islam. The present article is seeking to investigate the arguments for personal unity of existence, using the descriptive-analytical method and with a critical approach. It first explains the claim of personal unity and its distinction from gradational unity of existence in philosophy, and then investigates the most important arguments for unity of existence; and at the end, it mentions some principles for better understanding of the mystic's claim about personal unity of existence. The arguments for personal unity can be classified in four groups: intuition, consecutive report of this intuition, Quranic verses and traditions, and rational arguments. It seems that intuition may be introduced as the best evidence for the claim of personal unity, of course if its content is precisely the same as what the personal unity claims. The independence of practical mysticism from precise understanding of this issue in theoretical mysticism, the necessity of accepting plurality, the distinction between God and the creatures, and negation of incarnation and union are among the principles that must be specially considered in the discussion of personal unity of existence.