Essays in Philosophy and Kalam

Essays in Philosophy and Kalam

The Distinction between Philosophical and Theological Schools through an Examination of Gradation in Existence and the Necessity of Recourse to Intermediaries

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
hadi obidavi 1
mostfa malekshahi 2
mehdi malekshahisefat 3
1 Shiraz, Shiraz University, Faculty of Theology
2 Assistant Professor, Farhangian University - Ayatollah Taleghani Campus, Qom
3 Professor at the Higher Levels of Khorasan Razavi Seminary
10.22067/epk.2025.92333.1419
Abstract
The fundamental distinction between the philosophical and theological schools of Islam arises from their different foundational principles for understanding reality. Among the most significant of these principles are the doctrine of the gradation of existence (tashkīk al-wujūd)—or, more broadly, the problem of unity and multiplicity in being—and the essential necessity of recourse to intermediaries throughout the descending and ascending orders of existence. Using an analytical method, this study first presents, for the first time, a rationally exhaustive classification of the possible positions regarding gradation in existence and then critically examines the proponents and arguments of each position. Four principal views are identified: (1) complete ontological separateness (baynūnah ʿuzlī) together with essential heterogeneity among beings, as maintained by theologians and the Ahl al-Ḥadīth; (2) complete ontological separateness with essential homogeneity among beings, as upheld by the Peripatetic philosophers; (3) gradation within existence itself, according to Transcendent Theosophy; and (4) gradation in the manifestations of existence rather than in existence itself, according to Islamic mysticism. The latter three positions are compatible with one another. Since they respectively explain reality in terms of the emanation of beings, the descent of ontological grades, and the graded manifestations of the reality, the Rule of the One (qāʿidat al-wāḥid) appears in each with a different formulation, implying the essential necessity of intermediaries, respectively, as distinct beings, ontological grades of existence, or graded manifestations.
Keywords
Gradation of existence
Intermediaries
Existence
Ontological degrees
Manifestations
Subjects

Authors retain the copyright and full publishing rights. This is an open access article distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

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Essays in Philosophy and Kalam
Volume 58, Issue 1 - Serial Number 116
Spring & Summer 2026
September 2026
Pages 177-198

  • Receive Date 25 February 2025
  • Revise Date 04 July 2025
  • Accept Date 19 November 2025