Islamic Philosophy from Its Origin to the Present: Philosophy in the ...

88 Part 2: Philosophical Issues
was marked by a rather varied philosophical life, and at least three
distinct trends are discernible: that of M¥r Dåmåd and his students,
who followed Ibn S¥nå with a Suhrawardian color; that of Mullå Rajab
‘Al¥ Tabr¥z¥, whose views are somewhat similar to Proclus’ interpretation
of the teaching of Plato and who considered the Divine Principle
to be above both Being and non-Being and totally discontinuous
with the chain of existence; and finally Mullå S • adrå and his followers,
such as Mullå Mu±sin Fay∂ Kåshån¥, who transformed the “essentialistic”
metaphysics of Suhraward¥ into an “existentialistic” one. 11 In
his Asfår, al-Shawåhid al-rub¶biyyah, and al-Mashå‘ir, 12 Mullå S • adrå has
given the most extensive and systematic exposition of the “philosophy
of being” to be found anywhere in Islam, combining the vision of the
gnostics and the logical acumen of the Peripatetics. His metaphysics,
based on the three principles of the unity, gradation, and principiality
of being marks the opening of a new chapter in the development of
Islamic philosophy and more particularly ontology. 13
The doctrines of Mullå S • adrå concerning being were so profound
and all-embracing that they found their echo among most of the leading
Persian philosophers of the centuries that followed and were also
influential among many thinkers of Muslim India. As far as Persia is
concerned, such thirteenth/nineteenth century figures as Mullå ‘Al¥
N¨r¥, ¡åjj¥ Mullå Håd¥ Sabziwår¥, and Mullå ‘Al¥ Mudarris added
important commentaries to Mullå |adrå’s works on the subject of
ontology. Moreover, during the twentieth century such traditional
masters as M¥rzå Mahd¥ Āshtiyån¥ and Sayyid Mu±ammad Kåπim
‘A∑∑år continued this particular tradition of philosophy in which the
study of being is carried out through a highly developed dialectic but
is ultimately based upon the experience of Being and its epiphanies,
this experience having been made possible through the aid of Being
Itself in the form of that objective theophany of the Universal Intellect,
which is prophecy and the bringing of a revelation that creates a traditional
universe.
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It is hardly possible to do justice in a short space to the depth
and richness of this later Islamic philosophical school insofar as the
study of being is concerned. Men of great intelligence and perspicacity
have spent lifetimes in the study and contemplation of these doctrines.
But it is possible to summarize at least some of the salient
features of the mainstream of this school, which culminated with Mullå
S • adrå and his disciples.