The Imaginal World and Its Multiplicity from the Perspective of Hakim Sabzevari

The existence of the imaginal world and the manner in which multiplicity is realized within it have been among the issues discussed since the time of ancient Greek philosophers. Aristotle and the major Peripatetic philosophers in the Islamic world regarded its existence as impossible. In contrast, Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra advanced arguments for the existence of the imaginal world and philosophically explained certain issues, such as veridical dreams and bodily resurrection, through this realm. Nevertheless, philosophical challenges and ambiguities remain concerning this world that were not addressed by Mulla Sadra or Suhrawardi. Fazel Tabati raised a challenge regarding the manner of the emanation of the imaginal world and the quality of the multiplicity within it, drawing upon the Peripatetic principle of the restriction of an immaterial species to a single individual and the multiplicity of individuals in material species, and posed this question to Hakim Sabzevari. In response, Sabzevari challenged the cited principle by employing Sadraean principles concerning the primacy of existence and the conventionality of quiddity, and sought to explain the multiplicity of imaginal beings through an existential analysis. The present study demonstrates that Sabzevari’s theory resolves only part of the challenge raised by Fazel Tabati, while other aspects remain unanswered.