A Brief Biography
Mulla Sadra’s father, Khwajah Ibrahim Qawami, was a knowledgeable and extremely faithful politician. He was a rich man and held a high position, but had no children. However, after a lot of prayers and supplications to the Divine Portal, God gave him a son whom they named Muhammed (Sadr al-Din, 979 A.H/1571 A.D), but called Sadra. Later he was nicknamed as Mulla, that is, great scientist. In the years to come, the title of Mulla Sadra became more famous than his real name and replaced it on people’s tongues.
Sadr al-Din Muhammed (or Sadra) was the only child of the minister of the ruler of the vast Iranian region of Fars and enjoyed the highest standards of a noble life. It was a common tradition at that time for aristocrats’ children to be educated by private teachers in their own palace. Sadra was a very intelligent, strict, energetic, studious, and curious boy and mastered all the lessons related to Persian and Arabic literature, as well as the art of calligraphy, during a very short time.
After the Safavid Dynasty capital was moved to Isfahan (1006 A.H/1598 A.D) Mulla Sadra is believed to have resided there for some years before returning to his city of birth, Shiraz , in about 1010 A.H (1602 A.D). He had inherited a great fortune and many estates from his father, of which he had to take control. This might have been one of the reasons for his return to Shiraz.
He had an immense fortune, possessed an enormous ocean of knowledge, especially, of philosophy, and had presented a number of innovative ideas. Therefore, he started teaching in Shiraz, and a lot of students attended his classes from different parts of the country. However, his rivals, who, like many philosophers and theologians, blindly followed previous philosophers, and felt that their social status had been endangered, started ill-treating him, ridiculing his new ideas, and insulting him in order to defend their ideas or perhaps out of jealousy.
Such bad behavior and pressures were not compatible with Mulla Sadra’s delicate soul. On the other hand, his faith, religious beliefs, and piety did not allow him to react and deal with them in the same way. Thus he left Shiraz in resentment and went to Qum, which had not yet turned into an important scientific and philosophical center. This religious city is the burial place of the holy Ma’sumah, the daughter of the seventh Shi’ite Imam, Imam Musa Kazim (AS), one of the descendents of the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH), and the sister of Imam Reza (the eighth Shi’ites Imam). A number of great men and scholars have been buried in Qum. This city has a long history (more than 15 centuries), and is said to have been called Quriana before the advent of Islam.
Mulla Sadra did not stay in Qum itself and, because of its hot and bad weather, or perhaps because of the similarity between the social conditions there and those in Shiraz, he stayed in a village called Kahak in the suburbs. The remains of his magnificent house can still be seen in this village.
Mulla Sadra’s depression and spiritual breakdown made him put away with teaching and discussion for some time, and, as he has written in the introduction of his great book, al-Asfar, he started spending his life in worship, fasting, and ascetic practice. This chance, which had been in fact forced upon him by fate, aided him in going through the spiritual and mystic stages of spirituality and even sanctity.
This period is considered the golden time of his life from a spiritual point of view. In spite of being depressed and stricken sorrow, he managed to reach the stage of the unveiling and intuition of the hidden or unseen, and see philosophical realities with the hearts eye rather than that of the mind. It was this very accomplishment that contributed to the perfection of his school of philosophy. His seclusion and refusal to write and teach continued until, at the stations of unveiling and intuition of the unseen, he was ordered to return to the society and begin writing, teaching, disseminating and publicizing his school of thought and findings.
If we consider the length of his period of silence and seclusion to about 5 years, he stopped it in about 1015 A.H (1607 A.D). Once again he took his pen in hand and started the composition of some books, including his monumental book, al-Asfar, which is considered a philosophical encyclopedia, and wrote its first part on the issues related to existence.
He did not return to Shiraz until almost 1040 A.H (1632 A.D). He stayed in Qum, founded a philosophical center there, trained several students, and, during all this time, was busy either writing his famous book or composing treatises in response to contemporary philosophers. Two of his well-known students were called Fayyadh Lahiji and Faydh Kashani, who were both his son-in-laws and propagated his school of thought.
We will give an account of his books in the part related to his works.
