Negative Theology as a Complement to Innate and Cardinal Theology in Khorasan Theological School

In contrast to positive theology, negative theology offers a different course in theology. However, in Khorasan theological school, negative theology plays a positive epistemic complement role, which is mentioned as cardinal or innate knowledge. In this approach, humans before arriving to this world, were bearing a cardinal knowledge of God, of which of course they are somehow ignorant, and the philosophy of sending the prophets, is removing the veil of ignorance and remembering this forgotten nature and blessings. But, after proving the origin of the world, the man's wisdom without any analogy can manage to achieve knowledge of God through negative interpretation of divine attributes. The principal reason and basis for denying positive theology in this intellectual school is negation of analogy. Of course, concerning the interpretation of how negative theology is supplemented, there are enormous differences among the scholars of Khorasan school which refer to ontology of the divine attributes and proving and negating the attributes. Among the views raised in Khorasan school we have found the views of Ayatollah Mirza Mahdi Esfahani, the founder of this school, and three of his prominent pupils namely, Ayatollah Mojtaba Ghazvini, Ayatollah Maleki Mianji, and Ayatollah Morvarid.