Mulla Sadra’s Books: A Bibliography
Mulla Sadra’s books can be divided into seven groups based on their subjects:
1. Literary Works
1.1. Diwan-i ash’ar (An Anthology of Poems): He has some scattered poems some couplets of which have been compiled by his student Fayd in a collection. This work has been found in possession of Haj Aqa Zia’ Ibn Haj Aqa Mahdi in Kermanshah.
2. Qur’anic Commentaries
2.1. Asrar al-ayat wa anwar al-bayyinat (Secrets of the Verses of the Qur’an and Lights of Evident Truths): In this work, the writer has interpreted some of the verses of the Holy Qur’an in Arabic irrespective of their order and based on his own philosophical principles. In other words, he seems to have written this treatise in order to demonstrate his philosophical ideas and has derived the teachings of Greek philosophy from Qur’anic verses. Here, if by chance a verse agrees with his ideas, he appreciates it; otherwise, he justifies the case through certain philosophical interpretations. Mulla Sadra writes, “I have collected the divine lights, the secrets of divine problems, and Qur’anic teachings embedded in the verses and chapters of this Holy Book and indicated upon which verse or chapter the discussions of human life are based or to which wisdom a chapter refers.”
2.2. Commentary on chapter al-Fatihah: This is an Arabic interpretation of chapter al-Hamd including some divine teachings, gnostic points, philosophical illuminations, and secrets and meanings of letters. In some copies, this interpretation has been published along with chapter al-Baqarah or other chapters interpreted by Mulla Sadra.
2.3. Commentary on chapter al-Baqarah: This is an interpretation in Arabic concerning gnostic intuitions, philosophical illuminations, and the secrets and meanings of the fragmentary (muqatta’ah) letters at the beginning of some Qur’anic chapters. This commentary starts with the beginning of the chapter and continues until its 65th verse (And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected). However, different versions contain different verses.
2.4. Commentary on Ayat al-Kursi – Commentary on al-Urwat al-Wuthqa: This profound philosophical interpretation of verse 256 of chapter al-Baqarah consists of 20 articles in each of which one phrase of the verse has been interpreted in Arabic. The content of each article has appeared under certain titles such as maqasid, matalib, masha’ir, isharat, latifat, fawa’id, lawami’, lawayih, and atwar.
2.5. Commentary on verse an-Nur: This is an interpretation in Arabic of verse an-Nur: 35 (Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth) which Mulla Sadra has written following his own specific method. The different parts of this interpretation bear titles such as fasl, lum’ah, hidayah, and tanbih.
2.6. Commentary on chapter Ya-Sin: Mulla Sadra has interpreted this chapter from the beginning to the end in Arabic based on his particular principles and demonstrated some of his views with reference to certain philosophical and gnostic hints. This treatise, in addition to a number of philosophical and gnostic teachings and subtleties, includes some Qur’anic secrets and religious and literary points. The Introduction of this book is one of the best compositions ever and includes a number of most solid rational and transmitted proofs. Moreover, it argues for the necessity of intellection and thinking regarding the Qur’an and the world and against the insufficiency of imitating others in scientific discussions. Mulla Sadra has also talked about evil paradoxes in this work. Here, he briefly quotes some paradoxes from Milal wal- nihal while discussing resurrection in detail.
2.7. Commentary on chapter as-Sajdah: In this work some interpretations are provided in different parts titled kashfiyyah, mukashifah, tabyan, and talwih ‘arshi.
2.8. Commentary on chapter al-Hadid: This is an interpretation in Arabic from a philosophical and gnostic point of view written in different sections titled mukashifah, lum’at al-ilahiyyah, fa’idah, and khatimah.
2.9. Commentary on chapter al-Jumu’ah: al-Matali’ wa’l-ishraqat: This work is an interpretation in Arabic in 12 matla’s each consisting of several ishraqs and a khatimah. In its Introduction, the writer writes as follows: “Since this chapter involves some very important divine subjects, such as knowledge, origin and resurrection, the uprising, descent of the Book, nature of the Book, the prophet, and guidance of intellects, I have tried my best to explain them as clearly as possible in this work.” Thus he provides a commentary on the principles of divine problems, the foundations of theological rules, and the human substance and accident. Mulla Sadra divides existents into two types: 1. self-existent being, and 2. existent for others. After discussing the features of each of them, he begins his commentary on chapter al-Jumu’ah and supports his views with some references to the Qur’an.
2.10. Commentary on chapter al-Waqi’ah: This is a philosophical and gnostic interpretation in Arabic. Here, Mulla Sadra first explains the occasions of the revelation of the verses and then discusses some topics such as the Origin and resurrection, spirit, and existence based on philosophical principles following the verses of this chapter.
2.11. Commentary on chapter at-Tariq: In this work, Mulla Sadra explains some of the secrets of chapter at-Tariq in brief in Arabic from a philosophical standpoint. At the beginning of this interpretation, he writes: “What is written below consists of a number of points and secrets that Glorious God has inculcated in the heart of this servant, and I have tried to make them accessible to the public in a refined fashion.” He initially presents each verse and then, given the context of discussion, interprets it in the light of his own philosophical ideas and theories.
2.12. Commentary on chapter al-A’la: This Arabic interpretation of chapter al-A’la has been compiled in 10 tasbihs and published several times .
2.13. Commentary on chapter az-Zalzalah: This is a gnostic philosophical interpretation of chapter az-Zalzalah in Arabic.
2.14. Commentary on chapter al-Tawhid: This Arabic interpretation is smaller than Mulla Sadra’s other interpretations, and fewer copies of it are available.
2.15. Ma’ani al-Alfaz al-Mufradat min al-Qur’an: Mulla Sadra has interpreted some of the Qur’anic terms separately in a scattered form in Arabic. According to the inventory of Central Library of Tehran, he did this based on Saduq’s Ma’ani al-akhbar and organized the work in different parts called “bab”.
2.16. Mutashabihat al-Qur’an (On the Metaphorical Verses of the Qur’an): It was obvious from the beginning of Islam that some Qur’anic verses were simple, and some others were vague and had to be interpreted. After the rise of various schools of thought, each of them referred to some of the verses in the Qur’an in order to demonstrate their own ways, while their opponents called those verses ambiguous in order to reject them. After the third century (AH), some scholars gradually began identifying and collecting such verses. In this treatise of Qur’anic sciences, which is in Arabic, Mulla Sadra speaks of the benefits of such verses in the Qur’an and their interpretation from the viewpoint of gnosis and divine philosophy. He believes that it is possible to understand the real meaning of ambiguous verses through philosophical interpretation and unveiling.
