Life, Character and
Ayatullah S.M Khamenei
The other
great movement, established by Batini Shi'is, which embraced Asia, Africa, and
even Asia Minor and the Muslim Spain, and later, was transmitted through Spain
and Syria to Europe, and succeeded to spread the seeds of the science,
philosophy and Mysticism throughout the world, and trained many scholars, was
their scientific, philosophical (Illuminationist) and mystical movement. This
movement was inspired by the teachings of the household (S.A.W.). And later,
through combining these teachings with the Illuminationist and Peripatetic
philosophies and the popular sciences of time, they taught the people
philosophy, Mysticism, physics, and mathematics, and employed all these scientific
attempts to attain the political goals and persuading the people to overthrow
the governments of time.
It was this
same political- scientific movement, which led to the establishment of the
Isma'ili rule in some parts of
Among the
procedures of caliphs and their servants for fighting against the household
(S.A.W.) were attack on the non- Ash'ari kalam, philosophy
and Mysticism, and supporting the superficial muhaddithun, who were
disable to understand the exterior of hadith, we do not
mention its interior and content, as well as encouraging the people to false
piety and denial of the deep Islamic and Quranic culture.
It was here,
where, with the help of Caliphate system, a story was told to vulgar defense of
the shari'ah, and some, who were unaware of the
policy of time, went to defend the exteriors of hadith and
Scriptures. As Mulla Sadra has said, Hanbalism penetrated even in Shi'i thought
and raised to challenge with the muhaddithun such as Mulla Sadra, Fayd and the like.
An example of
the talented scholars is Ghazzali, who, in order to do services to the courts
of Caliphs and Seljuks, spent most of his life to scientific and philosophical
challenge with Batiniyyah and Shi'is.
Sometimes he fought against philosophy; sometimes he excommunicated the Mystics
and philosophers, and still some other times, he fought, defending shari'ah, against rationalism.
Some of the
jurisprudents, muhaddithun and
transmitters, contemporary with the household (S.A.W.) were among this group;
and the systems of Abbassid and Umayyad Caliphate employed them as tools to
suppress the school of the household (S.A.W.); and with the help of their vast
propagation against Shi'is, made them isolated.
It is to be
regretted that this policy turned to a tradition for muhaddithun and
jurisprudents, and from which a school originated that did not tolerate the
knowledge, demonstration and reason, and looked for nothing but the verbal
aspect of hadith. And it is to be more
regretted that in the time of Mulla Sadra, this non-Shi'i method- which was
inconsistent with the culture of the household (S.A.W.) and the spirit of the
Islam and Quran- appeared in the garb of Akhbarigari in Safavi
society, and penetrated in most scientific and cultural circles.
The political
pessimism requires that such a phenomenon, which is inconsistent with the Shi'i
culture, is regarded as a conspiracy, plotted by the enemies of Safavid and
Shi'i-killing Ottomans, who sought for creating a cultural and ideological schism
among the scholars (and thus, among the people) of the Safavi era and employ it
for political purposes. The spokesmen of this group, however, as far as I know,
were among Godfearing and even sincere ones, and proceeded to propagate these
ideas sincerely. This historical phenomenon, in the development of the Islamic
ideas and thought, could be regarded as among the factors, which exercised
their influences on the origination of the "transcendent theosophy".
***
Let us turn to
Mulla Sadra and his disciples and add the point that, in making a combination
between hadith and Islamic Mysticism as well as
preferring the based-on-hadith jurisprudence
over the based-on-reasoning jurisprudence- which as we have said, it is much likely that he had learned
it from Mulla Sadra- Fayd had some heritage of his master, with the exception
that in Mulla Sadra's "transcendent theosophy" the form is
philosophical and the spirit is mystical. Fayd, however, has derived both the
form and spirit from the Mysticism of the household and constructed a firm
bridge between the two.
In other
words, Fayd Kashani inherited Mulla Sadra's Islamic Mysticism- Mulla Sadra's
mystical school needs a proper time to be discussed and he could be regarded as
a successor of the accomplished Mystic, Sayyid Haydar Amoli.
Fayd is the
only one who had chosen Mulla Sadra's Mysticism and philosophical-mystical
school from among his wealth of science and provided them an independent form.