Mulla Sadra returned to Shiraz in about 1039 or 1040 A.H (1632 A.D). Some believe that the reason for his return was the invitation he received from the ruler of Fars province, Allah Werdi Khan. This was because he had finished the construction of the school which his father, Imam Quli Khan, had started, and prepared it for teaching philosophy, and due to his previous devotion towards Mulla Sadra, he invited this great man to Shiraz to take its scientific supervision in hand.
Mulla Sadra was also involved in teaching philosophy, interpretation, and hadith in Shiraz, and trained some students there. We understand from his book of Si Asl (Three Principles), which was apparently written at that time in Shiraz in Persian, and which harshly attacked the scholars of that time, including philosophers, theologians, jurisprudents, and physicists, that in that period, like in his first period of residence in Shiraz, Mulla Sadra was under the pressure of the slanders and vicious conducts of the scientists of his town. This time, however, he had become stronger and decided to stand against their pressures and establish, introduce, and publicize his own school of philosophy.
One of the dimensions of Mulla Sadra’s eventful life was his frequent visitations to Ka’ba in Mecca. This worship and religious pilgrimage is called Haj and Umra (lesser pilgrimage). It has been written that Mulla Sadra went to seven (pay attention to the holy figure ‘7’) pilgrimages (apparently on foot). Nowadays, in spite of the comforts offered by traveling by plane, there are still some difficulties associated with going on this pilgrimage. Nevertheless, four hundred years ago, they made this journey on horse or camel and through the dry central desert of Saudi Arabia. Therefore, the Haj pilgrimage was also considered a kind of ascetic practice.
On this journey, this was made in the form of big Caravans of hajjis (Mecca pilgrims) moving towards Mecca, several people died from heat, thirst, or exhaustion on the way. Thus, making such a journey, which meant traveling for some thousands of kilometers on foot, certainly involved much more hardships than it does today, and required a strong will and profound faith.
To add such an endeavor to his other ascetic practices, Mulla Sadra stepped on this way seven times, and eventually, on his seventh journey to Mecca for the visitation of Ka’ba, fell ill in the city of Basra in Iraq and passed away, leaving this world for those who were obsessed by it.
The route of his journey, if we consider its place of origin as Shiraz, was the waterway from the eastern coast of Persian Gulf towards its western coast, and to Basra port in Iraq, which was a part of Iran at that time.
It is commonly said that Mulla Sadra passed away in 1050 A.H/1640 A.D; however, we believe that a more exact date is 1045 A.H/1635 A.D, which his grandson, Ilm al-Huda, one of the stars of the sky of knowledge of his time and the son of ‘Allamah Faydh Kashani, has recorded in his notes. The sudden discontinuation of some of his compositions, such as Interpretation of Qu’ran and Sharh-i Usul Kafi (Muhadith Kulayni), in about 1044 A.H/1634 A.D are good pieces of evidence supporting this claim.
Mulla Sadra died in Basra, but according to the Shi’ite tradition, he was taken to Najaf (in Iraq), which houses the tomb of Imam Ali(A), the vicegerent, cousin, and son-in-law of Prophet Muhammed(S), and the first leader of Shi’ites, and, as his grandson, Ilm al-Huda, says, he was buried in the left side of the court of Imam Ali(A)’s haram (sacred shrine).
His Teachers
Mulla Sadra was a master of all sciences of his time; however, none of them were as important as philosophy in his eyes. As mentioned previously, due to the outstanding spiritual and economic facilities provided by his family, particularly by his father, he enjoyed the benefits of studying under the most knowledgeable teachers of that period.
In Qazwin, Mulla Sadra studied under his two prominent masters, Shaykh Baha al-Din and Mir Damad, and when the capital changed to Isfahan in 1006 A.H/1596 A.D, he moved there in company of his two masters, and in addition to completing his higher education, particularly in philosophy, started a profound line of research on contemporary philosophical issues. Due to his great talent, depth of thought, and vast knowledge of rational sciences, logic, and gnosis, Mulla Sadra succeeded in developing a series of unprecedented principles and basic rules. In this way, the young tree of Transcendental Philosophy, which is the name of his unique school of thought, gradually grew until it raised its head highly in the sky.