In this work, while referring to the ideas of various schools, he presents his views following a gnostic-philosophical method in six chapters:
Chapter 1: Thinkers’ ideas about ambiguous Qur’anic verses
Chapter 2: On the ideas of some interpreters of the Qur’an concerning the principle of God’s being free from all defects and evil things (explaining and reflecting the idea that God’s words are comprehensible to Man)
Chapter 3: On the absurdity of the ideas of agnostics (explaining and rejecting the theory of “understanding is impossible for people”)
Chapter 4: On the ideas of advocates of the philosophical interpretation of the Qur’an (the writer’s idea)
Chapter 5: Some notes on the previously stated points
Chapter 6: A brief explanation of the rays of intuitive and unveiling sciences
2.17. Mafatih al-ghayb (Keys to the Invisible World): This is a book on philosophical interpretation in Arabic. After praising the Qur’an in length, Mulla Sadra writes, “True wisdom lies in the perception of Qur’anic meanings. Thus I decided to write about the nature, premises, and understanding of the problems of the philosophical interpretation of the Qur’an in 20 fatihas which are of great importance in gaining the knowledge of this Holy Book.” Therefore, in this book he intends to explain the Origin and resurrection, and the gnostic points and secrets derived from the Qur’an, which is a unique endeavor by itself. Initially, he explains the divine philosophy based on his own philosophical principles in al-Asfar and al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah and defines divine knowledge, and then delves into its problems. In the course of his commentary, he also deals with some other philosophical discussions. The result of these discussions does not add anything to what is presented in al-Asfar, and this book (Mafatih al-ghayb) is considered as an Introduction to all of Mulla Sadra’s Qur’anic commentaries.
3. Hadith
3.1. Sharh al-Usul al-kafi (Commentary on Usul al-kafi): This is a commentary in Arabic on chapters Intellect, Ignorance, Knowledge, Tawhid, and Hujjat of Kulayni’s Usul al-kafi up to hadith 513. The commentator refers to all the hadiths along with their chain of transmitters and then comments on the traditions and their types. Following this, he presents his commentary of hadith in detail using a clear language replete with some philosophical points and subtle gnostic ideas as well as some information about the transmitters of the traditions following a philosophical method. The late Mirza Abulhassan Jilwah believes that Mulla Sadra passed away in the course of writing this commentary and could not finish it. In fact, he continued it up to the first hadith of bab 11 of the book al-Hujjat. However, he wrote an extensive commentary on Hisham’s famous hadith about the intellect and ignorance in 21 mashads. He wrote this commentary in Shiraz.
3.2. Scattered Hadiths
3.2.1. We read in hadith, “One day Zaynab ‘Attarah (perfumer) entered the Prophet’s house. Immediately after seeing her, the Holy Prophet(s) Said, “Well-done! You made our house fragrant with your perfumes.” She said, “Oh, God’s Prophet, I didn’t come here to sell perfumes but to ask about God’s glory.” After this question, the Holy Prophet(s) provided her with a lengthy explanation of God and His Magnificence. Mulla Sadra has commented on this hadith and mentioned its subtleties.
3.2.2. Commentary on the hadith “I was a hidden treasure and wished to be known, so I created the creation.”: This commentary most probably belongs to Mulla Sadra. Here, he has provided some explanations in Arabic in order to remove the problems of this hadith. At the beginning of this treatise, reference has been made to Ibn Arabi; hence, in some copies this work has been wrongly attributed to him.
4. Gnosis and Ethics
4.1. Si asl (Three Principles): This is a book on gnosis and ethics in Persian written in defense of philosophy. It consists of 14 chapters, as follows:
1. Ignorance of self-knowledge
2. Love of wealth, glory, and passions
3. Temptations of the carnal soul and concealing the defects of Satan
4- 6. Commentaries on the consequences of the above three principles
7-8. Wrong and right paths
9. Characteristics of true knowledge and its superiority over exoteric sciences
10-11. Light of faith and the necessity of self-purification and inner shinning
12. Explaining the benefits of self-knowledge
13. Diseases of the soul
14. Good deed and useful knowledge
4.2. Kasr al-asnam al-jahiliyyah (Demolition of the Idols of Ignorance): This is a book in Arabic on rejecting exoteric Sufism and blaming those who consider knowledge as a veil for the soul and, because of their ignorance of divine teachings and following their own traditions and customs, consider themselves to be united with God and to be perfect. Here, Mulla Sadra demonstrates that attaining desired perfection lies in acquiring the divine knowledge and teachings along with performing corporeal worship and spiritual exertion. In line with this idea, he also explains the features of true wayfarers as well as the attributes and unique behaviors of those ignorant people who pretend to Sufism. In order to support his points, he refers to several verses, hadiths, and statements from philosophers all through the book. This work contains an Introduction and four articles, each consisting of some chapters and a conclusion.
Article 1: The knowledge of God as the most exalted kind of knowledge
Article 2: Knowledge as the outcome of worship
Article 3: Attributes of the righteous
Article 4: Some advice on scolding the world
5. Philosophy
5.1. Ittihad al-aqil wal-ma'qul (Union of the Intellect and Intelligible): This is a book on philosophy in Arabic in which Mulla Sadra has briefly posed the problem of the union of the intellect and intelligible. Based on Ibn Sina’s words in al-Shifa, he writes, “We have presented here a summary of what we wrote in this regard in al-Asfar. We have ended the treatise with two articles: the first on the ‘Union of the Intellect and Intelligible’ and the second on ‘The Simple Intellect Includes all Things’.”
5.2. Ittisaf al-mahiyyah bi’l wujud (Existence is a Predicate of Quiddity): This work involves an extensive philosophical discussion on whether quiddity exists and whether existence can occur to it. In the course of his discussion, Mulla Sadra considers “existence” to be one and “existents” to be multiple and of various realities. He also explains the relationship between quiddity and existence. In this treatise, which is in Arabic, he also refers to his al-Asfar.
5.3. Iksir al-‘arifin fi m’arifah tariq al-haqq wa’l-yaqin (The Elixir of Gnostics concerning the Knowledge of the Path of Truth and Certainty): This is a philosophical-gnostic treatise in Arabic including some important points concerning the ideas of prominent Islamic philosophers. Mulla Sadra wrote most of this work under the influence of Beginning and End, a treatise written by Baba Afdhal Kashi. It contains some discussions about psychology, gnosis, levels of Sufism, praise of wayfaring, knowledge, divine wisdom, and the Origin and Return. What Mulla Sadra has written in this treatise consists of the knowledge he has attained through unveiling, intuition, and scientific principles. This book consists of four parts each consisting of some chapters (10 chapters in total):
Part 1. Quantity of sciences and their classifications
Part 2. On knowledge and wisdom, which comprise the human ipseity
Part 3. On knowing the Giver of all sciences and teachings (God), Who is indeed the first Origin of all things
Part 4. On knowing the ultimate end
5.4. al-Tashakhkhus (Individuation): This is a philosophical treatise in Arabic about individuation and the features by which one is distinguished from others. Here, Mulla Sadra rejects the idea of the mentally-positedness of the distinctions of one from others and argues that individuation has no external reality. In doing so, he refers to the words of some great philosophers and discusses their ideas.
5.5. T’aliqat al-Shifa (Glosses upon the Book of al-Shifa): This is a series of philosophical glosses in Arabic on chapters Ilahiyyat (in its general sense) and Tabi’iyyat of Ibn Sina’s al-Shifa. Here, Mulla Sadra explains Ibn Sina’s principles and comments on the difficult terms used by him. Sometimes, he also criticizes him and presents his own ideas.
5.6. T'aliqat ala sharh hikmat al-ishraq (Glosses upon the Commentary on Hikmat al-Ishraq): This work contains Mulla Sadra’s glosses on Qutb al-Din Shirazi’s commentary on Suhrawardi’s Hikmat al-ishraq in Arabic. In these glosses, the writer compares Peripatetic and Illuminationist philosophies and presents his own ideas in this regard.
