Is Pantheism (as defined by Spinoza) compatible with Islam?

Question

Pantheism (Pan = all, theism=God) is the view that God is all. Although some definitions describe pantheism as the view that God is the universe or God is nature, the more general definition is that these (universe, nature) are manifestations of God. See this.

In other words, pantheism defines God as the totality. All matter, energy, space and time. The universe and every other universe which may exist. All creators and all destroyers. All things, ideas, forms. Every-thing and every-nothing. In sum, He is the representation of the oneness of all.

Is this conception of God compatible with Islam? If not, why not and If yes, why yes?

Answer 1

This view wouldn't be compatible with Islam because we believe Allah created these things, he isn't these things.

Praise be to Allah, who created (out of nothing) (Arabic: fatara) the heavens and the earth,
[Al-Fatir 35:1]

Have not those who disbelieve known that the heavens and the earth were joined together as one united piece, then We parted them? And We have made from water every living thing. Will they not then believe [21:30]

Based on your definition of the term, you would say god is these things, but it says in the quran he created these things. Allah cannot be what he created. ' Also, the concept of time is diminished in the hereafter.

Yet they ask you to hasten on the Punishment! But Allah will not fail in His Promise. Verily a Day in the sight of your Lord is like a thousand years of your reckoning.

From this verse we can assume that in the terms of modern day, the time we will spend in the hereafter is very long, but we wont feel this in the hereafter since there wouldn't be a concept of time.

We know that Allah cannot perish or expire, but time will be diminished, so Allah cannot be all since Allah cannot perish like nature, time, earth and the universe.

Although Allah is not all but he can control and create all.

Verily when He intends a thing His (only) Command is "Be": and it is! [36:82]

Answer 2

According to Jafari Fiqh, there are three different types of unity of existence (wahdat al‑wujud), of which two are not Islamic and are considered as apostasy, but the third of which is acceptable.

In brief, the two types that are unacceptable briefly are those which claim that God is exactly same as physical creatures of world.

The acceptable form claims that there is only one existence in world and it is God (i.e., one concept of existence). For example, one can similarly believe that the light of sun and light from a light bulb both are same concept of light; they are both the same entity, but in two distinct cases.^Reference

This is a controversial debate among scholars — some do not accept any kind of it as Islamic — but most of those who reject it do not fully understand it. Those who do accept wahdat al‑wujud are called Urafa (i.e., those who practice Gnosis (Irfan)) and always claim to understand it. Intuition is needed — not everybody can understand it fully — and it can only be seen with an intuitive sense which few people have.

Imam Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic Revolution, was a fan of wahdat al‑wujud and for this was critiqued by some scholars inside Iran; he has written some books about this.

According to Mulla Sadra, one of the best Shia Philosophers,

Gnosis and Reason

One of the fundamental problems which is a matter of contention between the supporters and opponents of gnosis is whether reason can make any judgment about what is given through gnosis, which is supposedly acquired by interior unveilings and witnessings, or whether, for example, reason can refute some of them or not. The answer to this question is important with regard to the fact that many gnostics make assertions which cannot be given any rational explanation. They claim that they discovered these things through the esoteric way, and that reason does not have the capacity to understand them, and naturally, that reason thus has no right to refute or reject them.

The most important subject of this kind of controversy is that of the unity of existence (wahdat al‑wujud), which has been propounded in various forms. One is that, basically, there is nothing, has been nothing and shall be nothing but God, the Exalted. Whatever has been called other than Him, is said to be nothing more than illusions and fantasies. Another form of this proposition is that nothing exists outside the essence of God or outside the vessel of His knowledge. In this way, a sort of multiplicity in oneness may be accepted. Another form of this claim, which is more prevalent, is that the wayfarer at the end of his journey, reaches the station of annihilation (land), and nothing remains of him save a name. Finally, the most moderate form of the claim is that the wayfarer reaches a station in which he sees nothing but God, and all things fade away into God. In more exact terminology, he witnesses the fading of all things into the existence of God, the Exalted, like the fading of a weak light before the light of the sun.

In such cases, the opponents generally take advantage of rational arguments, and the proponents eventually say that these sorts of matters transcend the limits of reason. In this way they shirk the burden of the rational explanation of their claims. Considering these developments, this basic question will be posed: Are there truths about which reason is incapable of comprehending and has no right to reject?

What may be said in summary here is that although reason is concerned with concepts and the function of reason is not to recognize the truth of the objective existence or origin of any objective thing, let alone the divine exalted existence, but the positive and negative judgments of reason, when they are self‑evident or may lead to self‑evidence, are undeniable and through concepts may be applied to objective things. The assumption of the error of such judgments involves contradiction. In other words, although the function of reason is not knowledge of the origins of existence, with the above‑mentioned qualifications, there can be no doubt about the validity of judgments about phenomena.

