50 MIDDLE EUROPEAN SCIENTIFIC BULLETIN ISSN 2694-9970

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Concept of Ibn Al-Arabi “Wahdat Ul-Wujud”

Karimov Sohibnazar Karimovich

Doctor of philosophy, Professor of the Samarkand Institute of Economics and Service
E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract. This article, in a unique style, highlights the formation and essence of the concept
of "Wahdat ul-Wujud" by Muhyiddin Ibn al-Arabi, a thinker who played an important role in the
history of Eastern Sufi thought. It has been suggested that Ibn al-Arabi's controversial scholarly life
and the concept of Wahat ul-wujud provided the basis for Naqshbandi. The ideas of Ibn Arabi in
Sufism, such as “true existence is Allah”, “die before you die”, “the purpose of creating this world”,
have been tested in all respects.
Keywords: tariqa, “wahdat”, “shuhud”, death, knowledge, existence, man, unity, hijab,
piety, duty.

The historical thought of man is characterized by the fact that it strives to understand the
world that surrounds it. The original knowledge of existence was a vast and contradictory body of
knowledge. But the intellectual potential of mankind has led to the systematization of accumulated
knowledge into order and its classification. As a result, a kind of conceptual direction about being
appeared in the teachings of Sufism, and this concept was illuminated in Sufism as the existing
theories of Wahdati-Wujud, Wahdati-Shuhud and Wahdati-Mavjud.
After the religion of Islam became the only strong ideology in the Islamic world, Wahdat ul-
Wujud emerged as a strong intellectual teaching expressing the desire of the Almighty to manifest
His beauty, strength and qualities. Wahdat ul-wujud means physical existence in Arab-Eastern
countries. A widespread trend in the philosophical views of the peoples of Central Asia and India.
Wahdat ul-wujud means the unity of existence and the realization that there is no other existence
except Allah. According to the concept of unity of existence, everything is nothing but various
manifestations, appearances, representations and manifestations of God. The essence of unity is
discovered with pleasure, known and observed through life.
Wahdat ul-Wujud is a doctrine that signifies the unity of existence and believes that there is
only one eternal God. According to this teaching, the material world, the world of things, is unreal,
truth is embodied only in God, and the material world is a reflection of God's light. This is based on
Eastern Islamic pantheism, meaning that all existence is one.
In understanding the teachings of Wahdat ul-Wujud, it is important to understand the
interpretation of the concept of “existence”. The word wujud comes from the Arabic word wajd,
meaning love and desire. Hujviri says: “It is impossible to explain the essence of wajd. Because wajd
is an act of real seeing (opening), and pain cannot be described with a pen [1]
So being is existence. The state of wajda in its most perfect form, the achievement of Truth.
After goodness becomes mortal from human properties, it merges with the existence of truth. In the
interpretation of Ibn al-Arabi, “being” was understood in the meaning of “finding Allah the Exalted,”
“observing His beauty.” Therefore, God is characterized by being. God is existence itself... that is,