5.7. Huduth al-‘alam (Temporal Createdness of the World): This is a philosophical treatise in Arabic. Here, Mulla Sadra writes as follows: “I intend to discuss the temporal createdness of the world, which is such a difficult and subtle philosophical problem that minds have failed to comprehend and many schools have tried to challenge. I will try to unveil the truth in this regard as much as possible.” Here, he initially presents the ideas of theologians and those who pretend to Shari’ah in this regard and reveals the great weaknesses and defects hidden in their ideas and then provides philosophers’ stance on this issue. In doing so, he first quotes the idea of Peripatetics and Aristotle and Plato’s view in Timaeus and, after criticizing them, provides his own idea. Then he poses the problems of possibility, necessity, faculty, act, motion, rest, demonstration of nature for each moving thing, and the trans-substantial motion in separate chapters and demonstrates creation based on his belief in the trans-substantial motion. In this treatise, Mulla Sadra considers the world to be created and provides some arguments in order to demonstrate it.
5.8. al-Hikmat al-muta’aliyyah fil-asfar al-arba’ah al-‘aqliyyah (The Transcendent Philosophy concerning the Four Intellectual Journeys of the Soul). This book contains a complete account of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy in Arabic. It is the mother of all of his books, includes all of them, and consists of 47 parts. Mulla Sadra intertwined philosophy with the taste of Illuminationist philosophers, gnostics, and mystics and created a specific school called the Transcendent Philosophy. He named the Treatise on Quiddity and Existence of this book al-Asfar al-arba’ah, which is his greatest and most comprehensive philosophical work. In this book, he has turned “the trans-substantial motion” into the most fundamental of all philosophical problems and made it the basis of several discussions.
Mulla Sadra believes that gnostics and wayfarers of the way of the truth must go through four intellectual courses of development over four journeys as follows:
1. The journey from creation towards the truth
2. The journey with the truth in the truth
3. The journey from the truth to creation with the truth
4. The journey in creation with the truth
The above four journeys have been ordered in the book as follows:
1. General principles of metaphysics
2. Natural knowledge
3. Divine knowledge
4. Soul’s knowledge of the Origin and return
5.9. Sarayan nur wujud al-haqq fil-mawjudat wa … ihatah bil-mumkinat (The Penetration of the Light of the Divine Truth in Creatures): Mulla Sadra wrote this philosophical treatise in Arabic in response to the requests of his friends. Here, he discusses the spread of light of the existence of the Truth and the secret of the Truth’s being surrounded and accompanied with possible things both concisely and precisely. He believes that “scientific mastery” is an external affair, so he seeks to demonstrate the Truth’s being ontologically surrounded with existence and makes it the basis of his treaties. He begins his discussion in this regard with two Introductions, one on the “Necessary Being” and the other on “the ideas of Sufis on the diffusion of the light of the truth and creating possible things.” In the course of his discussions in this work, Mulla Sadra also quotes some Persian statements from some prominent Sufis.
5.10. Sharh al-hidayat al-athiriyyah (Commentary on Athir al-Din Abhari’s Book of Guidance): This is a commentary on a philosophical book by Athir al-Din Fadl Ibn ‘Umar Abhari Samarqandi, one of the distinguished philosophers of the second half of the 7th century (660 AH) in Peripatetic philosophy. Many Islamic philosophers, including Mulla Sadra, have written several commentaries on this book. In his commentary, Mulla Sadra mainly propounds the ideas of the writer of al-Hidayah in Arabic and rarely speaks of his own ideas. Perhaps, this is one of his first works because, here, he denies the trans-substantial motion and provides some arguments on its degeneration. However, in al-Asfar he forcefully demonstrates it and nullifies his previous arguments on its degeneration.
5.11. Limmiyyah ikhtisas al-mintaqah bi-mawdi’ mu’ayyan min al-falak (Treatise on Why the Zodiac is Located in a Determined Position of the Sphere): This is a philosophical treatise in Arabic in which the writer considers the existence of the celestial sphere to be an individual existence emanated from the Universal Intellect and seeks to demonstrate it.
5.12. al-Masa’il al-qudsiyyah wa al-qawa’id al-malakutiyyah (Spiritual Questions concerning Heavenly Rules): This is a short treatise on divine affairs in Arabic. We read in the Introduction that the contents of this work are rooted in mystical revelations and intuitions and are far from philosophical, sophistical, and dialectical principles and imitation. Mulla Sadra refers to “our great book”, that is, al-Asfar, in two places in this treatise and maintains that he previously considered existence to be mentally-posited.
5.13. al-Masha’ir (Metaphysical Penetration): This book contains a number of philosophical discussions about knowing the Necessary Being, divine attributes, principles of the realities of faith, wisdom, theology, etc. in Arabic. He writes in its Preface that he has placed the knowledge of existence and ontology at the basis of his philosophy. He also bases the knowledge of God, resurrection, the world of images, the union of the intellect and intelligible, the all-inclusiveness of the truth in its simplicity, the gradation of existence, and the like on the same ontology. Apparently, this work was not written in his early youth because he says, “Previously, I considered quiddity to be principial until I changed my idea and turned to the principiality of existence.”
5.14. al-Waridat al-qalbiyyah fi m’arifat al-rububiyyah (The Inspirations of the Heart concerning the Knowledge of Divinity): This is a gnostic-philosophical treatise in Arabic similar to al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah in terms of some of the topics such as theology, demonstration of the Maker, existence, knowledge of the Necessary Being, and whether what is emanated from the Necessary Being is pure good or a good dominating evil.
Here, Mulla Sadra has explained a number of pure divine problems in the name of secrets that have been revealed to him without adopting them from anyone or imitating others following a gnostic and Illuminationist approach in 40 parts each called a fayd. In some parts of this treatise he also blames teachers, courtiers, muhaddithun, and jurisprudents. There are also some Persian couplets in this work. This treatise is also called al-Tasbihat al-qalbiyyah fi m’arifat al-rububiyyah.
6. Kalam (Theology)
6.1. al-Hashr (On Resurrection): This is a book on theology in Arabic. It has been introduced under two titles: 1. Hashr al-‘awam fi ma’ad al-ashya’ wa hashrha; 2. Tarh al-kawnayn wa rafd al-‘alamin. However, Mulla Sadra himself has not chosen a name for it. In this treatise, Mulla Sadra has posed and explored some philosophical discussions on the demonstration and quality of resurrection, revivification, and return of existents, and has referred readers to the part on the “Intellect and Intelligible” in al-Asfar concerning the problem of intellects.
Mulla Sadra wrote this treatise in response to the request made by an inquirer whom he refers to as his “brother”. He believes that revivification is not limited to human beings and living things; rather, all solid things and vegetation have a share of it.
