Table Of ContentThe Essence of Reality
A Defense of Philosophical Sufism
Library of Arabic Literature
General Editor
Philip F. Kennedy, New York University
Executive Editors
James E. Montgomery, University of Cambridge
Shawkat M. Toorawa, Yale University
Editorial Director
Chip Rossetti
Assistant Editor
Lucie Taylor
Editors
Sean Anthony, The Ohio State University
Huda Fakhreddine, University of Pennsylvania
Lara Harb, Princeton University
Maya Kesrouany, New York University Abu Dhabi
Enass Khansa, American University of Beirut
Bilal Orfali, American University of Beirut
Maurice Pomerantz, New York University Abu Dhabi
Mohammed Rustom, Carleton University
Consulting Editors
Julia Bray Michael Cooperson Joseph E. Lowry
Tahera Qutbuddin Devin J. Stewart
Digital Production Manager
Stuart Brown
Paperback Designer
Nicole Hayward
Fellowship Program Coordinator
Amani Al-Zoubi
In memory of Richard Blackburn, my first Arabic teacher
Letter from the General Editor
The Library of Arabic Literature makes available Arabic editions and English
translations of significant works of Arabic literature, with an emphasis on the
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Books in the series are edited and translated by internationally recognized
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well as to scholars and students.
The publications of the Library of Arabic Literature are generously supported
by Tamkeen under the NYU Abu Dhabi Research Institute Award G1003 and are
published by NYU Press.
Philip F. Kennedy
General Editor, Library of Arabic Literature
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The Essence of Reality
A Defense of Philosophical Sufism
ʿAyn al-Quḍāt
Edited and translated by
Mohammed Rustom
Volume editor
Bilal Orfali
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS
New York
Copyright © 2022 by New York University
All rights reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: ʻAyn al-Quḍāh al-Hamadhānī, ʻAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, -1131,
author. | Rustom, Mohammed, editor, translator. | ʻAyn al-Quḍāh
al-Hamadhānī, ʻAbd Allāh ibn Muḥammad, -1131. Zubdat al-ḥaqāʼiq.
Title: The essence of reality : a defense of philosophical Sufism = Zubdat
al-ḥaqāʼiq / ʻAyn al-Quḍāt ; edited and translated by Mohammed
Rustom.
Other titles: Zubdat al-ḥaqāʼiq. English | Zubdat al-ḥaqāʼiq
Description: New York : New York University Press, 2022. | Includes
bibliographical references and index. | In English and Arabic;
translated from Arabic. | Summary: "The Essence of Reality consists of
one hundred brief chapters interspersed with Qurʾanic verses, prophetic
sayings, Sufi maxims, and poetry. The book takes readers on a
philosophical journey, with expositions of questions including the
problem of the eternity of the world; the nature of God's essence and
attributes; the concepts of "before" and "after"; and the soul's
relationship to the body"-- Provided by publisher.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021056520 | ISBN 9781479816590 (cloth) | ISBN
9781479816613 (ebook) | ISBN 9781479816620 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sufism--Early works to 1800. | God (Islam)--Early works to
1800.
Classification: LCC BP188.9 .A92513 2022 | DDC 297.401--dc23/eng/20211208
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021056520
New York University Press books are printed on acid-free paper,
and their binding materials are chosen for strength and durability.
Series design by Titus Nemeth.
Typeset in Tasmeem, using DecoType Naskh and Emiri.
Typesetting and digitization by Stuart Brown.
Manufactured in the United States of America
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Table of Contents
Letter from the General Editor iii
Acknowledgments xiii
Introduction xv
Note on the Text xxiv
Notes to the Introduction xxviii
The Essence of Reality 1
Preamble 2
Introduction: The Reason for Writing This Book 6
Chapter 1: Who Will Benefit from This Book? 16
Chapter 2: A Proof of the Eternal 20
Chapter 3: God’s Transcendence 24
Chapter 4: Categories of Existence 26
Chapter 5: Divine Names 28
Chapter 6: Divine Attributes 30
Chapter 7: The Divine Names Are Relations 30
Chapter 8: Necessity, Contingency, Impossibility 32
Chapter 9: Why Did God Effectuate Existence? 34
Chapter 10: The Face of God and Existents 36
Chapter 11: God’s Infinite Knowledge 38
Chapter 12: Knowledge Is a Divine Attribute 40
Chapter 13: God’s Knowledge Is Changeless 42
Chapter 14: A Glimpse at the Stage beyond the Intellect 42
Chapter 15: The Inability to Comprehend God’s Knowledge 44
Chapter 16: True Faith 50
Chapter 17: The Intellect’s Proper Place 50
Chapter 18: The Stage beyond the Intellect and Premises 52
Chapter 19: The Inner Eye 54
Chapter 20: Longing for God 56
Chapter 21: Familiarity with the Spiritual World 56
Chapter 22: The Stage of Prophecy 58
Chapter 23: Faith in the Unseen 60
Chapter 24: The Path to Faith in Prophecy 60
vii
