درخت حوزه‌های تخصصی

SUBJECT & OBJECTIVES: Near-death experiences (NDEs) have garnered significant attention, particularly in recent years. Existing explanations in this field have often failed to provide a comprehensive analysis of these experiences due to their neglect of ontological and anthropological dimensions. This study aims to offer a religious ontological explanation of NDEs by drawing on Quranic verses and narrations related to the nature of the world and human existence.METHOD & FINDING: The study adopts a descriptive-analytical approach, utilizing Islamic religious texts to explore the immaterial dimension of the human soul and its connection to ʿĀlam al-Barzakh (the intermediate realm). According to religious teachings, when the soul's attention to the body diminishes and sensory faculties cease their activity, the soul, aided by the faculty of imagination, perceives phenomena. The faculty of imagination has several characteristics that may influence these perceptions, including the creation of unreal images, the retention of past observations, the potential influence of Satan, and its connection to the intermediate realm. Islamic scriptures describe existence as encompassing multiple realms, from Khazāʾin ʿind Allāh (the divine treasuries) to ʿĀlam al-Dunyā (the material world), with the intermediate realm bearing significant similarities to NDEs. CONCLUSION: From the perspective of religious literature, it appears that when the soul's attention to the material dimension decreases, it may enter the intermediate realm and experience real observations. These observations, however, occur for specific individuals and may, in some cases, be influenced by their imagination, leading to perceptions that are limited to imaginary constructs. This study highlights the importance of integrating ontological and anthropological dimensions into the analysis of near-death experiences, offering a framework rooted in Islamic teachings.

According to Kant, the lack of progress in metaphysics is due to the fact that philosophers tried to solve metaphysical problems without examining the limits of our reason, and the outcome of these endeavors has been a dogmatic metaphysics fraught with contradictions and tensions. Then, after examining the types of cognition, he concludes that in order to determine the limits of reason's capacity, one must answer the question: “How are synthetic a priori judgments possible?” Some contemporary Islamic philosophers have sought to answer this question inspired by the teachings of Islamic philosophy. One solution involves resorting to conceptual relations that make the synthetic a priori judgments possible, while another solution is to deny outright the a priori/a posteriori and analytic/synthetic distinctions of cognition. In this paper, using a comparative-analytical method, I demonstrate that these two solutions are unsuccessful. The proposed alternative is to consider the possibility of such propositions as fundamental and in no need of further explanation. This suggestion seems to be simpler and fully consistent with the teachings of Islamic philosophy.