Relationship between the Essence and Attributes of the Necessary Being: A Study of the Views of Dawani and Sadr al-Din Shirazi

Explaining the relationship between the divine essence and the divine attributes has always been one of the concerns of Islamic theologians and philosophers. In the meantime, Dawani considers the attributes of perfection inseparable from the essence and tries to prove the objectivity of the divine essence and attributes with many reasons. As for this issue, he emphasizes that all the attributes of the necessary being should be referred to the divine knowledge, and he explicitly maintains that all the divine attributes are interpreted in the light of the necessary being's knowledge. On the other hand, Sadr al-Din Shirazi also believes in the objectivity of attributes and essence and has explained and studied the principles of objectivity of essence and attributes through rules such as the principality of existence and the simplicity of truth. What distinguishes Dawani and Sadra Shirazi's views on this issue, and based on which their explanations and reasons differ, is Dawani's belief in the principality of quiddity and Sadra's belief in the principality of existence. This can be considered as the basis and presupposition of the issue of the relationship between the essence and attributes of the necessary being in the thought of Dawani and Sadr al-Din Shirazi. This article examines the views of Dawani and Sadra Shirazi by studying and reflecting on their various works. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the views of Dawani and Sadr al-Din Shirazi and to compare their principles.