The Language of the Theological Verses of Quran From the Perspective of Roozbahan Baqli and Ibn-Arabi

One of the old worries of researchers is studying religious texts. Muslim researchers have mainly focused on Quran. According to the theological verses of Quran (= verses which are about God’s attributes and deeds), research has the most important positions; this is because Muslim religious researchers believe God and His attributes is the most important subject. Among Muslim religious researchers the mystic researchers have shown a special interest to this subject. Roozbahan Baqli Shirazi (522-606) and Ibn-Arabi (560-638) have more clearly regarded this subject and have two different views in this regard. Using the “shat’h” category, Roozbahan has chosen the “language of shat’h”; rejecting “shat’h” and using the two parameters of “comprehensiveness of simile and immaculateness” and “unity of zaher and mazhar”, Ibn-Arabi has believed the “literal language of the theological verses of the Quran”. The purpose of this article is to compare the linguistic views of the two Muslim scholars and to answer this question: is the language of the theological verses of Quran literal or shat’h? Some of the important findings of the present research are as follows: 1- Roozbahan’s esoteric look at reality; 2- a change in the meaning of shat’h by Roozbahan; 3- Ibn-Arabi’s comprehensive look at reality; 4- Ibn-Arabi’s ontology is close to mind and can be used to present a systematic worldview; 5- Roozbahan’s ontology is far from mind and cannot be used to present a coherent worldview.