Mulla Sadra acquired most of his scholarly knowledge from the two above-mentioned masters. Thus it would be deserving to know a little more about these unparalleled thinkers.
- Shaykh Baha al-Din ‘Ameli
Shaykh Baha (953-1030 A.H) was not Mulla Sadra’s first teacher; however, it seems that from among all his teachers, he played the most significant role in developing Mulla Sadra’s personality, and exercised the greatest influence upon the formation of his spiritual, moral, and scientific character.
He was the son of a Lebanese jurisprudent called Shaykh Hussayn, the son of Shaykh Abdul Samad Ameli. Jabal Amel is one of the northern cities of Syria, which is populated by Shi’ite Muslims. At that time, it was ruled by the cruel and tyrant Ottoman government. A lot of Shi’ite jurisprudents and scholars living in this city ran away from the cruelties of ottoman rulers and sought refuge in the Safavid Iran. Shaykh Baha al-Din was seven (or 13) years old when he came to Iran with his father, who was later appointed the religious leader of Muslims, which was a sublime and spiritual position, in Harat in Khorasan. Baha al-Din began to acquire the sciences of his time in Iran and soon became a very well-known scientist.
Shaykh Baha’s vast knowledge of different areas, from jurisprudence, interpretation, hadith, and literature to mathematics, engineering, astronomy, and the like, as well as the stories narrated about the wonders of his life, have turned him into a fabulous and legendary character, unparalleled by any other scientist in the one thousand- year-old history of science after Islam. In fact, in terms of knowledge, he can be considered as an equal to Pythagoras or Hermes in the history of Greek science.
- Mir Damad
Mir Muhammad Baqir Hussayni, known as Mir Damad, was one of the most prominent scholars of his time and a great master of Peripatetic and Illuminationist schools of philosophy, gnosis, jurisprudence, and Islamic law. His father, too, was a jurisprudent and was originally from Astarabad (the present Gorgan). He spent his youth studying in Khorasan and was later honored by becoming the son-in-law of a famous Lebanese scientist called Shaykh Ali Karaki, who was known as the second researcher, the high counselor of the Safavid king. Because of this honor, the title of ‘Damad’ (Persian word for son-in-law) remained on Mir Muhammad Baqir Hussayni.
Some people believe that Mir Damad was born in 969 A.H (1562 A.D), but there is no certain evidence for it. He was born in Khorasan and passed his adolescence in Mashad (the center of Khorasan province) and because of his genius, he reached high scientific levels in a very short time. When he arrived in Qazwin (Capital of the Safavid kings at that time) to complete his education, he became fast famous and reached the station of mastership.
Mulla Sadra, who had most probably gone to Isfahan with his father in childhood, went to Mir Damad’s teaching classes hurriedly and passed the higher courses of philosophy, hadith, and other sciences once more under his supervision.
With the change of the Safavid capital from Qazwin to Isfahan, Mir Damad moved his teaching center there, too. Mulla Sadra, during his years of residence in Isfahan, took the greatest advantage of his classes, and his scientific relation with this knowledgeable teacher was never disrupted. Mir Damad fell ill in 1041 A.H (1631 A.D) on his way to Iraq and passed away there.
- Mir Fendereski
Mir Fendereski has also been cited as one of Mulla Sadra’s teachers. His complete name is Mir Abulqasim Astarabadi, and he is famous as Fendereski. He lived for a while in Isfahan at the same time as Mir Damad, spent a great part of his life in India among yogis and Zoroastrians, and learnt certain things from them.
In spite of what is commonly believed, there is no valid evidence indicating the existence of any student-teacher relation between Mir Fendereski and Mulla Sadra; moreover, the school of philosophy left by Fendereski and publicized by his students, such as Mulla Rajab Ali Tabrizi, is completely in contrast to that of Mulla Sadra.
