Quantum-Relational ʿIrfān A Contemporary Reinterpretation of Islamic Mystical Metaphysics through Relational Ontology and Probabilistic Models
Majid Karimi Baghmaleki
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) December 28, 2025 preprint DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18078114 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper |
|---|---|
| Topics | Mysticism |
| Keywords | Reinterpretation Metaphysics Essentialism Ontology Islam Spirituality Existentialism Epistemology Sufism Dialectic Contemplation Reflexivity Interpretation philosophy Transcendental number |
| Key points | Argues that classical Islamic mystical metaphysics can be reformulated through a Quantum-Relational ʿIrfān framework that bridges relational ontology and quantum indeterminacy without compromising spiritual integrity. |
Abstract
This article advances a comprehensive reinterpretation of Islamic mystical metaphysics through the development of Quantum-Relational ʿIrfān (QRI), a theoretical framework that bridges classical doctrines of unity and contemporary relational ontology. While Ibn ʿArabī’s ontology of waḥdat al-wujūd and Mullā Ṣadrā’s graded existentialism constitute the most sophisticated pre-modern articulations of unity, multiplicity, and divine self-disclosure, both remain grounded in hierarchical and essentialist metaphysical architectures. Drawing on developments in postHeideggerian relational ontology, process metaphysics, phenomenology, and quantum-inspired models of indeterminacy, this article argues that classical mystical metaphysics can be reformulated without compromising its spiritual integrity. Employing textual analysis, comparative ontology, and conceptual hermeneutics, QRI reconceptualizes (1) the Real as a relational-probabilistic field, (2) mystical experience as the actualization of relational potentials, and (3) maʿrifa as co-emergent knowledge. The findings suggest that QRI offers a philosophically robust, methodologically transparent, and hermeneutically grounded platform through which Islamic mystical thought can participate in contemporary philosophical discourse. The proposed framework neither collapses spirituality into physics nor imposes scientific literalism on mystical concepts; rather, it demonstrates how relational and indeterminacy-based models illuminate longstanding mystical intuitions. The article concludes by outlining the implications of QRI for metaphysics, epistemology, Qur’anic hermeneutics, and comparative mysticism. Key word : Islamic mysticism, Quantum-Relational ʿIrfān (QRI), waḥdat al-wujūd, graded existence, relational ontology, process metaphysics, quantum indeterminacy, mystical experience, co-emergent knowledge, conceptual hermeneutics, Ibn ʿArabī, Mullā Ṣadrā, comparative philosophy, Qur’anic hermeneutics.
Comparable studies
Other theoretical and historical papers on mysticism, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The mystical mind: probing the biology of religious experience | 2000 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Religious and Mystical Experiences as Artifacts of Temporal Lobe Function: A General Hypothesis | 1983 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| The Problem of Pure Consciousness: Mysticism and Philosophy | 1993 | Edited collection of essays | |
| Irreducible Mind: Toward a Psychology for the 21st Century | 2020 | Theoretical or philosophical paper | |
| Mysticism and schizophrenia: A phenomenological exploration of the structure of consciousness in the schizophrenia spectrum disorders. | 2016 | Theoretical or philosophical paper |