Mulla Sadra's Life, works, and Philosophy

Prof. S. M. Khamenei

 

It has also been quoted from Fayd, "what benefit could be derived out of a prayer whose leader is the cause of all this disunion and division? ...  Considering these issues, I would like to remain in solitude and continue my humble life like what it was before ... and pray for you, since I see the blessing in solitude and performing the congregational prayer for sincere people ... Since all people's requests are granted in your presence, this weak servant hopes that his demand not be rejected."[1] It seems that the king's insistence was stronger than Fayd's apologies and avoidance. He was frequently called to Isfahan for different excuses, and both the courtiers and Fayd's friends, after a long time of persuasion and discussion, convinced him that it was an individual, rational, and religious obligation to accept the position. At last, he yielded to their demand and became the leader of Friday prayer in Isfahan.

In spite of all we said about Fayd and what we learn from his biography and works, the details of this great man's life are still ambiguous, and there is still place for research work to be done to clarify the obscure aspects of his life. For example, one of the historical ambiguities in this regard is whether his contemporary opponents in Isfahan were jurisprudents, muhaddiths (traditionsts), sophists, or theologians.

Fayd's notes of his life which have been compiled in a book called Sharh sadr reveal that most of his opponents were jurisprudents and muhaddiths who considered themselves authorized to solve the problem of Friday prayer. However, it seems that they were perhaps a group of problem makers who pretended to jurisprudence and knowledge of hadith; they merely knew a few religious and religious terms and problems and posed them with a loud voice out of an empty mind. Undoubtedly, such people are numerous among common people and laymen and their goal is to obstruct the way of the followers of the Truth to obtain their end.

The influence of both groups among the people, on the one hand, and Safavid kings' respect for scholars, on the other, had exasperated such pretentious people to interfere with social affairs. Available evidence suggests that the Safavid king was afraid of the influence of their words and, in spite of his insistence on the policy of holding the Friday prayer in the capital of Shi'ism, tried to observe their ideas as well, seek their guidance, and consult with them, as well.

Apparently, the Safavid king believed that the presence of a scholar coming from another city such as Fayd, who enjoyed scientific perfection and was undisputedly a master of intellectual and transmitted sciences and the highest of all in the purification of the carnal soul could remove the clashes among the ideas and desires of jurisprudents, muhaddiths, and traditionists of the city and make them put away with their competitions and apparently fundamental scholarly disputes. Fayd was to some extent successful in so doing; however, as he himself said, "the evil nature of some of those mammonists - who are today suffering the consequences of their wrong deeds in the other world - did not keep calm and continued provoking sedition, conspiracy, and corruption.

Fayd, himself, divided his own opponents and those who were against the Friday prayer into four groups in his books. It seems as if, in addition to writing an autobiography far from any kind of hypocrisy, exaggeration, accusation, or marginal issues, he intended to portray the society of the scholars of that period so that history would not judge his leaving of Isfahan and refusing the post of leadership as a sign of his weakness, disbelief, undutifulness, and irresponsibility.

In his view, his contemporary scholars residing in the capital fell into one of the following groups:

The first group consisted of mammonists, seekers of authority and leadership, and those who claimed ijtihad (individual exertion). Such people even believed that the Friday prayer was in a way obligatory; however, due to some personal malicious intents and internal conflicts, they went to the suburbs of the city and held the Friday prayer there to create segregation among people. They sold Islam and Muslims' expedience and good for personal or group interests. In other words, they would willingly put fire to Qaysariyyah to obtain a worthless handkerchief.

The second group consciously, but out of spite and hatred and opposition with Islam's decree, stood against the obligation of the Friday prayer, prevented people from taking part in it, and undermined religious principles.

The third group consisted of pseudo-scholars who carried a load of false khowledge, had no understanding of the Scripture and Sunna, imitated the words of jurisprudents and other scholars in a parrot-like fashion, and were unaware of the depth of religious principles.

The fourth group comprised those scholars who did not fuel the fire of sedition, but, at the same time, did not rise in support of the truth, either.

History does not give us any information as to the exact identity of such people; nevertheless, in some documents certain examples have been cited. For instance, we know about a scroll prepared by one of these opposing jurisprudents in which he, himself, said that Fayd's decrees and ideas had been questioned by some of the well-known jurisprudents of that period.

