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

Islamic cosmology Islamic cosmology is the cosmology of Islamic societies. It is mainly derived from the Qur'an, Hadith, Sunnah, and current Islamic as well as other pre-Islamic sources. The Qur'an itself mentions seven heavens.Qur'an 2:29 Metaphysical principl ...

. 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 (, ; Standard Arabic: , Classical Arabic, Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation in Islam, revelation from God in Islam, ...

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

al-Ghazali Al-Ghazali ( – 19 December 1111; ), full name (), and known in Persian-speaking countries as Imam Muhammad-i Ghazali (Persian: امام محمد غزالی) or in Medieval Europe by the Latinized as Algazelus or Algazel, was a Persian polymat ...

(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 ʻAziz Nasafi, 13th-century Persian

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

, 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 or spirits may refer to: Liquor and other volatile liquids * Spirits, a.k.a. liquor, distilled alcoholic drinks * Spirit or tincture, an extract of plant or animal material dissolved in ethanol * Volatile (especially flammable) liquids, ...

, while ''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 as the ''perfect human'' (

Al-Insān al-Kāmil In Islamic theology, ''al-Insān al-Kāmil'' ( ar, الإنسان الكامل), also rendered as ''Insān-i Kāmil'' ( Persian/Urdu: ) and ' ( Turkish), is an honorific title to describe the Islamic prophet Muhammad. The phrase means "the pers ...

). 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, paradise is a place of exceptional happiness and delight. Paradisiacal notions are often laden with pastoral imagery, and may be cosmogonical or eschatological or both, often compared to the miseries of human civilization: in paradis ...

of the

afterlife The afterlife (also referred to as life after death) is a purported existence in which the essential part of an individual's identity or their stream of consciousness continues to live after the death of their physical body. The surviving ess ...

, with the exception of the ''supreme paradise''. This realm is thus eternal existence, while the others are created and limited.

References

Afterlife places Jabarut Jabarut Mythological places {{reli-philo-stub

See also

References