A comparative study on the definability of The One for Plotinus and The Essence for Ibn Arabi

Abstract

The paper has studied Plotinus and Ibn Arabis`s view on The One and Divine Essence; the former`s The One neither may be spoken of nor be thought. No name, can be found for calling The One, nor can the name He. At the same time, he sees himself in need for naming it as The One as the best name and in some cases explains the reason why. In the latter, the term name refers to Divine essence being qualified, manifested and modified. When defining name an exit of Essence would occur; Essence in itself has no name and may not be known at all. Ibn Arabi, nevertheless, in some cases refers to the nameless Essence with negative terms and in others uses those terms as Absolute, Necessary and Absolute Being. Focusing on these names, distinguishing true names from untrue and modifying names from non-modifyings, one can explain the problem. It is considerable to know that Plotinus and Ibn Arabi both have stood in a distance from negative theology and have spoken of God positively. It is the reason why this paper has sought to explain the problem of calling a nameless truth by the two

Keywords

• The One
• Essence
• Plotinus
• Ibn Arabi
• name
• definability
• true names
• untrue names