As for the issue of the unity of existence, it must be said that the denial of existence of things other than God and the absolute denial of multiplicity not only imply the denial of the validity of the judgments of reason, but also involve the denial of the validity of knowledge by presence belonging to the active and passive aspects of the soul. In this way, how can we hold that witnessings and unveilings have any validity, regarding the fact that the best evidence for their validity is their being present to consciousness? So, the unity of existence, on this interpretation, is not acceptable at all. However, we may consider an acceptable interpretation which is propounded in transcendent philosophy^[2] from which it is obtained that the existence of creatures in relation to God, the Exalted, is a relative and dependent existence, and to be precise it may be said that they are the very relation and dependence, and they have no independence of their own. That which is discovered by the gnostic is this very denial of the independence of other things [than God], which they call the denial of their real existence.

Here the question may be posed in another form: Can we consider the judgment of reason prior to intuition and unveiling? In reply, it should be said that pure knowledge by presence is in truth the discovery of reality itself. Thus, it is irrefutable. However, knowledge by presence is usually accompanied by a subjective interpretation in such a way that any distinction between them requires great care. These subjective interpretations which involve conceptual knowledge, are fallible. What are rejected by rational proofs are incorrect subjective interpretations of observations and knowledge by pretence, not the objects of knowledge by presence themselves. In the case of the unity of existence, that which is realized through witnessings is restricted to the independent existence of God, the Exalted, which due to inattention is called true existence, according to which true existence is denied of other existents.

It is worth mentioning that the great Islamic gnostics have explicitly claimed that some unveilings are Satanic, invalid, and may be recognized through some evidence, and ultimately may be distinguished from others by placing them under the scrutiny of rational certain arguments, the divine Book and the Sunnah.

It is clear that an investigation into all the kinds of unveilings and witnessings and the types of knowledge by presence and the ways‑in which they are qualitatively reflected in the mind, the causes for the incorrectness of some subjective interpretations and the way to distinguish the correct from the incorrect, are beyond the scope of this article.

[2]. Transcendent philosophy refers to the philosophy of Sadr al‑Din Shirazi, known as Mulla Sadra (1571‑1640).

Answer 3

NO, not at all. Quran clearly says:

لَّا تُدْرِكُهُ الْأَبْصَارُ وَهُوَ يُدْرِكُ الْأَبْصَارَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ 60:103

Vision perceives Him not, but He perceives [all] vision; and He is the Subtle, the Acquainted.

We can vision the nature, we can meature the energy and time, so they are not God or piece of God according to Quran's clear definition.

Answer 4

First of all, any idea to be compatible with Islam, it has to conform all the principles and points mentioned about that idea in Islam. Then the idea may be expanded without making and collision with those basic points. Then the idea can be considered compatible with islam. But still none can claim that this IS the idea/definition of Islam, it is just compatible. And the same principle will apply to this question- whether "Pantheism", which is a theory about the nature/attribute of God, is compatible with Islam or not.

So let's start with the idea/definition of God in Islam. You have already placed a question here Who is God? Do all Muslims agree on one definition?. And there are some very good, well organized discussion about this matter. To summarize, there are many verses of Quran and Ahadith that mention the attributes of Allah- the most important being Surat Al-'Ikhlas http://quran.com/112 (you can check different translations here). Another important source is the 99 names of Allah- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/99_Names_of_God, where each one is describing an attribute of Allah. All these indicates that Allah is a supreme being with His own personality and consciousness. So, any idea about God or Allah will be compatible with Islam, if it conforms all these points.

Now come to "Pantheism". We see several definition of pantheism. The most common one is-

"Everything is God".

Here "everything" is normally interpreted as "the nature" or "the universe" which we are within and experiencing. That means the nature or universe is identical to God. This is almost same as the other definition-

"The universe or nature is a manifestation of God".

Note I omitted your plural words here. Another definition which expands the first one (and the one you emphasized here) is-

"Everything that exists- this nature or universe including all matter, energy, space and time or any other existence(if there are any) of other universes or forms or ideas beyond our experience and knowledge, combined in totality- is God".

Let me mention some other idea related to pantheism-

Monism: "Everything is one."
Panentheism: "Everything is IN God."(do not confuse this with pantheism, spelling is similar but not same)

Now let's examine whether they are compatible with Islam or not. In my understanding, pantheism is the same idea as monism. Pantheism merely mentions the word "God" and that's all. They do not mention any personality or consciousness of God or "The Unity". And sometimes this attributes is clearly denied. And if we account the other descriptions where the denial is not clear, they also held these ideas(i.e. pantheism or monism) sufficient to describe God. So these are indirect denial. And this is clearly not compatible with the view of Islam as I have already mentioned.

