METAPHYSICS OF MULLĀ ṢADRĀ: II Author(s): MUHAMMAD 'ABDUL-HAQ Reviewed work(s): Source: Islamic Studies, Vol. 10, No. 4 (DECEMBER 1971), pp. 291-317 Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20833041 . Accessed: 14/01/2013 21:12 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
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Introduction Metaphysics or Hikmah, according toMulla Sadra, is intended to gain knowledge of the ultimate reality and meaning of the objects of the universe and to judge their ontological status according to human capacity. In other words, Hikmah means
a consistent intellectual understanding of the asserts that his Sadra universe according to human capacity. 1 Mulla or nor is scholastic neither Hikmah polemic, metaphysics sophistic fallacy, nor pedantic and discursive philosophy, but basically it is intellectual and gnostic intuition buttressed by revealed tradition.2 Because meticulous truth. For it ratiocination can never be the purveyor of metaphysical along its narrow grooves step by step groping and weighing factors an effort comparable with the vain effort of the eye to for and against ? see itself or of a kitten chasing its own tail. As Shakespeare has said, "there
moves
are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy." But Intellectual intuition fulminates infinitely and is, therefore, capable knots of metaphysical mysteries. That is why of cutting the Gordian
asserts thatwhoever is not endowed with intuitive vision, has V *JJ?S~ V^) Thus a vision of themetaphysical trans no knowledge. (*)^ parency of things can be gained primarily with the help of revelation and
Mulls
Sadra
intellectual intuition. To trust reason alone in philosophizing about the ultimates is to unleash the dark forces of the irrational and the arbitrary. truth is Sadra , the quest for metaphysical In the view of Mulla as old as humanity itself. It is the Sophia perennis which has always been an esoteric aspect of the Prophetic phenomenon. He, therefore,maintains began with the Prophet Adam and his Son, s^eeth, who it over to Hermes or to the Prophet Idris, who, in turn, spread it throughout the world.4 According to him, there were five pillars of Hik
that Hikmah handed
thinkers?Pythagoras, Empedocles, Socrates, Plato and Aristotle?who acquired Hikmah from different Prophets, as Empe Thus it docles received it from David and Pythagoras from Solomon.5
mah among the Greek
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to be diversified in different forms so as who has caused ?ikmah tomake a thinker understand according to his particular genius.6 is God
The religious point of view emanates from God, whereas themeta physical point of view proceeds primarily from the intellectual intuition of man. That is why Mulla Sadra compares metaphysics with the phenome
is a Being composed of divine spiritual form (-ajjJ tjye) and of created sensible matter, ~ 3 likewise Hikmah also has become divided into two aspects or two sciences, non of man.
Just as man
one being theoretical and transcendental C**^** and the other practi the The aim of cal and physical former is to enrich human "4^)7 soul with metaphysical wisdom in order to actualize its ontological integrity
world (J*^) and thus become an intelligible
itself.The Prophetic
tradition, 'Oh, God, show as things as they are,' indicates this aspect The latter is a practical procedure whose aim is tomake soul of Hikmah. rule over the body or tomake the kernel dominate over the carnal. The
Prophetic tradition, "adorn yourselves with the attributes of God," refers to this aspect of Hikmah.8 Thus the bipolarization ofman intomatter and soul, divinity and dust, accounts for the division ofHikmah into two aspects fact to which the Qur'an refers categorically. theoretical and practical?a The Qur'an describes the pre-temporal spiritual form of man as the 'best the archytypal station of man stature' (piy* Cr^]) which was in theworld of divine command (^Vl ^JU) and calls his terrestrial condition JA-t) which is the temporal, spatial in which he has been exiled to matter and ignorance. The verse, 'except those who believe' (yJ" d3-^ ^ ) refers to and the verse, 'those who do good the purpose of Hikmat Nazariyyah to the indicates Hikmat deeds,' (oUJUJi^U 3) 'amaliyyah.9 condition 'the lowest of the low'
and worldly
Mulla
station of man
Sadra maintains
that all
theosophs have spoken of these two aspects of Hikmah of which the aim is to become Godlike in gaining a comprehensive knowledge of everything (oLjUJIj -uVi)and in transcend ing the bondage ofmatter (oyu~*j| ^ ^*xJl). That iswhy God calls Himself Hakim in the Qur'an because He is the inexhaustible source of all know 10 ledge and wisdom and describes Hikmah as His great gift formankind. can man become Godlike only in the sense that It should be noted that he is a theomorphic Being and this theomorphism must not be confused can become Godlike Man in some of His anthropomorphism.
with
qualities but God is not man-like. has nothing of man.