His Usul al- ma'arif- which is a summary of his `Ayn al-yaqin"- suggests this same point.
After writing
his great encyclopedia in the Divine philosophy, called Asfar al- arba'ah (or Hikmat al-muta`aliyyah), Mulla Sadra
did no more go to compile voluminous philosophical books. The books and the
treatises, compiled by him in this period, are mostly small books, containing
an extract of his doctrines and ideas, and some of them are very similar to
each other. It seems that he did not see himself and the others in need of all
those debates and abstained from spending the valuable life to these disputes.
Fayd's works
also suggest this preferred method, which had been derived from the master, and
what the master thought, was
said by Fayd. In the introduction of Usul al- ma`arif, he says:
"Among my
motivations for writing this book was the fact that I loved the core and
interior of the foundations of the philosophy; and I was suffered by the
various doctrines and popular debates."
As far as I
have found, in the Islamic Mysticism, Fayd Kashani had no master but Mulla
Sadra. As he himself has mentioned, he studied primarily hadith under the well-known masters such as Shaykh Baha, Sayyid
Majid Bahrani and the offspring of Shahid Thani (in Mecca); and he studied
theoretical and practical Mysticism in ten years, in his devotedly discipleship
under Mulla Sadra.
Perhaps, this
suggests that Mulla Sadra, after the period of seclusion and ascetic practices
in
The
expressions, which have been already quoted from Fayyad Lahiji, also confirm
this same point. His following poems can be mentioned as an example:
"My
nature was the dark earth of the ignorance and arrogance;
"Now, it
is gold, because of his alchemist-like making;
"Reached
me from the well of ignorance to the summit of honor;
"His friendship, which is as the shadow of the Osprey on me.
Or his
expression in Sharh-i sadr, which has
been already quoted:
"In
As it is said,
those who are not deeply familiar with the Islamic knowledge, regard the
relation between the Mysticism and hadith as the
relation between the fire and water, which are opposite. The school, left by
Mir Damad, Shaykh Baha, and Mulla Sadra, sees no separation between the two,
and regard them as two inseparable disciplines.
This school
led to the origination of muhaddithun such as Fayd,
Mulla Muhammad Taqi Majlisi (Majlisi, senior) and the like, who in the light of
the Mysticism and its ascetic practices, could understand the subtle points, posed
in the hadith of the household (S.A.W.). On the
other hand, in the light of the hadith of the
infallible Imams (S.A.W.), they grasped the pure philosophical and ideological
sciences. In the introduction of his Usul al-ma'arif, Mulla Muhsin
Fayd himself says: "I learned the valuable and heavenly points from
"the people of Allah" and "His friends" so that, through
the demonstration, intuition and inspiration, and with the help of the
directions of the Holy Quran, and through a mystical and intuitive method, the
veil which obscured the mysteries of the Holy Quran and Divine knowledge, was
pushed aside."
It is not
unlikely that by the "people of Allah" and "His friends",
he intends to mention Mulla Sadra. This same book itself witnesses Fayd's
following from Mulla Sadra's "transcendent theosophy" and his wisdom
of throne. In the smoothness of the style, ease of the words and expressions
and simplification of the intricate philosophical and mystical concepts also he
follows the method of the master.
Among the
characteristics of the "transcendent theosophy" is the incorporation
of the Illuminationist philosophy, so that making a distinction between it and
the Islamic Mysticism and even the Peripatetic philosophy is, to some extent,
difficult. Fayd also, at least in this book, synthesized them, intentionally.
In the same introduction, he himself says:
"Among my
motivations to write the book Usul al- ma'arif was to
reconcile the doctrines of ancient Persian Illuminationist and pre-Socratic
sages on the one hand, and the roots of the religious creeds of shari'ah on the other hand and thus make the unanimity between the
two clear; so that it would be proved that there is no separation between the
reason and shari'ah, and what is understood by the sages,
inspired by the angels, is not inconsistent with what is revealed through the
Revelation through the prophets, for the men. But some points are revealed for
the prophets, which the reason is disable to understand them."
From the
similarities between the masters such as Mir Damad, Mulla Sadra and Fayd on the
one hand, and their disciples on the other hand, we can conclude: the
philosophy and sciences, which were transmitted from one of them to the other,
was not but a
single school. Each of them, however, presented it in his own expressions; and
there is, between Mir Damad's "wisdom of faith" and Mull Sadra's
"transcendent theosophy" and Fayd's demonstrative sciences, no
discrepancy. And all of them have spoken of "the same beauty".
