Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason in the Philosophy of Mulla Sadra: an Analysis of Theal-Hikmat Al-‘Arshtyyah
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Ann Arbor, MI 48106 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. REVELATION, INTELLECTUAL INTUITION AND REASON IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MULLA SADRA: AN ANALYSIS OF THE AL-HIKMAT AL-* ARSHIYYAH. by Zailan Moris submitted to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Philosophy Signatures of Committee: •) . " 7 • q c IZ l ^ Dean of' the College Date 1994 The American University Washington, D.C. 20016 THE -AMERICAN UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. © COPYRIGHT by ZAILAN MORIS 1994 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. To Abdul Jamil and Nadia: for their support and sacrifices Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. REVELATION, INTELLECTUAL INTUITION AND REASON IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MULLA SADRA:0 AN ANALYSIS OF THE AL-HIKMAT AL-xARSHIYYAH BY ZAILAN MORIS ABSTRACT The objective of this dissertation is to examine critically the legitimacy of a very important and widely held claim made by Islamic philosophers and scholars of Islamic Philosophy about Mulla Sadra's philosophy. The claim is that Mulla Sadra's philosophy is a synthesis of the truth claims of revelation, gnosis and discursive philosophy. The task of determining whether or not the claim is a legitimate one, is divided into three parts or stages of examination. First, to examine whether or not there exists a synthesis of the truth claims of revelation, gnosis and discursive philosophy in Mulla Sadra's philosophy? Second, if there exists a synthesis of the three truth claims in Mulla Sadra's philosophy, how does he synthesize them? Third, to evaluate whether Mulla Sadra's synthesis is a successful synthesis? An examination of the fundamental principles of Mulla Sadra's philosophy which consitute its foundation reveals that ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. there exists a synthesis of revelation, gnosis and discursive philosophy in their formulations. Mulla Sadra's important and synoptic philosophical text al-Hikmat al-^arshiyyah is chosen as the basis of the analysis of his method synthesis. An analysis of Mulla Sadra's manner of approach, method of reasoning and philosophical vocabulary in the al-Hikmat al- 1arshiyyah demonstrates that Mulla Sadra's synthesis of the three truth claims is based on his synthesis of the three sources of knowledge: revelation, intellectual intuition and discursive reasoning. The evaluation of the two syntheses based on the criteria of their internal coherence, conformity to Islamic teachings and the impact and influence of Mulla Sadra's philosophy on subsequent Islamic philosophers after him demonstrates that both syntheses are successful. Thus, there exists sufficient evidences to support the claim that Mulla Sadra's philosophy is a synthesis of the truth claims of revelation, gnosis and discursive philosophy and that this synthesis is based on his synthesis of revelation, intellectual intuition and reason. iii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my profound gratitude to my supervisor, Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr for introducing me to the world of Hikmat Philosophy and the philosophy of Mulla Sadra and his invaluable guidance and help throughout my doctoral program, as well as in the writing of this dissertation. I would like to thank Professor Charles White, Chairman of the Department of Philosophy and Religion for his kind support and help during my doctoral program at The American University and Professor David Rodier for his helpful suggestions and comments concerning my dissertation. I would also like to thank the Government of Malaysia and University Sains Malaysia for granting me a Fellowship to pursue a Ph.D. in Philosophy at The American University. Finally, I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my family for their support and understanding throughout my doctoral program, to Kathryn Waldo for making available to me, her English translation of Henry Corbin's chapter on Mulla Sadra in En Islam iranien and to Greg Marvin for helping me with the illustrations. iv Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT..................................................... ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS............................................ iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS........................................ vi Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION...............................................1 2. KNOWLEDGE (1ILM) IN ISLAM: A GENERAL BACKGROUND FOR UNDERSTANDING MULLA SADRA'S EPISTEMOLOGICAL VIEWS.............. ‘....................22 The Fundamental Principles of Islam................. 24 The Emphasis on Knowledge in Islam...................29 The Hierarchical Structure of Reality............... 35 The Traditional Islamic Educational (Madrasah) System..................................42 3. REVELATION, INTELLECTUAL INTUITION AND REASON IN THE QUR'AN AND HADITH AND IN SUBSEQUENT ISLAMIC THOUGHT BEFORE MULLA SADRA• ...................... 47 Revelation (wahy1 and Intellect (al-xaql1 in the Qur'an and Hadith.......................... 47 Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason in the Mashsha'i (Peripatetic) and IshraqI (Illuminationist) Schools of Islamic Philosophy..55 Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason in the Perspective of the Sufis................... 78 4. THE LIFE AND WORKS OF MULLA SADRA....................... 96 The Life of Mulla Sadra\............................ 100 The Works of Mulla Sadra............................ 110 5. DOES THERE EXIST A SYNTHESIS OF THE TRUTH CLAIMS OF REVELATION, GNOSIS AND DISCURSIVE PHILOSOPHY IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF MULLA SADRA?.......... 120 V Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. The Transcendent Philosophy or al-Hikmat al-mutavaliwah of Mulla Sadra...’............... 120 The Ontological Primacy (asalah), Unity (wahdah) and Gradation (tashklk) of Being (wujud)......... 124 Transubstantial Motion (al-harakah al-iawharivvahl .138 The Unity (ittihajd) of the knower (Aagil) and the known (ma^gul)........................... 145 The Catharsis f tairid) and Independence of the Imaginative Faculty (a 1 -mutakhavvi 1 ah ~l from the Body.....................................154 Does There Exist a Synthesis of Revelation, Gnosis and__Discursive Philosophy in Mulla Sadra's Philosophy?........................ 172 6. HOW DOES MULLA SADRA SYNTHESIZE THE TRUTH CLAIMS OF REVELATION, GNOSIS AND DISCURSIVE PHILOSOPHY IN HIS PHILOSOPHY?.......................... 198 Metaphysics......................................... 201 Eschatology......................................... 225 An Analysis of Mulla Sadra's Method of Synthesis of the Truth Claims of Revelation, Intellectual Intuition and Reason............... 240 7. IS MULLA SADRA SUCCESSFUL IN HIS SYNTHESIZING EFFORT? ^ ....... 249 An Evaluation of Mulla Sadra's Synthesis of the Three Sources of Knowledge............... 250 An Evaluation of Mulla Sadra's Synthesis of the Truth Claims of Revelation, Gnosis and Discursive Philosophy................ 267 The Impact and Influence of Mulla