Excellent — let’s look at how Al-Ghazali and Ibn Arabi read these Qur’anic ideas differently, but both within Islam. I’ll connect each verse with their perspective:
🌙 1. Allah is al-Ḥaqq (The Truth) — Qur’an 22:62
“That is because Allah is the Truth (al-Ḥaqq)…”
Al-Ghazali:
Allah alone is the Necessary Being; everything else is contingent.
Creation is real, but it borrows its existence every moment from Allah.
Like a lamp — the bulb glows, but only because electricity sustains it.
Ibn Arabi:
Allah is the only Real existence.
Creation has no independent essence at all; it is Allah’s tajallī (self-disclosure).
Like shadows — they appear real, but they have no substance apart from the object casting them.
🌙 2. Allah sustains all — Qur’an 35:41
“Allah holds the heavens and the earth so they do not cease…”
Al-Ghazali:
This shows Allah’s constant will keeps the universe in place.
If Allah withdraws His sustaining power, the world ends instantly.
For him, this is proof of dependence (faqir) of creation.
Ibn Arabi:
The “holding” is not separate from Allah’s being — the very existence of creation is Allah’s continuous presence.
He might say: the world is like breath — it only exists as long as it is being exhaled.
🌙 3. Creation as signs — Qur’an 3:190
“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth… are signs (āyāt).”
Al-Ghazali:
Signs are meant to guide you to Allah, but they are not Allah Himself.
You look at a star and say: “This proves the wisdom of the Creator.”
It is a path of evidence, pointing beyond itself.
Ibn Arabi:
Signs are faces of Allah’s Names.
The star doesn’t only point to Allah’s wisdom — it is Allah’s wisdom made visible in creation.
You are looking at a “mirror” of the Divine Attribute.
🌙 4. Allah as the only cause — Qur’an 8:17
“When you threw, it was not you who threw, but Allah threw.”
Al-Ghazali:
This proves that creatures are not real causes.
Humans act, but Allah creates the effect. (This is his doctrine of occasionalism).
Example: Fire doesn’t burn cotton by itself — Allah creates the burning whenever fire touches cotton.
Ibn Arabi:
Same verse, but with mystical coloring.
He sees human action as Allah acting through the servant.
Your hand is Allah’s tool — when you act, it is ultimately Allah manifesting His will through you.
✅ So the difference in essence:
Al-Ghazali → Distinction preserved: Allah is the Creator, creation is dependent, signs point beyond themselves.
Ibn Arabi → Unity emphasized: creation is a mirror of Allah’s essence, signs are His manifestations, nothing exists but Him.
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