Man
has something of God
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but God
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importance of Hikmah lies in the fact that it gives supreme to the knowledge of Being. According to Mulla Sadra, the priority source of all the principles ofmetaphysics; it is the problem of Being is the centre around which all the principles of metaphysical doctrines such as the The
knowledge of God, problem of soul, problem of creation and eschatology that whoever is ignorant of the etc, revolve. He, therefore, maintains all of the basic is of problems of metaphysics.H ignorant Being problem
Theoryof Being orOntology In our previous article, we discussed a great deal Mulla Sadra's we an or Here will furnish account of those theory of Being Ontology. on. not been have touched which yet According to Mulla Sadra, points an source is and the of all power and action objective reality Being (-w) and
is,
therefore, principial
(J^')-
While
Mahyiyyah
("^^)
or
quiddity is the limitof Being, only to be abstractedby mind without having any reality independent of Being and is, therefore, accidental and ambiguous. What includes all objects under one reality is their Being and what limits and separates them is the quiddity of their Being. Every thing is understandable only when it is considered in terms of Being, other everything seems ambiguous, problematic and fictitious. Because Being is the raison de'tre of everything. Being is invariably non-mani of fested but metaphysically real, while quiddity is the manifestation
wise
Being is infinite in nature and as such Being but metaphysically unreal. no object, which is finite, can be equated with it and therefore no object can be equated with God, who is theAbsolute Being. Being encompasses everything under one reality in such a manner that there is not to be found anything outside of it. That is why one cannot prove Being because one cannot go outside of it. It transcends logical categories such as genus,
no definition and what has no species, differentia etc, and therefore it has 12 Now it is clear that no definition has logical proof and direct evidence. Being is non-manifested, metaphysical and undefinable, nonetheless itforces
it is the self-evident a priori truth, clearer than defin ingwords, prior to all concepts and the reality of everything!3 which other wise would not exist. No thought can circumscribe it and no language itself upon us because
can exhaust it. Now
the question
arises: how do we know a Being?
The
reply is
thatit is thefirstobject thatstrikesour understanding.That iswhyMulla ?adra asserts that theknowledgeof Being can be gained only by keen
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observation and intuitive vision and by drawing conclusions from its effects, procedure by which a partial knowledge of Being signs and symbols?a can be obtained. Thus the intuitive and visionary knowledge of Being the grasp of the ambiguous character of its quiddity will leave no doubt about the objective reality of Being. Being is the reality itself and 14 a not While elaborating this point, thing that has been made real. and
Sadra argues that Being as it is Being has no cause, no matter to be transformed into it, no place to alight upon and no form to be confused with it, rather it is the cause of all causes, form of all forms and the ulti mate reality of all. 15 Being has no matter and, therefore, has no form, rather it is the reality of form itself and confers forms on others. It does
Mulla
not need anything to be introduced and pointed out, rather everything is knowable and understandable on account of it. It does not need any
it is the evidence itself and is, therefore, evidence for all. 16 all with is objects because it is their reality but at the same time Being it is irreducible to any object. For it is ubiquitous metaphysically and a or an infinite sphere whose centre is dimension possesses mysterious evidence because
everywhere and circumference nowhere, and we, therefore, touch it every where and nowhere. Likewise, God, who is the Absolute Being, is ubi quitous despite His Ineffable transcendence and inviolable mystery and we, therefore, touch Him
everywhere and nowhere.17
to Mulla Sadra, Being is one reality and Ontological According but it has different gradations such as Absolute and relative, homogeneity perfect and imperfect. It eludes our sense-perception on account of its it is anterior to metaphysical nature. Our eye cannot catch it because see itself, cannot of the and the with or the is it identified eye eye reality eye "The eyes attain Him not, that is its reality. As God says in the Qur'an. attains the eyes; He is All-subtle and AU-aware."i8 As Being eludes our sense-perception likewise it transcends our mental comprehen sion. Our mind is very prone to remain confined to abstract concepts and we are incapable of thinking any Being without enclosing it in our abstract but He
concepts which is not Being, rather it is the quiddity of Being. That is why Mulla Sadra asserts that for Being there is no other mental or subjec tive existence.^ It is invariably an objective reality and the source of all power and effect. We find that objective fireburns and reduces things to ashes, whereas the abstract concept of firecannot produce such result. Thus as an objective reality Being is themost evident and clearest of all, but its in our mental analysis, Being comprehension is the poorest. Moreover,
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and its quiddity are differentthingsalthough in objectiveworld they are inseparable from each other. That is why Being categories of quiddity; in itself it is a very subtle (^)
is irreducible to the thing.20
sum up, we can have a glimpse of Being with the help of intuitive vision and can be faintly conscious of it by observing its effect and action. To
Being is not the product of human mind; it exists independently of any think ingmind. Our senses and mind can grasp only the quiddity of Being, while Being is inaccessible to our sense-perception and mental comprehension. In fact, it is quiddity which tends to be an impenetrable veil between us and our Being. Though quiddity in itself does not have the wherewithal to exist apart from Being, it appears in Being, with Being and from Being and in itself its status is very problematic and ambiguous,21 nonetheless it is identified with the limits and determinations of Being, and hence, its role of being an impregnable veil. And what is veil between us and our
is, in the ultimate analysis, a veil between us Thus quiddity is a veil between us and God.22 Being. 1*U. jlyi Jm c-Hljijl). (jio J^Uj Being
and
the Absolute
As a poet has said
In a general sense, Being partakes of two gradations, Absolute and The Absolute Being is one who is immune relative or real and quasi-real. from and transcendent of the characteristics of non Being, that is quiddity accidents and its categories such as universals and particulars,
time, space, motion etc. Quiddity and its categories are called non-Being is the because they lack independence of existence. Thus God?who no quiddity or quiddity is inconceivable for Him, Absolute Being?has The because He is Infinite and above all limitation and determination. The is also called Necessary Being. (*y?J\v^ij) Being relative Being is one who ismixed with the characteristics of non-Being, that is quiddity and its categories.23 All relative Beings are created and are
Absolute
also called possible Beings (oi^C^ ). A possible Being is one whose both same time.24 Thus all possible Being and nothingness are possible at the Beings are tinged with accidents and mingled with contingency. They are ontologically dis-integrated and impoverished because their Beings are In other embedded in quiddity or Beings diffused in separative illusion. words, creation is woven of ontological unity and homogeneity and
But the transcendent unity of separation and mutliplicity. Being lies hidden under the veil ofmuliplicity which is nothing but a sepa rative illusion. In one sense, Being is ambiguous because it is Absolute accidental
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essentially, while being situated in relativity. Likewise God, despite His and indecipherable mystery, is present, incommunicable Absoluteness active and the decisive factor at the centre of every creaed order.
