Comparing Ibne Arabi's and Mulla sadra's Views on the Scope of Wisdom in Understanding God Almighty

Reason as a tool of human cognition and knowledge has acquired a high status among philosophers. But in mysticism, a lot of Sufis consider wisdom as the veil of cognition. The major theme of Ibne Arabi’s theoretical mysticism and Mulla Sadra’s mystical attitude is understanding the names, attributes and actions of God Almighty. Ibne Arabi, in spite of his high respect for the place wisdom, considers it as incapable of acquiring knowledge of God Almighty. He believes that wisdom in the recognition of God has two positions: one is the position of understanding and perceiving, and the other is the position of accepting. In his view, wisdom is incapable of understanding God and some of His manifestations and determinations while in the position of accepting it is capable of understanding God and there is no limit for it in this respect. Mulla Sadra also proposes limitations for wisdom in knowing and understanding God and Its names and attributes. He believes that the true knowledge of God can only be acquired through intuition. The point of similarity between Mulla Sadra and Ibne Arabi is that both consider sensory and intellectual methods flawed in understanding all aspects of reality, though both think these ways of acquiring cognition are God’s manifestations and one should be aware of their limitations and do not take them as the criterion for ultimate judgments about the unknowns. The present article first introduces the views of Iben Arabi and Mulla Sadra and then accounts their similarities and differences.