6.2. al-Hikmat al-‘arshiyyah (The Book of Theosophy Descending from the Divine Throne): This is a short treatise on the demonstration of the Origin and return in the Transcendent Philosophy. The writer has referred readers to al-Asfar for a detailed discussion of this issue. Following a philosophical method and based on some Qur’anic verses and hadiths, Mulla Sadra has written this book in Arabic in two mashriqs: 1. On the knowledge of God and His attributes, names, and signs, 2. On Return or Knowledge of Return
6.3. Khalq al-a’mal (Jabr wa tafwiz al-qadr wa af’al al-‘ibad) (On the Creation of Human Actions): This is a theological treatise in Arabic on the problem of predestination in actions and the quality of the creation of actions. At the beginning of the treatise, the writer presents the ideas of philosophers in this regard and then quotes the truth from the People of the House of the Prophets (a). In the Preface of this work, Mulla Sadra writes, “Since I was not allowed to speak of the secrets of predestination and reveal the hidden mysteries, I will content myself with restating the words of Islamic scientists and providing a brief explanation of the method of the people of Allah.” In some copies, this work is entitled Jabr wa tafwid (Predestination and Delegation).
6.4. al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah fil-manahij al-sulukiyyah (Divine Witnesses concerning the Paths of Spiritual Realization): This is a complete and comprehensive book containing a summary of the Transcendent Philosophy and the demonstration of oneness of God and prophethood in Arabic. Here, the writer has discussed some religious problems in combination with gnosis and Sufism and provided some proofs from Qur’anic verses. Mulla Sadra himself has emphasized that he has avoided lengthy argumentations and verbosity in creating this work.
The contents of this book have been ordered in five mashads, each consisting of several shahids, each consisting of several ishraqs, which have been composed in an eloquent language.
Mashad 1. On general metaphysical principles (in 5 shahids)
Mashad 2. On Almighty’s existence (in 2 shahids)
Mashad 3. On the knowledge of return (in 3 shahids)
Mashad 4. On the demonstration of corporeal resurrection (in 3 shahids)
Mashad 5. On prophethood and guardianship (in 2 shahids)
6.5. al-Qada’ wal qadr fi af’al al-bashar (On the Problem of Divine Decree and Destiny concerning the Actions of Man): This is a treatise on theology in Arabic written because of the requests made by a group of the writer’s friends. Mulla Sadra has discussed divine providence, the meaning of destiny and decree, Table and Pen, the beauty and perfection of the order of the world, the quality of the interference of evil in destiny, Man’s free and urgent acts, and some other problems in this work. He has also provided the ideas and arguments of some philosophers about the acts of servants of God and about whether they are obliged or free to perform them. At the end of this part, he has given his own ideas, too.
Chapter 1: The meaning of providence, destiny, and decree
Chapter 2: Loci of destiny and decree
Chapter 3: The perfection of the creation and general order of the world
Chapter 4: The quality of the interference of evil in the divine decree
Chapter 5: The quality of Man’s voluntary words and acts
Chapter 6: Benefits of obedience and effects of prayer
A comparison of this treatise with Qada and qadar written by ‘Abdulrazzaq Kashani (730 AH) reveals that Mulla Sadra has greatly benefitted from the latter and even borrowed the titles of many of its chapters for those in his own treatise.
6.6. al Mabda’ wal-ma’ad (The Origin and Return): This is a book in Arabic including some theological discussions as follows: “theology, physics, quality of the rise of the rational soul, its stations, its ends, and the problems related to prophethood and the kind of their dreams.” There is also a short reference to the discussions related to existence. This book has been written in the style of al-Asfar; however, concerning the knowledge of the Necessary, it has been written following the method of Shaykh al-Ishraq (Suhrawardi). The contents of this book are organized two parts each called a fann (art):
Fann 1: On divine affairs, in 3 articles on the knowledge of the First Truth, His attributes, and His acts.
Fann 2: On physics, in four articles on the creation of generables, resurrection, and prophethood. Each article consists of some chapters.
6.7. al-Ma’ad al-jismani – Zad al-salik – Zad al-musafir: In this theological treatise in Arabic, Mulla Sadra demonstrates the resurrection of the intermediate body, which is a kind of corporeal resurrection, based on rational and philosophical arguments. This subject has been extensively discussed in al-Asfar.
7. Logic
7.1. al-Tasawwur wal-tasdiq (Concept and Judgment): This is a treatise on logic in Arabic that Mulla Sadra wrote because of a request made by one of his friends. This work includes a study of concept and judgment, their definitions, and divisions of knowledge in 3 chapters. Mulla Sadra has made some references to the words of Ibn Sina and some other philosophers in clarifying his ideas in this treatise. Here, he has also criticized some of the ideas of Qutb al-Din Razi in Sharh Shamsiyyah, Sharh matali’, and the treatise of Tasawwur wa tasdiq.
7.2. al-Lama’at al-mashriqiyyah fil mabahith (al-funun) al-mantiqiyyah-al-tanqih (Illuminationist Gleaming in the Art of Logic). This is a short treatise on logic in Arabic and consists of 9 ishraqs.
1. Isagogue, including an Introduction and 10 lam’ahs
2. Words of commentators, including 2 lam’ahs and a conclusion
3. Bari Arminas, including an Introduction and 6 lam’ahs
4. Modalities of propositions, including 7 lam’ahs
5. Second synthesis or formation of syllogism and criticism, including 7 lam’ahs
6. Reductio ad absurdum (syllogism per impossible) including 3 lam’ahs
7. Components of a syllogism
8. Argument, including a tamhid and 4 lam’ahs
9. Fallacy, including a tamhid and 1 lam’ah
In this treatise, no reference has been made to Mulla Sadra’s other works, and it has been written in a style close to that of Illuminationist logic. The writer’s ideas in this work comprise a summary of his theories in T’aliqat mantiq hikmat al-ishraq. Here, he has criticized the ideas of some logicians, particularly, the contemporary ones. That is why the name of this treatise is A Treatise on Criticizing Logic at the back of one of its copies. In this work, Mulla Sadra maintains that the categorical negative proposition, which, as he himself says in T’aliqat, has been invented by recent logicians, is not separate from the affirmative privative or attributive negative proposition. One of his other views in this treatise, following Suhrawardi, is cancelling the modalities of propositions and returning all modal ones to the necessary categorical universal affirmative proposition.
8. Scattered Works
8.1. Jung (Anthology): This is a collection of the poems, prose works, and a variety of other writings which have been signed, written, and chosen by Mulla Sadra. This Jung had not been catalogued until before the compilation of the present bibliography. Some photographs of this unique work are available.
8.2. Separate Substance
8.3. Hashiyah ‘ala sharh-i Ibn Mubarak shah ‘ala hikmat al-‘ayn
8.4. Multaqatani
8.5. I’qaz al-na’imin
8.6. Mulla Sadra’s letter to Mir Damad: In this letter, which is in Persian, he calls himself “Muhammed Known as Sadr Shirazi” and praises Mir Damad to a great extent. Here, he also complains, “People consider serving at the court to be a virtue”, and writes, “I have fallen far away from you, and it is about 10-12 years that I have had to bear the company of ignorant people.”
8.7. Haqiqat al-kufr wal iman: In this work, while explaining the truth of disbelief and belief, Mulla Sadra responds to someone who has excommunicated him because of his ideas. Here, he explains the related problems in Arabic and interprets them in conformity with hadiths.
8.8. Mulla Sadra’s Dream: This is an account of a dream Mulla Sadra had, and his son copied it from the one written by his father.
