Mullā Ṣadrā on Knowledge and the Imamate

Abstract

In this chapter, after a brief review of the historical and intellectual context of Mullā Ṣadrā’s work, the author explains Mullā Ṣadrā’s theory of knowledge and the soul. Next, she analyzes his discourse of the imamate and absolute authority, which arguably rests on his theory of knowledge. Since much work has already been done on Mullā Ṣadrā’s epistemology and psychology, the analysis is focused on those concepts and narratives that lead the author to understand the potential in Mullā Ṣadrā’s synthetic discourse which she sees as playing a part in shaping the discourse of Shīʿī imamate as the source of both spiritual and political authority. In examining Mullā Ṣadrā’s theory of knowledge and the human soul, primary reference is made to his Risāla fī ittiḥād al-ʿāqil wa’l-maʿqūl and parts of al-Asfār.