از حقیقت تا مجاز: حکمتِ متعالیہ و شعرِ فارسی میں وحدتِ وجود کا بیانیہ

From Reality to Metaphor: The Discourse of Waḥdat al-Wujūd in Mullā Ṣadrā’s Transcendent Philosophy and Classical Persian Poetry

Abstract

This study explores the conceptual and expressive convergence between Ḥikmat-e Mutaʿāliyah (Transcendent Philosophy) and classical Persian poetry in articulating the doctrine of Waḥdat al-Wujūd (Unity of Being). Rooted in the metaphysical legacy of Ibn ʿArabī, the doctrine underwent profound philosophical refinement in the works of Mullā Ṣadrā, whose dynamic ontology—based on the primacy, gradation, and substantial motion of existence—provided a rigorous intellectual framework for understanding the unity, multiplicity, and manifestation of Being. This research investigates how Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophical exposition resonates with, and in many ways parallels, the poetic metaphors of Rumi, Hafez, Attar, and other Persian masters. Through a comparative hermeneutic approach, the study examines how Persian poetry employs metaphorical structures—such as the lover–beloved, mirror and reflection, ocean and wave, light and shadow—to express experiential aspects of unity that rational discourse alone cannot contain. These metaphors serve not as mere literary embellishments but as epistemic tools that reveal intuitive dimensions of Being, complementing the philosophical precision of Transcendent Theosophy. Conversely, Mullā Ṣadrā’s ontology provides a metaphysical foundation that illuminates the philosophical depth embedded within poetic imagery. The interplay between reality (ḥaqīqat) and metaphor (majāz) thus emerges as a dynamic continuum rather than a rigid dichotomy. The study argues that both traditions—philosophical and poetic—ultimately participate in a shared discursive project: unveiling the gradated unity of existence through different but mutually enriching modes of expression. The findings contribute to broader debates on Islamic metaphysics, poetic epistemology, and the aesthetic articulation of ontological insight.