It shouldbe noted thatBeing and unity are identicalwith and inseparable from each other. But the unity of possible Beings is weak, rather their unity is union and union implies composition and all possible in multiple forms Beings are, therefore, subjected to composition and
varied
combinations
j1)- For &j cf~ JO ("^asfy V5" are of and and Being composed quiddity, unity example, they multiplicity, matter and form, substance and accident, body and soul, potentiality and actuality. Thus Mulla Sadra maintains that the unity of possible Beings
is very poor and may be called a mere shadow of the perfect unity of the Absolute Being.24 According toMulla Sadra, there is no possibility ( oKJ ) or possible aspect in the Absolute Being. He is the Necessary and the from all points of view. There is no waiting state -aJU)i.e., potential state inHim, because He is theperfect Actuality.26
Absolute
(^1^1)
^ (Thus God
alone is the acme of all perfection, beauty and power; He alone is ontological plentitude, Infinite knowledge and unbounded consciousness
and He alone is theAbsolute Being of which the Beings of creation are a Mulla mere reflection and manifestation. Sadra maintains that to God, known (and the knowledge (pi*) are one and the knower (the the same thing. His knowledge knows Beings of the different ontological strata in their simultaneity as well as in their succession through temporal
While knowing their Beings, He equally knows their becom while knowing their substance, He equally knows their accidents; ing; and while knowing their ontological unity, He equally knows their tem poral multiplicity. Thus nobody should raise the question that God's duration.27
Mulla knowledge is subject to change because creation is changeable. can asserts that God of furnish definition the only ?adra perfect creation, while creation can define Him only symbolically and in an imperfect manner. Because cause contains the effect totally, while effect does not contain
the cause.28
Thus God
is unqualified
and unqualifiable
as He
is undefined and undefinable. According to Mulla Sadra, there is a certain object of knowledge but it is unknown and unknownable, while there is a known thing but it As God is infiniteknowledge and light, but is unknow is not knowledge. able by others,29 while there is falsehood which is known but is not know ledge. He classifies knowledge into two categories, the one is subtle ()
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The former implies congition or percep (v^V*). of something while one is unconscious of this cognition and is on it. Everybody possesses incapable of passing any judgement (ji^) this subtle cognition cognition which is ingrained ?-*V0 of God?a
and the other is mixed tion
in his primordial nature.(">*)30 Sadra, a direct cognition of an object implies or the cognition of its Being, whether that cognition be sensible or or or intellective intuitive imaginative, (JW^) (J**) empirical (Jy**-) that a relative Being is the reflection of the Ab ()32. It should be said," noted that nobody can know God with the help of formal empirical know ledge, (cSj^t Jy^i\ pU)l). Every possible Being can be conscious of the Absolute Being according to the degree of its ontological awareness. explaining the nature of Divine ubiquity, Mulla Sadra main tains that the encompassing (~aIU) of every thing by God and His together ness with all can be compared symbolically with the enompassing While
of body by soul. The soul is neither inside the body, nor outside of it, not attached to it, nor detached from it,nonetheless it permeates thewhole fact body and no particle of the Body can be independent of the soul?a which
symbolizes the mysterious ubiquity and metaphysical togetherness without thereby being in of God with the whole created order (ob^) or penetrated into (Jy->) carnated into (J>K). or united with
to (*~?y)49 Because
multiplicity point of the whole process of creation. cosmogonic
He
is a movement
from
is
the culminating is the synthetic totality of the
unfolding. Creation ofMan
According toMulla Sadra, man is the last creation in the processes of IbdS' and Takwin. He is like a reduced image of the cosmogonic
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unveiling because all the ontological possibilities that have been unveiled in the processes of Ibda' and Takwin?intellect, soul, matter, natural ele ments, vegetative soul, animal soul and the rational soul?are synthetically That is why man is called the qualitative epitome of integrated inman. the whole creation. He reflects cosmic totality despite his littleness and limitations.50 Though he ismade of matter and is, therefore, corruptible
and perishable, nonetheless in the centre of his Being there is an opening soul. Human intellect towards the Infinite, that is his intellect?bound flashes out like lightning in the heaviness, hardness and opacity of matter as fiint produces fire. Mulla Sadra maintains that the supreme aim of
is that human intellect would give unqualified witness Because other species of the to the unity and Absoluteness of God.51 even capable of being conscious of theAbsolute. process of Takwin are not For they are tied to many barriers of fall, imprisoned in natural blemishes the creation of man
and swathed inmany bondages
ofmatter.
