Perspectives, Relationships and Relativity in Ibn al - ‘Arabī’s Thought 90 figuratively understood, because the individual does not acquire this role by his own efforts, but rather God gives it to him . 3 On al - Tirmidhī’s question of what is the superiority of prophets and saints ( awliyā’ ) over one another, Ibn al - ‘Arabī answers by referring to perspectives . He rejects Ibn Qasī’s ( d . 1151 ) 4 view that a prophet or a saint is superior to others in a certain aspect and inferior in another . That is because he differentiates between traits which bring eminence to the individual possessing them such as knowledge of God and of His laws and knowledge of a craft such as carpentry . One cannot compare between spiritual values and qualities with material crafts . For Ibn al - ‘Arabī it is obvious that a knower of God is superior to a carpenter . 5 Furthermore, the qualities of prophets and saints reflect God’s names and there is no difference between them, for their relation to God’s ...
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