Investigating the Concept of “Fixed Entities” (Aʿyān Thābitah) in Ibn ʿArabī’s Theoretical Mysticism and Its Reflection in the Thought of Allameh Tabataba’i and Imam Khomeini (with Emphasis on the Issues of Annihilation and Divine Knowledge)

Abstract

Fixed Entities (Aʿyān Thābitah), or the immutable realities of contingent beings, constitute one of the fundamental concepts of Ibn ʿArabī’s theoretical mysticism. This doctrine plays a pivotal role in explaining the relationship between unity and multiplicity, the nature of divine knowledge prior to creation, and the mode of manifestation of beings in the world. Using a descriptive-analytical method and drawing upon primary mystical, philosophical, and exegetical sources, the present study examines this concept within Ibn ʿArabī’s intellectual system and subsequently investigates its reinterpretation in the thought of two prominent figures of contemporary Shiʿi philosophy and mysticism, namely Allameh Tabataba’i and Imam Khomeini. The findings indicate that Ibn ʿArabī regarded Fixed Entities as immutable intelligible forms subsisting within divine knowledge. Although they are neither externally existent nor independently created, their effects and determinations become manifest in the realm of concrete existence. While influenced by Ibn ʿArabī, Allameh Tabataba’i approaches the concept from a philosophical perspective grounded in the principality of existence and critiques the doctrine of Fixed Entities, arguing that it implies the precedence of quiddity over existence and attributes acquired knowledge to God. He interprets annihilation (fanāʾ) as the subsistence of the seeker’s fixed entity and maintains that the complete extinction of personal identity would undermine the teleological purpose of the spiritual journey. In contrast, Imam Khomeini, through an integration of mystical and philosophical approaches, interprets Fixed Entities as determinations of the manifestations of the Divine Names within the Plane of Unity (Ḥaḍrat al-Wāḥidiyyah). He identifies the fixed entity of the Perfect Human as the Greatest Name (al-Ism al-Aʿẓam) and the Divine Vicegerent, emphasizing the possibility of reconciling mystical and philosophical perspectives. Accordingly, the disagreement between these two thinkers concerning Fixed Entities and annihilation originates from their differing foundations regarding the principality of existence, divine knowledge, and the relationship between the Divine Essence and Attributes. Nevertheless, each has made a significant contribution to the development and orientation of Shiʿi theoretical mysticism.