The Theory of the Hierarchy of Beings in Sana’i’s Thought

One of the solutions that philosophers have presented to justify the emergence of plurality from unity has been to consider a hierarchy of beings. Sana'i Ghaznavi is among the thinkers who believed in a hierarchy for beings and was influenced by the Neoplatonists in this discussion. But Sana'i is also influenced by religious wisdom. This has caused his opinion differ from Muslim Neoplatonic thinkers. His emphasis on the divine will and the dependence of the general intellect and the general soul on the matter is, more than anything else, what shows his difference from the Neoplatonic philosophers. While considering a role for mediators in creation, Sana'i emphasizes that they are a facet of the divine order and what is really the cause of creation of beings is divine power and God directly created beings. Sana'i is more intent on praising God and uses the general intellect and soul for this purpose. However, what really exists in his opinion is not the intellect and the soul, but God.