8.9. Sharh-i Nijat
8.10. Glosses on Qamus al-Muhit Firoozabadi’s Book
8.11. A Letter to Sadr Shirazi (in Arabic)
1. Literary Works
1.1. Diwan-i ash’ar (An Anthology of Poems): He has some scattered poems some couplets of which have been compiled by his student Fayd in a collection. This work has been found in possession of Haj Aqa Zia’ Ibn Haj Aqa Mahdi in Kermanshah.
2. Qur’anic Commentaries
2.1. Asrar al-ayat wa anwar al-bayyinat (Secrets of the Verses of the Qur’an and Lights of Evident Truths): In this work, the writer has interpreted some of the verses of the Holy Qur’an in Arabic irrespective of their order and based on his own philosophical principles. In other words, he seems to have written this treatise in order to demonstrate his philosophical ideas and has derived the teachings of Greek philosophy from Qur’anic verses. Here, if by chance a verse agrees with his ideas, he appreciates it; otherwise, he justifies the case through certain philosophical interpretations. Mulla Sadra writes, “I have collected the divine lights, the secrets of divine problems, and Qur’anic teachings embedded in the verses and chapters of this Holy Book and indicated upon which verse or chapter the discussions of human life are based or to which wisdom a chapter refers.”
2.2. Commentary on chapter al-Fatihah: This is an Arabic interpretation of chapter al-Hamd including some divine teachings, gnostic points, philosophical illuminations, and secrets and meanings of letters. In some copies, this interpretation has been published along with chapter al-Baqarah or other chapters interpreted by Mulla Sadra.
2.3. Commentary on chapter al-Baqarah: This is an interpretation in Arabic concerning gnostic intuitions, philosophical illuminations, and the secrets and meanings of the fragmentary (muqatta’ah) letters at the beginning of some Qur’anic chapters. This commentary starts with the beginning of the chapter and continues until its 65th verse (And well ye knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath: We said to them: "Be ye apes, despised and rejected). However, different versions contain different verses.
2.4. Commentary on Ayat al-Kursi – Commentary on al-Urwat al-Wuthqa: This profound philosophical interpretation of verse 256 of chapter al-Baqarah consists of 20 articles in each of which one phrase of the verse has been interpreted in Arabic. The content of each article has appeared under certain titles such as maqasid, matalib, masha’ir, isharat, latifat, fawa’id, lawami’, lawayih, and atwar.
2.5. Commentary on verse an-Nur: This is an interpretation in Arabic of verse an-Nur: 35 (Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth) which Mulla Sadra has written following his own specific method. The different parts of this interpretation bear titles such as fasl, lum’ah, hidayah, and tanbih.
2.6. Commentary on chapter Ya-Sin: Mulla Sadra has interpreted this chapter from the beginning to the end in Arabic based on his particular principles and demonstrated some of his views with reference to certain philosophical and gnostic hints. This treatise, in addition to a number of philosophical and gnostic teachings and subtleties, includes some Qur’anic secrets and religious and literary points. The Introduction of this book is one of the best compositions ever and includes a number of most solid rational and transmitted proofs. Moreover, it argues for the necessity of intellection and thinking regarding the Qur’an and the world and against the insufficiency of imitating others in scientific discussions. Mulla Sadra has also talked about evil paradoxes in this work. Here, he briefly quotes some paradoxes from Milal wal- nihal while discussing resurrection in detail.
2.7. Commentary on chapter as-Sajdah: In this work some interpretations are provided in different parts titled kashfiyyah, mukashifah, tabyan, and talwih ‘arshi.
2.8. Commentary on chapter al-Hadid: This is an interpretation in Arabic from a philosophical and gnostic point of view written in different sections titled mukashifah, lum’at al-ilahiyyah, fa’idah, and khatimah.
2.9. Commentary on chapter al-Jumu’ah: al-Matali’ wa’l-ishraqat: This work is an interpretation in Arabic in 12 matla’s each consisting of several ishraqs and a khatimah. In its Introduction, the writer writes as follows: “Since this chapter involves some very important divine subjects, such as knowledge, origin and resurrection, the uprising, descent of the Book, nature of the Book, the prophet, and guidance of intellects, I have tried my best to explain them as clearly as possible in this work.” Thus he provides a commentary on the principles of divine problems, the foundations of theological rules, and the human substance and accident. Mulla Sadra divides existents into two types: 1. self-existent being, and 2. existent for others. After discussing the features of each of them, he begins his commentary on chapter al-Jumu’ah and supports his views with some references to the Qur’an.
2.10. Commentary on chapter al-Waqi’ah: This is a philosophical and gnostic interpretation in Arabic. Here, Mulla Sadra first explains the occasions of the revelation of the verses and then discusses some topics such as the Origin and resurrection, spirit, and existence based on philosophical principles following the verses of this chapter.
2.11. Commentary on chapter at-Tariq: In this work, Mulla Sadra explains some of the secrets of chapter at-Tariq in brief in Arabic from a philosophical standpoint. At the beginning of this interpretation, he writes: “What is written below consists of a number of points and secrets that Glorious God has inculcated in the heart of this servant, and I have tried to make them accessible to the public in a refined fashion.” He initially presents each verse and then, given the context of discussion, interprets it in the light of his own philosophical ideas and theories.
2.12. Commentary on chapter al-A’la: This Arabic interpretation of chapter al-A’la has been compiled in 10 tasbihs and published several times .
2.13. Commentary on chapter az-Zalzalah: This is a gnostic philosophical interpretation of chapter az-Zalzalah in Arabic.
2.14. Commentary on chapter al-Tawhid: This Arabic interpretation is smaller than Mulla Sadra’s other interpretations, and fewer copies of it are available.
2.15. Ma’ani al-Alfaz al-Mufradat min al-Qur’an: Mulla Sadra has interpreted some of the Qur’anic terms separately in a scattered form in Arabic. According to the inventory of Central Library of Tehran, he did this based on Saduq’s Ma’ani al-akhbar and organized the work in different parts called “bab”.
2.16. Mutashabihat al-Qur’an (On the Metaphorical Verses of the Qur’an): It was obvious from the beginning of Islam that some Qur’anic verses were simple, and some others were vague and had to be interpreted. After the rise of various schools of thought, each of them referred to some of the verses in the Qur’an in order to demonstrate their own ways, while their opponents called those verses ambiguous in order to reject them. After the third century (AH), some scholars gradually began identifying and collecting such verses. In this treatise of Qur’anic sciences, which is in Arabic, Mulla Sadra speaks of the benefits of such verses in the Qur’an and their interpretation from the viewpoint of gnosis and divine philosophy. He believes that it is possible to understand the real meaning of ambiguous verses through philosophical interpretation and unveiling.
