The Mediating Movement and Proving God's Knowledge to the Material World in the Thought of Allameh Tabataba'i

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 PhD student at Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran

2 , Department of Culture and Civilization, Imam Hussein Comprehensive University, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Proving divine knowledge of the material world has consistently remained a challenging issue in Islamic philosophy. The attribution of God's Presential Knowledge to the Material World is rejected in both Peripatetic and Transcendent Theosophy, and the explication offered by Suhrawardī also faces objections; hence, resolving this issue holds special significance. The present research seeks to resolve this issue through the mediating movment (al-ḥaraka al-tavassotiya) in Allameh Tabāṭabāʾī's philosophy. Employing an analytical method and direct reference to the texts of philosophers, this article traces the semantic evolution of Traversing Motion (al-ḥaraka al-qaṭʿiyya) and mediating movment (al-ḥaraka al-tavassotiya), then develops an exposition rooted in the Fundamentality of Existence (aṣālat al-wujūd) concerning Ṣadr al-Muta'allihīn's theory and Allameh Tabāṭabāʾī's approach. This article concludes that in Allameh Tabāṭabāʾī's philosophical system, mediating movment (al-ḥaraka al-tavassotiya) is: firstly, not an attribute of quiddity (māhiyya); secondly, an expression of a real aspect of fluid external existence (al-wujūd al-sayyāl); and thirdly, that which establishes unity (waḥda) and simplicity (basāṭat) – concomitants of immateriality (tajarrud). Ultimately, it has been demonstrated that by establishing the aforementioned attributes, the problem of attributing the Necessary Being's Presential Knowledge to the Material World is resolved, and Allameh Ṭabāṭabāʾī's intellectual system can be evaluated as a coherent framework

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References

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History

  • Receive Date: 13 August 2025
  • Revise Date: 06 March 2026
  • Accept Date: 07 May 2026

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