He claims that some reputable jurisprudents such as Aqa Hussayn, Aqa Jamal Khansari and some others had testified that the jurisprudents' statements and proofs documented in that scroll involved no indication as to the individual obligation of the Friday prayer. He had taken this scroll to the court and the king to prove that Fayd's claim in this regard was not a religious decree.[2] This Shaykh, before preparing the scroll had had a debate with a jurisprudent (apparently in Fayd's presence - whom he had referred to as Hazrat-i Akhund) before the prime minister of the time and had given him his final notice on this issue.

Therefore, Fayd's escape from this battlefield must be considered as a wise and lawful act. He, himself, in spite of his belief in the obligation of holding the Friday prayer, was of the idea that if complying with this obligation caused corruption and conflict, it would be wisest to evade it.

Fayd, who had been living a quiet, peaceful, and good life in his city, Kashan, and in a pleasant place like Qamsar, was suffering so much in Isfahan that he always spent his time in seclusion and composed lamenting poems. One of his poems is a ballad which portrays not only a part of his life but also his growing weariness of life. Existing proofs indicate that he wrote these poems in Isfahan and during the time of his Imamat (leadership) there.

There are two groups of true human beings who are always keeping away from those who pretend to being human beings but are of a beastly nature, as well as those who pretend to be wise but are ignorant: The first group consists of pious and chaste people who are afraid that the clear mirror of their heart might be tarnished by the rust of the soul of dastards and impious people, and the second group consists of those who are the true people of knowledge rather than merchants of science plodding in every district and cannot stand ignorant people (although they might pretend to being scholars) and, in order to save the precious moments of their life, do not waste their time conversing with inept people and seek refuge in seclusion.

Fayd was identified with members of both groups; as a result, he suffered from socializing with those who pretended to knowledge to deceive people and could not bear to breathe the same air that they did. As mentioned before, Fayd was like a mirror of his master, Mulla Sadra. This part of Fayd's life could be considered as a reflection of a part of Mulla Sadra's life, too. It also reveals how much he was being tortured by the pseudo-scholars of his time. Like the lily of the valley, Fayd talked about the bereavement of Adonis in his poems and lyrics which can be said to be the words of all sufferers' from dastard' deeds at all times.

In these poems, Fayd expresses his worries about the dangers his wealth, authority and leadership might put his faith through. He dreaded people's respect for himself, his immense fortune, his authority for giving decree and passing judgments, and being people's leader. Through the lines of his poetry, he exposes his fears so honestly that the reader can truly touch them in heart.

Another vague historical point of that time pertains to the presence of Fayd's other contemporary scholar, the learned man of the time, Muhammed Baqir Sabziwari (1090-1017 A.H), the well-known jurisprudent and the writer of Dhakhira al-ma'ad, Kifayah, and Glosses on Ilahiyyat shifa. The problem here is that although (probably after Fayd's time of leadership) he was the Friday prayer leader of Isfahan for some time, possessed high social and political power, was almost considered an equal to Fayd in terms of age, scientific level, and religious, philosophical and transmitted knowledge, and was quite well-known among people, he was not a candidate for the leadership of the Friday prayer.

He was one of the people who, like Fayd, firmly believed in the individual obligation of the Friday prayer in the occultation of the Infallible Imam (AS). He had written a book in this regard and was no less than Fayd in fame. It is also possible that the man by the same name Chardin[3] (the French traveler representing the Pope of the time for obtaining some religious and political objectives) referred to in his travel account is the same person as our prominent thinker. Chardin writes: "He is the head of Mulla Abdullah School ... and the most knowledgeable of all in his period, particularly in theology, and carries the title of mujtahid (expert in Islamic jurisprudence) or the deputy of Imam.

           

 Abstracts Philosophical-Gnostic Center in Alexandria:Contexts and Consequences

 

 Hussayn Kalbasi Ashtari

 The Alexandrian philosophical-gnostic traditions have always been of particular interest to the historians and researchers working in the field of history of philosophy and gnosis. This might be due to the fact that such traditions have always functioned as the intersection point and interaction locus of Eastern and Western cultures and represent their modes of affecting each other. At the same time, there are certain ambiguities and complexities in this regard, and, in spite of the different works which have been written in relation to this issue and the studies (whether limited or extensive) conducted, there are still a great many of problems which are in need of serious inquiry.