In this work, while referring to the ideas of various schools, he presents his views following a gnostic-philosophical method in six chapters:
Chapter 1: Thinkers’ ideas about ambiguous Qur’anic verses
Chapter 2: On the ideas of some interpreters of the Qur’an concerning the principle of God’s being free from all defects and evil things (explaining and reflecting the idea that God’s words are comprehensible to Man)
Chapter 3: On the absurdity of the ideas of agnostics (explaining and rejecting the theory of “understanding is impossible for people”)
Chapter 4: On the ideas of advocates of the philosophical interpretation of the Qur’an (the writer’s idea)
Chapter 5: Some notes on the previously stated points
Chapter 6: A brief explanation of the rays of intuitive and unveiling sciences
2.17. Mafatih al-ghayb (Keys to the Invisible World): This is a book on philosophical interpretation in Arabic. After praising the Qur’an in length, Mulla Sadra writes, “True wisdom lies in the perception of Qur’anic meanings. Thus I decided to write about the nature, premises, and understanding of the problems of the philosophical interpretation of the Qur’an in 20 fatihas which are of great importance in gaining the knowledge of this Holy Book.” Therefore, in this book he intends to explain the Origin and resurrection, and the gnostic points and secrets derived from the Qur’an, which is a unique endeavor by itself. Initially, he explains the divine philosophy based on his own philosophical principles in al-Asfar and al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah and defines divine knowledge, and then delves into its problems. In the course of his commentary, he also deals with some other philosophical discussions. The result of these discussions does not add anything to what is presented in al-Asfar, and this book (Mafatih al-ghayb) is considered as an Introduction to all of Mulla Sadra’s Qur’anic commentaries.
3. Hadith
3.1. Sharh al-Usul al-kafi (Commentary on Usul al-kafi): This is a commentary in Arabic on chapters Intellect, Ignorance, Knowledge, Tawhid, and Hujjat of Kulayni’s Usul al-kafi up to hadith 513. The commentator refers to all the hadiths along with their chain of transmitters and then comments on the traditions and their types. Following this, he presents his commentary of hadith in detail using a clear language replete with some philosophical points and subtle gnostic ideas as well as some information about the transmitters of the traditions following a philosophical method. The late Mirza Abulhassan Jilwah believes that Mulla Sadra passed away in the course of writing this commentary and could not finish it. In fact, he continued it up to the first hadith of bab 11 of the book al-Hujjat. However, he wrote an extensive commentary on Hisham’s famous hadith about the intellect and ignorance in 21 mashads. He wrote this commentary in Shiraz.
3.2. Scattered Hadiths
3.2.1. We read in hadith, “One day Zaynab ‘Attarah (perfumer) entered the Prophet’s house. Immediately after seeing her, the Holy Prophet(s) Said, “Well-done! You made our house fragrant with your perfumes.” She said, “Oh, God’s Prophet, I didn’t come here to sell perfumes but to ask about God’s glory.” After this question, the Holy Prophet(s) provided her with a lengthy explanation of God and His Magnificence. Mulla Sadra has commented on this hadith and mentioned its subtleties.
3.2.2. Commentary on the hadith “I was a hidden treasure and wished to be known, so I created the creation.”: This commentary most probably belongs to Mulla Sadra. Here, he has provided some explanations in Arabic in order to remove the problems of this hadith. At the beginning of this treatise, reference has been made to Ibn Arabi; hence, in some copies this work has been wrongly attributed to him.
4. Gnosis and Ethics
4.1. Si asl (Three Principles): This is a book on gnosis and ethics in Persian written in defense of philosophy. It consists of 14 chapters, as follows:
1. Ignorance of self-knowledge
2. Love of wealth, glory, and passions
3. Temptations of the carnal soul and concealing the defects of Satan
4- 6. Commentaries on the consequences of the above three principles
7-8. Wrong and right paths
9. Characteristics of true knowledge and its superiority over exoteric sciences
10-11. Light of faith and the necessity of self-purification and inner shinning
12. Explaining the benefits of self-knowledge
13. Diseases of the soul
14. Good deed and useful knowledge
4.2. Kasr al-asnam al-jahiliyyah (Demolition of the Idols of Ignorance): This is a book in Arabic on rejecting exoteric Sufism and blaming those who consider knowledge as a veil for the soul and, because of their ignorance of divine teachings and following their own traditions and customs, consider themselves to be united with God and to be perfect. Here, Mulla Sadra demonstrates that attaining desired perfection lies in acquiring the divine knowledge and teachings along with performing corporeal worship and spiritual exertion. In line with this idea, he also explains the features of true wayfarers as well as the attributes and unique behaviors of those ignorant people who pretend to Sufism. In order to support his points, he refers to several verses, hadiths, and statements from philosophers all through the book. This work contains an Introduction and four articles, each consisting of some chapters and a conclusion.
Article 1: The knowledge of God as the most exalted kind of knowledge
Article 2: Knowledge as the outcome of worship
Article 3: Attributes of the righteous
Article 4: Some advice on scolding the world
5. Philosophy
5.1. Ittihad al-aqil wal-ma'qul (Union of the Intellect and Intelligible): This is a book on philosophy in Arabic in which Mulla Sadra has briefly posed the problem of the union of the intellect and intelligible. Based on Ibn Sina’s words in al-Shifa, he writes, “We have presented here a summary of what we wrote in this regard in al-Asfar. We have ended the treatise with two articles: the first on the ‘Union of the Intellect and Intelligible’ and the second on ‘The Simple Intellect Includes all Things’.”
5.2. Ittisaf al-mahiyyah bi’l wujud (Existence is a Predicate of Quiddity): This work involves an extensive philosophical discussion on whether quiddity exists and whether existence can occur to it. In the course of his discussion, Mulla Sadra considers “existence” to be one and “existents” to be multiple and of various realities. He also explains the relationship between quiddity and existence. In this treatise, which is in Arabic, he also refers to his al-Asfar.
5.3. Iksir al-‘arifin fi m’arifah tariq al-haqq wa’l-yaqin (The Elixir of Gnostics concerning the Knowledge of the Path of Truth and Certainty): This is a philosophical-gnostic treatise in Arabic including some important points concerning the ideas of prominent Islamic philosophers. Mulla Sadra wrote most of this work under the influence of Beginning and End, a treatise written by Baba Afdhal Kashi. It contains some discussions about psychology, gnosis, levels of Sufism, praise of wayfaring, knowledge, divine wisdom, and the Origin and Return. What Mulla Sadra has written in this treatise consists of the knowledge he has attained through unveiling, intuition, and scientific principles. This book consists of four parts each consisting of some chapters (10 chapters in total):
Part 1. Quantity of sciences and their classifications
Part 2. On knowledge and wisdom, which comprise the human ipseity
Part 3. On knowing the Giver of all sciences and teachings (God), Who is indeed the first Origin of all things
Part 4. On knowing the ultimate end
5.4. al-Tashakhkhus (Individuation): This is a philosophical treatise in Arabic about individuation and the features by which one is distinguished from others. Here, Mulla Sadra rejects the idea of the mentally-positedness of the distinctions of one from others and argues that individuation has no external reality. In doing so, he refers to the words of some great philosophers and discusses their ideas.
5.5. T’aliqat al-Shifa (Glosses upon the Book of al-Shifa): This is a series of philosophical glosses in Arabic on chapters Ilahiyyat (in its general sense) and Tabi’iyyat of Ibn Sina’s al-Shifa. Here, Mulla Sadra explains Ibn Sina’s principles and comments on the difficult terms used by him. Sometimes, he also criticizes him and presents his own ideas.
5.6. T'aliqat ala sharh hikmat al-ishraq (Glosses upon the Commentary on Hikmat al-Ishraq): This work contains Mulla Sadra’s glosses on Qutb al-Din Shirazi’s commentary on Suhrawardi’s Hikmat al-ishraq in Arabic. In these glosses, the writer compares Peripatetic and Illuminationist philosophies and presents his own ideas in this regard.
