Question No. 8952 31 August 2022 Content level: Intermediate

Why Is ‘Existence’ Predicated of the Creator and the Created by Equivocation, Not Univocally?

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Dear questioner, Master Ali Saei

Tracking code: #Q-8952

‘Existence’ is predicated equivocally, not univocally, of beings and the Creator of all beings!
If you consider existence to have the same meaning when applied to the Creator and the created (God forbid),

Answer:
If existence has the same meaning when applied to the Creator and the created, then, insofar as it is attributed to the Creator, it must be one. To say that existence is one would mean that the Creator and the created must also be one … (God forbid).
The notion of degrees of existence undermines its absoluteness, uniqueness, and oneness!
Assigning different degrees to existence calls the unity of existence into question.
Saying that existence has the same meaning when applied to the Creator and the created makes them one, multiplies the oneness of existence, and extends it to as many instances as there are creatures.

Subject category: Theology and Creed Theology and creed

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

If we regard existence as having the same meaning when applied to the Creator and the created, this would undermine the oneness of existence and lead us to regard the Creator and the created as one. This view multiplies the oneness of existence, extending it to as many instances as there are creatures—and thereby destroys belief in God’s oneness.

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

Teacher and researcher in the intellectual tradition of wisdom and the Ahl al-Bayt | Soroush Bamdadān Cultural Center

Existence is equivocal, not univocal, when predicated of created beings and the Creator!
If you regard existence as univocal when applied to the Creator and the created (God forbid)—

Answer:
If existence is univocal in the Creator and the created, then, insofar as it is attributed to the Creator, it must be one. To identify their existence would mean that the Creator and the created are also one… ن ع و ذ ب الله

The doctrine of gradation in existence demolishes the purity, uniqueness and oneness of existence!
Assigning different degrees to existence calls its unity into question.
Treating existence as univocal makes the Creator and the created one, multiplies the oneness of existence, and extends it to the number of created beings.

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Why Is ‘Existence’ Predicated of the Creator and the Created by Equivocation, Not Univocally?

The essence and first answer at a glance (60-word summary)

Answer by Master Ali Saei (Abdullah Meshkat)

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