The present paper, which consists of two parts, firstly states some of the features of the above-mentioned center, and then deals with its consequences, effects and later evolution in its related realms.

Key Terms

philosophical centers     

Alexandrian philosophical-gnostic center

history of philosophy

Hellenism

References

Davidson, A. Introduction to Pierre Hadot's Philosophy as a Way of Life, translated by Michael Chase, Oxford, 1995.

Jordan, W. Ancient Concepts of Philosophy, London and New York, 1990.

Nussbaum. M. C. The Therapy of Desire: Theory and Practice in Hellenistic Ethics, Princeton, 1994.

Horace. The Complete Odes and Epodes, With the Centennial Hymn, translated by W. G. Shepherd, Introduction by G. Radice, Penguin Books, 1983.

Diogenes Laertius, Lives of Eminent Philosophers, Loeb Classical Library, Cambridge, 1925.

Hadot. P. What is Ancient Philosophy?, translated by M. Chase, Harvard University Press, 2002.

 

Modes of Causation and Delimitation in Sadrian Philosophy

Ali Fazli

Expressions such as 'mode of causation' and 'mode of delimitation', which suggest the external and ontological relation between the principial existence and quiddity and its essential judgments, as well as the same relation between the Necessary Being and possible existents, hold a specific place in the graded and cause-effect based system of Sadrian philosophy and perform a fundamental role in clarifying the problem of principiality of existence. Pre-Sadrian philosophers' view of these two expressions was merely a demonstrative one, restricted to explaining the mode of the relation between the subject and predicate in propositions. Nevertheless, some philosophers such as Mir Damad and Mulla Sadra, following an affirmative approach, tried to clarify the relation between the referents of the subject and predicate in the outside.

 

Key Terms

mode of causation                                                 mode of delimitation

intermediary in affirmation                                     intermediary in accidents

existential equality                                                 quiddative commensurability

metaphorical mode of delimitation                         annexed mode of delimitation

real mode of delimitation                                       mode of efficiency (infad)

mode of solidity                                                    mode of task

by essence and by accident                                   mode of absoluteness

 

Sources

Mulla Sadra, al-Asfar arba'ah, vols. 1,2,5,7. Dar al-Ahya al-Tarath al-Arabi Publications, Beirut.

Mulla Sadra, al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah, al-Tarikh al-Arabi Publications, Beirut.

Mulla Sadra, Taliqa sharh-i hikmat al-ishraq, vol. 1.

Ibn Arabi, Futuhat makkiyyah, vol. 2, Dar al-Ahya al-Tarath al-Arabi Publications, Beirut.

Mir Damad, al-Qabasat, Tehran, University Press.

 

Divine Vision and Hearing in Islamic Philosophers' View

 Akbar Urvati Muvaffaq

 The problem of vision and hearing and demonstrating them for the Almighty is one of the issues which has raised a lot of discussions regarding Divine Names and Attributes among Islamic philosophers. A comparison of the views of philosophers such as Shaykh Ishraq and Mulla Sadra, as well as those of the commentators of Transcendent Philosophy, represents their disagreements on this issue. Here, unlike what early philosophers believed, Imam Khomeini is of the view that these two attributes cannot be referred back to other attributes and are of independent meanings. In other words, he holds that vision and hearing are of the types of Knowledge which are added to the essence of knowledge itself and are among Almighty's Absolute Perfections. As a result, they are necessary to be demonstrated for Him, Who is the origin of being Himself and the source of perfection of being.

 

Key Terms

vision and hearing

knowledge of certainty

eye of certainty

names and attributes

sense perception

 

References

Javadi Amuli, A. A Commentary on Transcendent Philosophy, Part II, 6^th vol., Tehran, al-Zahra Press, 1^st edition, 1368 A.S.

Khomeini, S. R, Sharh-i chehel hadith (Arba'in hadith), Tehran, Organization for Compiling and Publishing Imam Khomeini's works, 1^st edition, 1371 A.S.

Suhrawardi, Sh. Y, Majmu'a mussanafat Shaykh Ishraq, vols. 1,2, edition and introduction by Henry Corbin, Tehran, Research Center for Humanities and Cultural Studies, 3^rd edition, 1380 A.S.

