The Metaphysical Dimension of the Prophet in Avicenna's Thought

The prophet has a major metaphysical function.

This is a fundamental thesis of Avicenna’s prophetology, and one of the main theses explored in this lecture. The Metaphysics of the Kitāb al-Šifā’ closes with a treatise on prophetology, and one must give a reason for that. The prophet is not only the one who transmits the revealed Law to mankind, nor merely the one who ensures the best possible government of the city: he is also a model of perfection for men. This exemplarity of the prophet has its foundation in the very structure of Avicenna’s metaphysics. The intellect, soul and body of the prophet – in their mutual relationship – present a perfect correspondence with the intellect, soul and body of the ten celestial entities that structure the cosmos according to Avicenna.

The mediation of the prophet – who is explicitly designated by Avicenna in accordance with the Qur’anic revelation as a man, a mere mortal – fully manifests the unbroken continuity that links the sensible world to the celestial world. The sensible world, which is the very last emanation of the ultimate flow from the First Principle, is not a world of exile, cut off from its source. The presence of the prophet – the noetic, psychic and ethical perfection that he embodies – indicates to humankind that the Return is possible, that the way back to the ultimate source is not closed. It is also in Book X of the Metaphysics of the Šifā’ that Avicenna establishes the link between the doctrine of prophecy and that of providence. This connection is also fundamental to understand the metaphysical dimension of the prophet.