Sh. Muhyiddin Ibn al-ʿArabī

14 The Islamic Worldview: Descent Sustainance Reintegration

When Muslim scholars set down the Islamic worldview, they did so with the time-honored purpose of explaining the manner in which the One interrelates with the many.

They typically described the descent of all things – their ‘devolution’ if you like – from the Real. This descent begins with a first manifestation that was called by many names, such as the First Intellect or the Muhammadan Spirit.

❖

As things move farther from the Real, they are sustained by the Real at every stage of their unfolding.

❖

Eventually everything that emerges from the One reaches a furthest limit, and then it reverses direction and is gradually reintegrated into its origin.

❖

In briefest terms, this worldview held that the One gives rise to the many, the One sustains the many, and the One brings the many back to Itself.