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Accordingly, in line with the tradition of the time, he was also familiar with other sciences and had enough knowledge of the various dimensions of wisdom, such as Peripatetic philosophy, Ishraqi wisdom, Islamic gnosis and mysticism, Sunna, and the original Qur'anic and Shi'ite teachings of the House of the Prophet (pbuh) concerning religious principles and rational knowledge. He taught the related books and wrote commentaries on them; however, he firmly believed in the basic principles of the Transcendent Philosophy. He even wrote a book on the unity of being, which was like starting a war against the dragon at that time.

Professor Seyyed Muhaqqiq Ashtiyani writes about him in his Selection of Works as follows:

One of the famous students of Mulla Sadra is the gnostic-philosopher, Shaykh Hussein Tunkabuni. He is a disciple of his master in his philosophical thoughts. All his works are either summaries of Mulla Sadra's works or commentaries on his writings (including commentaries on Tajrid and other independent treatises).

Tunkabuni was also involved in teaching his master's works in the philosophical centers of various cities in Iran. He stayed for some time in proximity to holy thresholds, as well as in Medina and Mecca. He also suffered from a number of miseries during his life.[1]

According to the above report, he lived in some of the cities in Iran and for some time in Iraq and Hijaz; therefore, he did not limit himself to teaching only in a specific seminary such as those in Qum, Isfahan, or Gilan. Although we have not found any firm document supporting the above–mentioned report yet, we are certain that he traveled to Hijaz. As mentioned before, he was also buried there. Traveling to holy thresholds was very common at that time, and Hijaz was considered a part of Iran's realm.

The following books and treatises have been written by him. However, most of them have not been published yet and are not very well-known. Therefore, young researchers are recommended to try to publish them in the best way possible for all to read. [2]

2. Treatise on Research on the Unity of Being and its Manifestations and its Descent (the writer of A'ayan al-Shi'a has seen a copy of it in Tehran).

3. Commentary on Muhaqqiq Khafri's Commentary on Sharh Tajrid (Aqa Jamal Khwansari has referred to this work in his commentary.

4. Treatise on the Demonstration of the Origination of the World (according to the writer of A'ayan al-Shi'a, this treatise was published in Iran in 1069 AH. He has seen this work and the Treatise on the Unit of Being with Seyyed Abulqasim Khwansari. [3]

The writer of Riad al-'ulama' has written that Tunkabuni had a son called Shaykh Ibrahim: "He was one of the seminary students of the time. We took part in the classes together. He passed away in our time in Isfahan". Based on this report, which has been given by one of his contemporaries and classmates, Tunkabuni has no son who was famous for his knowledge, and even if he did, he might have died in his youth, when he was still studying.

This philosopher's son-in-law, Akhund Nasir al-Din Tunkabuni, who was probably one of his students, in a collection containing the handwritings of scholars from 1055 to 1061 AH, has recoded the treatise of the Unity of being of his master and father-in-law in his own handwriting and refers to him as "Hussein Maqfur".

Another philosopher who has been referred to as one of Mulla Sadra's student is Aqajani. He himself has introduced him as his master in one of his works that is available to us.

He has been referred to as Muhammed Ibn Ali Riza Ibn Aqajani. Surprisingly, the story of his life has not appeared in any collection containing the biographies of philosophers or in the books on the history of philosophy written during the last four centuries. According to Ashtiyani, who has tried to introduce those philosophers, if it had not been for his Sharh Qabasat, no trace would have remained of this prominent philosopher in the book of history. A part of Ashtiyani's commentary on Mir Damad's Qabasat has been presented in A Selection of Philosophers' Works.

To begin with, in order to familiarize researchers and knowledge-seekers with this book (A Selection of Philosophers' Works), we will first quote a part of it below:

One of Mulla Sadra's knowledgeable and devoted students was Muhammed Ibn Ali Reza Ibn Aqajani, the distinguished commentator of Muhaqqiq Damad's Qabasat. He is one of the most prominent researchers of the blissful Safawid era. There is no mention of this great scholar in history books, and if it were not for his invaluable commentary on Mir Damad's Qabasat (a unique copy in the writer's handwriting), no trace would have remained of this prominent scholar on the face of being.