Here it should
be admitted that if there were not the attempts, made by these great figures
and if their ascetic practices throughout their lives did not provide the
inspired facts, in order to understand and comment upon the Holy Quran and intricate hadith of the
infallible Imams (S.A.W.), and if their deep thoughts did not actualize the
tool of reason to understand the shortage of the words and to compensate it,
all those valuable jewels of the knowledge would not come to man and the
disable and simple-minded reason would run aground.
To be
contented with the external aspect of hadith and its
vulgar connotation is not only oppression on hadith and tradition
but also it is treason to the human thought. In this way, the Islamic sciences
sustained great loses, and the man fell to inconsistencies and perverseness! That
is why the tradition of the infallible Imams, theoretically and practically,
challenged the Literialism in understanding the scriptures. The infallible
Imams themselves were the best masters of ta'wil( hermeneutic
interpretation) and commented upon the interiors of hadith and taught it
to the people of Mysticism among the Shi'is.
An analysis on
the various schools and doctrines of Ash`ari and Mu`tazali theologians as well
as a glance on the Sufi orders and the claimants of the true sciences and a
short inquiry in the method of Literalists will reveal for every fair and
curious researcher that being aloof from the school of the household(
S.A.W.) and the true heirs of the Holy Prophet( S.A.W.) has led these groups of
theologians, Sufis and people of hadith to abyss, and
the deceiving Satan has misguided them.
On the other
hand, the Muslim philosophers, Mystics and scholars, following the fruitful
school of the infallible Imams and the household(
S.A.W.), have extended their rational views,
whether in the ontology or in knowledge of God or in anthropology as well as
the knowledge of the other world.
If we make a
comparison between the expressions of hadith or prayers,
quoted from the Commander of Faithful `Ali ( S.A.W.) and the other infallible
Imams, which contain the important philosophical points and deep connotations,
and the pre-Islamic theology, the philosophical and scientific value of the
former will be understood.
For example,
make a comparison between the Aristotelian philosophy and the following
expressions in 'Ali's( S.A.W.) sermon:
"Praise
is due to Allah whose worth cannot be described by speakers, whose bounties
cannot be satisfied by those who attempt to do so, whom the height of
intellectual courage cannot appreciate, and the divings of understandings
cannot reach; He for Whose description no limit has been laid, no eulogy
exists, no time is ordained and no duration is fixed, He brought forth creation
through His Omnipotence, dispersed winds through His compassions, and made firm
the shaking earth with rocks. The foremost in religion is His knowledge, the
perfection of His knowledge is to testify Him, the testifying Him is to believe
in His Oneness, the perfection of believing in His Oneness is to regard Him
Pure and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him Attributes, because every
attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which is attributed and
everything to which something is attributed is different from the attribute.
Thus whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognize His like, and who
recognizes His like regards Him two and who regards Him two recognizes parts
for Him and who recognizes parts for Him mistook Him; and who mistook Him
pointed at Him and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him and who
admitted limitations for Him numbered Him. Whoever said in what is He, held
that He is contained and whoever said on what is He, held
He is not on something else. He is a Being but not
through phenomenon of coming into being. He exists but not from non-existence.
He is with everything but not in physical nearness. He is different from
everything but not in physical separation. He acts but without connotation of
movements and instruments. He sees even when there is none to be looked at from
among His creation. He is only One, such as that there is none with whom He may
keep company or whom He may miss in his absence. He initiated creation most
initially and commenced it originally, without undergoing reflection, without
making use of any experiment, without innovating any
movement, and without experiencing any aspiration of mind. He allotted all
things their times, put together their variations, gave them their properties,
and determined their features knowing them before creating them, realising
fully their limits and confines and appreciating their propensities and
intricacies."