His Children
Mulla Sadra’s date of marriage is not clearly known to us. He married most probably at the age of 40 and his first child was born in 1019 A.H (1609 A.D). He had five children, 3 daughters and two sons, as follows:
- Um Kulthum, born in 1019 A.H (1609 A.D)
- Ibrahim, born in 1021 A.H (1611 A.D)
- Zubaydah, born in 1024 A.H (1614 A.D)
- Nizam al-Din Ahmad, born in 1031 A.H (1621 A.D)
- Ma’sumah, born in 1033 A.H (1623 A.D)
Mulla Sadra’s eldest child was his daughter, Um Kulthum, who was a poet and scientist and a woman of prayer and piety. She was married to Mulla Abdul Razzaq Lahiji, Mulla Sadra’s famous student.
His second daughter was called Zubaydah. She was married to Faydh Kashani (Mulla Sadra’s other student) and gave birth to some well-reputed children. She was also famous for having a vast knowledge of science and literature, and being a poet.
Ma’sumah, Mulla Sadra’s third daughter, was born in 1033 A.H (1623 A.D) in Shiraz and was famous for being a knowledgeable woman and a master of poetry and literature. She married one of Mulla Sadra’s other students, Qawam al-Din Muhammed Neyrizi. Some people believe that her husband was another person called Mulla Abdul Muhsin Kashani, who was also one of Mulla Sadra’s students.
Students
In spite of the long time that Mulla Sadra was involved in teaching philosophy, interpretation, and hadith, including the last 5 (or 10) years of his life in Shiraz (1040 till 1045 or 1050), and more than 20 years in middle of his lifetime in Qum (from about 1020 till 1040) or perhaps a few years before that in Shiraz or Isfahan, except for a few, there is no record of the names of his students in historical documents and writings.
Undoubtedly some prominent philosophers and scientists were trained in his classes; however, surprisingly enough, none of them became famous, or if they did, we have no knowledge of their names. This, of course, might have been due to the weak relation between their life and Malla Sadra’s life.
We know about 10 of Mulla Sadra’s well-known students, among whom Faydh Kashani and Fayyadh Lahiji are the most reputable ones.
- Faydh Kashani
This student of Mulla Sadra was called Muhammed Ibn al-Murtada, nicknamed Muhsen, but he was known as Faydh. He was mainly famous for being a master of jurisprudence, hadith, ethics, and gnosis. His father was one of the scholars of Kashan. Faydh went to Isfahan (the capital of the time) at the age of 20. Later he went to Shiraz and acquired the sciences of that time. Then he went to Qum, where Mulla Sadra had established a vast teaching center. After being acquainted with this great master, Faydh studied under him for about 10 years (till Mulla Sadra’s return to Shiraz) and was honored by being accepted as his son-in-law. He even went to Shiraz in Mulla Sadra’s company and stayed there for another two years; nevertheless, since at that time (about the age of forty) he had become a knowledgeable scholar and a master of all sciences, he returned to his town, Kashan, and established a teaching center there.
During his lifetime, in addition to training a great number of students, he composed several books on jurisprudence, hadith, ethics, and gnosis. His method of treating the science of ethics was such that he was called the second Gazzali; however, he was much higher than Abu Hamid Gazzali Tusi in his gnostic taste and scientific depth of knowledge.
He was also a poet. He has left a book of poems in Persian, mainly consisting of gnostic and moral poems, and mostly in the lyric form.
The Safavid king (known as Shah Safi) invited him in the last years of life to Isfahan to serve as the leader of Friday prayer there, but he refused this invitation and returned to his own town. However, the insistence of the other Safavid king (Shah Abbas II) dragged him to Isfahan most probably in the years after 1052 A.H (1643 A.D).
Faydh wrote more than 100 books, the most famous of which are Mafatih in jurisprudence, al-Wafi in hadith, al-Safi and al-Asfia on the interpretation of the Holy Qur’an, Usul al-Ma’arif in philosophy and gnosis, and al-Muhajj al-bayza’ in ethics. All these books are written in Arabic, and each is considered important in its own right.
Faydh had six children. His son, Muhammed A’alam al-Huda, was a well-known scholar who composed a lot of works. According to the date written on his gravestone, Faydh deceased in 1091 A.H (1681 A.D), apparently at the age of 84.
