The Triumph of Mercy: Philosophy and Scripture in Mullå Ṣadrå

258 Pages·2012·6.466 MB·English

by  Mohammed Rustom

The Triumph of Mercy
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The Triumph of Mercy
Philosophy and Scripture in Mullå Ṣadrå
Mohammed Rustom
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Cover art by Mohamed Zakariya.
Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2012 State University of New York
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner
whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be
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recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the
publisher.
For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Production by Diane Ganeles
Marketing by Michael Campochiaro
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Rustom, Mohammed.
The triumph of mercy : philosophy and scripture in Mulla Sadra /
Mohammed Rustom.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-4384-4341-6 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Sadr al-Din Shirazi, Muhammad ibn Ibrahim, d. 1641. 2. Islamic
philosophy. 3. Sufism.  I. Title. 
B753.M84R87 2012
181'.5—dc23 2011038838
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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To Nosheen, for all her love and support
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Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Transliterations and Abbreviations xi
Introduction 1
1 Qurʾånic Hermeneutics 9
Lord of the Heart 11
Etiquette and Understanding 15
Concept and Reality 18
The Command’s Descent 21
The Soul’s Ascent 27
2 Formal Considerations 33
Texts and Sources 34
Structure and Content 46
3 Metaphysics 55
The Essence 57
Names and Their Loci 58
The All-Comprehensive Name 62
4 Cosmology 65
The Act of Praise 66
The Muhammadan Reality 68
The Perfect Man 70
5 Theology 73
From Outer to Inner 73
Idols of Belief 76
The Religion of the Perfect Man 80
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viii Contents
6 Soteriology I 85
The Nature of Things 88
The Essential and the Accidental 89
7 Soteriology II 99
Paths to Mercy 101
Divine Hands and Feet 105
Intellectual and Scriptural Fidelity 109
Revealing and Concealing 110
Chastisement’s Sweetness 113
Conclusion 117
Appendix 1: Some Key Texts from the Mafåt¥ḥ al-Ghayb 121
Appendix 2: Key Texts from the Tafs¥r S¶rat al-Fåtiḥa 125
Appendix 3: Passages from the Fut¶ḥåt Reworked into
the Tafs¥r S¶rat al-Fåtiḥa 153
Notes 161
Bibliography 211
Index of Qurʾånic Passages 229
Index of Ḥad¥ths and Sayings 233
Index of Names and Terms 235
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Acknowledgments
This book is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the
University of Toronto’s Department of Near and Middle Eastern
Civilizations in the fall of 2009. Thanks go first and foremost to my 
thesis advisor Todd Lawson, who over the years has shared his vast
knowledge of Islamic thought with me in unstinting measure. Not
only did he see to it that each page of this study conformed to his
rigorous academic standards, but he has, through all of my successes
and failures, always been a gracious friend and supporter.
Apart from offering helpful comments on the present work
at different stages of its gestation, I have also had the fortunate
opportunity to learn from Sebastian Günther, Maria Subtelny, Shafique 
Virani, and the late Michael Marmura. Other teachers from whom I
have greatly benefited include Talal Ahdab, Deborah Black, Richard 
Blackburn, Nasser Danesh, Thomas Robinson, Walid Saleh, and Liyakat
Takim. In many ways, they have bestowed upon me the foundational
tools necessary for the kind of undertaking presented here.
Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s encouragement and guidance from the
very outset of this project has been crucial, as has been the time
William Chittick spent with me reading the works of Mullå Ṣadrå.
Caner Dagli, Robert Dobie, Atif Khalil, Mohammad Hassan Khalil,
Joel Richmond, Sajjad Rizvi, Kristin Sands, John Walbridge, and SUNY
Press’s two anonymous reviewers all provided essential feedback on
various aspects of the present study. Nasrin Askari, Ryan Brizendine,
Shiraz Sheikh, and my research assistant Rizwan Mohammad have
kindly taken care of many nitty-gritty details related to the book, and
a number of scholars sent along important references. Specific thanks 
in this regard are due to Peter Adamson, Jules Janssens, F arhana
Mayer, Matthew Melvin-Koushki, James Morris, Gregor Schwarb, and
Alexander Treiger.
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