Although ostensibly different, Franz Kafka and the mystical theorist Muḥyī al-Dīn ibn ‘Arabī (d. 638/1240) both employ complex rhetoricity that accommodates paradox and contradiction. This study compares how their complex rhetoricity exposes the tension between the essential human need to comprehend god, and a god who is essentially apophatic. God’s apophasis, expressed as His numinous laws, inevitably comes into conflict with Man’s rationality. Through a theological/legal analysis of Kafka’s novel, The Trial, and ‘Ibn ‘Arabī’s interpretation of ‘Īsā’s (Jesus’) encounter with God on the Day of Judgement, the implications of this tension are explored. Manifested as the incompatibility of immutable divine laws and variable human affairs, and the divergent demands of the individual and the community, the epistemic crisis elicited by this tension provokes opposing reactions from Kafka’s protagonist, Josef K., and ‘Īsā. Josef K.’s demise results from his exclusive reliance on reason, while Īsā succeeds in his encounter with God because he recognizes that, even though rationality is necessary, it is limited.

中文翻译：

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伊本·阿拉比和卡夫卡论上帝与法律

虽然表面上有所不同，但弗朗茨·卡夫卡和神秘理论家穆哈伊·阿尔丁·伊本·阿拉比（卒于 638/1240 年）都使用了复杂的修辞手法，以适应悖论和矛盾。这项研究比较了他们复杂的修辞如何暴露了人类理解上帝的基本需求与本质上是无言的上帝之间的紧张关系。上帝的启示，表达为他的神圣法则，不可避免地与人的理性发生冲突。通过对卡夫卡的小说《审判》和“伊本·阿拉比”对“Īsā”（耶稣）在审判日与上帝相遇的解释的神学/法律分析，探索了这种张力的含义。表现为不可改变的神圣法则与多变的人类事务的不相容，以及个人和社区的不同需求，这种张力引发的认知危机激起了卡夫卡的主人公约瑟夫·K.和'Īsā的反对反应。Josef K. 的死亡源于他完全依赖理性，而 Īsā 成功地与上帝相遇是因为他认识到，尽管理性是必要的，但它是有限的。