Apparently, this commentator of Qabasat, who was from Astarabad (Gurgan), after studying under Mulla Sadra, left the scientific seminary of Shiraz and returned to his birthplace.

He was well-versed in various philosophical schools, such as Peripatetic and Ishraqi philosophies, theology, gnosis, and teachings of Islamic sufism. He was also an authority in Arabic literature and, apparently, had a vast knowledge of hadith and interpretation. Moreover, he could write about scientific issues eloquently and at the height of perfection.

In his introduction to A Commentary on Qabasat, the commentator has revealed his dominance over complicated words and expressions. He also admires the writer of Qabasat to a great extent and refers to this book as one of the most distinguished philosophical books ever written and even as the best work on wisdom and philosophy. Here, he introduces Mir Damad as one of the greatest masters of wisdom of all times. He says, "Although I have a lot of occupations, I wrote a commentary on this divine work in order to prove to the people of enmity and obstinacy that their opposition with this book is rooted in their ignorance".

Although we studied and examined a great number of historical books, we could not find any information as to where the commentator had been born, in which part of Iran he had lived, and where he had studied under Mulla Sadra for such a long time. Why has he not been introduced by contemporary scholars? Of course, there have always been some people who, in spite of their mastery over sciences and disciplines of their time, never reveal their knowledge openly and prefer to continue their works in solitude. However, He seems to have socialized with people. Was he involved in teaching and dealing with people's Shar'i affairs? This is a question for us because he says, "It is a long time that I have decided to write a commentary on Qabasat; however, having a lot of occupations has never allowed me to accomplish this important task". He also say, "The obstacles preventing the accomplishment of this task were too many, and my life was also coming to an end. Nevertheless, I seized any opportunity that I could and wrote a commentary on this book and explained its complicated issues.

The commentator of Qabasat maintains that he sought for help from the holy spirit of the writer of this book in order to clarify the intricacies of its content. He also adds, "However, I made a pledge with my God not to imitate anyone concerning rational issues".

What was presented above was a short account of some aspects of the life of this distinguished philosopher and gnostic presented by one of the lovers of the intellect and gnosis. It reminds us of the cruelty that history has always exercised against the people of wisdom and gnosis. As we know, instead of telling the story of their lives and characters, it has always blackened and deformed its face by telling the story of the cruelties of oppressors and tyrants, and the fires that have burnt the lives of too many good men.

Nevertheless, we also search between the lines of the biography of this blessed sage without a light and, in the weak flicker of the words of his book, try to bring some parts of his life and character to light for the enthusiasts and lovers of science and wisdom.

We do not know exactly where and when Aqajani was born. The writer of A Selection of Philosophers' Works says in one place that he was born in Astarabad. However, in another place in the same book (a few pages forward), he says that his birthplace is unknown. Hence, there is no evidence indicating that he was from Astarabad or any other place. Ashtiyani also says that Aqajani studied under Mulla Sadra in Shiraz, which is an unfounded claim, too.

We know that Mulla Sadra's main place of teaching was the seminary of Qum. He taught there for about 20 years. During his second residence in Shiraz, he was involved in teaching, most probably, for 5 years.[4] Therefore, it is more acceptable that he was Mulla Sadra's student in Qum rather than in Shiraz. This seems even more logical if we consider him to have been born in Astarabad. The reason is that the seminary students of the North of Iran usually studied in the seminaries of Mashad and Qum.

What is certain is that he studied under Mulla Sadra, which he has frequently emphasized in his Commentary on Qabasat (perhaps in order to defend his master). It is also possible that he studied (perhaps Qabasat) under Mir Damad; however, we doubt it.