Even in the
ancient Mysticism, or in other words, the Illuminationist philosophy, inherited
from the ancient
"...The
perfection of His knowledge is to testify Him, the perfectin of testifyingHim
is to believe in His Oneness, the perfection of believing His Oneness is to
regard Him pure and the perfection of His purity is to deny Him attributes,
because every attribute is a proof that it is different from that to which it
is attributed and everyhing to which something is attributed is different from
the attribute. Thus whoever attaches attributes to Allah recognizes His like,
and who recognizes His like regards Him two and who regards Him two recognizes
parts for Him and who recognizes parts for Him mistook Him." Or, "Who
mistook Him pointed at Him and who pointed at Him admitted limitations for Him
and who admitted limitations for Him numbered Him. Whoever said in what is He,
held that He is contained and whoever said on what is He
held He is not on something else."
Before this philosophical
expression about the Creator- the Exalted, all the philosophers regarded the
existence of Creator as accompanied by the attributes such as mover,
omniscient, omnipotent, gracious ...After the Commander of Faithful, the
Ash`ari theologinas and the followers of the other schools, who did not grasp
the depth of his expressions, regaded the essence of God as separate and His
attributes as supervened on his Essence and predicated on it. Such a
distinction leads to regarding parts for the single existence of God-the One,
the Impermeable-, and this is inconsistent with the Holy Quran. The other sect,
called Karamiyyah, regarded His attributes even as
indepndent from His essence; while, philosophically, any directions and parts
regarded in that Absolute, simple and Sacred Being, leads to His being
combined, and thus His need and createdness; and, certainly this is not true.
His true
definition, however, is the man's confession to his disability to define and
recognize Him, and avoidance of introducing the childish definitions for that
Absolute Reality. As Sa'ib says:
"The wave
is disable to grasp the reality of the ocean;
"How can
the created (hadith) understand the eternal(qadim)?
The perfect
science of the Divine unity and His Oneness is what is stated by the Commander
of Faithful that"Do not maintain an attribute, separate from His essence,
for Him; for this will lead to your going astray, because all the attributes,
such as knowledge, power... we know for God are nothing but the manifestations
of His Essence, and plurality and manyness are not admitted in that Court.
His Being is
"... a Being but not Through phenomenon of coming
into being. He exists but not from the non-existence". And this is the
best interpretation of the "Absolute Existence", mentioned in the
Islamic and Mysticism, that maintain that existence, in its essence, does not
accept non-exisence. Thus the non-existence does not precede the existence, and
thus, we do not need to look for the creation of existence and its time; but
rather existence precedes non-exisence and is superior over it. Thus, to assume
non-existence for the absolute existence is absolutely impossible. This
principle is applied even on the created existents and possible creatures as
well.
For, despite
the fact that we regard somethings as becoming non-existent, nothing, after
being existent, becomes non-existent and it is, in fact, the change in its form
that misleads us.
Such pure
philosophical hadith are abundant
in the works of the household (S.A.W.). Here we present a hadith as an example. In hadith tawhidiyyah, reported
from Imam Rida (S.A.W.), the Divine Unity is described as follows:
"The
first step in worshipping God is to know Him. And the beginning of knowledge of
Him is to regard Him as One, and the foundation of the
Divine Unity is to deny Him the attributes; since all those who have a share of
the reason testify that every attribute and every thing which is attributed is
a created thing. And evey attributed one testifies that there is a creator,
which is neither atribute nor attributed, for it. Also, the attribute and
attributed themselves testify that they have association with each other, and
being associated testifies that they are temporally created (i.e. they were not
there, and then were brought into being); and the created thing itself
testifies that it is impossible to be pre-etenal, and the pre-eternal thing is
impossible to be created.
Every good is
created by God, and everyhing which is depndent on the other, is caused
(effect). God's making demonstrates the existence of that thing. It is through
reason that knowledge of God is attained, and the exisence of God is proved in
an innate way.
God created
the creatures to be as veils between Him and the creatures themselves. The
creatures being, created by God suggests that He has no beginning, for a thing
which has beginning, cannot grant the beginning to the others...
The one, who
describes God, has not known God; and the one who believes that he/she has
known God, in fact, he does injustice to God. And the one who thinks that
he/she has grasped the Essence of God has gone astray; and the one who asks
about God's howness has likened Him to the other things. And the one who asks about God's whyness, has maintained a cause for
God; and the one who asks about time of God's existence, has temporalized Him;
and the one who asks in what is He, has localized Him..."
