Abstract

This study aims to examine the use that Ibn Arabi makes of the barzakh concept in order to deal with the problem of the relation between God and the world. This problem is discussed in the context of the debate between Islamic philosophers and Islamic theologians over the meaning of the creation of the world. In the context of this debate the philosophers and the theologians advanced synthetical solutions to the problem. This dissertation depicts the development of these synthetical solutions as culminating in Ibn Arabi's unique conception of the Limit . ;The study presents the barzakh concept as signifying two main aspects, ontological and epistemological. The ontological aspect is presented as the Third Thing , which signifies the reality of the totality of existence. The epistemological aspect is presented as the Perfect Man . These two aspects merge toward the end of the study in the 'limit-situation', a situation in which dualities are unified through a unique synthesizing activity. The study presents this synthesizing activity, which is both the actuality of the process of existence and knowledge and the actualization of this process, as what constitutes Ibn Arabi's conception of Infinity. ;The study points at similarities between Ibn Arabi's barzakh concept and other parallel concepts that were constructed by thinkers from ancient, mediaeval, and modern times. It also examines the use that we can make of Ibn Arabi's barzakh concept in addressing philosophical problems in modern reality, especially the search for an adequate methodology of knowledge