Islamic Philosophical Doctrines

Research

The Path of Spiritual Realization of the Perfect Human in al-Faṣṣ al-Yūsufī, in Light of the Manifestation (Tajallī) of the Divine Names

Fatemeh Sadat (Mahnaz) Tavakoli; Fatemeh Abedini

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 7-38

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.7592.1662

Abstract

Al-Faṣṣ al-Yūsufī of Ibn ʿArabī is regarded as one of the most distinguished sections of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, in which luminous wisdom (al-Ḥikmah al-Nūriyyah) is attributed ... Read More Al-Faṣṣ al-Yūsufī of Ibn ʿArabī is regarded as one of the most distinguished sections of Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam, in which luminous wisdom (al-Ḥikmah al-Nūriyyah) is attributed to Prophet Joseph (Yūsuf, peace be upon him). In this Faṣṣ, Ibn ʿArabī, relying on the ontological foundations of the unity of existence (Waḥdah al-Wujūd) and the theory of manifestation (Tajallī), interprets the story of Joseph not merely as a historical narrative but as an allegory of the spiritual journey of the human soul-from darkness to light, from form to meaning, and from multiplicity to unity. In this interpretation, Prophet Joseph is presented as the locus of manifestation of the divine Names of beauty and light, such as al‑Nūr (the Light), al‑Muṣawwir (the Fashioner), al‑ʿālīm (the All‑Knowing), al‑Jamīl (the Beautiful), al‑Ḥakīm (the Wise), and al‑Ḥaqq (the Real), since in him are united both the knowledge of dream interpretation and intrinsic beauty and luminosity. Through luminous wisdom, Ibn ʿArabī explicates the relationship between the imaginal realm (al-ʿālam al‑Mithāl), imagination (khayāl), and the knowledge of interpretation (taʿbīr), demonstrating that Joseph, as the Perfect Human (al‑Insān al‑Kāmil), is a mirror in which the divine Names are manifested at different levels of being. Employing a descriptive‑analytical method and drawing upon the text of al-Faṣṣ al-Yūsufī and the commentaries of major figures such as al‑Jandī, al-Qayṣarī, al-Khwārazmī, Pārsā, and other commentators, this paper analyzes the manifestations of the divine Names and the symbolic meaning of the Yūsufī spiritual journey, and on this basis proposes a Yūsufī model of the Perfect Human. Among the findings of the research is that al-Faṣṣ al-Yūsufī depicts a system of luminous and hermeneutical knowledge in which knowledge and beauty, imagination and reality, and the outward and the inward are unified in the light of the Manifestation of the divine Names-such as Light, Wise, Fashioner, All‑Knowing, Beautiful, Guardian (Walī), Manifest (Ẓāhir), Hidden (Bāṭin), and other Names-and by focusing on this innovative insight, the Yūsufī paradigm of the Perfect Human is introduced.

Research

The Role of Fiṭrah (Primordial Nature) and Wujdān (Conscience) in the Realization of Freedom in the Thoughts of Mullā Ṣadrā and Heidegger

Amin Dehghani; Abbas Javareshkian; Jahangir Masoudi; Seyyed Morteza Hosseini Shahrudi

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 39-84

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.7265.1631

Abstract

The problem of freedom has always been and remains a wide‑ranging and living issue through centuries. The manner of understanding its philosophical truth depends, on the one hand, ... Read More The problem of freedom has always been and remains a wide‑ranging and living issue through centuries. The manner of understanding its philosophical truth depends, on the one hand, on the philosophical foundations of philosophers and, on the other hand, on numerous other individual‑social questions. Mullā Ṣadrā and Heidegger are two highly influential philosophers, and based on their philosophical principles, a particular view of freedom takes shape. Fiṭrah (primordial nature) in the thought of Mullā Ṣadrā and Wujdān (conscience) in the thought of the early Heidegger are among the most important components in these two philosophers’ articulations on freedom. Using an analytical method, this article examines the role of Fiṭrah from Mullā Ṣadrā’s perspective and the role of conscience from the early Heidegger’s perspective in the realization of freedom, and then comparatively explores the similarities and differences between their views. Through a comparative study of Ṣadrian Fiṭrah and Heideggerian conscience in terms of their quiddity, origin, goal, and content, with a focus on their role in the realization of freedom, it is concluded that although there are similarities, Mullā Ṣadrā’s view possesses coherence and superiority in the following respects: (1) providing a precise account of the origin of Fiṭrah (based on the theory of manifestation (Tajallī) and relational existence); (2) explaining the common innate possessions (both cognitive and dispositional) of human beings; (3) offering a comprehensive picture of the existential dimensions of the human being (ethical and mystical) and their correspondence with the levels of freedom; (4) explaining the existence of the Most High God as the ultimate end of the human being and the ultimate end of freedom; and (5) providing a practical program (the sacred law, Sharīʿah) for the flourishing of Fiṭrah and the realization of freedom.

