نوع مقاله : علمی پژوهشی
موضوعات
عنوان مقاله English
نویسنده English
This study employs a descriptive-analytical method to examine the criteria for the epistemic validity of religious experience, focusing on Ibn Arabi's thought. Initially, it provides a brief overview of religious experience and then addresses the criteria and measures by which religious experiences can be validated. It explores whether religious experience can prove the existence of God and even a truth such as the “immateriality of the soul-self,” and whether it can serve as evidence or proof of God’s existence and the immaterial soul, thereby forming the basis of believers’ faith and religiosity. Religious experiences are not of a single rank but are categorized into three types: the religious experience of ordinary believers, the mystical experience of mystics, and the experience of the infallible. The epistemic validity of the experiences and interpretations of the infallible is free from error and represents the highest form and degree of knowledge. However, there may be errors in the religious experiences of believers and mystics. Since the non-infallible experiences are not immune to error, reliable and assured criteria are necessary to judge the accuracy and validity of the revelations and claims of experiencers and mystics. For Ibn Arabi, the founder of theoretical mysticism, as reflected in his works, especially the “Futuhat” and “Fusus al-Hikam,” and other writings, reports of experiences can be validated through two means: via the infallible and the non-infallible, each with its conditions for validity. The author aims to investigate this issue and explore the various aspects of the discussion.
کلیدواژهها English