5.7. Huduth al-‘alam (Temporal Createdness of the World): This is a philosophical treatise in Arabic. Here, Mulla Sadra writes as follows: “I intend to discuss the temporal createdness of the world, which is such a difficult and subtle philosophical problem that minds have failed to comprehend and many schools have tried to challenge. I will try to unveil the truth in this regard as much as possible.” Here, he initially presents the ideas of theologians and those who pretend to Shari’ah in this regard and reveals the great weaknesses and defects hidden in their ideas and then provides philosophers’ stance on this issue. In doing so, he first quotes the idea of Peripatetics and Aristotle and Plato’s view in Timaeus and, after criticizing them, provides his own idea. Then he poses the problems of possibility, necessity, faculty, act, motion, rest, demonstration of nature for each moving thing, and the trans-substantial motion in separate chapters and demonstrates creation based on his belief in the trans-substantial motion. In this treatise, Mulla Sadra considers the world to be created and provides some arguments in order to demonstrate it.
5.8. al-Hikmat al-muta’aliyyah fil-asfar al-arba’ah al-‘aqliyyah (The Transcendent Philosophy concerning the Four Intellectual Journeys of the Soul). This book contains a complete account of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy in Arabic. It is the mother of all of his books, includes all of them, and consists of 47 parts. Mulla Sadra intertwined philosophy with the taste of Illuminationist philosophers, gnostics, and mystics and created a specific school called the Transcendent Philosophy. He named the Treatise on Quiddity and Existence of this book al-Asfar al-arba’ah, which is his greatest and most comprehensive philosophical work. In this book, he has turned “the trans-substantial motion” into the most fundamental of all philosophical problems and made it the basis of several discussions.
Mulla Sadra believes that gnostics and wayfarers of the way of the truth must go through four intellectual courses of development over four journeys as follows:
1. The journey from creation towards the truth
2. The journey with the truth in the truth
3. The journey from the truth to creation with the truth
4. The journey in creation with the truth
The above four journeys have been ordered in the book as follows:
1. General principles of metaphysics
2. Natural knowledge
3. Divine knowledge
4. Soul’s knowledge of the Origin and return
5.9. Sarayan nur wujud al-haqq fil-mawjudat wa … ihatah bil-mumkinat (The Penetration of the Light of the Divine Truth in Creatures): Mulla Sadra wrote this philosophical treatise in Arabic in response to the requests of his friends. Here, he discusses the spread of light of the existence of the Truth and the secret of the Truth’s being surrounded and accompanied with possible things both concisely and precisely. He believes that “scientific mastery” is an external affair, so he seeks to demonstrate the Truth’s being ontologically surrounded with existence and makes it the basis of his treaties. He begins his discussion in this regard with two Introductions, one on the “Necessary Being” and the other on “the ideas of Sufis on the diffusion of the light of the truth and creating possible things.” In the course of his discussions in this work, Mulla Sadra also quotes some Persian statements from some prominent Sufis.
5.10. Sharh al-hidayat al-athiriyyah (Commentary on Athir al-Din Abhari’s Book of Guidance): This is a commentary on a philosophical book by Athir al-Din Fadl Ibn ‘Umar Abhari Samarqandi, one of the distinguished philosophers of the second half of the 7th century (660 AH) in Peripatetic philosophy. Many Islamic philosophers, including Mulla Sadra, have written several commentaries on this book. In his commentary, Mulla Sadra mainly propounds the ideas of the writer of al-Hidayah in Arabic and rarely speaks of his own ideas. Perhaps, this is one of his first works because, here, he denies the trans-substantial motion and provides some arguments on its degeneration. However, in al-Asfar he forcefully demonstrates it and nullifies his previous arguments on its degeneration.
5.11. Limmiyyah ikhtisas al-mintaqah bi-mawdi’ mu’ayyan min al-falak (Treatise on Why the Zodiac is Located in a Determined Position of the Sphere): This is a philosophical treatise in Arabic in which the writer considers the existence of the celestial sphere to be an individual existence emanated from the Universal Intellect and seeks to demonstrate it.
5.12. al-Masa’il al-qudsiyyah wa al-qawa’id al-malakutiyyah (Spiritual Questions concerning Heavenly Rules): This is a short treatise on divine affairs in Arabic. We read in the Introduction that the contents of this work are rooted in mystical revelations and intuitions and are far from philosophical, sophistical, and dialectical principles and imitation. Mulla Sadra refers to “our great book”, that is, al-Asfar, in two places in this treatise and maintains that he previously considered existence to be mentally-posited.
5.13. al-Masha’ir (Metaphysical Penetration): This book contains a number of philosophical discussions about knowing the Necessary Being, divine attributes, principles of the realities of faith, wisdom, theology, etc. in Arabic. He writes in its Preface that he has placed the knowledge of existence and ontology at the basis of his philosophy. He also bases the knowledge of God, resurrection, the world of images, the union of the intellect and intelligible, the all-inclusiveness of the truth in its simplicity, the gradation of existence, and the like on the same ontology. Apparently, this work was not written in his early youth because he says, “Previously, I considered quiddity to be principial until I changed my idea and turned to the principiality of existence.”
5.14. al-Waridat al-qalbiyyah fi m’arifat al-rububiyyah (The Inspirations of the Heart concerning the Knowledge of Divinity): This is a gnostic-philosophical treatise in Arabic similar to al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah in terms of some of the topics such as theology, demonstration of the Maker, existence, knowledge of the Necessary Being, and whether what is emanated from the Necessary Being is pure good or a good dominating evil.
Here, Mulla Sadra has explained a number of pure divine problems in the name of secrets that have been revealed to him without adopting them from anyone or imitating others following a gnostic and Illuminationist approach in 40 parts each called a fayd. In some parts of this treatise he also blames teachers, courtiers, muhaddithun, and jurisprudents. There are also some Persian couplets in this work. This treatise is also called al-Tasbihat al-qalbiyyah fi m’arifat al-rububiyyah.
6. Kalam (Theology)
6.1. al-Hashr (On Resurrection): This is a book on theology in Arabic. It has been introduced under two titles: 1. Hashr al-‘awam fi ma’ad al-ashya’ wa hashrha; 2. Tarh al-kawnayn wa rafd al-‘alamin. However, Mulla Sadra himself has not chosen a name for it. In this treatise, Mulla Sadra has posed and explored some philosophical discussions on the demonstration and quality of resurrection, revivification, and return of existents, and has referred readers to the part on the “Intellect and Intelligible” in al-Asfar concerning the problem of intellects.
Mulla Sadra wrote this treatise in response to the request made by an inquirer whom he refers to as his “brother”. He believes that revivification is not limited to human beings and living things; rather, all solid things and vegetation have a share of it.
