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An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra

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An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra The wisdom of the throne: An introduction to the philosophy of Mulla Sadra Author: James Winston Morris Persistent link: http://hdl.handle.net/2345/4256 This work is posted on eScholarship@BC, Boston College University Libraries. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, c1981 Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons "Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States" (http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/) === THE WISDOM OF THE THRONE === Princeton Library of Asian Translations ADVISORY COMMIlTEE (Middle East) Nina Garsoian Talat Halman William Hanaway, Jr. Jeanette Waltin = An Introduction to the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra = ======= James Winston Morris I PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY UNESCO COLLECTION OF REPRESENTATIVE WORKS ARABIC SERIES Copyright © 1981 by Princeton University Press Published by Princeton University Press, Princeton. New Jersey In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press. Guildford, Surrey All Rights Reserved Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data wi1l be found on the last printed page of this book Publication of this book has been aided by a grant from the Paul Mellon Fund of Princeton University Press This book has been composed in Linotype Baskerville Clothbound editions of Princeton University Press books are printed on acid-free paper, and binding materials are chosen for strength and durability Printed in the United States of America by Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey In Memory of Henry Corbin and in gratitude to all those who helped to make it real CONTENTS PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS xi Introduction Chapter I. The Unity of Sadra's Work 5 Chapter II. The Philosophic Context: Transcendence and Realization 6 A. The Problem of Transcendence 8 B. The Dimension of Realization 11 Chapter III. The Historical Context 14 A. Sadra's Life: The Drama and Setting 15 B. The Intellectual Background 1Il C. Sadra's Response 19 D. The Audiences 59 E. Rhetoric: Assumptions of Esotericism 41 F. Posterity 46 Chapter IV. The Writings of Mulla Sadra 51 A. Types of Writing 51 B. The Common Structure 55 C. The Wisdom of the Throne 57 Chapter V. The "Origin": A Logic of Transcendence 60 A. The Starting Point 60 B. Ontology and Theology 64 Chapter VI. The "Return": Dimensions of Realization 76 A. Ma'rifat al-nafs: Soul and Self 78 B. The Prophet and Imam 8S The Wisdom of the Throne Prologue Part I. First Place of Illumination. concerning knowledge of God, of His Attributes, His Names, and His Signs 94 §l. Principle (deriving from) the divine Presencej concerning the divisions Of Being and the estab- lishment of the Primary Being 94 §2. Principle (deriving from) the Throne (concerning the Simplicity of Being) g8 vii CONTENTS §~. principle (deriving from) the Source of Illumina­ tion (concerning the Uniqueness of the Necessary &~ ~ §4. A Misleading Delusion and its Removal (concern­ ing the fundamental distinction between the con- cept and reality of Being) 100 §5. Principle (on the relation of the divine Attributes and Essence) IO~ §6. Principle (deriving from) the Source of Illumina­ tion (on the unity and perfection of God's Knowl- ~~ I~ §7. Principle (criticizing mistaken views of God's knowledge of particular things) 106 §8. Principle, concerning His Speech-Glory be to Him! 109 §go Principle (deriving from) the Source of Illumina­ tion (concerning the union of God and His Speech in all beings: the "Breath of the Merciful") 112 §lO. Principle (deriving from) the divine Throne (con- cerning the unity of knower and known) 113 §11. Principle, concerning His Names-May He be exalted! 116 §n. Principle (concerning the mode of God's "Activ- ity" in relation to the 'World) 118 §18. Principle (deriving from) the Source of Illumina­ tion, concerning the (continuous) origination of the 'World 119 §14. Principle (on the relation of soul and body) 126 §IS. Excursus (on the unity of body and soul in the celestial spheres) 127 §16. Concluding Clarification (on the contingency of the physical cosmos) 128 Part II. Second Place of Illumination, concerning knowledge of the Return 130 A. First Illumination, concerning the true inner knowledge of the soul 130 §I. Principle (concerning the failure Of earlier phi­ losophers and the necessity of illumination in this area) 130 §2. Principle (concerning the levels of the soul) 131 §3. Principle (concerning the true nature of sensation) 133 §4. Principle (concerning the inner senses of the soul) 134 §s. Principle (concerning the true nature of vision) 135 §6. Principle (concerning the substantiality of the world of soul) 187 viii CONTENTS §7. Principle (concerning the soul's relation to the bod,) 139 §8. Principle (concerning the pre-existence of soul) 140 §9. Principle (concerning