Then come to "panentheism". While quite similar to pantheism regarding the totality saying "everything is in God", it tends to accept the "personality or consciousness" of God. If not, it is also incompatible with Islam. But if it accepts those attributes of God, then is it become compatible with Islam? Here we need some further discussion about classification of existence- Physical and Mental. The physical existence is that of the matters and energies. In contrary, mental existence is existence of thoughts or informations. And one kind of existence can dissolve into another. For example, our brains or the memory and processor of computers are physical matters but they contain thoughts or informations. On the other hand, think of a computer game. It has it's own materials, energy and physical rules, which may or may not resemble our own physical world. But all these things are nothing but data or information within the computer. Those are "virtual" to us. There are even two topics in philosophy regrading this-

• Idealism: Everything including matters and energy is actually thoughts or spiritual things. see- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idealism
• Materialism: Everything is actually matters and all thoughts can be reduced to it.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Materialism

Now, let's go back to panentheism which states- "Everything is in God". If this existence of everything is to be taken physically, that we, along with our physical universe or nature, is in God or part of God, then God or some part of Him is confined within the space, time and laws of our universe. That is incompatible with the views of Islam. According to Islam, Allah is not confined within our space, time and laws. Rather He is the creator of all these. And if it is said that, we and our universe is physically part of God, then it means He did not actually created us from nothing. It would seem everything is a kind of transformation of parts of Himself. But Allah has stated that- He has created everything just by His will. Even He has created the events.

And if we go the other way- the everything of this universe or reality is actually thought or will, and that is in God or mind/knowledge/will(or may be something beyond our knowledge/imagination) of God, then it becomes somewhat compatible with views of Islam. And this is the "Wahdat al-Wojood" mentioned by different people in my understanding. I used "somewhat" because this idea is very critical to grasp and express. Perhaps, my wording are not accurate. And someone may go wrong way from silly confusions. Again, as I have mentioned, this is just compatible with the Islamic view of God, not the Islamic view itself. So, someone can have a different view still compatible with Islam. And someone can even just skip these idea and maintain the basic Islamic beliefs. And we can say, this universe/nature and everything within it are manifestations of different attributes of God.

Hope we have had enough discussion regarding the topic. If anyone find any inconsistency in this answer, please mention it in comment.

Answer 5

(My personal view on the issue.)

Allah (the exalted) described himself as Most High and Above All in many place in Qur'an.

Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of [all] existence. Neither drowsiness overtakes Him nor sleep. To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. Who is it that can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills. His Kursi extends over the heavens and the earth, and their preservation tires Him not. And He is the Most High, the Most Great. (Ayat Al-Kursi)

This ayah is one of the most memorized ayah in Qur'an and given much importance in Islam. (you can open seperate question about Ayat al-Kursi). In this ayah it is mentioned that Allah (the exalted) is the sustainer of all existence and the owner of it. So this would suggest that Allah (the exalted) is above the universe, and not the universe itself.

A revelation from He who created the earth and highest heavens, The Most Merciful [who is] above the Throne established.To Him belongs what is in the heavens and what is on the earth and what is between them and what is under the soil. (Surat Ţāhā 4-6)

Surat taha starts by mentioning that Qur'an is a revelation from Allah (the exalted) who created the universe, and mentions that he is the owner of everything.

There are much more ayah in Qur'an mentioning that Allah (the exalted) created the universe, he is sustaining it, and he is the owner of it. I would conclude that Islam isn't compatible with pantheism.

Answer 6

No, Pantheism is in no way compatible with Islam. the belief that God is every single thing, is illogical, as well as it is not compatible with the Quran and Sunnah. If God is everything, then He is also weakness and can take on the weaknesses of everything, and this is illogical because God is all powerful and weak in no way like His creation. Furthermore if God was everything, then He would also be of the lowest of things, and God is not low, He is the Most High far above everything. It would also mean that God would have a beginning and an end, but God has no beginning nor end.

We do not believe that God is part of His creation, We believe He is not affected by space or time. Allah Says:

ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنُ عَلَى ٱلۡعَرۡشِ ٱسۡتَوَىٰ

The Most merciful upon the Throne Established

Suart Taha Ayah 5

meaning that He (Allah/God) is above and beyond/Outside of His creation and hence not part of it. But we believe His attributes work inside of His creation. He is not affected by place/Space. Furthermore, there is no verse in the Quran nor is there any authentic Hadith that indicate He is everything or that He in essence is everywhere. So that conception of God is in no way compatible with Islam.

Answer 7

Sufi scholars have a similar concept known as Wahdat al-Wojood (the oneness of being). Roughly it is the concept that Allah and the universe are one, or (probably more accurately) that the universe is a manifestation of Allah.