This hadith, stated by Imam as a sermon in the Ma'mun Abbassid's
court, had been posed in such an atmosphere, in which the science of theology
on the one hand and the Greek philosophy on the other hand, had occupied the
Islamic and scientific circles. Some had believed in God's transcendence and
agnosticism and some others had tendency toward theomorphism and
anthropomorphism, and the false creeds of Jews and the other false religions
had made scenes.
Only the heirs
of the prophets, the inhabitants in the house of Revelation, those who see the
hidden and apparent worlds are able to state the subtle points about the
incomprehensible facts and going beyond the intricacies of the science of
theology and philosophy and the doctrines of the various schools, and at the
same time to explain the gist of the unexpainable facts.
It is much to
be regretted that, despite all these true sciences of the household of the
Prophet (S.A.W), many of Muslim philosophers and even the followers of the
Household (S.A.W.) were, down to the time of Mulla Sadra and his masters,
devoid of all this rich and worthwhile heritage. Even
the Shi'i philosophy and theology also were approached from the Greek point of
view; and no one but the mystics and Sufis had paid attention to the depth of
these heavenly and enlightened expressions.
Here it can be
claimed that before the establishment of the Sadrean "transcendent theosophy",
only Islamic Mysticism could be called Islamic philosophy. And no other one but
Mystics such as Ibn `Arabi and his successors, Sayyid Haydar Amuli and the
like- who are well-known, wrongly, as Sufis - could be called Muslim
philosopher.
The high Islamic
culture, which is mostly crystallized in the culture left by the household
(S.A.W.) and survived among Shi'is, is a culture, synthesized with the
philosophical thought, in the Illuminationist and mystical sense of the term,
and in all prayers as well as Quranic expressions, the enlightened words could
be seen.
This caused
the wise and talented ones to devotedly plunge in the Holy Quran, the religious
scriptures and hadith of the
household from one side and to appear, inevitably, as the mystics and enamoured
of the Divine love from the other side. Those who had stayed at the coast of
that ocean of the Divine knowledges were not even able to imagine the happiness
of that station. And certainly, there is distinction between the one who has
waited at the threshold of tavern and the one who is, dead drunk, in the
tavern.
The following hadith, reported from `Ali (A.S.), suggests the status of these
wayfarers of the prophetic shari'ah and `Alawi
path:
"For his
friends, God is like the wine which when they drink it they will get drunk, and
when they get drunk, they will become happy, and when they become happy they
will melt and when they melt they will be purified, and when they are purified
they seek God, and when they seek God they will find Him, and when they find
God, they will reach Him and when they reach Him they will unite with Him, and
when they unite whith Him, there is no more separation between them and their
Friend (God)."
Abstracts
Mental Existence according to Muslim Philosophers
Dr. S.M.Muhaqqiq Damad
Mental
existence is one of those issues, which had not been introduced in the
philosophies of ancient
Muslim
philosophers have maintained that there are two kinds of existence for every
thing: one in the external world, and the other in mind, which is the very
cognitive existence; and between these two kinds there are similarity, and not
unity, established. It is only unity in the essences of the two, which unveils
the external world for man's
mind, and makes him able to know the external things, as they
are.
Unity between Intelligent and Intelligible
Dr. Gh. Ibrahimi Dinani
Mulla Sadra
and others, who are of the same opinion, accept the unity between intelligent
and intelligible. To prove this rule, Mulla Sadra has appealed to the argument
of correlation (burhan-i tadayuf). Then he
infers that the actual intelligible, which is intelligible essentially and
irrespective of other things, is its own actual intelligent.
Mystical Knowledge according to Mulla Sadra
Dr. Sh. Pazuki
The issue of
knowledge and perception, for Muslim philosophers, is essentially other than
what is dealt with by Western philosophers. In Islamic thought, man's knowledge is
based on Divine origin, since existence itself is a Divine issue. This Divine
issue, of course, has been spoken of in various Islamic schools of thought.
As a
philosopher, inherited the Peripatetic and Illuminationist schools, Mulla Sadra
seeks to found his own theory of perception on a completely mystical basis; and
in fact he is to define the knowledge in mysticism in a philosophical way.
