List of Articles
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Open Access Article
1 - سرمقاله
Seyyed Mohammad Khamenei -
Open Access Article
2 - Mulla Sadra’s Philosophical Approach to the Divine Will
Abdolali ShokrThe Divine Will, as the first manifestation of the essence of the Truth, which is beyond time and place, is the window towards the emergence of other creatures from the Origin of being. In the Transcendent Philosophy, the Divine Will is propounded under some themes such MoreThe Divine Will, as the first manifestation of the essence of the Truth, which is beyond time and place, is the window towards the emergence of other creatures from the Origin of being. In the Transcendent Philosophy, the Divine Will is propounded under some themes such as God’s Power, Knowledge, and Free Will. These attributes differ from the Essence of the Truth only in concept; however, they are the same as God’s Essence in terms of their referent and existence. To justify the objectivity of His Essence and Attributes, Mulla Sadra reasons that God is simple truth and pure existence, and that is why we cannot accept the otherness and the ontological multiplicity of attributes in relation to each other and to the Essence of the Truth. God’s Power is the same as this Free Will and Pre-eternal will, and that is the reason why acts are emanated from the Essence of the Truth without delay. Therefore, the acts of the Almighty God, unlike the view of mutakallimun, who define it as the truth of act and abandonment, are accompanied by the Divine Will. In fact, the thrust of being omnipotent makes it necessary for the Divine Will to be the cause of the emanation or abandonment of act. Moreover, God’s Providence is the same as Almighty Truth’s differentiated knowledge of His Essence and the order of good, which is the cause of the emergence of acts. The Divine Will along with His Providence result in the external realization of God-pleasing acts. The objective realization of existents follows the same features determined by God’s Knowledge and Pre-eternal Will. It is the same decree and ordinance and the highest level of the Divine Knowledge that appears following the Pre-eternal Will, which includes Providence, Knowledge, Causality, and Satisfaction of the Truth’s Essence. All possible things, such as man’s will, are included in this Divine Will, Decree, and Ordinance. Manuscript profile -
Open Access Article
3 - The Problem of Predestination and Free Will and Mulla Sadra’s Innovative Solution
Akbar FaydeiThe problem of Divine Decree and Ordinance and its relationship with human acts has occupied the minds of Muslim thinkers since long ago. The undeniable universality of God’s Decree and Ordinance and its consistency or inconsistency with man’s free will have resulted in MoreThe problem of Divine Decree and Ordinance and its relationship with human acts has occupied the minds of Muslim thinkers since long ago. The undeniable universality of God’s Decree and Ordinance and its consistency or inconsistency with man’s free will have resulted in the formation of the problem of predestination and free will and the rise of three major kalami and religious views of predestination, entrusting, and amr bayn al-amrayn (neither predestination nor entrusting, but something between them). Through explaining the problem of predestination and free will and rejecting the views of determinists and the followers of entrusting, the writer of this paper tries to demonstrate the consistency of the Divine Decree and Ordinance with man’s will based on the teachings of the Shi‘a school of thought and the truth of the theory of intermediate position and Mulla Sadra’s innovative interpretation of the issue. Manuscript profile -
Open Access Article
4 - A Comparative Critical Study of the Origination of the Soul in Mulla Sadra and Ibn Sina
Davood MohamadianyIn the field of psychology in Islamic philosophy, there are two theories on the origination of the soul. Ibn Sina posed the theory of the spiritual origination of the soul and Mulla Sadra propounded the theory of the corporeal origination of the soul. However, contrary MoreIn the field of psychology in Islamic philosophy, there are two theories on the origination of the soul. Ibn Sina posed the theory of the spiritual origination of the soul and Mulla Sadra propounded the theory of the corporeal origination of the soul. However, contrary to Mulla Sadra’s idea, by the immateriality of the soul at the time of origination, Ibn Sina never meant complete immateriality at the level of practical intellect. Accordingly, it appears that Mulla Sadra’s objections to Ibn Sina are not justified and can be responded to. Likewise, by the corporeality of the soul at the time of origination, Mulla Sadra does not mean that the soul is a body or a type of corporeal thing. Rather, he means that, at the moment of origination, the soul is at the level of potential intellect, at the highest level of corporeality, and at the lowest level of immateriality. There are also some other pieces of evidence that bring the ideas of these two philosophers closer to each other. This paper intends to compare their views regarding the origination of the soul. Manuscript profile -
Open Access Article
5 - Qadi ‘Izzuddin Iiji’s Dispute with Philosophers Concerning the Problem of Bringing back the Annihilated Thing
Zohreh TavazianyIn line with the discussions that are known as the essential accidents of existence in philosophy, Muslim philosophers have placed the problem of bringing back the annihilated things within the category of general metaphysics. They have considered it as one of the accid MoreIn line with the discussions that are known as the essential accidents of existence in philosophy, Muslim philosophers have placed the problem of bringing back the annihilated things within the category of general metaphysics. They have considered it as one of the accidental issues resulting from the explanation of the principles of existence. Almost all the most prominent philosophers, such as Ibn Sina, Suhrawardi, Mulla Sadra, Sabziwari, and the contemporary philosopher, ‘Allamah Tabataba’i, have unanimously adduced some unquestionable arguments on its impossibility. However, a group of Muslim thinkers, particularly mutakallimun (theologians), do not apparently find this problem appealing, and since a part of the mission and motivation of mutakallimun is the explanation of resurrection, they assume that this philosophical theory is a serious obstacle to the acceptance of corporeal resurrection, which has been referred to in