Table Of Content

The Essence of Reality A Defense of Philosophical Sufism Library of Arabic Literature General Editor Philip F. Kennedy, New York University Executive Editors James E. Montgomery, University of Cambridge Shawkat M. Toorawa, Yale University Editorial Director Chip Rossetti Assistant Editor Lucie Taylor Editors Sean Anthony, The Ohio State University Huda Fakhreddine, University of Pennsylvania Lara Harb, Princeton University Maya Kesrouany, New York University Abu Dhabi Enass Khansa, American University of Beirut Bilal Orfali, American University of Beirut Maurice Pomerantz, New York University Abu Dhabi Mohammed Rustom, Carleton University Consulting Editors Julia Bray Michael Cooperson Joseph E. Lowry Tahera Qutbuddin Devin J. Stewart Digital Production Manager Stuart Brown Paperback Designer Nicole Hayward Fellowship Program Coordinator Amani Al-Zoubi In memory of Richard Blackburn, my first Arabic teacher Letter from the General Editor The Library of Arabic Literature makes available Arabic editions and English translations of significant works of Arabic literature, with an emphasis on the seventh to nineteenth centuries. The Library of Arabic Literature thus includes texts from the pre-Islamic era to the cusp of the modern period, and encom- passes a wide range of genres, including poetry, poetics, fiction, religion, philosophy, law, science, travel writing, history, and historiography. Books in the series are edited and translated by internationally recognized scholars. They are published as hardcovers in parallel-text format with Arabic and English on facing pages, as English-only paperbacks, and as downloadable Arabic editions. For some texts, the series also publishes separate scholarly editions with full critical apparatus. The Library encourages scholars to produce authoritative Arabic editions, accompanied by modern, lucid English translations, with the ultimate goal of introducing Arabic’s rich literary heritage to a general audience of readers as well as to scholars and students. The publications of the Library of Arabic Literature are generously supported by Tamkeen under the NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute Award G1003 and are published by NYU Press. Philip F. Kennedy General Editor, Library of Arabic Literature $ ! 0 ! 5 !#%&’()*+,)-./ 1 234)6&7 " 5 > ! ’ 5 ! 5 2()89:;*<+=1 @A)BC ?! The Essence of Reality A Defense of Philosophical Sufism ʿAyn al-Quḍāt Edited and translated by Mohammed Rustom Volume editor Bilal Orfali NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS New York Copyright © 2022 by New York University All rights reserved Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: ʻAyn al-Quḍāh al-Hamadhānī, ʻAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, -1131, author. | Rustom, Mohammed, editor, translator. | ʻAyn al-Quḍāh al-Hamadhānī, ʻAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, -1131. Zubdat al-ḥaqāʼiq. Title: The essence of reality : a defense of philosophical Sufism = Zubdat al-ḥaqāʼiq / ʻAyn al-Quḍāt ; edited and translated by Mohammed Rustom. Other titles: Zubdat al-ḥaqāʼiq. English | Zubdat al-ḥaqāʼiq Description: New York : New York University Press, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | In English and Arabic; translated from Arabic. | Summary: "The Essence of Reality consists of one hundred brief chapters interspersed with Qurʾanic verses, prophetic sayings, Sufi maxims, and poetry. The book takes readers on a philosophical journey, with expositions of questions including the problem of the eternity of the world; the nature of God's essence and attributes; the concepts of "before" and "after"; and the soul's relationship to the body"-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2021056520 | ISBN 9781479816590 (cloth) | ISBN 9781479816613 (ebook) | ISBN 9781479816620 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Sufism--Early works to 1800. | God (Islam)--Early works to 1800. Classification: LCC BP188.9 .A92513 2022 | DDC 297.401--dc23/eng/20211208 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021056520 New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability. Series design by Titus Nemeth. Typeset in Tasmeem, using DecoType Naskh and Emiri. Typesetting and digitization by Stuart Brown. Manufactured in the United States of America c 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Table of Contents Letter from the General Editor iii Acknowledgments xiii Introduction xv Note on the Text xxiv Notes to the Introduction xxviii The Essence of Reality 1 Preamble 2 Introduction: The Reason for Writing This Book 6 Chapter 1: Who Will Benefit from This Book? 16 Chapter 2: A Proof of the Eternal 20 Chapter 3: God’s Transcendence 24 Chapter 4: Categories of Existence 26 Chapter 5: Divine Names 28 Chapter 6: Divine Attributes 30 Chapter 7: The Divine Names Are Relations 30 Chapter 8: Necessity, Contingency, Impossibility 32 Chapter 9: Why Did God Effectuate Existence? 34 Chapter 10: The Face of God and Existents 36 Chapter 11: God’s Infinite Knowledge 38 Chapter 12: Knowledge Is a Divine Attribute 40 Chapter 13: God’s Knowledge Is Changeless 42 Chapter 14: A Glimpse at the Stage beyond the Intellect 42 Chapter 15: The Inability to Comprehend God’s Knowledge 44 Chapter 16: True Faith 50 Chapter 17: The Intellect’s Proper Place 50 Chapter 18: The Stage beyond the Intellect and Premises 52 Chapter 19: The Inner Eye 54 Chapter 20: Longing for God 56 Chapter 21: Familiarity with the Spiritual World 56 Chapter 22: The Stage of Prophecy 58 Chapter 23: Faith in the Unseen 60 Chapter 24: The Path to Faith in Prophecy 60 vii