- Fayyadh Lahiji
Mulla Sadra’s other student was Abd al-Razzaq Lahiji, the son of Ali, known as Fayyadh. He was mainly famous as a philosopher and theologian and was considered one of the distinguished poets of his time.
He spent a part of his life in Mashad (the center of Khorasan province) studying and, then, in about 1030 A.H (1621 A.D), or a few years after that, he went to Qum, was acquainted with Mulla Sadra, attended his classes, and, later, became one of his most faithful students. Before Mulla Sadra’s return to Shiraz, Fayyadh was honored by being accepted as his son-in-law (probably in about 1035 A.H).
Unlike his friend Faydh Kashani, Fayyadh did not go to Shiraz with Mulla Sadra. It is likely that Mulla Sadra left him in Qum as his substitute to continue his teaching work as a master.
Fayyadh was a prominent philosopher who sometimes appeared in the role of a theologian following Khwajah Nasir al-Din Tusi (writer of Tajrid al-Kalam). He had a profound poetic and literary taste and, as one of the outstanding poets of that time, had a Diwan (collection of poems) consisting of a variety of 12000 couplets in ballad, lyric and quatrain (ruba’i) forms.
He was one of the most reputable and distinguished figures of the Safavid period whom the Safavid Shah greatly admired and respected. He was also quite popular among ordinary people. He socialized with them and loved them so much and, in return, received their great respect and devotion. However, in reality, he was a God-fearing, pious, and secluded man who was heedless to worldly attractions (This judgment has been made by his contemporaries about him).
Lahiji has a lot of works in philosophy and theology, the most famous of which are: Shawariq al-ilham (a commentary on Tajrid al-kalam), Gohar Murad (written in a simple language on theology, a commentary on Suhrawardi’s al-Nur, glosses on Sharh Isharat, and some other books, treatises, and a collection of poems.
Fayyadh was the father of at least three sons, who were all among the scholars of their time. The name of his eldest son is Mulla Hasan Lahiji, who became a master and succeeded his father in Qum. Fayyadh is said to have lived for 70 years. He passed away in 1072 A.H (1662 A.D) in Qum and was buried in the same place.
- Mulla Hussayn Tunekaboni
One of the other famous students of Mulla Sadra is Mulla Hussayn Tunekaboni or Gilani. Tunekabon is a town in Mazandaran province in the north of Iran and on the shores of Caspian Sea. A great number of reputable philosophers and scientists have arisen from this town.
There are a lot of ambiguous points in his life; nevertheless, what is certain is his expertise in Mulla Sadra’s school of thought, and teaching philosophy and gnosis. His decease or martyrdom was quite sad. On his Haj pilgrimage, when making his visitation to Ka’ba (in Mecca in Hijaz in Saudi Arabia), he was passionately holding the walls of the House of Ka’ba in his arms and rubbing his face to them in a mystic manner, but the laymen assumed that he was insulting the court of Ka’ba and, thus, hit him harshly. After this incident he suffered so much, so that he could not bear the depression anymore and passed away in Mecca in 1105 A.H (1695 A.D). He has also left some books in philosophy to his later generations.
- Hakim Aqajani
Hakim Mulla Muhammed Aqajani has been cited as one of Mulla Sadra’s students. His life is also full of ambiguous points. He is mainly famous for the commentary he wrote on Mir Damad’s (Mulla Sadra’s master) important and difficult book, al-Qabassat, in 1071 A.H (1661 A.D).
His Works
Mulla Sadra was a prolific writer. He did not write at all during his time of seclusion and asceticism and, after that, he was continually involved in teaching and training the students of philosophy who attended his classes from all over Iran; however, at all times, when traveling or at home, he seized all possible chances to write books and long or short treatises in philosophy. As a result, he created a varied, useful, and inferential philosophical collection of writings in different forms following different purposes.
Some of his books are textbooks and quite useful for gaining a preliminary or complementary acquaintance with philosophy and gnosis on the basis of his specific school of thought, Transcendent Philosophy. Some of his other books are on the explanation and demonstration of his own theories, and some others can be considered as being on human ethics and manners.