above, matter is the crystallization of fall; it is and unconscious forgetful of itself and is therefore, unconscious and obli vious of God too. It is obvious that what ismade of matter will also be As mentioned
the qualities of matter. That is why the process of at the riddance (j^w) from the bondage of aimed Takwin has been matter in successive stages of Beings. Thus God created with matter four characterized with
kinds of species in successive stages,?inanimate objects, plant kingdom, animal world and human beings and each one is swathed in some bondage or other?in order to prove that human beings are very near to the emanci pation from the bondages of matter, from the dumbness and sedantary character of plant kingdom, and from the sensual desire and blind passion of the animal world.52 These four stages of Takwin are, as itwere, four legs tied to the various bondages born of matter and fall. Thus the process of Takwin at the human level has freed itself from the bondages of three legs and the human leg remains imprisoned and it is upto man to realize com Sadra maintains plete riddance Explaining these points, Mulla that the barrier of three legs are to be found in animal world?which implies that animals are rooted inmatter and steeped in the fallen state; while man possesses three signs of riddance frommatter. Firstly, in animal to observe and understand the meaning, in and of God creation, secondly there is to be found symbols (obi) signs the barrier of deafness to listen to discussions, lectures and proof of God; seen to is be the barrier of there thirdly ignorance and forgetfulness ofGod.
there is the barrier of blindness
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As God
says in the Qur'an, "They have hearts, but understand not with them, they have eyes, but perceive not with them; they have ears, but they hear not with them. They are like cattle ;"53 But man possesses these
three qualities which barriers.
indicate to his attaining riddance from these three
Mulla ?adra maintains that these three barriers are strengthened barriers giving witness to them. The first is the barrier of other three by their tongue which is a witness to their deafness because tongue is the agent
of the ear; the second is the barrier of their hand which is a witness to their the forking hand is the agent of the eye; the third is the of their body which is a witness to the crookedness of their
blindness because crookedness
soul because body is the agent of the soul, as the curve of a scabbared is a proof of the curve of a sword.54 Thus their natural and congenital blemishes and horizontal position suffice to rivet them to animality. Only
man
is freed from these barriers and is, therefore, capable of restoring the broken linkwith theDivine kingdom. Thus plant kingdom is condemned
to fixity and sedentariness and animal kingdom is rivetted to animality?a fact that symbolizes their inability to become a total and perfect Being capable of having an access to theDivine kingdom. But man with his gift of speech, mutual communication, his vertical position, detached from the ground, symbolizes his eligibility to reestabish the broken link with God.55 It should be noted that those who are inmatter and form ("^ j "^u) animal
are not wretched and accursed, rather those humans who have assumed the Qur'an says, "They are like cattle; nay, rather they are the heedless."56 Thus it is form, are further astray. Those_they animal form. As
rather than matter, which Thus man That iswhy God work of matter.
is important and a determining factor.
is very near to attaining complete riddance frommatter. has opened many windows in his hard and heavy frame Some windows are projected to the sensible world such
as the external five senses and some others to the intelligible world such as intellection and intuition. Every door is imagination, apprehension,
designed to be an outlet for his soul to grasp a certain cosmic reality,wonder * and secret.57 It is only man who can actualize complete freedom ( *) frommatter and can, thus, neutralize the fallen state. That iswhy Mulla ?adra tion
asserts that in this sense the human stage is, as itwere, the resurrec of the whole process of Takwln,58 Because on the one hand
man can become imaginatively and intellectually conscious of theAbsolute, His mysterious ubiquity and and ineffable transcendence, and on the
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other hand, he can be aware of his littleness, limitations, fallen state and blemishes. This manifold imaginative and intellectual consciousness and withdrawl outsidedness from matter?a fact implies detachment, that will lead to complete and total riddance. While ing,Mulla
explaining thatman is the totality of the cosmogonic unfold ?adra maintains that man has two faces or two forms, one is
physical and as such is changeable, corruptible, and mortal and the other is psychic and is, therefore, subtle and immortal. The life of the former
depends on the latter and if their connection is cut off, the former at once meets death and disintegration. The physical form of man originates from sperm, which is like prime matter; and then through gradual becom ing, itundergoes five stages of transition such as prime matter, natural body,
Thus man, besides his human faculties, integrates plant, animal and man. into himself all the faculties of previous stages, because the higher presup poses the lower. Likewise, the psychic form ofman begins with the descent of the soul in thewomb ofmother and getting itmerged with the sperm? a stage of ambiguity like prime matter and it is, therefore, called 'pure From the stage of 'pure nature', the soul goes ahead stage by nature.' stage, accumulating various faculties and assuming new names at every the vegetative stage such as the power ofmixed temperament ("^el)^ the practi soul or growing soul (^Ul jl ?g'Ul animal soul ^i), (v'x*M^0 cal intellect (J^Jl J*Ji), the theoretical ( the imaginative soul the soul the rational soul (opsji ^i), ^l) remembering (a&wi^l), and at lastwhen the soul actualizes its intuitive vision and observation and thereby experiences union with theDivine kingdom, it is called "the exalted or 'Acquired Intellect' (^Ux^Jl ji*Jl). This is the highest soul" (cr-^i c^O59 in which all bipolarization between body and soul, of the soul stage
matter and form, unity and multiplicity would disappear. Body would become identified with the soul, senses would merge together, potentiality by actuality and all multiplicity would be fused into an ontological unity. Mulla Sadra quotes a poet to depict the idea *X 3 3 i3& Jft&jj ItAAdyM\ cij 3 Oj".60 CJLiVjs? It is now clear that at the highest stage of the soul, man becomes imma Accord culate Intellect, while body and soul recede into the background.
