Whitehead and Ibn Arabi (1165-1240): Thoughts on Process and Sufi Metaphysics

Abstract

Abstract This study aims to critically compare and contrast the views of Ibn Arabi and Whitehead on God, the world, and the relationship between the two. I argue that there are significant overlaps in their systems that are sufficient to start a scholarly and enriching dialogue between the two thinkers. Both seem to envisage the world as a continuum of events, as a process. They also appear to agree that the primordial nature of God includes all potentialities that are also the metaphysical principles that ground regularity in a world that is otherwise defined by pure change. The concept of relationality lies at the core of their conception of the God-world relationship and of the relationship of entities with each other. We can also see an emphasis on God’s immanence without losing the distinction between God and the world. They both hold that God can be best understood by bringing antitheses together. They make similar distinctions between God’s primordial and consequent natures. The article also alludes to points of divergence between the two thinkers. These divergences do not exclude the possibility of a dialogue, but, in contrast, render the interaction between the two a meaningful and enriching one.