At a mosque in Istanbul, I had two conversations with Turkish Muslims about Toshihiko Izutsu's "Concept and Reality of Existence" (report).

When I left Japan, I only brought a limited number of books with me. Since I was staying in Turkey, I also brought Toshihiko Izutsu's "The Original Image of Islamic Philosophy" and "The Quran"(his Japanese translation).

...The starting point was when I came across the sentence "The existence that the theorists of the unity of existence are concerned with is not ourselves or the individual things that we perceive intuitively around us, that is, concrete beings, but the very existence that makes all those beings beings" (Toshihiko Izutsu, "The Original Image of Islamic Philosophy", p. 140).

I was surprised that this was exactly the question of Tadashi Inoue, who I am familiar with!

"A cace/instance/ is a fact, a factum... it is nothing but something that has been done, and the result of it. The ground/Arche is the name of the thing that makes it so." (Inoue Tadashi, "Challenge from Grounds: Training for Encounters", p. 131)
In other words, it is a question of Parmenides' existence, and also a question of pre-Socratic philosophers.

Izutsu Toshihiko states in the preface that "the trend of Islamic thought is recognized in the Ibn Arabi-based "theory of the unity of being (wahdat al-wujud)... and aims to analyze and describe the theoretical structure, while also trying to bring to light the workings of the deep existential experience that lies beneath that superficial structure." So I used the following words of Mulla Sadra (1571-1640), which he calls the pinnacle of the development of the theory of the unity of being, as a clue to pose this question to my Muslim friends.

1. “Existence itself that makes all concrete beings exist” (The above-mentioned “existence itself that makes beings exist”)

2. “Where does the existence come from, dwelling in essence, and transforming the essence into an existence?” (Izutsu Toshihiko, “The Original Image of Islamic Philosophy”, p. 141)

3. “The illusion of a lake-that-suddenly appears in the middle of a desolate desert, where there is actually not a single drop of water” (al-Shawahid alRububiyah, Teheran, 1967, p. 448) (Izutsu Toshihiko, “The Original Image of Islamic Philosophy”, p. 160)

4. “The best of the best” (hhawass al-khawass), that is, “one who combines reason and intuition” (dhawawu al-‘aql wa-al-‘ayn) (Haydar Amuli “Jami’ al-Ashar wa-Manba’ al-Anwar “The joint of all mysteries, the source of all light” (Izutsu Toshihiko, “The Original Image of Islamic Philosophy”, p180)

1 and 2 can be discussed on the same level, but as for 3, the position of the theory of the unity of being is that although sensory objects are like this, “they are not completely devoid of reality...they are beings...in relation to the metaphysical origin...there is nothing completely unreal in our world of experience...” (Izutsu Toshihiko, “The Original Image of Islamic Philosophy”, p160).

As for 4, the Iranian thinker and leading thinker of the theory of the unity of being, Haydar Amuli, Amuli's question of "In what sense and to what extent is the empirical world, that is, the world of phenomena, real?", he stated the necessity of "reason and intuition."

This is probably the same position as Izutsu Toshihiko's conclusion in this book, "The fundamental connection between mystical real-life experience and philosophical thought" and "The fusion of mysticism and philosophy." It is interesting that Kobo Daishi Kukai(弘法大師空海) also said something similar, that is, the necessity of "reason and intuition."

In the Islamic philosophy of the oneness of existence, influenced and influenced by Neoplatonism, Aristotle, medieval scholastic philosophy, and Avicenna, a transcendental, intuitive theory with “GOD” at its apex was developed.

To summarize the issues, there is naturally a “gap” between the questions of existence of the above-mentioned Tadashi Inoue, Parmenides, and early Greek philosophers and Islamic philosophy. However, this was probably understood by both Tadashi Inoue and Plato.
I was lost in thought here, so I asked Tadashi Inoue for help, and found a clue in "Words as a Light on the Path" p.267.

"Rather than gazing into the horizon of things and losing sight of them, I thought I should escape into “words” and consider how the “basis” of existence is revealed in “words”." Plato clearly states that “words” do not depend on things as "images" of things, and has Socrates say, "When we consider existence in these “words”, we are considering it in a more (remote) image (from the basis) than when we consider it in the facts (the horizon of things), and I cannot admit that this is a mystery" (Phaedo 99e4-100a4). “Words” that are not "images" are “words” that contain and reveal the “basis” within themselves, and therefore are “words” that can be a light on the path to the “basis” for us. 』p267

The shackles of "language" have great significance when considering issues 1 and 2, whether in the context of the medieval universal debate, the development of modern natural science, phenomenology, philosophical questions about "language" and "logic" from L. Wittgenstein, logical positivism, advanced science, or the absolute superiority of mathematical language in quantum mechanics.

I have also discussed this delicate point with my Muslim friends.

In short, I understand that it is a question of the definition of "language", that is, language because of the "soul", and a question of how to grasp the meaning of "nafs". “Language” is not simply language, but human language is a language with "nafs" (soul).

It is only by "a person who combines reason and intuition" that one can understand "the very existence that makes beings beings".

After this conversation, the Muslims decided to pray at the mosque, so I asked if I could join them. They were very generous and encouraged me to try it as an experience, so I participated in an Islamic prayer service for the first time in my life. Through their actual actions, I "intuited" the existence of “language” beyond language.

I owe it all to them that I was able to organize my thoughts so far, and I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the kind-hearted Turkish Muslim friends.

I cannot imagine how meaningful this experience will be for my future confrontation with the question of "existence" of pre-Socratic philosophers. This is because it is the source of knowledge and wisdom that includes Neoplatonism, Aristotle, medieval scholastic philosophy, Avicenna, the medieval universal debate, the development of modern natural science, phenomenology, L. Wittgenstein's philosophical questions about "language" and "logic," logical positivism, advanced science, quantum mechanics, and AI.

I would like to confront the "arche" and "ground" in order to utter "words that contain the ground within themselves, that can reveal it, and therefore become a light on the path to the ground for us." too.

Photo taken at St. George's Cathedral

5.31.2024