A Review of Hakim Sabzevari's Nominal Contingency and Two Different Views to It

The issue of occurrence and the world creation has been a dispute between theologians and religious philosophers on the one hand and politicians on the other, because in the latter‟s point of view, the world that is the God‟s creation cannot be old and a universe that is not preceded by time is not considered the work of God. Hakim Sabzevari is one of the thinkers who illustrates and explains the main elements of Sadr-al- Motealehin‟s Transcendental Wisdom and clears up the ambiguity in it. In his books, he uses the term “nominal contingency” which he asserts he discovered in Qur‟anic verses and the Divine Word. This article examines the bases of this contingency by observing Sabzevari„s mystical and philosophic bases, and reveals Sabzevari„s effort in magnifying this agent by self-manifestation as well as deepening the philosophical meaning of this contingency and distinguishing the self-manifesting agent. Taking into account his tendency to individual pantheism, this article examines two different positions of Sabzevari„s commentators: the late Mirza Mahdi Ashtiani and the late Sheikh Mohammad TaghiAmoli. Mirza Mahdi Ashtiani confirms Sabzevari„s nominal contingency by an ontological approach Sheikh Mohammad TaghiAmoli criticizes it by an epistemological one.