The Metaphysics of the Common Word:
A Dialogue of Eckhartian and Isma’ili Gnosis
Part One: Essential and Ontological Reality
by Khalil Andani
This essay—the first of two parts—presents a comparative dialogue between the Trinitarian metaphysics of Christianity as taught by Meister Eckhart and the metaphysics of Islam as elucidated in Shi’a Isma’ili theosophy. This important study, which we believe to be the first of its kind, compares the three Persons of the Christian Trinity with the three highest hypostases of Isma’ili gnosis. In this first installment, the author puts forth the premises for a metaphysical dialogue and outlines the correspondence between the degrees of Beyond-Being and Being as described by Meister Eckhart and the Isma’ili theosophers. This is followed by a detailed comparison of the Eckhartian notion of the Godhead (Gottheit) and the Isma’ili concept of the Divine Essence or the Originator (al-Mubdi) as well as their respective apophatic discourses on the nature of the Ultimate Reality. The first part concludes with a comparison of Eckhart’s concept of the Father and the Isma’ili concept of the Divine Command (Amr) in light of the concept of Pure Being. The second installment, which will continue the metaphysical and hypostatic comparisons, is to be published in volume 27 of Sacred Web.
via http://www.sacredweb.com/journals
Khalil Andani is a practicing Chartered Accountant (CA) with KPMG LLP in Toronto and holds Bachelor of Math (B.Math) and Master of Accounting (M.Acc) degrees from the University of Waterloo. He is a student of Isma’ili Muslim philosophy, theology and esoteric hermeneutics (ta’wil), on which he delivers presentations and writes articles. He also studies the writings of the Perennialist school in light of comparative metaphysics and theology, focusing on how such knowledge can inform and enrich the dialogue, discernment and practice of faith in the modern age.
http://www.sacredweb.com/contributors/#Andani
All related Khalil Andani at Ismailimail
