''Alam al-Jabarut'' ( "World of Power")Cyril Glassé, Huston Smith ''The New Encyclopedia of Islam'' Rowman Altamira 2003 pp. 144–45 is a realm proposed in

Islamic cosmology Islamic cosmology is the cosmology of Islamic societies. Islamic cosmology is not a single unitary system, but is inclusive of a number of cosmological systems, including Quranic cosmology, the cosmology of the Hadith collections, as well as thos ...

. According to Suhrawardi (1154–1191), this is the highest realm and denotes the place of God's presence. Below ''alam al-jabarut'' lies '' alam al-malakut'' "World of Sovereignty", followed by '' alam al-mulk'' "World of Dominion". The term ''jabarut'' doesn't appear in the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

, but ''al-jabbar'' does (59:23). Thus, the things in ''al-jabarut'' were those which cannot change and are compelled in their state of eternity. In the writings of

al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111), archaically Latinized as Algazelus, was a Shafi'i Sunni Muslim scholar and polymath. He is known as one of the most prominent and influential jurisconsults, legal theoreticians, muftis, philosophers, the ...

(c. 1058–1111), ''alam al-jabarut'' has not been conceived as the highest realm yet but connects the physical realm (''al-mulk'') with the intelligible world (''al-malakut''). First centuries later, ''alam al-jabarut'' becomes an independent ontological realm, latest within the writings of Suhrawardi. Here, '' al-malakut'' is below ''alam al-jabarut'', which in turn, is placed above ''alam al-mulk''. The higher realms are thought to influence the realms below, but not as spatially separated worlds.Amira El-Zein ''Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn'' Syracuse University Press 2009 p. 6

Aziz ad-Din Nasafi Aziz (; ; ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic name from the root two-zayin. In the Hebrew Bible, the root two-zayin () means 'reputable, powerful, sublime'. In the Books of Chronicles, 1 Chronicles, Aziz was the son of Shema and the father of Bel ...

, a 13th-century Persian

Sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

, describes in ''Manazil as-sa'irin'' the ontological ordering of the world. Accordingly, both ''alam al-malakut'' and ''alam al-mulk'', in which existence is actual, are potentially in ''jabarut''.N. Hanif ''Biographical Encyclopaedia of Sufis: Central Asia and Middle East'' Sarup & Sons 2002 The term "world" (''alam'') is accidental, thus limited to ''al-mulk'' and ''al-malakut'', but not applied to ''jabarut'', which is eternal. While some scholars argued there is no significant difference between ''alam al-jabarut'' and ''al-malakut'', others regarded ''alam al-jabarut'' to be the abode of the highest angels (Cherubim) and

spirits Spirit(s) commonly refers to: * Liquor, a distilled alcoholic drink * Spirit (animating force), the non-corporeal essence of living things * Spirit (supernatural entity), an incorporeal or immaterial being Spirit(s) may also refer to: Liquids ...

. At the same time ''al-malakut'' denotes a realm for lower spirits (angels, jinn, Satan). In this regard, ''al-jabarut'' is also considered to be the created aspect of '' rasul'' and the original reality of

Adam Adam is the name given in Genesis 1–5 to the first human. Adam is the first human-being aware of God, and features as such in various belief systems (including Judaism, Christianity, Gnosticism and Islam). According to Christianity, Adam ...

as the ''perfect human'' (

Al-Insān al-Kāmil In Islamic theology, ''al-Insān al-Kāmil'' (), also rendered as ''Insān-i Kāmil'' ( Persian/Urdu: ) and ' ( Turkish), is an honorific title to describe Muhammad, the prophet of Islam. The phrase means "the person who has reached perfection ...

). The lower angels, who dwell in ''al-malakut'', could be encountered by humans, the most elected angels inhabit ''al-jabarut''. This would depict the domain of primary angelic manifestations; the realm of ''archetypes'', ''thrones'' and ''powers''. This is also the

paradise In religion and folklore, paradise is a place of everlasting happiness, delight, and bliss. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical, eschatological, or both, often contrasted with the miseries of human ...

of the

afterlife The afterlife or life after death is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's Stream of consciousness (psychology), stream of consciousness or Personal identity, identity continues to exist after the death of their ...

excepting the supreme paradise. This realm is thus eternal existence while the others are created and limited.

References

{{reflist Jabarut

See also

References