The Comparison of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabî and Abdulhaq Ibn Sab‘în’s Understanding of Unity (Wahdah)

In this article, the idea of unity of two great Andalusian thinkers Muhyiddin Ibn Arabî (d.1240) and Abdulhaq Ibn Sab‘în (d. 1270) were compared. Ibn Arabî was born in 1165 Ibn Sab‘în was also born in 1217 in Murcia. Ibn Sab‘în was influenced by Ibn Arabî in numerous issues, both two thinkers growing up in the same cultural environment. Ibn Arabî and Ibn Sab‘în defended the idea of unity in their philosophy but they were separated in the content of this understanding. While Ibn Arabî's thought of unity was named as “wahdat al-wujûd” (unity of being), Ibn Sab‘în called his thought of unity as “wahdat al-mutlaqa” (absolute unity). Ibn Arabî's thought of wahdat al-wujûd has a more comprehensive and profound feature, Ibn Sab‘în's thought of wahdat al-mutlaqa has a modest structure. In Ibn Arabî's thought Allah (God) is manifested in beings with his attributes and names. The realization of this manifestation takes place at various levels. On the contrary the formation and manifestation of beings does not exist in Ibn Sab‘în. He accepts only Allah as being and contributes the truth only to Allah. Ibn Sab‘în took Ibn Arabî's thought to an advanced level with his notion of wahdat al-mutlaqa.