Mulla Sadra, al-Hikmat al-mut'ali'ah fil-asfar al-'aqliyyah al-arba'ah, Beirut, Dar al-ahya al-tarath al-Arabi, 4^th edition, 1410 A.H (1990 A.D)

Mulla Sadra, Mabda' wa ma'ad, translated by Ahmad Ibn Muhammed al-Hussayni Ardakani, compiled by Abdullah Nurani, Tehran, University Press Center, 1^st edition, 1362 A.S.

Philosophers' Interest in Hyle

 Jamshid Sadri

 The depth of philosophers' attention to hyle becomes manifest through an analysis of the evolution of phenomena in physical discussions. In demonstrating the existence of matter and hyle, philosophers have resorted to the argument of potency and act as the most solid evidence in this regard. This argument states that there is something in bodies upon which the forms and appearances are mapped. This issue has never been denied by any philosopher; however, there are differences of ideas as to its referents.

Key Terms

hyle     

matter

potency and act

non-existence

corporeal existence

predisposition

 References

Mulla Sadra, al-asfar al-arba'ah, vols. 5,2, Sadra Islamic Philosophy Foundation.

Mulla Sadra, al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah, Sadra Islamic Philosophy Foundation.

Mulla Sadra, al-Mabda' wa Ma'ad, Sadra Islamic Philosophy Foundation.

Mulla Sadra, Risalah al-huduth, Sadra Islamic Philosophy Foundation.

Suhrawardi, Hikmat al-ishraq, Iranian Philosophy and Wisdom Society.

 

Semantics of God's Attributes in view of Muslim  Philosophers and Theologians

Mansur Imanpur

The issue of God's Attributes has always been one of the most important topics in theological discussions in the history of Islamic thought. In fact, Muslim theologians and philosophers have dealt with this issue from different angles, including the division of His Attributes into essential and actual ones and exploring whether such attributes are identical with His Essence or are added to it. However, one of the basic questions in this regard is: 'How do we know about these attributes and how do we define them when attributing them to the Truth?'

 

Key Terms

attributes                                                              Almighty

semantics of attributes                                           Islamic philosophy

Islamic theology

 

Sources

Ibn-Sina, al-Shifa (al-Ilahiyyat), Introduction and research by Ibrahim Madkur, ch.1, Nasir Khusro, Tehran, 1363 A.S.

Suhrawardi, Shahab al-Din, Majmua' musannafat, vols. 1, 2, edited by Hanry Corbin, vol. 2, Tehran, Cultural Studies and Research Foundation, 1373 A.S.

al-Tusi, Nasir al-Din, Sharh al-isharat wal tanbihat (with al-Tusi's commentary and Qutb al-Din Razi's Sharh al-sharh), vol. 3, ch.1, Qum, al-Nashr al-Balaqah, 1375 A.S.

Mulla Sadra, al-Hikmat al-muta'aliyah fil asfar al-aqliyyah al-arba'ah, vols. 2, 3, 6, ch.2, Qum, Maktab al-Mustafavi, 1368 A.S.

Mulla Sadra, al Shawahid al-rububiyyah (Mulla Sadra's Collection of Philosophical Treatises), Research and edition by Hamid Naji Isfahani, ch.1, Tehran, Hikmat Publications, 1375 A.S.

Burhani Siddiqin (Argument of the Righteous) in Imam Khomeini

Abbas Ahmadi Sadi

It was Ibn-Sina who for the first time posed an argument indicating that God's existence could be demonstrated without resorting to any creature as an intermediary. Ibn-Sina referred to verse 53 of Fusilat Chapter in the Holy Qur'an as a support for his argument and called it Burhani Siddiqin or argument of the righteous. Later Muslim philosophers tried to prove the same idea by relying on fewer premises; therefore, several accounts of this argument were provided in Islamic philosophy. Among all scholars, the great philosopher and gnostic of the time, Imam Khomeini, dealt with this issue following a basically different approach and introduced the argument of the righteous as an intuitive method for proving God's knowledge; a method which is free from the usual philosophical premises and can be verbalized only when being interpreted. It seems that such a conception of the argument of the righteous, while being novel, has been influenced by the meaning of the term 'burhan' (argument) in the Holy Qur'an.

