Mystical Experience as a Basis for Philosophical Thought A Comparative Inquiry into Wuhua and the Imaginal Worlds

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Philosophy of religion, Religions and Mysticism, Faculty of Theology, Farabi Campus, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran

2 Faculty of Theology, Farabi Campus, University of Tehran, Qom, Iran

10.22059/jpht.2026.407318.1006169

Abstract

Mystical experience constitutes an intuitive encounter with sacred reality and divine manifestation through which the perceiver apprehends existence as an integrated whole. When purified from egoic and deceptive influences, it functions as a legitimate mode of knowing the truth of being. The concept of wuhua (無化), emerging from the trans‑sensory insight of the Chinese philosopher Zhuangzi, exemplifies such epistemic intuition; he elevated this experience into a philosophical principle explaining the transformation and unity of existence. Likewise, the notion of the imaginal world (ʿālam al‑khayāl), grounded in the mystical experiences of the Muslim thinker Ibn ʿArabī, articulates a layered cosmological structure in which the real and the imaginal interpenetrate. Despite their cultural and historical distance, both thinkers converge on a foundational intuition: that authentic knowledge of being transcends the confines of sensory perception. Adopting a descriptive and comparative approach, this study examines wuhua and the imaginal world, emphasizing their conceptual resonances. It argues that Zhuangzi’s lucid articulation of trans‑empirical insight can deepen the understanding of Islamic mystical ontology and cosmology. Based on extensive textual analysis, the findings reveal substantial philosophical convergences between Daoist and Islamic mystical thought.

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References

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Philosophy of Religion
Volume 23, Issue 1
April 2026
Pages 61-72

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