As mentioned before there is no evidence indicating when he was born and how long he lived. However, since he wrote his Commentary on Qabasat in 1071 AH (or brought it to an end in this year), and since he referred to getting old in this work, if we assume that being old means going beyond the age of 60, he must have been born in about 1011 AH.

It is said that the above book consists of about 80,000 lines (couplets). Shaykh Ahmmed Shirazi (the publisher of Mulla Sadra's books in the previous century) saw a copy of this book in Astarabad (Gurgan) with one of its knowledgeable scholars (Apparently, this is the same copy that once Henry Corbin had and is now kept in the library of Iran-France Organization of Iran.

If we compare this 80,000 line book with the commentary that Seyyed Ahmed 'Alawi (Mir Damad's student and son-in-law) wrote on Qabasat and the published version of which contains about 12,000 lines (couplets), we see that Aqajani's commentary is six and half times more than it.

Seyyed Ahmed 'Amili writes in the introduction of his book that his master asked him frequently to write a commentary on his Qabasat. However, he did not succeed in doing so until after the demise of his master and holy father. Nevertheless, Aqajani who wrote his book 20 years after Mir Damad's death, says that he received the permission for writing his Commentary on Qabasat from the spirit of Mir Damad. This shows that he was enthusiastic to accomplish this task and had a powerful motivation to do so.

We know that, although Mulla Sadra had a perfect knowledge of his master's (Mir Damad) principles, he never accepted his theory of atemporal origination. He rejected this theory implicitly in his Huduth al-'alam and other works. Nevertheless, this does not mean that he did not teach Qabasat to his students. We believe that he possibly did so but, at the same time,[5] criticized some of its parts and rejected them based on certain arguments.

It the above possibility is correct, we can say that Aqajani's motivation for writing his Commentary on Qabasat was to defend his master and compare his ideas with those of the writer of Qabasat (Mir Damad).

A New Approach to the Preliminaries, Place, and Effects of the Issue of Addition of Existence to Quiddity

Zahra Mustafawi

One of the philosophical issues whose true place and significance have been neglected is the addition of existence to quiddity. An accurate study of this issue on the basis of the doctrine of the principilaity of existence and its external unity with quiddity requires a specific interpretation of Mulla Sadra's words.

In this paper the writer has tried to provide a specific interpretation of Mulla Sadra's doctrine of the principiality of existence and the relation between quiddity and existence, correct the interpretation and explanation of the place of the issue of the addition of existence to quiddity, study the philosophical works related to this topic, interpret Ash'arites' words concerning the semantic unity of existence and quiddity, modify the view of the issue of "God's existence is the same as His quiddity", explain the theory of apparition in mental existence on the basis of the principiality of existence and quiddity, present a solution for it, and clarify the existence of natural universal in the outside. In doing so, the writer has tried to follow a number of innovative approaches.

A Comparison of the Ideas of Mulla Sadra and Farabi Concerning the "Ruler of the Ideal City"

Reza Akbarian

One of the objections that has recently been raised against Mulla Sadra is that he was merely the founder of a new school of philosophy and gnosis, without being interested in human beings' livelihood. Accordingly, his main concern was people's perception of resurrection and spiritual and otherworldly affairs, and even if he discussed people's livelihood, he had adopted his ideas in this regard from his predecessors, such as Farabi and Ibn Sina, who themselves followed Plato and Aristotle. Therefore, the writer decided to compare the views of this philosopher concerning the ruler of the ideal city and his characteristics, which is one of the important issues in political philosophy and enjoys a high comparative value, with those of Farabi. In this way, we will understand how he developed his new theories in the light of Qur'anic and hadithi teachings, particularly, those of Shi'ite Imams. A considerable part of these theories pertain to political and social issues. Obviously, he could not have remained heedless to them and resisted interpreting and explaining them.

