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Arcs Of Descent And Ascent
The Arcs of Descent and Ascent ( ar, قوس النزول وقوس الصعود), an ontological circle, are described in Neoplatonism, as well as in Islamic and Sufi cosmology, mainly inspired by the works of Ibn al-Arabi. In the Arc of Descent ("qaws al-nuzuli"), from unity to diversity, God creates successively the Intellect (Supreme Pen), the Universal Soul (Guarded Tablet), Prime Matter, Nature, the Universal Body (including the imaginal world) and the Earth. The Arc of Ascent ("qaws al-su'ud") is the way back to the Presence of God, the process of spiritual perfection. In a hadith attributed to Ja'far al-Sadiq, the sixth Imam of Shi'i Islam, the arc of descent is described as having seven stages. These stages have been commented on in Shaykhism. In Bábism and the Baháʼí Faith In the Bábí and Baháʼí Faiths the seven stages of the Arc of Descent are described as follows: Will (Mashiyyat), Determination (Iradih), Destiny (Qadar), Decree (Qada), Permission (Idhn), Term ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ontology
In metaphysics, ontology is the philosophical study of being, as well as related concepts such as existence, becoming, and reality. Ontology addresses questions like how entities are grouped into categories and which of these entities exist on the most fundamental level. Ontologists often try to determine what the categories or highest kinds are and how they form a system of categories that encompasses classification of all entities. Commonly proposed categories include substances, properties, relations, states of affairs and events. These categories are characterized by fundamental ontological concepts, including particularity and universality, abstractness and concreteness, or possibility and necessity. Of special interest is the concept of ontological dependence, which determines whether the entities of a category exist on the most fundamental level. Disagreements within ontology are often about whether entities belonging to a certain category exist and, if so, how th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Some Answered Questions
''Some Answered Questions'' (abbreviated SAQ; Persian version: ''Mufáviḍát-i-‘Abdu'l-Bahá'') is a compilation of table talks of ʻAbdu'l-Bahá that were collected by Laura Clifford Barney between 1904 and 1906 across several pilgrimages. The book was first published in English in 1908. ʻAbdu'l-Bahá was the son of Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, and was appointed by him as his successor and interpreter of his words. The book covers a variety of subjects, including religion, philosophy, science, human evolution, immortality of the soul, labor strikes, reincarnation, and a variety of Christian topics.Foreword to the 2014 edition of ''Some Answered Questions''. History ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's answers were first written down in Persian by a secretary, and afterwards revised twice by ʻAbdu'l-Bahá. In 1908, three first editions were published: The Persian text by E.J. Brill in The Netherlands; the English translation of Laura Clifford Barney by Regan Paul, Tre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Matarta
In Mandaean cosmology, a maṭarta ( myz, ࡌࡀࡈࡀࡓࡕࡀ; plural form: ''maṭarata'') is a "station" or "toll house" that is located between the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') from Tibil (Earth). It has variously been translated as "watch-station", "toll-station", "way-station", or "purgatory". Maṭartas are guarded by various uthras (celestial beings from the World of Light) and demons. Ruha, the queen of the underworld, is the ruler or guardian of the third maṭarta. To reach the World of Light (''alma ḏ-nhūra'') from Tibil (Earth), souls must pass through the various maṭartas that are situated in between. Rituals such as the ''masiqta'' can help guide souls past the various maṭarta so that they could reach the World of Light. In the Ginza Rabba In the Ginza Rabba, Chapter 3 in Book 5 of the '' Right Ginza'', Book 6 of the '' Right Ginza'' (also known as the "Book of Dinanukht"), and Chapter 4 in Book 1 of the ''Left Ginza'' give detailed descriptions ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Araf (Islam)
In Islam, al-A'raf ( ar, الأعراف) is a separator realm or borderland between Jannah (heaven) and Jahannam (hell), inhabited by those who are evenly balanced in their sins and virtues, they are not entirely evil nor are they entirely good. This place may be described as a kind of benevolent purgatory with privation but without suffering. The word is literally translated as "the heights" in English. The realm is described as a high curtain between hell and paradise. Ibn Kathir described A'raf as a wall that contains a gate. In this high wall lived people who witness the terror of hell and the beauty of paradise. They yearn to enter paradise, but their sins and virtues are evenly balanced. Yet with the mercy of God, they will be among the last people to enter the paradise. The Catholic scholar of Islam Louis Massignon believed the Christian concept of limbo was inspired by the Muslim interpretation of A'raf.Cyril Glassé, Huston Smith ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' Rowman ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Purgatory
