Shaykh ‘Alā’ al-Dawla Simnānī and His Critique of Ibn ‘Arabī’s Theory of the Unity of Existence

he theory of the unity of existence is one of the most fundamental doctrines of Islamic Sufism and mysticism. According to Muslim mystics, the only true existent is God, and creatures are manifestations and modes of this true existent. The idea was there since the formative period of Islamic mysticism, and found its more accurate accounts after Ibn ‘Arabī’s emergence. Shaykh ‘Alā’ al-Dawla Simnānī—an influential mystic in the 14th century—rejected this theory. In this paper, I deploy an analytic method to consider and criticize Simnānī’s objections to the theory of the unity of existence, after preliminary remarks about his life and work as well as the circumstances of his time. Thus, I argue that Simnānī has criticized Ibn ‘Arabī’s view of the unity of existence and believed in the unity of intuition, instead, because of his belief in the necessity of the separation between Islamic doctrines and Indian religions such as Buddhism for purposes of preventing distortions in Islamic monotheism; because of his failure to grasp the depths of Ibn ‘Arabī’s words about the absolutely unconditioned existence which involves exaltation of God; and because of his confusion of various considerations of existence. Moreover, Simnānī does not believe that the unity of intuition is the ultimate stage of mystical journey, taking the last stage to be that of servitude.