the psychic and intelligible "Man" and the theory of Forms) 142 §1O. Principle (concerning the soul as "spiritual body") 144 §u. Principle (concerning the soul as the key to escha- ~~ I~ B. Second Illumination, concerning the true reality of the Return and the manner of resurrection of the bodies 152 §I. Principle, concerning the fundamental premises removing the veil from the manner of resurrec- tion of the bodies 153 §I. Principle (concerning the true nature of the "other world" of the soul) 161 §3. Principle, concerning aspects of the difference be­ tween the bodies of this world and of the other world in regard to the mode of corporeal being 164 §4. Principle, refuting the doubts of those who deny the Return and reject the resurrection of the body 166 §5. Principle, concerning what survives (in the other world) of the parts of a man, and the (Prophetic) allusion to "the punishment in the grave" 176 C. Third Illumination. concerning the states that occur in the other world 180 §I. Principle (showing) that death is right and just 180 §2. Principle, concerning the "Gathering" 181 §!l. Principle, concerning the twofold "Blowing" (of Isriifil's Trumpet) §4. Principle, concerning the lesser and greater "Ris­ ings" (and their "Hour") 186 §5. Principle, concerning the "Earth" of the Resur­ rection §6. Principle (showing) that the "Path" is real §7. Principle, concerning the opening of the Books and the Pages §8. Principle, concerning the manner of appearance of those states which occur on the Day of the Rising 199 §9. Principle, concerning the "Reviewing," the "Reck­ oning," the "taking of the Books," and the "set­ ting up of the Scales" 208 §1O. Principle, concerning Paradise and Hell 215 ix CONTENTS §11. Principle, concerning which divine Reality caused Paradise and Hell to be manifest, and the (Ko. ranic) allusion to their gates til §1lI. Principle, concerning the allusion to the number of "guardian demons" (96:18) tl6 §13. Principle, concerning al·A'ri£ and Its people u8 §14. Principle, on the inner meaning of Tuba 231 §15. Principle, concerning the "abiding" in Hell of Its ~~ ~ §16. Principle, concerning the manner of the embodi- ment of actions and intentions on the Day of the Rising, and the allusion to their matter and form 241 §17. Principle, concerning whether or not other ani- mals have a "Gathering" like man's 145 Concluding Testament BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX x PREFACE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It was not unusual, in the ornate rhetoric of later Persian and Arabic writing, for someone to be honored as "the Plato of his time" (Afliitim zamiinih). This book will have succeeded in its purpose if its reader comes away with an appreciation of the ways in which that epithet, with regard to Mulla Sadra, is anything but hyperbole. All the aspects of this work-the translation, the Introduction, and the notes-have been designed to make Sadra's philosophy as acces­ sible as possible to those modern readers, whether from East or West, who are unfamiliar with the forms and intentions of the traditions within which he was writing. However, the true difficulty and deeper challenge of Sadra's philosophy does not lie in the unfamiliarity of its outward expression. There is a more essential sort of preparation, which he describes at some length in his Con­ cluding Testament to The Wisdom of the Throne. In that respect, the best way to begin this book is at the very end. What he men­ tions there is indispensable. The following acknowledgments are of necessity limited to the more public and professional forms of assistance that have contrib­ uted to this work. There is no adequate way to indicate here my gratitude for the profound inspiration and continual love and sup­ port of all those friends for whom the dedication is particularly intended. I hope they will recognize the full poignancy of Hafez' words in that respect. This book is in many ways the outgrowth of two years' residence in Iran, from 1975 through 1977, and of the unforgettable welcome extended by Iranians (of many nationalities) during that time. The initial inspiration and support for this project came from J. Ash­ tiyani, H. Corbin, T. Izutsu, D. Shayegan, and H. Ziai. I am espe­ cially indebted to the staff members of the following institutions (whose directors at that time are listed in parentheses) for their es­ sential services: the Iranian Centre for the Study of Civilizations (D. Shayegan); Iranian Academy of Philosophy (S. H. Nasr and H. Sharifi); McGill University Tehran Branch (M. Mohaghegh); xi PREFACE Tehran University Central Library (I. Afshar); American Institute for Iranian Studies (C. MacKinnon and S. Fairbanks); and the Bibliotheque d'Iranologie of the Institut Frant;ais (Y. Richard). Special thanks are due to my colleagues M. Bylebyl, W. Chittick, J. During, E. Macierowski, P. Wilson, and P. Zirniss, who were a constant encouragement in sometimes trying circumstances, and to all those who helped make possible such a rare community of scholars.
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