Purgatory (, borrowed into English via Anglo-Norman and Old French) is, according to the belief of some Christian denominations (mostly Catholic), an intermediate state after physical death for expiatory purification. The process of purgatory is the final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. Tradition, by reference to certain texts of scripture, sees the process as involving a cleansing fire. Some forms of Western Christianity, particularly within Protestantism, deny its existence. Other strands of Western Christianity see purgatory as a place, perhaps filled with fire. Some concepts of Gehenna in Judaism resemble those of purgatory. The word "purgatory" has come to refer to a wide range of historical and modern conceptions of postmortem suffering short of everlasting damnation. English-speakers also use the word in a non-specific sense to mean any place or condition of suffering or torment, especially one that is tempo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Seven Valleys
''The Seven Valleys'' ( fa, ''Haft-Vádí'') is a book written in Persian by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith. ''The Seven Valleys'' follows the structure of the Persian poem ''The Conference of the Birds''. ''The Seven Valleys'' is usually published together with '' The Four Valleys'' ( fa, ''Chahár Vádí''), which was also written by Baháʼu'lláh, under the title ''The Seven Valleys and the Four Valleys''. The two books are distinctly different and have no direct relation. In February 2019 an authorized translation of both titles and some others was published by the Baháʼí World Centre in the collection ''The Call of the Divine Beloved''. Background ''The Seven Valleys'' was written after March 1856, probably around 1857-1858 in Baghdad after Baháʼu'lláh had returned from the Sulaymaniyah region in Iraqi Kurdistan where he spent two years anonymously with various Sufi sheikhs using the pseudonym ''Darvish Muhammad-i-Irani''. The work was writ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Obligatory Baháʼí Prayers
Obligatory Baháʼí prayers are prayers which are to be said daily by Baháʼís according to a fixed form decreed by Baháʼu'lláh. Prayers in the Baháʼí Faith are reverent words which are addressed to God, and refers to two distinct concepts: ''obligatory prayer'' and ''devotional prayer'' (general prayer). The act of prayer is one of the most important Baháʼí laws for individual discipline. Along with fasting, obligatory prayer is one of the greatest obligations of a Baháʼí, and the purpose of the obligatory prayer is to foster the development of humility and devotion. The obligation of daily obligatory prayer was prescribed by Baháʼu'lláh, the founder of the Baháʼí Faith, in his book of laws, the ''Kitáb-i-Aqdas''. It is forbidden to perform the obligatory prayers in congregation, so the daily obligatory prayers are offered individually, though it is not required that they be said in private. History In the ''Bayán'' the Báb prescribed an obligatory pra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Báb
The Báb (b. ʿAlí Muḥammad; 20 October 1819 – 9 July 1850), was the messianic founder of Bábism, and one of the central figures of the Baháʼí Faith. He was a merchant from Shiraz in Qajar Iran who, in 1844 at the age of 25, claimed to be a messenger of God. He took the title ''Báb'' (; ar, باب; meaning "Gate" or "Door"), a reference to the deputy of the Hidden Imam, while instigating a religious revolution that proposed the abrogation of Islamic laws and traditions, and the establishment of a new religion. Though he was popular among the lower classes, he faced opposition from the orthodox clergy and government, which eventually executed him and thousands of his followers, known as Bábís. The Báb composed numerous letters and books in which he introduced the ideas of a new social order and a promise that a new divine messenger was coming soon. He encouraged learning arts and sciences, gave prescriptions to regulate marriage, divorce, and inheritance, and set ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baháʼí Faith
The Baháʼí Faith is a religion founded in the 19th century that teaches the essential worth of all religions and the unity of all people. Established by Baháʼu'lláh in the 19th century, it initially developed in Iran and parts of the Middle East, where it has faced ongoing persecution since its inception. The religion is estimated to have 5–8 million adherents, known as Baháʼís, spread throughout most of the world's countries and territories. The Baháʼí Faith has three central figures: the Báb (1819–1850), considered a herald who taught his followers that God would soon send a prophet similar to Jesus or Muhammad; the Báb was executed by Iranian authorities in 1850; Baháʼu'lláh (1817–1892), who claimed to be that prophet in 1863 and faced exile and imprisonment for most of his life; and his son, ʻAbdu'l-Bahá (1844–1921), who was released from confinement in 1908 and made teaching trips to Europe and the United States. After ʻAbdu'l-Bahá's death i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoplatonism
Neoplatonism is a strand of Platonic philosophy that emerged in the 3rd century AD against the background of Hellenistic philosophy and religion. The term does not encapsulate a set of ideas as much as a chain of thinkers. But there are some ideas that are common to it. For example, the monistic idea that all of reality can be derived from a single principle, "the One". Neoplatonism began with Ammonius Saccas and his student Plotinus (c. 204/5 – 271 AD) and stretched to the 6th century AD. After Plotinus there were three distinct periods in the history of neoplatonism: the work of his student Porphyry (3rd to early 4th century); that of Iamblichus (3rd to 4th century); and the period in the 5th and 6th centuries, when the Academies in Alexandria and Athens flourished. Neoplatonism had an enduring influence on the subsequent history of philosophy. In the Middle Ages, neoplatonic ideas were studied and discussed by Christian, Jewish, and Muslim thinkers. In the Islamic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