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God exists, but everything in the world does not exist [2].
It follows that all things that need existence belong to the Absolute Being, and not to separate
entities.
Ibn Arabi's theory of the unity of being, to which we draw attention, goes back to the views of
Plato (427-347 BC) and Flutinus (270-204 BC) in Ancient Greece. While Plato saw the whole world
as a shadow of real being, that is, a product of the world of ideas [3], Ibn Arabi's theory of the unity
of being, to which we draw attention, goes back to the views of Plato (427-347 BC) and Flutinus
(270-204 BC) in Ancient Greece. While Plato saw the whole world as a shadow of real being, that is,
a product of the world of ideas, Flutinus understands truth as the single beginning and main source of
all being. In his opinion, all existence flows from this primary source (starting point) and ultimately
returns to it [4].
From the history of Sufism it is known that the idea of unity was first proposed by Bayezid
Bistomi. As a result, Bistomi introduced the concept of “sukur” (intoxication) into Sufism. These
views of Bayezid Bistami greatly influenced the views of Mansur Hallaj and Ibn Arabi. Because,
according to his teaching, in a state of dhikr a person forgets his personality. And he becomes
intoxicated with the love of God (sukr-behudlik), that is, his whole body is filled with emotions, and
in the end he disappears into God. He called this state fano (loss of existence) and first introduced
this concept into Sufism.
Ibn Arabi (1165-1240) was the first thinker to widely disseminate this theory in the history of
Sufism. He considers Allah to be the heart of all creation, and the truth in the world does not see
anything outside of reality, the scientist sees everything in it, because it is a container that embraces
everything [4].
Ibn Arabi interprets the philosophical theory of Wahdat al-Wujud based on his own style. The
classification of Ibn Arabi's works on being shows that along with the general definition of being, he
also analysed nature, man, society and spiritual existence, which are its manifestations.
Ibn Arabi in his Risolai Wujudiyya (Treatise on Existence) studied this category holistically
and systematically, covering the general issues of existence, and described the views related to this
issue in the most perfect manner. It is interesting that Ibn Arabi, after the traditional praise of Allah
and the praise of the Prophet, states that the purpose of writing the work is to reveal the essence of
the Prophet’s hadith that “he who understands himself will understand his Lord.” This is subordinate
to the idea that before Unity there was no primacy other than God, and after Unity there was no
succession except God.
Ibn Arabi says that there is nothing in existence except God, that all existence comes from
him, and therefore he himself does not exist in anything, only he understands it.
Ibn Arabi analysed the issue of being and non-being from a Sufi-Gnostic point of view. Since
ancient times, people have been aware of the surrounding nature and society, people and humanity,
observed the things and events happening around them, and the changes. On the basis of them,
people's ideas and ideas about being, existence and non-existence arose.
In general, the religious and philosophical worldview of Ibn al-Arabi is a very complex and
confusing issue. Because his philosophical and Sufi views do not fit into the framework of any
theological school of Islam. In particular, his views on matters of faith and prophecy under the theory
of wahdat ul wujud and divine revelation caused great doctrinal debate and disagreement within
Ahli-Sunnah wal-Jama'ah.
Ibn al-Arabi's teaching on the unity of being was taught by the great Sufi scholars Imam

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Fakhr Razi (544-604), Shahabuddin Suhrawardi (539-633), “the founder of the Suhrawardi sect,”
Abu Abdullah Zikriya ibn Mahmud (605-682), Abdullah Qari Baghdadi ( died 825), and the Iranian
thinker Alawuddawla Sinnani (659-736) and others condemned Shaykh ul-Akbar's views on wahdat
ul wujud, including calling the Supreme Being "absolute wujud".
Ibn al-Arabi is one of the greatest thinkers who left a rich scientific and literary heritage in the
history of Islam. Abulwahhab Sharani says that the number of his works exceeds 400, and
Abruhaman Jami in his work “Nafahot ul-uns” estimates their number to be more than 500. Ibn al-
Arabi left behind a rich scientific and literary heritage, and most of this spiritual heritage belongs to
the sciences Sufism, Kalam, philosophy, history, ethics and fiqh.
The Great Encyclopaedia of Islam by the famous Islamic scholar A. Sh. Jujani ranks Ibn al-
Arabi as the greatest founder of the "Irofe Philosophical System" or "Sufi Philosophy" or "Divine
Sufi Wisdom" in the history of Islam. And he is considered the greatest mystical thinker of all time.
There is reason to say that there is not a thinker, scientist or philosopher in the Islamic world who has
not been influenced by his thinking [4]. After all, the later periods of Islamic philosophical thought
cannot be imagined without the teachings of Ibn al-Arabi. According to Ibn Arabi, “His hijab is his
concealment. No one except his hijab can take off. His body is also his unity, and with this unity he
becomes “satr” (“hidden”), not fitting into the “mood.” Neither his prophet can see him. His Prophet
is his own, His Messenger is his own. His message is Himself. His word is his own. He sent himself
through Himself without any means and without any reason. There is no difference between the
sender, the sent and the recipient” [5].
It should also be noted that Ibn Arabi denies that only what he says is correct in explaining
existence, the ways of his predecessors in understanding the essence, and the methods and tools they
explained. Sufism emphasizes the fallacy of phrases and reforms such as "fano" in tariqas, and
believes that understanding them as correct leads to the greatest sin in Islam.
In understanding existence, the main idea of Ibn Arabi’s teaching is self-realization, and any
signs of existence acquire unity with a person, and any plurality represents unity. To say that there is
another species is a sin, it is shirk. So, according to the philosopher, total change, development and
conflict of existence are present in man. Ibn Arabi's great merit here is that he was able to convey the
material and spiritual. He was able to see that behind the Sharia there is a tariqa, and this unity is the
basis for the completeness of a person’s spiritual stability. This principle manifests itself in the unity
of faith, trust and reason. This unity raises man to a level of perfection similar to the understanding
of God. There is no perfect being greater than a perfect man.
The influence of neoplasticism can be felt in the doctrine of the integrity of human self-
awareness, which is the main idea of Ibn Arabi. Because the main philosophical content of
Neoplatonism played an important role - the idea of Integrity, which is the highest point of the
hierarchy of being. This idea is based on Plato’s triad “Integrity-Mind-Soul”. Wholeness is the
essence of all entities and gives rise to intelligence. Akl (nus) creates the soul (petohe). The soul
exists in two forms: the lower soul and the higher soul. The lower soul lives by the desire for
martyrdom. And the Supreme Soul was created by God. As a result of the joint efforts of the mind
and soul, the supreme soul is liberated from the bonds of matter. In general, the teaching of wahdat ul
wujud served as spiritual food for the creativity of many eastern poets and thinkers.
According to the teachings of Ibn Arabi, existence is the self-existent force of Truth. The
eternity of God explains the eternity of existence. In turn, philosophers deny that existence came
from “al-aql ul-awwal” (“primary mind”).

