The Problem of the Simplicity of the Essence of God Almighty from the Perspective of Hakim Zanuzi: Analysis and Explanation

The issue of the simplicity of God Almighty is one of the most important theological and epistemological issues in Islamic thought and is the basis for discussions on many other topics, including monotheism, divine attributes, and actions. In Islamic theology, both theologians and philosophers have organized comprehensive discussions in this regard in their works and have explained and proven the simplicity of God Almighty. In the meantime, Hakim Zanuzi, using the teachings of transcendental wisdom and based on the originality of existence, has discussed this issue and considered the perfection of monotheism and complete certainty in the unity of God to be conditional on the absolute negation of any plurality of the divine essence, and in this regard, he has considered simplicity to mean non-combination and indivisibility. In this article, an attempt is made to examine the issue of the simplicity of the divine essence from the perspective of the sage Zanuzi, using a descriptive-analytical method, and to examine his explanation and analysis, as well as his evidence in proving this issue, and finally to clarify the relationship of this issue with other divine and philosophical issues from his perspective. From the perspective of the sage Zanuzi, all perfections and consciousnesses existing in different levels of possible existence are present in a complete and comprehensive manner as a necessity of existence. This presence is in the form of simplicity and unity without any multiplicity; in the sense that these consciousnesses are gathered in the simple divine essence, without any multiplicity or division.