Al-Mabda' wa'l-ma'ad fi al-hikmat al-muta'aliyah 2 vols
Among Islamic philosophers, Mulla Sadra, in addition to al-Asfar al-arba'ah, al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah, etc., which are on the demonstration of the Creator, has written an independent book called al-Mabda' wal-ma'ad on the demonstration of the Essence and Attributes of Almighty Truth.
This book has an Introduction and two fans. The first is on Divine Powers and refers to the knowledge and Attributes of Almighty Truth and the quality of His Acts. This fan consists of three articles:
The first article is on the Origin of existence, the specific grade of the existence of Almighty Truth, and His Oneness and Simplicity. It consists of eleven chapters.
In the first chapter, some preliminary remarks on the bases of prime philosophy which enjoy a narrative aspect are provided. In the second chapter, the writer divides existence into necessary and possible types and maintains that appearance is possible, and its exit beyond the limit of the equator without a cause is impossible.
The third chapter is on the demonstration of Almighty Necessary. Here, Mulla Sadra proves the existence of the Creator and Origin, Who is the Necessary Being, in different ways.
In the fourth chapter, the writer argues that the existence of the Necessary Being is the same as His Quiddity, and the Necessary has no quiddity other than a necessary and particular existence.
The fifth chapter addresses the question of the depth of the Essence of the Necessary. Here, Mulla Sadra says, "The depth of Divine Essence is not known to human beings, and no existent can ever gain the knowledge of this issue."
Chapters six to eleven of the first article discuss the negative attributes of God.
The third article of the first fan is on Almighty Necessary's Acts and consists of an Introduction and eighteen chapters.
The end of the articles of the first fan marks the end of the first volume of al-Mabda' wal-ma'ad, and the second volume entails the second fan. This part is on the issue of "resurrection" and has been presented in four articles.
First article
In this article, Mulla Sadra examines the quality of the appearance of resurrecting existence. At the beginning, he analyses the issues related to the soul and, finally, explains the contents of this article, particularly those in relation to anthropology, along with his view on human identity, in 24 chapters.
Second article
Here, the writer clarifies the actuality of life after death and the kind of life in the Hereafter. He considers its existence a natural and necessary issue and an inevitable truth inseparable from creation.
Third article
In this article, Mulla Sadra explains and clarifies his theoretical and philosophical views by employing a gnostic language and resorting to the Qur'an and traditions. This is because one of the specific characteristics of his Transcendent Philosophy is combining demonstration, gnosis, and the Qur'an with each other. He demonstrates his view based on these three principles. Here, he has tried to introduce life after death with the language of demonstration, gnosis, and the Qur'an. He explains the important issues and problems in relation to eschatology in five chapters in this article and finally concludes that corporeal resurrection is among the necessities of the Book, Sunnah, and creation.
Fourth article
At the end of al-Mabda' wal ma'ad, Mulla Sadra explores the problems related to the way between the Origin and resurrection in brief and records the issues related to prophethood, Imamat (leadership), and wilayah (guardianship) in twelve chapters. In this article, he has discussed the attributes and characteristics of the Prophet (s), the degree of prophethood, the principles of miracles and charismatic acts, the difference between inspiration and teaching, the quality of the connection between the Prophet (s) and the world of divine revelation, the attributes of the Prophet (s) as the leader, secrets of shari'ah, and the advantages of worship and prayer.
The book al-Mabda' wal-ma'ad has been published in two volumes with edition, research, and Introduction by Dr. Muhammed Dhabihi and Dr. J'afar Shah Nazi under the supervision of Professor Seyyed Mohammed Khamenei, along with the index of cited verses, hadiths, poems, etc., in 1008 pages by the Sadra Islamic Philosophy Institute.