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In the teachings of Ibn Arabi, the term “Truth” (Allah) is explained with different definitions
and interpretations. Sometimes he explains "Truth" as the same as "Humans" (created beings), and
sometimes he means that Truth has degraded to the level of humans.
According to Ibn Arabi, “Allah has no partner,” He has no equal and cannot be compared
with Him. Whoever says that something exists in itself with Allah, or that it is eternal with Him, or
that it is mortal by its own body or death, has not enjoyed the limit of self-realization. Whoever says
that there is an existence apart from Him, whoever says that he exists on his own, who is mortal in
his death and who connects death with death - this is shirk on top of shirk. He may not realize it, but
he is a polytheist. He knew neither God nor himself [5].
In Sufism, the real being is Allah. It makes up the Universe. He is and will be. The material
world in which we live is the visible world. In fact, it has no independent status, since it was created
for a specific purpose. The purpose of creating this man is to show the incomparable power of God,
to warn of his eternal existence. According to Ibn Arabi, the creation of the world is God’s revelation
of himself in order to see his essence. The reason for this is that the “sadness of light” suggests that
God wanted to make himself known, to give names, and this is the purpose of creating the universe.
According to Ibn Arabi, man is the highest embodiment of this creation, since he is endowed
with gifts that are not given to any other creature - sense organs, reason, ingenuity. Through them,
the essence of the Creator’s favour, cabbage and incomparable benefits is absorbed into the human
psyche like light.
According to the concept of life and death, Ibn Arabi, the afterlife is eternal, and this world is
the world of mortals. A person needs to live in hope of eternal peace, not to be immersed in this
world, to leave carelessness, to obey the command of God, without falling into the trap of
selfishness, reveling in evil, in pursuit of it. The phrase “perish” actually means to be freed from the
worries of a painful life, to be spiritually cleansed, to fulfil the divine commandment completely and
with all your heart.
Ibn Arabi said: “Die before you die.” I love the servant who approaches me through
blessings. If I love him, I will turn into his ears, eyes and hands...”, “The believer is the mirror of the
believer” [6] and it is stated that in them there is no existence or non-existence except Allah.
In conclusion, it can be said that Ibn Arabi's theory of Wahdat ul Wujud aroused so much
interest that discussions and debates about it took place among scholars and Sufis in Central Asia,
just as there was between ideas and concepts in the Arab world. At the same time, representatives of
the Naqshbandi tariqa Khoja Muhammad Porso Bukhari, Khoja Ahror Vali, Abdurrahman Jami and
Mahdumi Azam Dahbidi are trying to raise the Sufi ideas of the “philosophy of Wahdat ul-Wujud”
of Ibn al-Arabi to the level of Sufi teaching in Naqshbandi.

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