Sh. Muhyiddin Ibn al-ʿArabī

28. Seeing the Real With Vision of Transcendence and Immanence

The philosophers held that they could achieve realization by disciplining the soul and actualizing the intellect, but Ibn al-ʿArabī criticized them for thinking that they could see the full self-disclosure of the Real with only one eye of the heart, that is the intellect, which quickly perceives God’s necessity and transcendence.

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But the heart has a second eye, illumined imagination. Only this eye can perceive the reality of God’s immanence and presence in all things.

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The role of the prophets is to provide the means to open both eyes and to see the Real with a balanced vision of transcendence and immanence. Reliance on intellect alone, which understands transcendence but falls short in grasping immanence, prevents full realization of the human potential. Thus Ibn al-ʿArabī criticized the Muslim philosophers, even while acknowledging that they were correct in their vision of the Necessary Existent.