Kalam Islami

Kalam Islami

Analysis and Review of the Doctrine of Divine Concealment in the Thought of Sadra

Authors
قم. پردیسان. خیابان اندیشه. اندیشه 13 مجتمع مطبوعات، بلوک آ 3، واحد 5
Abstract
The issue of divine concealment, known in modern theology as "divine hiddenness," "God's absence," or "divine eclipse," is one of the major theological challenges of our time, considered by some as the defining feature of modern theology. Various aspects of this doctrine have been mentioned in traditions but have received little attention from theologians, especially contemporary ones. This article, recognizing the importance and necessity of the issue and its place in modern theology, seeks to reinterpret this doctrine within the culture of traditions using a descriptive-analytical method. It reveals that traditions on divine concealment are fourfold: a) epistemological concealment; b) ontological concealment; c) punitive concealment; d) spiritual concealment. The first category itself has two types: "true" and "created." The Necessary Being, despite partial intellectual concealment, is knowable and not completely hidden; the lack of experience of God's presence today is generally acceptable. On the other hand, the cause of divine concealment is the intensity of divine manifestation and the deficiency of human perceptive faculties.
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