He has devoted an important part of his works to the interpretation of the Qu’ran, and although death did not allow him to provide a philosophical and gnostic commentary on the whole Qu’ran, what he wrote in this regard enjoys certain features which have made them unique among similar interpretations.
Mulla Sadra, who was a Muhaddith (an expert in hadith and traditions quoted from the Prophet(S) and his descendants(A)), has an important work on hadith. This is a commentary on a famous book of hadiths, called al-Kafi, written by Kulayni Razi. Mulla Sadra has commented on its chapter of ‘Usul’; however, perhaps due to his decease, it has remained incomplete. He also has two books in logic, called Tanquih al-Mantiq and Risalah fil Tasawwur wa Tasdiq.
His well-known books which have been published so far include the following:
- al-Hikmat al-Muta’aliyah fi’l-Asfar al-Arba’ah
The discussions in this book start with the issues of being and quiddity and continue with the issues of motion, time, perception, substance, and accident. A part of this book is devoted to proving the existence of God and his attributes, and, eventually, it comes to an end with a discussion of man’s soul and the subjects of death and resurrection.
The novelty which he has exclusively employed in writing this interesting and important book is classifying the themes of the book in the mould of 4 stages of gnostics’ spiritual and mystic journeys, with each stage considered as one journey. Therefore, as a gnostic’s journey in the first stage is from his self and people towards God; in the second and third stages from God to God (from His Essence to His Attributes and Acts); and in the fourth stage from God to people; this book begins with existents and continues with the Hereafter, God, and the mustered people.
The original book is in 4 big-sized volumes which have been published in nine small-sized volumes several times.
This book is, in fact, a philosophical encyclopedia and a collection of important issues discussed in Islamic philosophy, enriched by the ideas of preceding philosophers, from Pythagoras to those living at the same time with Mulla Sadra, and containing the related responses on the basis of new and strong arguments. All these features have made it the book of choice for teaching at higher levels of philosophical education in scientific and religious centers.
The composition of this book gradually started from about 1015 A.H (1605 A.D), and its completion took almost 25 years, till some years after 1040 A.H (1630 A.D).
- al-Tafsir (A commentary upon the Qur’an)
During his life, Mulla Sadra, at some times and in certain occasions, interpreted one of the chapters (Surahs) of the Qur’an. In the last decade of his life, he started his work from the beginning of this Holy Book in order to compile all his interpretations into a complete work, but death did not allow him to accomplish this task to the end.
The names of the chapters he interpreted in an approximate chronological order is as follows:
1. chapter 57: al-Hadid,
2. commentary on Ayat al-Kursi (chapter 2: al-Baqarah),
3. chapter 32: Sajda,
4. chapter 99: al-Zilzal,
5. verses al-Nur, al-Yasin, al-Tariq,
6. chapter 87: al-A’la,
7. chapter 56: al-waqui’ah,
8. chapter 1: al-Fatiha,
9. chapter 62: al-Jumu’ah, and
10. chapter 2: al-Baqarah.
In the bibliography of Mulla Sadra’s book, each of the above has appeared as an independent work, but we have cited them here all under the single title of Commentary upon the Qur’an. He has also two other books on the Qur’an, called Mafatih al-qayb and Asrar al-ayat, which are considered as introductions to the interpretation of the Qur’an, and represent the philosophy behind this task.
- Sharh al-Hidayah
This work is a commentary on a book called Hidayah which has been written on the basis of Peripatetic philosophy, and was previously used for giving a preliminary familiarity with philosophy to students. However, it is rarely used today.
- al-Mabda’ wa’l-Ma’ad
Also called al-Hikmat al-Muta’aliyyah, this book can be considered a summary of the second half of Asfar.
It has been written away from all discussions that Mulla Sadra views as being useless and unnecessary. He called this book the Beginning and the End due to the fact that he believed it in heart that philosophy means the knowledge of the Origin and the Return.
This book is mainly on issues related to theology and eschatology, and is considered one of Mulla Sadra’s important books.