6.2. al-Hikmat al-‘arshiyyah (The Book of Theosophy Descending from the Divine Throne): This is a short treatise on the demonstration of the Origin and return in the Transcendent Philosophy. The writer has referred readers to al-Asfar for a detailed discussion of this issue. Following a philosophical method and based on some Qur’anic verses and hadiths, Mulla Sadra has written this book in Arabic in two mashriqs: 1. On the knowledge of God and His attributes, names, and signs, 2. On Return or Knowledge of Return
6.3. Khalq al-a’mal (Jabr wa tafwiz al-qadr wa af’al al-‘ibad) (On the Creation of Human Actions): This is a theological treatise in Arabic on the problem of predestination in actions and the quality of the creation of actions. At the beginning of the treatise, the writer presents the ideas of philosophers in this regard and then quotes the truth from the People of the House of the Prophets (a). In the Preface of this work, Mulla Sadra writes, “Since I was not allowed to speak of the secrets of predestination and reveal the hidden mysteries, I will content myself with restating the words of Islamic scientists and providing a brief explanation of the method of the people of Allah.” In some copies, this work is entitled Jabr wa tafwid (Predestination and Delegation).
6.4. al-Shawahid al-rububiyyah fil-manahij al-sulukiyyah (Divine Witnesses concerning the Paths of Spiritual Realization): This is a complete and comprehensive book containing a summary of the Transcendent Philosophy and the demonstration of oneness of God and prophethood in Arabic. Here, the writer has discussed some religious problems in combination with gnosis and Sufism and provided some proofs from Qur’anic verses. Mulla Sadra himself has emphasized that he has avoided lengthy argumentations and verbosity in creating this work.
The contents of this book have been ordered in five mashads, each consisting of several shahids, each consisting of several ishraqs, which have been composed in an eloquent language.
Mashad 1. On general metaphysical principles (in 5 shahids)
Mashad 2. On Almighty’s existence (in 2 shahids)
Mashad 3. On the knowledge of return (in 3 shahids)
Mashad 4. On the demonstration of corporeal resurrection (in 3 shahids)
Mashad 5. On prophethood and guardianship (in 2 shahids)
6.5. al-Qada’ wal qadr fi af’al al-bashar (On the Problem of Divine Decree and Destiny concerning the Actions of Man): This is a treatise on theology in Arabic written because of the requests made by a group of the writer’s friends. Mulla Sadra has discussed divine providence, the meaning of destiny and decree, Table and Pen, the beauty and perfection of the order of the world, the quality of the interference of evil in destiny, Man’s free and urgent acts, and some other problems in this work. He has also provided the ideas and arguments of some philosophers about the acts of servants of God and about whether they are obliged or free to perform them. At the end of this part, he has given his own ideas, too.
Chapter 1: The meaning of providence, destiny, and decree
Chapter 2: Loci of destiny and decree
Chapter 3: The perfection of the creation and general order of the world
Chapter 4: The quality of the interference of evil in the divine decree
Chapter 5: The quality of Man’s voluntary words and acts
Chapter 6: Benefits of obedience and effects of prayer
A comparison of this treatise with Qada and qadar written by ‘Abdulrazzaq Kashani (730 AH) reveals that Mulla Sadra has greatly benefitted from the latter and even borrowed the titles of many of its chapters for those in his own treatise.
6.6. al Mabda’ wal-ma’ad (The Origin and Return): This is a book in Arabic including some theological discussions as follows: “theology, physics, quality of the rise of the rational soul, its stations, its ends, and the problems related to prophethood and the kind of their dreams.” There is also a short reference to the discussions related to existence. This book has been written in the style of al-Asfar; however, concerning the knowledge of the Necessary, it has been written following the method of Shaykh al-Ishraq (Suhrawardi). The contents of this book are organized two parts each called a fann (art):
Fann 1: On divine affairs, in 3 articles on the knowledge of the First Truth, His attributes, and His acts.
Fann 2: On physics, in four articles on the creation of generables, resurrection, and prophethood. Each article consists of some chapters.
6.7. al-Ma’ad al-jismani – Zad al-salik – Zad al-musafir: In this theological treatise in Arabic, Mulla Sadra demonstrates the resurrection of the intermediate body, which is a kind of corporeal resurrection, based on rational and philosophical arguments. This subject has been extensively discussed in al-Asfar.
7. Logic
7.1. al-Tasawwur wal-tasdiq (Concept and Judgment): This is a treatise on logic in Arabic that Mulla Sadra wrote because of a request made by one of his friends. This work includes a study of concept and judgment, their definitions, and divisions of knowledge in 3 chapters. Mulla Sadra has made some references to the words of Ibn Sina and some other philosophers in clarifying his ideas in this treatise. Here, he has also criticized some of the ideas of Qutb al-Din Razi in Sharh Shamsiyyah, Sharh matali’, and the treatise of Tasawwur wa tasdiq.
7.2. al-Lama’at al-mashriqiyyah fil mabahith (al-funun) al-mantiqiyyah-al-tanqih (Illuminationist Gleaming in the Art of Logic). This is a short treatise on logic in Arabic and consists of 9 ishraqs.
1. Isagogue, including an Introduction and 10 lam’ahs
2. Words of commentators, including 2 lam’ahs and a conclusion
3. Bari Arminas, including an Introduction and 6 lam’ahs
4. Modalities of propositions, including 7 lam’ahs
5. Second synthesis or formation of syllogism and criticism, including 7 lam’ahs
6. Reductio ad absurdum (syllogism per impossible) including 3 lam’ahs
7. Components of a syllogism
8. Argument, including a tamhid and 4 lam’ahs
9. Fallacy, including a tamhid and 1 lam’ah
In this treatise, no reference has been made to Mulla Sadra’s other works, and it has been written in a style close to that of Illuminationist logic. The writer’s ideas in this work comprise a summary of his theories in T’aliqat mantiq hikmat al-ishraq. Here, he has criticized the ideas of some logicians, particularly, the contemporary ones. That is why the name of this treatise is A Treatise on Criticizing Logic at the back of one of its copies. In this work, Mulla Sadra maintains that the categorical negative proposition, which, as he himself says in T’aliqat, has been invented by recent logicians, is not separate from the affirmative privative or attributive negative proposition. One of his other views in this treatise, following Suhrawardi, is cancelling the modalities of propositions and returning all modal ones to the necessary categorical universal affirmative proposition.
8. Scattered Works
8.1. Jung (Anthology): This is a collection of the poems, prose works, and a variety of other writings which have been signed, written, and chosen by Mulla Sadra. This Jung had not been catalogued until before the compilation of the present bibliography. Some photographs of this unique work are available.
8.2. Separate Substance
8.3. Hashiyah ‘ala sharh-i Ibn Mubarak shah ‘ala hikmat al-‘ayn
8.4. Multaqatani
8.5. I’qaz al-na’imin
8.6. Mulla Sadra’s letter to Mir Damad: In this letter, which is in Persian, he calls himself “Muhammed Known as Sadr Shirazi” and praises Mir Damad to a great extent. Here, he also complains, “People consider serving at the court to be a virtue”, and writes, “I have fallen far away from you, and it is about 10-12 years that I have had to bear the company of ignorant people.”
8.7. Haqiqat al-kufr wal iman: In this work, while explaining the truth of disbelief and belief, Mulla Sadra responds to someone who has excommunicated him because of his ideas. Here, he explains the related problems in Arabic and interprets them in conformity with hadiths.
8.8. Mulla Sadra’s Dream: This is an account of a dream Mulla Sadra had, and his son copied it from the one written by his father.
8.9. Sharh-i Nijat
8.10. Glosses on Qamus al-Muhit Firoozabadi’s Book
8.11. A Letter to Sadr Shirazi (in Arabic)