The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn YokdhanIbn Tufayl, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik
Islamic
The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan
Ibn Tufayl, Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-Malik
Islamic philosophy -- Early works to 1800
Sec. 95. But as for the Divine Essences and Heroick Spirits, they are all
free from Body and all its Adherents, and remov'd from them at the
utmost distance, nor have they any Connection, or Dependance upon them.
And the existing or not existing of Body is all one to them, for their
sole Connection and Dependance is upon that ONE TRUE NECESSARY
SELF-EXISTENT BEING, who is the first of them, and the Beginning of
them, and the Cause of their Existence, and he perpetuates them and
continues them for ever; nor do they want the Bodies, but the Bodies
want them; for if they should perish, the Bodies would perish, because
these Essences are the Principles of these Bodies. In like manner, as if
a Privation of that ONE TRUE BEING could be suppos'd (far be it from
him, for there is no God but him) all these Essences would be remov'd
together with him, and the Bodies too, and all the sensible World,
because all these have a mutual Connection.
Sec. 96. Now, tho' the Sensible World follows the Divine World, as a Shadow
does the Body, and the Divine World stands in no need of it, but is free
from it, and independent of it, yet notwithstanding this, it is absurd
to suppose a Possibility of its being annihilated, because it follows
the Divine World: But the Corruption of this World consists in its being
chang'd, not annihilated. And that glorious Book[27] spake, where there
is no mention made of _Moving the Mountains, and making them like the
World, and Men like Fire-flyes, and darkning the Sun and Moon; and
Eruption of the Sea, in that day when the Earth shall be chang'd into
another Earth, and the Heavens likewise_. And this is the Substance of
what I can hint to you at present, concerning what _Hai Ebn Yokdhan_
saw, when in that glorious State. Don't expect that I should explain it
any farther with Words, for that is even impossible.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account