Alla Allagbhri

PhD Student, Divinity School

The workshop will consist of a presentation followed by discussion and Q&A. The paper to be read in advance can be accessed here (password: “being”). We hope to see you there!

Abstract:

The problem of Being (Wujūd) particularly God’s Being and its relationship with the existence of everything other Him has a central place in Islamic philosophical theology. The problem generated a range of rich discussions concerning issues of ontology and metaphysics more generally. What is interesting is that the problem of Being was also a sight in which problems of epistemology were investigated. This was especially the case between mystics of a philosophical bent (otherwise called philosophical Sufis) and rational theologians. In this paper, I investigate some of these epistemological problems through an analysis of a treatise written by the rational theologian, ʿAlāʾ Al-Dīn Al-Bukhāri (d.1438). My focus will be on the philosophical Sufi’s idea of a stage beyond reason, that is, an epistemological terrain in which the basic propositions of reason, such as the law of non-contradiction, are witheld in light of direct mystical experience. I will explore the idea’s conceptual history and al-Bukhārī’s deep suspicion of it. Along the way, I will draw some conclusions about the epistemic commitments of rational theology and the sources of the philosophical Sufi’s dissatisfaction with it. Hosted by the Philosophy of Religions Workshop at the University of Chicago.

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