Malakut

The realm of Malakut (Arabic: عَالَم الْمَلَكُوت, romanizedʿālam al-malakūt, lit.'world of the kingdom [of God]'), also known as Hurqalya or Huralya,[1] is a proposed invisible realm of medieval Islamic cosmology.

The Quran speaks of the malakūt al-samāwāt wa l-arḍ "kingdom of heaven and earth", where the heavenly kingdom represents the ultimate authority of God over the earth.[2][3]

This concept is attested by the writings of al-Ghazali (c. 1058–1111), but limited to epistemological categories of understanding metaphysical realities (spirits, heavens, etc.).[4] Only centuries later, in particular with the Illuministic school of thought (Ishrāqi) and ibn Arabi (1165 – 1240), was it developed into a full ontological concept.[5]: 189 

Malakut is sometimes used interchangeably with 'ālam al-mithāl or imaginal realm, but otherwise distinguished from it as a realm between 'ālam al-mithāl and 'ālam al-jabarūt. In this context, Malakut is a plane below the high angels, but higher than the plane where the jinn and demons live.[6] The higher realms are not spatially separated worlds but impinge the realms below.[7]

  1. ^ Corbin, Henry (1977). [ Spiritual Body and Celestial Earth: From Mazdean Iran to Shi'ite Iran]. Princeton University Press.
  2. ^ Emran El-Badawi (2013). The Qur'an and the Aramaic Gospel Traditions. Routledge. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-317-92933-8.
  3. ^ Sinai, Nicolai. "Key terms of the Qur'an: a critical dictionary." (2023): 1-840.
  4. ^ Jess Hollenback Mysticism: Experience, Response, and Empowerment Penn State Press 1996 ISBN 978-0-271-04444-6 page 259
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Lange-2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Amira El-Zein Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn Syracuse University Press 2009 ISBN 978-0-815-65070-6 page 49
  7. ^ Amira El-Zein Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn Syracuse University Press 2009 ISBN 978-0-815-65070-6 page 6