would
be absorbed
ing to the Prophet of Islam, Intellect was the first creation of God and it was like a seed of creation. As seed contains the whole tree, likewise Intellect contains the whole universe. Thus at the stage of 'Acquired intellect,' man
contains the whole univese and that is why he is called the
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image or synthetic totality of the whole cosmogonic process. creation Thus begins with intellect and ends in human being who is the bearer of this intellect. Man, therefore, completes at the end what was reduced
initiated at the beginning. It should be noted that the process of Ibda' is pretemporal, non spatial and motionless, while the process of Takwln is temporal, spatial and Likewise man had also a pre-temporal, non is subjected to motion. spatial stage, an archetypal state, a state of ontological integrity and of immaculate intellect while has been described by the Qur'Sn as the 'best men are stature' (p*y> ). While quoting a prophetic tradition that c-^i ojUTlpU^ j silver treasures and of gold o-ui) treasures, like the Sadra maintains that gold and silver are sacred metals and they Mulla symbolically reflect the sun and moon, spirit and soul, and also the heavenly But through fall theywere exiled to matter human pair, Adam and Eve. state which a has been described by the and condemned to ignorance?a Thus they fall from of from matter, metaphysical conscious ontological unity to themultiplicity ness to the scandalous physical consciousness and from eternity to time,
Qur'an
Space
as the "lowest of the low".
and motion.
sum up, from the point of view of 'Ahsan Taqwim* man is a priori intellect, pure and simple: while from the point of view of Asfali Safilin, man is intellect but bipolarized into body and soul, divinity and To
He is, therefore, dualism and multiplicity. But the state of 'Asfali As fire is dormant in Safilin' is not the total negation of 'Ahsan Taqwim'. If he frees himself from the a flint, likewise intellect is dormant inman. dust.
illusory bondages of matter and purifies his soul from the dross of nature, he would regain his lost station of 'Ahsan Taqwim. Thus the intellect-bound man is like a double-edged sword. If he realizes his intellect, he would reach
God, otherwise he is liable to become the disciple of Satan. That is why Mulla Sadra asserts thatman is a road leading either toGod or to the hell.62 He, therefore, compares Satan with an evil or wretched tree ("^V^1 >/*?Ji) or a blessed tree and compares intellectwith a holy tree ("^) -aTjU); it is rooted in the immutable and unfathomable divine mystery, j c^ti wm); it is timeless, while its branches envelop the heaven (*i?~j!J ). non-spatial, dimensionless, neither eastern nor western ("a^Vj It becomes
the whole
of
creation.63
Thus
human
intellect
is the
is, therefore, the synthesis of the whole creation. Man greatest sign ofGod and an abridgement of the 'Guarded Tablet" (j^~ ^3).
metaphysical
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he alone can give witness towhat is unseen, unheard, unimaginable indescribable.64
Because and
It should be noted that Mulla Sadra has never used the word sense. To him it is intellect (j**) in its commonplace something divine and universal and is what the Greeks used to call 'Nous'. It, therefore,
should not be confused with the fragmentary intellect )82 from potency to act. We find that a seed gradually becomes a tree, a baby becomes an old man and every object in the universe in its own way is inmotion?a fact which accounts for the ceaseless and innate struggle and movement of the creation towards God, towards the lost Sadra,
JmJI Jl
centre and
towards the ontological filfilment. Matter is, therefore, in form is is variably seeking form, seeking body, body seeking soul, soul is and is sum intellect intellect To God. seeking up, the creation at seeking large is rooted inmotion
of varied forms.
In the view of Mulla Sadra, time is the quantity of motion. Instant is the border or minimal unit of time as point is the border of line. (oT) As motion implies change and movement, it needs an agent or mover to
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bring it into existence, but since ad infinitum (J~1~j) is impossible, there cannot be any motion and time before motion and time. As such they are created by theMotionless Mover, who is one encompassing (Jv^) every thing from eternity to eternity transcending motion,
time and
space.83
Space, according toMulla Sadra, is the inner surface of a surround ing body in such a manner that nothing remains outside of that surface. This is true only in thisworld in relation to a particular object. But if the space which is found in the universe is taken as one thing, nothing can remain situated outside of it (V* j in order to become space for can no be all. Thus there space for the space of the world as there is no
whole
number for all numbers.
