sadra

Mulla Sadra, also known as Sadr al-Din Shirazi, was a Persian philosopher, theologian, and mystic who lived in the late Safavid era (1571–1640). Born in Shiraz, he studied there and in Isfahan, and developed a comprehensive philosophical system that linked reason, theology, and mysticism. He is best known for founding the school of Transcendent Theosophy, or al-Hikmah al-Muta’aliyah, which aimed to synthesize Islamic scripture with Aristotelian and Neoplatonist philosophy through a dynamic theory of being.

Central to his thought is the primacy of existence (wujud) as the ultimate principle of reality. He argued that all beings derive their forms from existence and that the relationship between God and creation can be understood through the unity of existence (wahdat al-wujud), in which God is the necessary existent that grounds all contingent beings. He also advocated substantial motion, the idea that substances are in constant, real becoming, and developed an epistemology that merges rational demonstration with intuitive illumination through the intellect and spiritual insight. His theory sought to harmonize kalam (theology), falsafa (philosophy), and irfan (mysticism).

Among his major works is al-Hikmah al-Muta’aliyah fi-l-Asfar al-Arba’a (The Transcendent Philosophy of the Four Journeys), a multi-volume synthesis of metaphysics, cosmology, and psychology. He produced numerous commentaries and shorter treatises on theology, ethics, and mysticism. Sadra’s synthesis influenced later Shi‘i philosophy and the broader Islamic intellectual tradition, underpinning developments in Iranian philosophy and Islamic thought for centuries. He is regarded as one of the most important Islamic philosophers of the early modern period.