Hence, the
foundations of his epistemology are firstly and essentially mystical and
Illuminationist and secondly and accidentally, Peripatetic. As regards the
reality of knowledge, Mulla Sadra says that knowledge is among those realities,
whose beings and essences are same as their quiddities. All things are summoned
through knowledge for reason; and hence knowledge itself cannot be summoned through
a thing other than knowledge. The reality of knowledge is not other than light
and presence. That is why, in classification of philosophical issues, Mulla
Sadra not only has classified the issue of knowledge under the topic of
existence, but also has regarded it among the first divisions of existence,
discussed under the philosophia prima; and thus he
has regarded knowledge, knower and known to be among essential accidents of
existence.
Becoming And Nonentity in
Buddhism
Dr.A.Baqirshahi
The main tendendency of Buddha is to represent the universe
as a perpetual flow, or nonentity or soullessness. According to Buddhism there
is neither being uor non-being but only beeoming .
Reality is a stream of becoming .life is a series of the manifestation of becoming . There is nothing which changes; only ceasless
change goes on.
In Buddhist schools The so-called
soul is also reduced to a series of fleeting ideas. The individual self is
considered to be the empirisal life of man . In all
individusls without exception, the relation of the component parts to one
another is ever-changing. Man is a living continuous complex, which does not
remain the same for two moments.
Motion in Plato's Philossphy
Dr . Munirah Palangi
The main
Thrust of this artiele is to study the foundations of the doctrine of trans -substantital motion (al harakat al -
jawhariyyah) in Plato's philosophy.
The author is
of the view that a meticulous study of Plato and Mulla Sadra's work will
bringbein to the sight many common points in the works of these two qreat sages . While advocating Plato¨s intellectual stand in
different books. Mulla Sadra considers Plato as a diviiue sage and the master
of philosophers and regards himself as the reviver of Plato's thought. So far
the doctrine of trans- subtantial motion is concerned he interprets Plato's
words in the Timaeus as temporal origination aand
trans-substantial motion and believes that this idea necessitates the existence
of the realm of the Ideas and finds a unanimty between his ideas and Plato's
thought.
Transcendental Theosophy
M. Burujirdi
If we are to appraise what is called Islamic philosophy,
undoubtedly we will have to admit that it is only Sadrean Transcendental
Theosophy, which deserves to be called Islamic philosophy, and the other schools
of philosophy, such as Peripatetic school and Illuminationist theosophy lack
this characteristic. Sadrean theosophy is mainly based on the revealed texts,
and the commentaries, received from the infallible Imams (A.S.).
Sadra make uses of Quranic verses, not to confirm his own
ideas, but as a foundation, on which he bases his philosophical and
theosophical studies. In other words, he does not appraise the Quranic verses
with his own philosophical achievements, but in the contrary, he judges about
his own achievements by a Quranic criterion. The sciences, contained in the
Holy Quran and tradition, are more extensive than a single philosophical
school. A philosophical school, however, may make uses of the Holy Quran and
traditions as its sources.
Mulla Sadra, the Founder of the Wisdom of Throne,
A Review of Mulla Sadra's Terminology
Janis Eshots
At the title
of this article, we have introduced Mulla Sadra as the “founder of the wisdom
of Throne” and, thus, it is befitting to go to analyze the notions of
``wisdom'' and ``throne''.
Given to Mulla
Sadra's points of view about the “wisdom, some important points can be
inferred:
First: wisdom
must deal, instead of particular things, with the understanding of universal
ones.
Second: wisdom
is, in fact, to do good acts.
Third: wisdom
is to follow the Lord in safeguarding the nation as well as in ruling on the
subordinates.
Fourth: wisdom
means resemblance to God, to the extent of man's capability, in various aspects.
Now we go to
survey in the connotation of the Throne.
Throne (`Arsh) means, verbally, seat and roof.
Sages and
philosophers think that by the Throne, the macrocosm or the ``Supreme Throne''”is meant. In his al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah, however, Mulla Sadra writes: The
sphere of Atlas, i.e. the ninth sphere, which encompasses, according to
Ptolemaic system, all other spheres as well as the material world, is devoid of
stars. And in terminology of the people of mysticism and wisdom, the Supreme
Throne, which is the formal base of the Divine absolute decree, is beyond the
human sense and intuition; for, because of its greatness and encompassing all
the world and perfect connection with the world of ideas, it seems to be among
the immaterial things and the world of ideas, which are free of, and beyond,
the human senses.