The whole
space, therefore, becomes
point when it is taken as one thing.84
a single
According to some Muslim philosophers, time is imaginary and fictitiouswithout having any objective reality. While some others say that But Mulla Sadra time is made up of successive chain of 'nows' ( ouT). that time is the quantity of motion and the measure of objects inmotion as they are inmotion. While motion ismutiple in form, time flows uniformly along the magic thread of before and after?a thread
maintains
generally known as duration. Thus we experience the successive chain of the diversity of events as they stretch along this thread of duration. But time is real only an instant (oT) while this instant is almost an unseiz
able entity. That is why Mulla Sadra asserts that time and motion and those who are determined by them are ontologically weak and themoment of their Being is the same moment of their nothingness. That is every
a thing 'is' and 'is not'. Thus our Being is blended with nothing ness because everymoment we die and are reborn again.85
moment
Sadra, time and motion are the cause for change, newness, decay of Beings as space is the cause for absence and distance among Beings. Time and motion are connected with death and dis solution because death and dissolution mean the end of time and motion. According
toMulla
time and space are responsible for temporal and spatial absence But on the day of judgement the illusory veil and separation of Beings. and motion will be torn asunder and the creation as a whole of time, space would gather together.86
Moreover
that the time and eternity, Mulla Sadra maintains Explaining as a stan two mortal is time relation between called changeable and Beings dard to measure the quantity of motion and change. There is, therefore,
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METAPHYSICS
OF MULLA
SADRX
311
no
time for the persistent reality of substances as they are substance. The relation between immutable and changeable Beings is called 'dahr' (j*^) which has no temporal beginning and end but has two extremes 'AzaP
called mutable
and
Beings
And 'abad' (-^jJji). is called eternity (?Ur)87
the relation between
two im
We are helpless before the finite infinityof time and space. Neither can we stop time, nor can we be present everywhere at one and the same time. We are overwhelmed before the tyranny of time, riddle of space and irresitible pull or push of motion towards death and dissolution. These are the scum of all illusions ofmundane
life.
Eschatology
accidents.
above, we are in the fallen state of Asfal safllin in and our life is, therefore, rooted in matter and tinged with Death too is an accident among others, but it is designed to
neutralize
all accidents
As mentioned this world
and
It is, however, liquidate all contingency. ironical that death is the last thing to die, because it is an accident of life which is principle. And ultimately all accidents will perish, while principle alone will
survive. Death, however, implies the neutralization of the and abolition of the State of Asfal safilln and Ibda' of Takwm, process all cessation of accidents?time, motion, space etc. It amounts to an existence and rebirth to eternal lifeafter an illusory accidental life. The meaning of death, according to Mulla Sadra, is that it is an inevitable process of nature, a natural endeavour or an instinctive desire of creation to return to its origin.88 Thus the blending of life and death
is opposed to life, but is what constitutes our earthly existence. Death In the hereafter all accidents life is principial, while death is accidental. will cease to exist, all opposition will disappear and the distinction between ' So death will be the last thing to die. "I" and 'other will be outstripped. Itwill be brought in the form of a sheep and the Prophet Yahya (one who is alive) will slaughter itby a knife which is the form of life. In the hereafter, lifewill be perfect ontologically and itwill, therefore, absorb death which is an accident and opposite to life. Thus with the death of death eternity
will reign supreme.89 To understand of death. maginable
the meaning
the meaning is a termendous and uni
of life is to understand
to Mulla
Sadra, Death, according experience of the soul, for it is a unique
transition from time to
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312
MUHAMMAD
'ABDUL-HAQ
eternity and from the illusion of accidents to ontological integrity and That that is maintains after death Mulla Sadra reality. right and left why will disappear, every thingwould turn upside down, all secrets will be out, unseen will be seen, knowledge will be crystal clear and everything will be pure ontologically
and actual
intellectually.90
In the hereafter, all accidents such as time,motion, space, dimension and extension will cease to exist and, therefore, the question: where is heaven or hell? will be metaphysically absurd and false. What the soul
will feel, enjoy or suffer from would not be something outside the domain of the soul itself. Everything would be ontologically real, even speech and thought process. Thus themere desire or speaking of something agreeable
of paradise will transform itself into a Being of enjoyment Likewise mere desire of some thing by the people of hell will transform itself into a Being that would be totally disagreeable and by the people and pleasure:
capable of causing unimaginable suffering^ Thus in the hereafter everything will be pure ontologically. The worldly objects are not perfect ontolo not the real fire, because it is composed of fire The is gically. worldly natural elements and of light and heat. That iswhy it disappears into air or water is capable of extinguishing it. But the ontologically perfect fire is inextinguishable and is pure heat and darkness capable of causing in
suffering. Only Divine mercy can extinguish it. The Prophetic tradition that theworldly fire has been washed seventy times and sent down to earth means that the corporeal fire is the lowest stage of the intelligible fire. O jU).92 calculable
In this world, bodies become prepared to accept their soul accord ing to their ontological fitness. But in the hereafter, souls will be architect of their bodies according to their form and mould. Thus in post-temporal man would be either angel or animal, that his soul would assume a life form which would be conformable
to his deeds, good or bad. It is on the be judged Because a dog is a dog to its animal form and not to its particular matter. Thus it is
basis of that form that the soul would
according form, rather than matter, that would be a decisive factor. It is, therefore, on the basis of different forms that human soul would be diversified into different species, angels, satans, and animals93. Thus God is theAlpha and He alone is the Omega, He is the First from whence everything came out and He
is the Last whither everything goes. The outward will be absorbed by the inward because outward implies unveiling and manifesta tion that involves a kind of scandal and shame.