- al-Mazahir
This book is similar to al-Mabda’ wa’l-ma’ad, but is shorter than that. It is, in fact, a handbook for familiarizing readers with Mulla Sadra’s philosophy.
- Huduth al-‘Alam
The issue of the origination of the world is a complicated and disputable problem for many philosophers.
In this book, in addition to quoting the theories of philosophers before and after Socrates, and those of some Muslim philosophers, Mulla Sadra has proved his solid theory through the theory of the trans-substantial motion.
- Iksir al-‘Arifin
As the name suggests, this is a gnostic and educative book.
- al-Hashr
The central theme of this book is the quality of existents’ resurrection in the Hereafter. Here, Mulla Sadra has expressed the theory of the resurrection of animals and objects in the Hereafter.
- al-Masha’ir
This is a short but profound and rich book on existence and its related subjects. Professor Henry Corbin has translated it into French and written an introduction to it. This book has recently been translated into English, too.
- al-Waridat al-Qalbiyyah
Mulla Sadra has presented a brief account of important philosophical problems in this book, and it seems to be an inventory of the Divine inspirations and illuminations he had received all through his life.
- Iqad al-Na’imin
This book is on theoretical and actual gnosis, and on the science of monotheism. It presents some guidelines and instructional points to wake up the sleeping.
- al-Masa’il al-Qudsiyyah
This booklet deals mainly with issues such as existence in mind and epistemology. Here, Mulla Sadra has combined epistemology and ontology with each other.
- ‘Arshiyyah
Also called al-Hikmat al-‘Arshiyyah, this is another referential book about Mulla Sadra’s philosophy. Like in al-Mazahir, he has tried to demonstrate the Beginning and the End concisely but precisely.
This book has been translated by professor James Winston Maurice into English. He has also written an informative introduction to it.
- al-Shawadhid al-Rububiyyah
This philosophical book has been mainly written in the Illuminationist style, and represents Mulla Sadra’s ideas during the early periods of his philosophical thoughts.
- Sharh-i Shafa
Mulla Sadra has written this book as a commentary upon some of the issues discussed in the part on theology (Ilahiyyat) in Ibn-Sina’s al-Shifa. Sharh-i Shafa has also been published in the form of glosses clearly expressing Mulla Sadra’s ideas in this regard.
- Sharh-i Hikmat al-Ishraq
This work is a useful and profound commentary or collection of glosses on Suhrawardi’s Hikmat al-ishraq and Qutb al-Din Shirazi’s commentary upon it.
- Ittihad al-‘Aqil wa’l-Ma’qul
This is a monographic treatise on the demonstration of a complicated philosophical theory, the Union of the Intellect and the Intelligible, which no one could prove and rationalize prior to Mulla Sadra.
- Ajwibah al-Masa’il
This book consists of at least three treatises in which Mulla Sadra responds to the philosophical questions posed by his contemporary philosophers.
- Ittisaf al-Mahiyyah bi’l Wujud
This treatise is a monographic treatise dealing with the problem of existence and its relation to quiddities.
- al-Tashakhkhus
In this book, Mulla Sadra has explained the problem of individuation and clarified its relation to existence and its principiality, which is one of the most fundamental principles he has propounded.
- Sarayan nur Wujud
This treatise deals with the quality of the descent or diffusion of existence from the True Source to existents (quiddities).
- Limmi’yya Ikhtisas al-Mintaqah
A treatise on logic, this work focuses on the cause of the specific form of the sphere.
- Khalq al-A’mal
This treatise is on man’s determinism and free will.
- al-Qada’ wa’l-Qadar
This treatise is on the problem of Divine Decree and Destiny.
- Zad al-Musafir
In this book (which is probably the same as Zad al-Salik), Mulla Sadra has tried to demonstrate resurrection and the Hereafter following a philosophical approach.
- al-Shawahid al-Rububiyyah
This treatise is not related to Mulla Sadra’s book of al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah. It is an inventory of his particular theories and opinions which he has been able to express in philosophical terms.
- al-Mizaj
Mulla Sadra has written this treatise on the reality of man’s temperament and its relation to the body and soul.
