درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

With a rational reflection on possible beings, Farabi presents an analysis of the relationship between existence and essence, which requires a new philosophical system distinct from Greek philosophy. In his view, all possible beings are composed of two metaphysical aspects, i.e. existence and essence. By distinguishing constituents (muqawwamāt) from accidental things (‘araḍiyyāt) and using terms such as ‘āriḍ and lāzim, Farabi explores the structure of possible beings. In possible beings, existence is not the same or a part of essence; rather, it is an accident of essence, and since any accidental thing is subject to causality (mu‘allal), thus the possible things require something out of themselves for their existence. The main point is that the container of this distinction is not merely the world of the mind or the objective world; rather, it is the product of rational analysis. In other words, the distinction of existence and essence is neither a mental distinction nor a physical one; rather, it is a rational distinction which is called, in today’s metaphysics, metaphysical distinction. In metaphysical distinction, the existence and essence of the possible beings are two ontological principles and two metaphysical modes of the being that compose its identity. The metaphysical distinction designs the foundation of the non-Greek philosophical system based on which one can explain, from the theological viewpoint, proving the existence of the Necessary Being, the evolution of the ultimate causality, natural agency with the agentive causality and divine agency; from the cosmological viewpoint, proving the essential contingency of the universe and the philosophical explanation of the creation; from the ontological viewpoint, dividing beings into necessary and possible, and explaining the structure of possible beings; and from the epistemological viewpoint, evolution in dividing knowledge. This article is an applied study that attempts, by relying on the descriptive-analytical method with an exploration of the metaphysical distinction between existence and essence, to deal with applying that distinction in Farabi’s philosophical system and its products and results.

In the twentieth century language has become the most important philosophical issue. In the field of religious studies, one of the important issues is the issue of language too, and the language of religion and the way of understanding religious texts have become an important concern for religious scholars. The question that what is the nature of language used by God Almighty for expressing his meaning and purpose, is one of the most important issues in religious language controversies. As God in religious texts, including in the Holy Qur'an, has established a text-based communication with humans, does the Holy Quran, before responding to other human needs that are essential to his salvation, address this fundamental question about the nature of the language that has been used in this text-based communication? The importance of this question is that the methodology provides an understanding of the Qur'an. In this research, the author tries to provide a positive response to the fundamental question, expressing that the language of the Quran is a pragmatic language. In this regard, in order to defend the pragmatic language of the Qur'an, the author first describes the characteristics of the language suitable for the Qur'an and then shows that the pragmatic language has the features of the proper language for the Qur'an and is used in the Qur'an. The result of this study is that the language of the Qur'an is an existential and natural language.