Al-Burhan al-Wujudi

Philosophical Grounding

The intellectual underpinnings of Al-Burhan al-Wujudi can be traced to several pivotal philosophers and theologians within the Shia tradition. Notably, thinkers such as Al-Farabi and Ibn Sina, also known as Avicenna, significantly influenced its formulation. Their discourses on existence and essence laid the groundwork for a nuanced understanding of God’s existence as not merely a probability but an existential certainty.

For instance, the principle of necessary existence (wujub) posits that there must exist a being whose essence is existence itself. This being, characterized by absolute perfection and self-sufficiency, is devoid of any need or dependency—contrasting sharply with created beings that function under contingent existence. The assertion culminates in the recognition of God as the essential premise of all philosophical inquiries into existence.