Mulla Sadra's Philosophical Innovations and their Impacts on the Theory of the Microcosm and the Macroanthropo

Reza Akbari

Mulla Sadra has extensively discussed the relation between the microcosm and the macroanthropo in his books. This issue was so important for him that he promised to write an independent book on it. The philosophical principles underlying his theory in this regard enjoy a sublime nature. The principiality of existence, the unity of the reality of being, the gradation of being, ontological indigence, the trans-substantial motion, the universal worlds of existence, the negation of the system of genus and differentia, and the arcs of descent and ascent are among the most fundamental principles influencing Mulla Sadra's theory concerning the microcosm – macroanthropo relation. He argues that, by attaining the level of the actual intellect, man turns into the macrocosm and even the macroanthropo. Due to its unity, the world is also a macroanthropo. The perfect man is of a high status in Mulla Sadra's theory.

'Abdullah Niksirat

The translation of Greek philosophical works into Arabic started in the 2^nd century (AH) At that time, Islamic scientists and philosophers were greatly impressed by Greek philosophical, theological, and Gnostic thoughts. As a matter of the combination of these thoughts with Islamic ideas and teachings, a number of conflicts rose between exoteric religious scholars and those who tried to protect pure religious thought, on the one hand, and the thinkers and philosophers who intended to consolidate religious fundamental principles by adducing logical arguments, on the other hand.

These conflicts became more serious in the 4^th and 5^th centuries (AH) and spread to all scientific and religious centers of that time with an increasing speed. At this time, one of the most basic problems causing debates among philosophers and theologians was the issue of the eternity of the world and its relation to Almighty God. Interestingly enough, this issue, as well as two others, namely, the necessary Being's Knowledge of changing particulars and corporeal resurrection, were the three important problems because of which Ghazzali gave the decree of the excommunication of philosophers in the 5^th century (AH).

Imagination in the Context of Justification and Explanation: From Farabi to Mulla Sadra

Nadia Maftuni and Ahad Faramarz Qaramaleki

Farabi deals with imagination as one of the faculties of the soul; however, unlike his succeeding philosophers, he does not discuss the issues related to its justification in his works. Ibn Sina demonstrates the existence of the imaginal faculty, besides other faculties, for the soul, and provides a criterion for the plurality of faculties. Suhrawardi refutes the Sinan faculties in order to clarify imaginal perception through the imaginal world. Mulla Sadra's ideas concerning the rejection or demonstration of the imaginal world have been judged in two different ways. A group of philosophers believe that explaining imagination and issues such as revelation, resurrection, supernatural events, dreams, etc. depend on the imaginal world. Anther group believe that all of them can be clarified through the imaginal faculty.

Muhsen Jahid and Sahar Kawandi

Gulshan-i raz, written by Shaykh Mahmud Shabistari, is one of the most outstanding gnostic compositions in verse and each couplet of which has been frequently explained and analyzed. 'Allamah Muhaqqiq Dawani is one of the great thinkers who has written a short treatise as a commentary on a couplet in Gulshan-i raz.

He has commented on that couplet following a gnostic and mystic approach. In the various copies of the treatise that are available, we can witness certain differences. The present treatise is a correction of 'Allamah Dawani's treatise and includes all the necessary explanations.

[1]. Seyyed Jalal al-Din Ashtiyani, A Selection of the Works of Iranian Divine Philosophers.

[2]. A'ayan al-Shi'a, vol. 25, p. 16, az-Dari-ah, vol. 1, p. 89 and vol. 6, Tabaqat A'alam al-Shia'a (12th century), p. 191-192, p. 65.

[3]. Ibid., p. 191.

[4]. As mentioned in the first volume of Mulla Sadra's Life, Character, and Works (p. 414), according to his grandson, Mulla Sadra died in 1045 AH, which conforms more strongly to available evidence.

[5]. Qabasat was written is Sh'aban 1034 AH. This can indicate that (supposing Mirzajani studied it under Mulla Sadra) he studied under Mulla Sadra between 1034 and 1040 AH. This is exactly the same time that Mulla Sadra lived in Qum and its suburbs.