Document Type : Research
Authors
1 PhD in Islamic Philosophy, Department of Islamic Philosophy, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran.
2 PhD in Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Imam Sadegh University, Tehran, Iran.
Abstract
Sayyid Nūr al-Dīn Arākī, known as Āqā Nūr al-Dīn al-ʿirāqī, is regarded as a prominent contemporary scholar. Despite his complete mastery in the fields of jurisprudence (Fiqh), principles of jurisprudence (ʾUṣūl), and Qurʾānic exegesis (Tafsīr), he is also considered an authority in the rational sciences. In this research, the authors employ a descriptive‑analytical method to extract and explain the opinions and theories of this prominent figure in the field of anthropology, and to briefly apply these theories to the foundations of Transcendent Wisdom (al‑Ḥikmah al‑Mutaʿāliyah). Among the most important components of al-ʿirāqī’s anthropology are: belief in the sacred as the criterion of human rationality; human existence as a microcosm corresponding to the existence of the macrocosm; the human soul as a mobile and evolving reality; the elemental body and the super‑soul as the two lower and higher levels of the human soul; reaching God as the ultimate goal and perfection of the human soul; harmony between human action and existential form; faith as the main factor in the strength and perfection of the human soul; and the removal of egoism as the wisdom behind establishing religious rituals. The brief application of these components to the foundations of Transcendent Wisdom shows that they are applicable to and interpretable through certain fundamental principles of Transcendent Wisdom, such as the eternal necessity and infinity of God, God and His manifestations being the totality of perfection, the substantial motion of the soul, the unity of the soul and the body, the union of knowledge, the knower, and the known, and the reciprocal relation of states between the soul and the body. The purpose of this application is to explain the use that al-ʿirāqī, as a prominent jurist and exegete, has made of the capacities of Transcendent Wisdom – an explanation that itself bears witness to the sublimity of Ṣadrian wisdom, enriched by its religious and Qurʾānic character.
Keywords
- Nūr al-Dīn al-ʿirāqī
- Anthropology
- Eternal Necessity
- Union of Knowledge
- Knower
- and Known
- Reciprocal Relation of States between Soul and Body
- Religious Rituals
Main Subjects
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