Research

An Analysis and Examination of Ḥamzah al-Fanārī’s View on the Reality of Time

Reza Hesari; Hamid Reza Khademi

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 85-108

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.7901.1689

Abstract

Hamzah al-Fanārī is among those divine mystics who expounded most of his mystical views in his work Miṣbāḥ al-ʾuns. Among these views is his approach concerning the reality ... Read More

Research

A Comparative Analysis of Mullā Ṣadrā’s Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn and Antony Flew’s Critiques of the Metaphysical Foundations of the Proofs for God’s Existence

Mohammad Heydarifard

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 109-142

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2025.7905.1690

Abstract

Mullā Ṣadrā’s Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn (Proof of the Truthful), as one of the most significant formulations of the proof for God’s existence in Islamic philosophy, is ... Read More Mullā Ṣadrā’s Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn (Proof of the Truthful), as one of the most significant formulations of the proof for God’s existence in Islamic philosophy, is based on the principles of the principality of existence (Aṣālat al-Wujūd), the gradation of existence (Tashkīk al-Wujūd), and an ontological interpretation of causality. In this respect, it differs fundamentally from essence‑based and classical cosmological arguments. In contrast, Antony Flew, as a prominent figure of analytic atheism in the twentieth century, advanced extensive critiques against the proofs for God’s existence, focusing mainly on the Aristotelian‑Thomistic argument from causality, the teleological argument, and explanations based on essentialist and empirically grounded causality. The central question of this research is whether these critiques - given Flew’s epistemological and semantic presuppositions - apply also to the ontological structure and the interpretation of causality in Mullā Ṣadrā’s Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn. The present study, employing conceptual and comparative analysis and comparing the metaphysical foundations of the two traditions-Transcendent Theosophy (al-Ḥikmah al-Mutaʿāliyah) and analytic philosophy of religion-examines the relationship between Flew’s critiques and the Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn. The findings indicate that the reason Flew’s critiques do not extend to the Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn lies in the fundamental difference between the two conceptions of causality and explanation. Flew’s critiques are directed at a model of empirical and essence‑based causality that is meaningful within the framework of classical cosmological arguments, whereas the Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn is based on an analysis of “existence as such” (al-Wujūd bi mā Huwa Wujūd), the gradational continuum of the degrees of being, and the existential necessity of the Necessary Existent (Wājib al-Wujūd), and is not essentially a kind of event‑based or empirical explanation. Therefore, the Burhān al-Ṣiddīqīn not only falls outside the direct scope of Flew’s critiques but can also, through a conceptual reformulation, provide capacities for dialogue and the reconstruction of proofs for God’s existence in the context of contemporary philosophy of religion.

Research

A New Model of Religious Rationality Based on the Foundations of Religious Knowledge in the Two Intellectual Systems of Mullā Ṣadrā and Plantinga

Fahimeh Khoshnevisan

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 143-178

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.7659.1666

Abstract

The problem of this article is to present a new model of religious rationality based on the foundations of religious knowledge in the two intellectual systems of Mullā Ṣadrā and ... Read More The problem of this article is to present a new model of religious rationality based on the foundations of religious knowledge in the two intellectual systems of Mullā Ṣadrā and Plantinga-a comprehensive model that can integrate the ontological and existential elements of the Islamic tradition with the criteria of contemporary analytic epistemology. Mullā Ṣadrā, through an emphasis on presential knowledge (al-ʿilm al-Ḥuḍūrī), the gradation of existence (Tashkīk al-Wujūd), and the unity of the knower and the known (Ittiḥād al-ʿāqil wa al-Maʿqūl), offers a structure of religious knowledge organized on the basis of the existential and intuitive realization of knowledge. In contrast, Plantinga, through his warrant theory and the explanation of the proper functioning of cognitive faculties, presents a functionalist picture of religious rationality. Employing an analytical‑comparative method, the present article seeks to examine a new model of religious rationality through a dialogue between these two philosophical systems. The significance of this research lies not merely in a conceptual comparison between the two traditions, but in its aim to construct a theory by bringing together the fundamental elements of both systems in order to develop an integrated model of religious rationality. The structure of the article consists of three main parts: first, an explanation of the foundations of religious knowledge in Transcendent Theosophy (al-Ḥikmah al-Mutaʿāliyah); second, an analysis of the foundations of religious knowledge based on Plantinga’s warrant theory; and third, the presentation of a proposed model for religious rationality based on the integration of the two traditions. The finding of the article indicates that the combination of the intuitive and presential ontology in Transcendent Theosophy with the functionalist analysis of cognitive faculties in warrant theory can provide a framework in which religious belief can, on the one hand, be rationally explained through presence and existential realization in the human cognitive domain, and on the other hand, through the proper mechanisms of cognition.

Research

Components of Āqā Nūr al‑Dīn al‑ʿirāqī’s Anthropology and Its Brief Application to the Foundations of Transcendent Wisdom: An Analytical‑Theoretical Rereading

Saeed Famil Dardashty; Mehrdad Hasanbeygi

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 179-208

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2025.7692.1667

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), ... Read More 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.