Immateriality of the Soul according to Three
Muslim Sages
(al-Farabi,
Ibn Sina, Mulla Sadra)
A. Arshad Riyahi
Because of the importance of the issue of immateriality of
soul, all the arguments, adduced to prove the immateriality of soul by these
three sages, are discussed thoroughly. In this article, four arguments, adduced
by al-Farabi, and seven arguments, put forth by Ibn Sina, and five arguments,
posed by Mulla Sadra, are analyzed.
According to al-Farabi, soul, as long as from which the
secondary perfections do not emerge and, as long as it is in the mode of
potentiality, is the form of body. When the secondary perfections emerge,
however, the soul will become immaterial, and it can be no more regarded as the
form of body. Ibn Sina regards all the cognitive faculties, in which man and
animal share, as material; and rational soul, which is
specific to man, as immaterial.
In his arguments, to prove the immateriality of the soul,
Mulla Sadra says:“human soul do some deeds, without
corporeal tool. It is, therefore, in doing these acts, needless of body. Soul
is independent of body. And in another place: in some cases, the form obtained
for soul and lost as a result of overlook, without a new factor influencing on
soul, reappears in soul. From here it can be seen that soul is immaterial and
not corporeal. There are some other arguments, for the sake of brevity, we do
not mention.
The Unity of Intellect and Intelligible from a New
Point of View
R. Akbari
``In this article, I will try to examine this doctrine from
a historical point of view; this examination is, somehow, different from the
critical studies on this doctrine. This doctrine should be discussed as an
epistemological topic. Hence, to recognize the notion of intelligence, a glance
on the history of development of this term will largely help us.''
After a historical discussion from the ancient times to the
present time, the author says:“``After the advent of Islam and the conquests,
made by Muslims, the scientific heritage of the predecessors became available
for Muslim thinkers, and the works of Greek philosophers were translated into
Arabic. Among the translated works, those of Aristotle were of special importance,
so that the good translators of these works were paid openhandedly. This,
perhaps, caused some translators to translate the works of the other
philosophers and attribute them to Aristotle, in order to take more money.
Among the books, which probably were attributed in this way to Aristotle, was a
book translated as ``Athologia''”. This book is, in fact, the translation of some part of
Plotinus' Enneads. This
apparently insignificant mistake left a very great effect on the thoughts of
Muslim philosophers. As a result of general acceptance of Aristotle the earlier
philosophers on the one hand and attribution of this book to him on the other
hand, Plotinus' ideas entered the Islamic philosophy under Aristotle's name,
and caused the Peripatetic philosophy of Muslim philosophers to appear in the
guise of Neo-Platonism. After Introducing Ibn Sina's perspective as well as
that of Mulla Sadra on the doctrine of unity of the intellect and intelligible,
I will note some 7 fundamental flaws in Mulla Sadra's doctrine.”
A Glance at the Love in the Transcendent
Theosophy
M. Sadiqi Hasanabadi
The unknown phenomenon, “love”, is among the wonders and
beauties of the world of creation. Love, just as the existence of its concept, is
extremely manifest, though its depth is extremely unknown. To prove its being
unknown one can mention the various and even opposite explanations for it,
provided by the philosophers and psychologists.
Among the noticeable point in the works of Muslim philosophers
and Gnostics is that love is penetrating in all creatures. Everything, whether
among the immaterial or material creatures, and even the Truth-the Exalted
enjoys this precious thing.
The essence of Sadrian insight is that existence has
principality and it is only existence, which is the origin of any effects.
Every stage of the existence embraces all the existential effects; the
attributes and effects are not other than existence, though they are graded
stages. Love also is among the effects of existence and in every level of
existence, it is present in more or less strength.
In this regard Mulla Sadra has a sweat and interesting
interpretation. He says: “The nobler and the higher the souls, the more pure,
beautiful, and valuable are their friendships and interests.
Nowadays, the scholars of ethics propose two ways for
purification of the soul, one the way of reason and the other the way of love.
The way of reason is very lengthy, time taking, and its fruits will be reached
very late, and the drunken ones have nothing to do with it. It is in the way of
love that they will, suddenly and through a song, reach the destination, and
hence it is very efficient.