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METAPHYSICSOF MULLS SADRA
313
Conclusion
been
The problem of ontology has become obsolete now-a-days and has set aside as meaningless, irrational and arbitrary. But to Mulla
Sadra and to most of theMuslim Philosophers, ontology is the principle as well as the centre of all metaphysical problems. To be ignorant of to be ignorant of all metaphysical problems. Because everyth ontology is ing is understandable, intelligible and explainable only in terms of it. Be ing is its raison detre, while without Being everything is ambiguous and fictitious. According to him, Being is not subjective but objective and the source of all power and action and is, therefore, principial (J-^i).
However, this principiality of Being (>yjM ~y?J\ -*JUI)94. Thus the existential philosophy of France believes only in the values of the temporal life of man. Because man is alone and he must the fact his is that future threatened accept by nothingness and total ex tinction. For him there is no transcendent, Omnipotent and Absolute
Being to aspire after and feelmostalgia for. He is a poor earthling, an isolated product of biological hazard and a fortuitious mixture of nature
devoid of any transcendental orientation. The aim of existential philosophy is, therefore, only to preserve and safeguard temporal human values such as fighting against social injustice and persecution of man. But the doc trine of principiality and unity of Being means thatman is never indepen
dent of and separated from God, who is the Absolute Being. Through his Being, man is always in touch with God and eternity. He will enjoy an eternal lifewhen he realizes his ontological fulfilment by casting aside
his earthly contingency. Whereas according to existential philosophy is condemned to nothingness and subjected to futility. He has no future outside the short span of earthly life.95
man
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MUHAMMAD
314
'ABDUL-HAQ
The history of ontology in Islamic philosophy and European philo sophy is different from each other. A contemporary French orientalist has made a deep research in this field which he has written in the introduc He has pointed out tory chapter ofMulla Sadra's book kitab al-Masha'ir. that in European philosophy 'Being' has been used as an infinitive 'to be' but gradually its meaning has become restricted and finally has been narrowed down to a mere mental
concept devoid of any meaning and in the other Islamic On hand, thought being has always been used reality. as an imperative 'be' (uO> that Being is a Divine command and, therefore, is a perennial objective
reality.96
Islamic thought, however, tends to take things as they are in reality in order to ascertain their deepest nature and ultimate meaning. It aims at putting everything in its proper perspective. That is why accidents are to usurp the rank of substance and Beings are not relegated to the position of quiddity and contingency. Thus it tries to create a metaphysical vision and judgement of things in order that man may not take himself for what he is not and things may not appear to be what not allowed
they are not.
It therefore, judges things in their ontological context and reality, and, thus, tends to be a discernment between the
metaphysical It is saturated with an acute Absolute and relative, real and un-real. consciousness of theAbsolute and of the unreality and ephemeral character of what is other than theAbsolute. are decentralized earthlings. They try to dispense and, thus, exclude Him from every area of life. They, in turn, create false absolutes which they live by. As decentralized earth lings, theirmind is embedded with false images and shifting concepts, while The moderns
with the Absolute
they are oblivious of their origin and ultimate becoming. They are interested in and preoccupied with this world and their passion clings to what is wroldly only. They, therefore, recoil from the idea of the super natural Absolute Being and from the posthumous becoming and suffering. But Islamic thought sets forth a consistent and meaningful idea about creation, mystery of life and death, the miracle of existence and the illusion of time and space. Its mission is tomake man conscious of his origin and end, of theAbsolute and of his lost centre and thereby provide him with something to live for and something to die for.
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METAPHYSICS
OF MULLA Notes
1. Mulla 2.
Sadra:
Mulla
Sadra,
vol.-I
al-Asfdr, Kitdb
SADRA 315
:
p. 20.
al-MashdHr,
p. 5.
3. Mulla Sadra, al-Shawdhidal-Rubbubiyyahp. 14. 4.
Mulla
Rasdil,
Sadra,
5.
Ibid.,
pp.
6.
Ibid,
p.
7.
Mulla
67.
p.
69, 73, 75. 103.
Sadra,
8.
Ibid., p. 21.
9.
Ibid., p. 21.
10.
Ibid., p. 22.
al-Asfdr,
1, p. 20.
vol.
11. Mulla Sadra, ?ifa6 a/Mashd'ir, p. 4. 12.
Mulla
vol.
al-Asfdr,
Sadra,
I, p. 253.
13 Mulla Sadra, Kitdb al-Mashd'ir p. 6, 7, 8, 9,10. 14. 15.
Mulla
Sadra,
16.
Mulla
Sadra,
17.
Mulla
Sadra
18.
AJ.
19.
Mulla
20.
Ibid.
21.
Mulla
22.
al-Asf&r,
vol.
I, p. 61, 66.
Ibid., p. 54.
Arbery,
p. 220.
'Arshiyyah, al-Asfdr,
vol.
The Koran
114.
Interpreted,
al-Shawdhid
Sadra,
I, p.
the cattle,
al-Rububiyyah,
103.
p. 6.
pp. 6, 7. Sadra,
a -Asfdr, vol.