Islam. Qadi ‘Izzuddin, one of the distinguished mutakallimun of the 8th century AH, was one of the most well-known Sunni mutakallimun who began his discussion of resurrection in his book al-Mawaqif with defending the idea of bringing back the annihilated things and seriously opposed the ideas of his preceding philosophers in this regard. This opposition indicates that he was well aware of philosophers’ standpoint concerning their disagreement with the problem of bringing back the annihilated things. Apparently, he assumed that he had managed to respond to their objections. Nevertheless, in spite of his efforts, even the philosophers who appeared in the field of Islamic philosophy after him, one after the other, took side with preceding philosophers in this dispute and did not find Qadi ‘Izzuddin’s explanations satisfying. Therefore, while being aware of his holy motive, they still considered the idea of bringing back the annihilated things to be indefensible. In the middle of all these debates, the contributions of some philosophers such as Mulla Sadra and the succeeding commentators of his school are praiseworthy. The writer of this article has sided with philosophers in his approach by comparing and contrasting the ideas presented for and against this issue. However, it is noted that defending the idea of the impossibility of bringing back the annihilated things was not limited to philosophers; rather, some mutakallimun, whether Shi‘ite or Sunnite, also supported philosophers’ views in relation to this problem. Manuscript profile -
Open Access Article
6 - Abscess and Butterfly or Bird and Cage? A Comparative Assessment of the Ideas of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra on the Body-Soul Relation
Abdolrazzaq Hesamifar’s philosophies and the way its relationship with the body is explained and justified. It also asks the following questions: Do these two philosophers have the same view of the nature of the soul and its relationship with the body or do they hold different views? Whose More’s philosophies and the way its relationship with the body is explained and justified. It also asks the following questions: Do these two philosophers have the same view of the nature of the soul and its relationship with the body or do they hold different views? Whose view is more compatible with the Islamic-Qur’anic style of thinking? Here, the writers argue that, while Ibn Sina has adduced some strong arguments in order to justify the immateriality and spiritual subsistence of the soul, a great part of them, if not all of them, are influenced by the Platonic-Neo-Platonic approach to the nature of the soul and the soul-body relation. They also emphasize that, although Ibn Sina has offered some subtle ideas and innovations in this regard, the general framework and structure of his discussion is what we have seen in the Platonic-Neo-Platonic tradition. On the other hand, although Mulla Sadra pays particular attention to Ibn Sina’s arguments regarding the immateriality and subsistence of the soul and provides a new interpretation of the issue, through relying on the theories of the trans-substantial motion, the corporeal origination of the soul, and its spiritual subsistence, he provides an approach that can only arise from the magnificent tree of the Transcendent Philosophy. This approach is consistent not only with the rational transcendent view, but also with the Qur’anic-Islamic view concerning the nature of the soul and its relationship with the body. Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra’s view of the soul-body relation can be assimilated to the relationship between the “bird and cage” and the “abscess and butterfly”. In other words, in Mulla Sadra’s eyes, at the moment of origination, the soul is at the final stage of the development of material forms and the first stage of perceptive forms. Moreover, its being at this final moment is considered to be its last corporeal crust and the first spiritual core. Manuscript profile -
Open Access Article
7 - A Study of Abulhassan Jilwah’s Criticism of Mulla Sadra’s Trans-Substantial Motion
Behzad Mohammadi Mehdi DehbashiMulla Sadra’s trans-substantial motion, which is rooted in the specific philosophical principles of the Transcendent Philosophy, is one of the most fundamental innovative theories in the history of Islamic philosophy, which has succeeded in solving several philosophical MoreMulla Sadra’s trans-substantial motion, which is rooted in the specific philosophical principles of the Transcendent Philosophy, is one of the most fundamental innovative theories in the history of Islamic philosophy, which has succeeded in solving several philosophical complexities and ambiguities. However, Mirza Abulhassan Jilwah has advanced some criticisms against this theory, the most important of which include the return of all changes in the world to earth’s rotation, instantaneous generation and corruption of motions in the world, the dependence of the trans-substantial motion on a fixed subject, and essential transformation in case of accepting the trans-substantial motion. This paper explores and discusses these criticisms in terms of their principles and methods of reasoning. It concludes that Jilwah has advanced these criticisms based on a peripatetic approach, without referring to the fundamental principles of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy. In fact, like Ibn Sina, in all of his criticisms of the trans-substantial motion, he has confused the principles of existence with those of quiddity. Manuscript profile -
Open Access Article
8 - Mulla Sadra on Oneness of Being
Seyyed Morteza Hosseini Shahroudi Mohammad Ali VatandoustIn the process of development of his philosophical thoughts, Mulla Sadra managed to move from graded unity to the individual unity of existence based on his own philosophical principles. Through interpreting causality as epiphany, he limited the truth of existence to Al MoreIn the process of development of his philosophical thoughts, Mulla Sadra managed to move from graded unity to the individual unity of existence based on his own philosophical principles. Through interpreting causality as epiphany, he limited the truth of existence to Almighty Necessary and considered other than Him to be the emanations and different forms of the Necessary Single Existence. The writers of this paper intend to present Mulla Sadra’s ultimate theory on the oneness of being and reveal the identity of the oneness of being in the Transcendent Philosophy with gnostics’ idea of this concept. Manuscript profile