Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Table of Contents -- List of illustrations -- Preface -- An introductory overview to the metaphysical philosophy -- 1 An introduction to Ab?'l-Barak?t's metaphysical philosophy -- 1.1 Introductory background to the conception of the existent and existence -- 1.2 Conceptual influences upon Ab?'l-Barak?'s metaphysics -- 1.3 The fundamental ontological conceptions of the existent and existence -- 1.4 Outlining the philosophy of Ab?'l-Barak?t as presented in the -- 1.5 Metaphysics and the structure of its principles -- 1.6 Ab?'l-Barak?'s Prolegomena to metaphysics -- 1.7 The series of topics of the Metaphysics -- Part I The theory of the existent interacting with existence conceived by means of the second cognition -- IPI. 1 Introduction to Part I -- IPI. 2 Ab?'l-Barak? on the nature of the existent with existence -- IPI. 3 The classification scheme of the interactive relationships -- 2 Interacting notions of the external world: on time, creation, and causality -- 2.1 From substance to the interaction of the existent with existence -- 2.2 Time as an adjunct to existence -- 2.3 The question of creation -- 2.4 On the notion of causality -- 3 The relationship of the existent to existence -- 3.1 Toward the conception of the First Existent-Existence -- 3.2 Existence and the existent studied separately -- 3.3 Ab?'l-Barak?'s summary of the theory of reference -- 3.4 On the new form of cognition -- 3.5 The proof and meaning of the First Existent-Existence -- 3.6 Toward the higher plateaus of the positive conception of God -- 4 The nature of knowledge and the mental existents -- 4.1 Introduction and history of the theory of knowledge -- 4.2 Ab?'l-Barak?'s metaphysical theory of knowledge -- 4.3 The theory of the known -- 4.4 The meaningful representation for the mental forms