I, pp. 68-69.
115.
Ibid., p.
23.
Mulla
Sadra
'Ashiyyah, p. 220.
24.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Asfdr,
25.
Ibid., pp.
26.
Ibid., p.
vol.
I, p. 260.
187, 188. 122.
27. Mulla Sadra, l-Shawdhidal-Rububiyyahp. 145,41. 28. SJ. Ashiyani,Hasti, p. 46 29.
Mulla
Sadra,
30.
Ibid., vol.
31.
Ibid., p.
117.
32.
Ibid., p.
118.
al-Asfdr,
I, p.
vol.
8, p. 76.
116.
33. Mulla Sadra, RasdUl pp 135, 136, 137. 34.
Ibid., p.m.
35. Mulla Sadra, Rasdil, p. 342 36. Mulla Sadra, al-Shawdhidal-Rububiyyah.p. 224.
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MUHAMMAD
316 37.
Mulla
Sadra,
Rasa'il
38.
Mul'a
Sadra,
al-Shawdhid
39.
Ibid., p.
'ABDUL-HAQ
p. 342. p.
al-Rububiyyah,
180.
140. p. 250.
40.
Mulla
Sadra,
Rasdil,
41.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Asfdr,
42.
Mulla
Sadra,
Rasdil,
vol
180.
I, p.
p. 353.
43. Mulla Sadra, al-Asfdr,pp. 70, 187,Rasail, p. 363. 44. Mulla Sadra Rasdil p. 354. 45.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Asfar,
46.
Mulla
vol.
Sadra,
al-Mazdhir,
47.
Mulla
Sadra
Arberry,
49.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Asfdr,
50.
Mulla
Sadra,
Rasdil,
51.
Ibid.
52.
Ibid.,
Interpreted,
The
109.
cave,
8, p. 352.
vol. p. 337.
325
53.
Arberry,
54.
Mulla
Sadra,
55.
Ibid,
p. 309.
56.
p. 32.
al-Ildhiyyah,
vol. p. 221.
al-Asfdr,
48.
The Koran
188.
I, p.
Arberry,
The Koran
Interpreted,
Battlements,
The
battlement,
178
p. 326.
Rasdil,
The Koran
The
Interpreted,
178.
57. Mulla Sadra Rasdil, pp. 252, 254. 58.
Ibid.,
p. 291.
59.
Ibid.,
p. 313, 814.
60. 61. 62.
Ibid., p. 314, 315. Mulla
Sadra,
al-Asfdr,
vol.
8. p. 355.
Ibid., p. 356.
63.
Mulla
Sadra,
Rasdil,
64.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Asfdr,
p. 312. vol.
8, p. 356.
65. SeyyedHossein Nasr, Ma'drif Is/ami,Tehran, 1388A.H. p. 211. 66.
Mulla
Sadra,
'Arshiyyah.
67.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Shawdhid
68.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Mazdhir
69.
Mulla
Sadra,
Rasdil,
70.
Mulla
Sadra
al-Shawdhid
71.
Mulla
Sadra,
72.
ai-Asfdr,
p. 23x. al-Rubibiyyah, al-Ildhiyyah,
pp.
p. 221. p. 62.
303, 320. al-Rububiyyah,
vol.
p. 208.
8, p. 81.
Ibid., p. 249.
73.
Mulla
Sadra,
al-Shawdhidal-Rub'biyyah,
74.
Mulla
Sadra,
Al-Asfdr,
vol.
p. 228.
8, p. 224.
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OF MULL5
METAPHYSICS 75. 76. 77.
Mulla
'Arshiyyah, p. 246.
Sadra,
Ibid., p. 236. Ibid.,
p. 248.
Mulla
Sadra,
79.
Mulla
Sadra,
'Arshiyyah,
p. 264.
80.
Mulla
Sadra,
sA-Mazdhir
al Ildhiyyah,
78.
SADRA 317
al-Shawdhid
al-Rububiyyah,
p.
198.
p. 68.
81. Mulla Sadra: al-Shawdhidal-Rububiyyahpp. 241, 200, 249. 82. 83.
Mulla
Sadra,
p. 304.
Rasail
Ibid., p. 304.
84. Ibid, 303. 85. 86.
Ia'far Mulla
Sajjadi,
Mustalahdt-i-Mulla
Sadra,
al-Mazdhir
Sadra,
al-Ildliyyah,
118.
p.
119,120,121.
p. 73.
87. Mulla Sadra, Rasdil, p. 305. 88.
Ibid., p. 338.
89. Mulla Sadra, 'Arshiyyah p. 270. 90.
Mulla
Sadra,
91.
Mulla
Sadra,
92.
RasdHl,
p. 285.
'Arshiyyah.
p. 253.
Ibid., p. 286 al-Shawdhidal Rububiyyah,p. 166,265.
93. Mulla Sadra, 'Arshiyyah, pp. 242, 243. 94.
95. 96.
Sayyed
Hossin
Nasr,
Ma'drif
Islami.
p. 207.
Ibid., 207, 208. Henri Tehran,
Corbin,
Introductory
chapter, Kitab
al-Mashd'ir
Institute
1964.
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of Franco-Iran,
