The Metaphysics of Knowledge by Presence in Illuminationist Philosophy and Transcendent Philosophy: A Comparative Reconsideration of Two Models of Presence

Knowledge by Presence, whose roots can be traced to the thought of al-Farabi and Avicenna, received an explicit and technical formulation in the works of Suhrawardi and was subsequently expanded and given a new metaphysical account in Mulla Sadra’s Transcendent Philosophy. Despite the significance of this doctrine, much contemporary research has focused on its definition, types, infallibility, and epistemological functions. In some cases, the Sadrian account of the realization of knowledge by presence has been regarded as a general model for understanding this doctrine in Islamic philosophy. Employing a descriptive-analytical method and a comparative approach, the present study examines the metaphysical foundations of knowledge by presence in Illuminationist Philosophy and Transcendent Philosophy. The findings show that, despite their agreement on the acceptance of knowledge by presence and some of its epistemological consequences, Suhrawardi and Mulla Sadra differ fundamentally in its metaphysical foundations, mode of realization, scope, and application. In the Illuminationist model, presence is grounded in manifestation, the removal of absence, and the ishrāqī relation (iḍāfa ishrāqiyya); consequently, material entities may also be objects of knowledge by presence. In the Sadrian model, presence is explained through the primacy of existence, the gradation of being, and existential presence. Thus, agreement on some results does not entail agreement in foundations or mechanisms, nor does it imply identical epistemological consequences. The originality of this study lies in reconstructing this distinction and identifying two distinct metaphysical models for explaining the shared problem of “how the known is present to the knower.”