- Mutashabihat al-Qur’an
This treatise consists of Mulla Sadra’s interpretations of those Qura’nic verses which have secret and complicated meanings. It is considered as one of the chapters in Mafatih al-Qayb.
- Isalat-i Ja’l-i Wujud
This book is on existence and its principiality as opposed to quiddities.
- al-Hashriyyah
A treatise on resurrection and people’s presence in the Hereafter, it deals with man’s being rewarded in paradise and punished in hell.
- al-Alfad al-Mufradah
This book is used as an abridged dictionary for interpreting words in the Qur’an.
- Radd-i Shubahat-i Iblis
Here, Mulla Sadra has explained Satan’s seven paradoxes and provided the related answers.
- Si Asl
This is Mulla Sadra’s only book in Persian. Here, by resorting to the main three moral principles, he has dealt with moral and educative subjects related to scientists, and advised his contemporary philosophers.
- Kasr al-Asnam al-Jahiliyyah
The title of this book means demolishing the idols of the periods of barbarism and man’s ignorance. His intention here is to condemn and disgrace impious sophists.
- al-Tanquih
In this book, Mulla Sadra has concisely dealt with formal logic. It is a good book for instructional purposes.
- al-Tasawwur wa’l-Tasdiq
This treatise deals with issues of the philosophy of logic and inquires into concept and judgment.
- Diwan Shi’r (Collection of Poems)
Mulla Sadra has written a number of scholarly and mystic poems in Persian which have been compiled in this book.
- A Collection of Scientific-Literary Notes
In his youth, Mulla Sadra studied a lot of philosophical and gnostic books; moreover, due to his poetic taste, he had access to the poetry books written by different poets and was interested in them.
Therefore, some short notes of his own poetry, the statements of philosophers and gnostics, and scientific issues have been left from his youth, which comprise a precious collection. It is said that this book can familiarize the readers with subtleties of Mulla Sadra’s nature.
These notes have been compiled in two different collections, and it is likely that the smaller collection was compiled on one of his journeys.
- Letters
Except for a few letters exchanged between Mulla Sadra and his master, Mir Damad, nothing has been left from them.
These letters have been presented at the beginning of the 3-volume book of Mulla Sadra’s Life, Character and School, which have been written in Persian. This book has also been translated into English.
If we consider the above 39 books along with his 12-volume books of interpretation, which we referred to as Tafasir in number 2, as well as with his Mafatih al-qayb and Asrar al-ayat, we have cited more than 50 of his works (exactly 53) so far. Some other books have also been attributed to him; however, we will not refer to their names, since they have either been discussed in other more comprehensive books, or their being written by Mulla Sadra has been denied.
One of the problems which has raised a lot of arguments concerning Mulla Sadra’s books is the place and time of their composition. Most of his books have no composition date, and, in order to know about this, one must refer to certain documents and evidences. For example, the composition dates of some of his books have been implied in his al-Mabda’ wa’l-Ma’ad, al-Hashr and interpretations of some of the surahs (chapters) of the Qur’an.
For instance,
- al-Mabda’ wa’l-Ma’ad was written in 1019 A.H (1609 A.D),
- Interpretation of Ayat al-Kursi in about 1023 A.H (1613 A.D);
- Kasr al-Asnam in 1027 A.H (1617 A.D);
- Iksir al-‘Arifin in 1031 A.H (1621 A.D);
- The treatise of al-Hashr in 1032 A.H (1622 A.D);
- the treatise of Ittihad al-‘Aqil wa’l-Ma’qul in about 1037 A.H (1627 A.D); and
- Mafatih al-Qayb in 1029 A.H (1619 A.D).
The dates of his other books could only be approximately reckoned.
In order to know about their place of composition, we must pay attention that Mulla Sadra moved from Qum to Shiraz in about 1040 A.H (1630 A.D), and before 1015 A.H (1605 A.D), he went to Qum and its suburbs from Shiraz or some other place.
Therefore, the books which he wrote before 1040 A.H must have been written in Qum or some place in its vicinity, unless he has written some of these books and treatises on his long journeys.
Reference: Sadra Islamic Philosphy Research Institute (SIPRIn)
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