The philosophy of Mullā Ṣadrā (Ṣadr al-Dīn al-Shīrāzī)

359 Pages·1975·1.13 MB·English

by  Fazlur Raḥmān

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The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra

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STUDIES IN ISLAMIC PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE
Published under the auspices of
the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy and Science EDITORIAL
BOARD
George F. Hourani, State University of New York at Buffalo Muhsin Mahdi,
Harvard University Parviz Morewedge, Baruch College of City University of
New York Nicholas Rescher, University of Pittsburgh Ehsan Yar-Shater,
Columbia University
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The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra
(Sadr* al-Din* al-Shirazi*) FAZLUR RAHMAN
State University of New York Press Albany, 1975
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The Philosophy of Mulla Sadra First Edition
Published by State University of New York Press 99 Washington Avenue,
Albany, New York 12210
© 1975 State University of New York All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America Library of Congress Cataloging in
Publication Data Rahman, Fazlur, 1919— The philosophy of Mulla Sadra
(Sadr* al-Din* al-Shira/i*) (Studies in Islamic philosophy and science) Includes
bibliographical references.
1. Mulla Sadra, Muhammad* ibn Ibrahim*, d. 1611.
I. Title. II. Series.
B753.M84R3
181'.07
75-31693
ISBN 0-87395-300-2
ISBN 0-87395-301-0 (microfiche)

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CONTENTS
Introduction
1
A. Mulla Sadra and the Character of His Philosophy 1
B. Sadra's* Sources and His Originality 7
1. General
7
2. Sadra's* predecessors 9
3. Evaluation
13
C. Sadra's* Works and His Influence.
16

PART I. Ontology I.The Metaphysics of Existence 27
A. Existence
27
B. Controversy with the "Essentialists"
31
C. Systematic Ambiguity (Tashkik*) of Existence.
34
D. Tension between Monism and Plualism 37
II. Essence
45
III Cause I: Nature of Causation 59
A. Cause-Effect Relationship 59
B. Impossibility of Causal Regress 65
IV. Cause II: God-World Relationship 74
A. Efficient Cause and Final Cause 74
B. God-World Relationship 82
V. Movement, Time, and, World-Order 94

A. Movement
94
B. Time
108
C. World-Order
113

Part II. Theology I. God's Nature
125
A. Proof of God's Existence 125

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B. God as pure existence 128
C. God's Unity
133
II. God's Attributes—I
141
A. God's Being and Attributes 141
B. Knowledge
146
III. God's Attributes—II 167
A. Power and Will
167
1. A Survey of Alternative Views 167
2. Sadra's * Criticism of These Views and His Position 171
3. Relationship of God's Will to man 174
4. Doctrines of Bada'* (change of Mind in God), Naskh 180
(Abrogation of Laws) and Taraddud (reluctant decision).
B. Divine Speech and Revelation 184

Part III. Psychology: Man and His Destiny I. Nature of the Soul
195
II. Theory of Knowledge—I 210
A. General Considerations 210
B. The Problem of "Mental Existence (al-wujud* al-dhihni*)"
215
III. Theory of Knowledge—II: Perception and Imagination 221
A. External Sense
221
B. Internal Sense: Imagination and Wahm 225
IV. Theory of Knowledge—III: The Intellect 232
A. Introduction
232
B. The Problem of Abstraction 233
C. Ibn Sina* on the "Simple Intellect"
234
D. Identity of the Intellect and the Intelligible 236
V. Eschatology
247
A. Impossibility of Transmigration 247
B. Proofs of an Afterlife 251
C. The Nature of Afterlife 257
Epilogue
266
Subject Index 271
Index of Proper Names 276

Page vii PREFACE
The present work aims at a critical and analytical statement of the Philosophy of
Sadr al-Din al-Shirazi* known as Multa* Sadra* (d. 1641), primarily contained
in his monumental work al-Asfar* al-Arba'a. As the following pages show,
Sadra's* system, despite certain inner difficulties, is a highly original one
revealing the extraordinary intellectual calibre of its author. Besides introducing
Sadra's* thought to the modern reader, the work, it is hoped, will fully expose
the mythical character of the belief, generally prevalent in Western Islamic
scholarship, that Islamic Philosophy "died" after al-Ghazali's* attack upon it in
the eleventh century.
Indeed, considerable valuable work has been done during the past two and a half
decades in the field of post-Ghazali*
Islamic thought, notably on al-Suhrawardi* (d. 1191), the founder of the
Illuminationist School. But most leading scholars in this activity, have, through
their own spiritual proclivities, been led to emphasize the Sufi and esoteric side
of this literature at the cost, as I believe, of its purely intellectual and
philosophical hard core, which is of immense value and interest to the modern
student of philosophy. I have tried to clarify this in the Introduction to the
present work with reference to Sadra* who is hardly esoteric or Sufi, although he
does emphasize intellectual intuition vis-à-
vis purely logical reasoning. It is hoped, therefore, that the present work will
further stimulate sorely needed philosophic research into this hitherto little
explored but rich field of Islamic thought.
I warmly thank the officers of the Society for the Study of Islamic Philosophy
and Science (SSIPS) for having this book published and the State University of
New York Press, particularly its director, Norman Mangouni, for publishing it.
My grateful thanks are also due to Professor Alford Welch of the Department of
Religion, of Michigan State University, who kindly devoted his valuable time
not only to reading the proofs but to preparing indices of this work.
FAZLUR RAHMAN
Chicago
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