 

Key Terms

Intuition by heart                                                   purification of the inward

formal sciences                                                     burhani-i rabb (argument of God)

 

Sources

Ibn-Sina, al-Isharat wal tanbihat, vol. 3, Qum, Nashr-i al-Balaqah, 1375 A.S.

Khomeini, R, Sharh-i chehel hadith (Arba'in), Foundation for Compiling and Publishing Imam Khomeini's Works, 1373 A.S.

Mulla Sadra, al-Asfar, vol. 6, Dar al-Ahya al-Tarath al-Arabi, Beirut, 1410 A.H.

Tabataba'i, M.H, al-Mizan fi tafsir al-Qur'an, vol. 5, Tehran, Dar al-Kutub al-Islamiyyah, 1370 A.S.

Tabataba'i, M.H, Usul-i falsafa wa rawish realism (Principles of Philosophy and Realism) (Five volumes in one book), Qum, Nashr Jama'a Mudarresin, Bita.

 

Essential Accidents: An Analysis of the Difference between

Fakhr al-Din Razi and Nasir al-Din Tusi in Sharh-i Isharat

Nadia Maftooni

The definition of essential accidents and the criterion for distinguishing them have been extensively discussed in the field of philosophical-logical epistemology and the case studies conducted in this area. Such a definition and its distinguishing criterion are helpful in philosophers' conceptualization of the definition of the subject of science.

Aristotle, who, on the basis of his ontological theories, believed that arguments were based on cause-effect relationships, viewed demonstrable knowledge as being restricted to essential accidents. However, Farabi, relying on the definition which he provided for essential accidents, and which was later repeated by Ibn-Sina in al-Isharat, maintained that since constitutive essence is never questioned, it is only used in the premises of the argument, and that what is employed in problems belongs to the category of essential accidents.

Ibn-Sina's commentators, such as Fakhr al-Din Razi and Nasir al-Din Tusi, have provided alternative interpretations of the definition of essential accidents in al-Shifa and in Ibn-Sina's other works, particularly in al-Isharat. Considering the importance and ambiguity of this issue, a close study and analysis of the differences among the commentators will illuminate a number of complicated points.

 

Key Terms

essential accidents                                                 argument

Aristotle                                                               Ibn-Sina

Farabi                                                                  Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi

Fakhr al-Din Razi                                                 logic of essential generation

Islamic theology

 

Sources

Ibn-Sina, al-Shifa (al-Ilahiyyat), al-Mantiq, Introduction by Ibrahim Madkur, vol. 3, Qum, 1405 A.H.

Ibn-Sina, al-Isharat wal tanbihat, accompanied by a commentary by Tusi and a commentary on Qutb al-Din Razi's commentary, vol. 1, Qum, 1375 A.S.

Qutb al-Din Razi, Sharh matali' al-anwar, Qum, Najafi Publications, Bita.

Fakhr Razi, Mantiq al-mukhlis, Research and glosses by Faramarz Qaramaleki and Adineh Asgarinejad, Tehran, Imam Sadiq University, 1381 A.S.

Farabi, al-Mantiqiyyat, vol. 1.

 

 Impact of the 'Principiality of Existence' upon the Semantic

Evolution of the Three Modalities of Being

 Davood Atashgahi

Being bound to the principle of the 'principiality of existence' as one of the most important pillars of Transcendent Philosophy has fundamentally transformed one of the most important issues in Islamic philosophy, i.e., the three modalities of being. Mulla Sadra, on the basis of his specific analysis in which he contrasts possibility of indigence of quiddity with the Necessary Being, divides existents into copulative and non-copulative existents. Unlike preceding philosophers who conceived of all the three modalities of being as modes of quiddity, he maintains that necessity is definitely one of the modes of existence and possibility one of the modes of quiddity. He also asserts that impossibility originates from non-existence.

 

Key Terms

simple whether-ness

three modalities of being

possibility of indigence

necessity

principiality of existence

Sadrian method

copulative and non-copulative existence

 

References

Mulla Sadra, al-Hikmat al-muta'aliyah fi'l asfar al-arba'ah al-aqliyyah, vol. Dar Ahya' al-Tarath al-'Arabi, Beirut.

Muhammed Hussayn Tabataba'i, Usul-i falsafa wa rawish-i realism, Glosses by Murtada Mutahhari, vol. 3, Sadra Publications.