Research

An Examination of Fayyāḍ al-Lāhījī’s Defenses of al‑Khafrī’s Proofs for the Necessary Existent

Mohammad Reza Farahmandkia

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 209-232

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2025.7558.1655

Abstract

This research employs an analytical‑critical method to examine and evaluate the effectiveness of Fayyāḍ al-Lāhījī’s defenses of Muḥaqqiq al‑Khafrī’s proofs ... Read More

Research

Critique and Evaluation of Qurʾānic Writings on the Infallibility (ʿiṣmah) of the Prophets Based on Theological‑Exegetical Principles

Reza Ghaseminejad; Mohammad Moradi; Mehdi Nosratian Ahour; Seyyed Amir Sakhvatian

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 233-262

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.7835.1681

Abstract

The infallibility (ʿiṣmah) of the prophets is a foundational and highly influential topic in Islamic theology. Its nature and scope have long been a matter of disagreement among ... Read More

Research

Two Conceptions of Spiritual Discipline (Riyāḍah): A Comparative Analysis of the Anthropological Foundations of Avicenna and Mullā Ṣadrā

Hamedeh Rastaei; Hassan Karami

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 263-288

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.7699.1668

Abstract

Avicenna and Mullā Ṣadrā both provide coherent programs for spiritual discipline (Riyāḍah) that apparently pursue similar goals. Yet beneath these outward similarities lies a ... Read More Avicenna and Mullā Ṣadrā both provide coherent programs for spiritual discipline (Riyāḍah) that apparently pursue similar goals. Yet beneath these outward similarities lies a fundamental distinction rooted in their differing anthropological foundations: the soul as a static substance versus the soul as a fluid being in a state of becoming (Ṣayrūrah). Employing an analytical‑comparative approach, this article first examines the fivefold anthropological principles of the two philosophers (the origin of the soul, the perfection of the soul, the role of the body, the levels of the soul, and its relation to the Active Intellect). It then demonstrates how these distinctions affect the pathology of the soul and the prescription of healings. In Avicennian philosophy, the soul is a static substance that employs the body as a temporary instrument, and the levels of the soul are its accidental states. Consequently, the obstacles to the soul’s perfection (psychic diseases) have a “passive” nature, meaning the domination and contamination of this static substance by bodily faculties. In contrast, from Mullā Ṣadrā’s perspective, the soul is the product of substantial motion (al‑Ḥarakah al‑Jawhariyyah) and a reality in a constant state of becoming. Thus, obstacles to perfection acquire an “active and existential” nature, namely the intensification and consolidation of the soul at lower, animal levels of existence. This fundamental difference gives the threefold goals of spiritual discipline-emptying (Takhlīyah), adornment (Taḥliyah), and the refinement of the innermost soul (Talṭīf al‑Sirr)-an ontological interpretation in Transcendent Philosophy, transforming them from a merely purificatory program into tools for substantial perfection. Spiritual discipline in Avicenna’s view is a psychological process for purifying the static substance of the soul, while in Mullā Ṣadrā’s view it is an ontological and existential movement for the flourishing and intensification of the soul on the path toward union with the Intellect and the sacred realm.

Research

On ‘Hesitation’ in the Ḥadīth “I Hesitated About Nothing That I Do…” with Emphasis on Philosophical and Mystical Foundations

Ramin Golmakani; sayyed Ali Delbari; mahmoud moqaddas sharq

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 289-320

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2025.7707.1669

Abstract

Among the Islamic traditions, there are narrations of great renown and profound theological, philosophical, and mystical significance that, with minor variations in wording, have been ... Read More

Research

Moral Education in Early Childhood from the Perspective of Mashshāʾī Thinkers

Fatemeh Movahedi Parsa

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 321-350

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.8020.1703

Abstract

Islam accords particular significance to ethics and early childhood, often regarded as the golden period of education. Developing an indigenous‑Islamic model for moral education during ... Read More

Reveiw Article

The Evolution of the Concept of God’s Power and the Proofs for It in Imāmī Theology from the Beginning to the Baghdad School

Hamid Ataei Nazari

Volume 20, Issue 37 , December 2025, Pages 351-378

https://doi.org/10.30513/ipd.2026.7735.1671

Abstract

Unlike divine attributes such as knowledge (ʿilm) and will (Irādah), whose various aspects have been the subject of numerous philosophical and theological investigations, the attribute ... Read More

Volume 20 (2025)

Volume 19 (2024)

Volume 18 (2023)

Volume 17 (2022)

Volume 16 (2021)

Volume 15 (2020)

Volume 14 (2019)

Volume 13 (2018)

Volume 12 (2017)

Volume 11 (2016)

Volume 10 (2015)

Volume 9 (2014)

Volume 8 (2013)

Volume 7 (2012)

Volume 6 (2011)

Volume 5 (2010)

Volume 4 (2009)

Volume 3 (2008)

Volume 2 (2007)

Volume 1 (2006)

Volume & Issue: Volume 20, Issue 37, December 2025, Pages 1-378

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract

Abstract