Psychology, Eschatology, and Imagination

in Mulla Sadras Commentary on The Hadith of Awakening

By Mohammed ustom
!Peo"le are aslee"# when they die, they awaken! $al-nas niyam fa-idhA matu intabahu%&
This tradition, which will 'e referred to as the hadith of awakening, suggests an affinity
'etween this worldly life $hayat al(dunya% and the state of slee"ing& Since death in the
eyes of Muslims is indeed a ty"e of awakening from the slee" of heedlessness which
characteri)es human e*istence, the hadith of awakening could not 'ut ca"ture the
imagination of Islam+s foremost thinkers since it succinctly summari)es the essence of
Islamic eschatological teachings& $,% Allusions to this tradition in Islamic mystical
literature a'ound& $-% .et /ery few authors ha/e commented u"on its significance at great
length& A noteworthy e*ce"tion is Mulla Sadra Shira)i $d& ,0102,34,%, who wrote an
im"ortant commentary u"on it& $5% Sadra+s commentary on this hadith is a uni6ue
contri'ution to Islamic thought 'ecause it 'rings together some of the most im"ortant
"sychological and eschatological ideas in Islamic "hiloso"hy and theoretical Sufism from
the 4th2,0th to the ,,th2,7th centuries& $4% In the "ages which follow I will therefore
discuss the most im"ortant features of Mulla Sadra+s commentary on the hadith of
awakening, highlighting how one of Islam+s most im"ortant "hiloso"hers was a'le to
e*"ound his teachings on "sychology, eschatology, and imagination within the conte*t of
a hadith commentary&
Forms in this World and the Next World
Mulla Sadra 'egins his commentary on the hadith of awakening 'y stating that the nature
of forms in the Afterlife, while resem'ling the imaginal forms e*"erienced in our dream
state or in mirrors in this life, are not essentially the same8 !The e*istence of things
$umur% in the Afterlife, although resem'ling the e*istence of forms which "eo"le see in
slee" or in a mirror in one res"ect, are not so 9in actuality:&! $1% This is due to the fact that
in the Afterlife, the things "eo"le see and e*"erience are imaginal re"resentations of the
fruits of their actions in this world& ;ut those forms which a""ear to us in slee" are not
real in the way the images we e*"erience in our waking state are, nor are they real in the
way the forms "resented to us in the Afterlife will 'e& ;ecause of these considerations
Sadra goes on to say that !the e*istent form $al(surah al(maw<udah% 9which a""ears: in
slee" and in the mirror is an im"otent thing whose a""earance is "ure fancy $al(hikayah
al(mahdah%&! $3% =reams imaginally re"resent to the dreamer the contents of his
conscience& The same idea holds true for o'<ects reflected in mirrors& The reflection of an
o'<ect in a mirror is not the o'<ect itself& At the same time, it does ca"ture something of
the true nature of the o'<ect "laced 'efore the mirror& If it were otherwise, "eo"le would
not, for e*am"le, 'rush their hair in front of mirrors, nor would they rely u"on them for
any re"resentations of reality& The forms "eo"le recei/e in their dreams and in mirrors are
therefore 'oth real and unreal& In the Afterlife, those things which are the
imaginali)ations of our actions in this world, or, rather, the things which are re"resented
to us as the +"hysical+ manifestations of our deeds here on earth, also reflect something of
the reality with which we were engaged in the "re/ious world& >n the other hand, these
forms are not sim"ly re"resentations, as are the o'<ects reflected in mirrors or those
images "roduced in dreams& They are more real than either of these, since these forms
'elong to a different order of reality8
As for forms $suwar% which e*ist in the Afterlife, they are
things "otent with e*istence and intense in effects& Their
relation to worldly forms is like the relation of sensory forms
to e*istent forms in slee", among which are the remnants
from the im"ressions of sense(intuition and the storehouses of
imagination& $7%
Thus Mulla Sadra 'egins his commentary 'y discussing the correlation 'etween the
things in the Afterlife and those things which are e*"erienced in a dream state or
reflected in mirrors& ?e then shows how the Afterlife actually deals with real forms
whereas the contents of dreams or o'<ects reflected in mirrors do not& @hy he frames the
discussion in this way is not readily a""arent& It is only when he introduces the hadith of
awakening that the significance of his o"ening lines emerges8
It is <ust as it has 'een related in the hadith a'out his saying
$Aod 'less him and his family%, !Peo"le are aslee"# when they
die, they awaken&! So it is known from this that e*istence in
9this: world is slee" and life therein is a dream& $B%
It therefore 'ecomes clear that what Mulla Sadra was trying to do 'y <u*ta"osing the
e*istence of things in the Afterlife with the e*istence of such things as the o'<ects of our
dreams in this life was to "ro/ide an analogy of the relati/e unreality of this world& @hen
we awaken from our dreams in this world, we look 'ack u"on them and mar/el at how
+real+ they seemed while they were taking "lace& >ur dreams seem so real 'ecause they
ca"ture something of the reality with which we are familiar in our waking state& ;ut the
forms in our dreams are nothing 'ut the imaginali)ed "ro<ections of the furniture which
makes u" +reality+ in our waking state& Cikewise, when we die, our "resent waking state
will seem like nothing 'ut a dream in relation to our new form of e*istence& Dust as we
awaken to +reality+ in this life from our dream state, so too do we awaken to the reality of
the Afterlife from the dream of this life when we die& .et the things in the Afterlife will
con/ey to us something of the reality with which we were familiar in the "re/ious life,
and this is the "oint that Sadra would like to dri/e home&
-
The Soul's Imaginal Potency and its Awakening
As was seen a'o/e, Mulla Sadra has in mind the imaginal nature of the contents of our
dreams when he calls them +"ure fancy&+ .et he is also aware of the fact that these
imaginal re"resentations in our dreams are connected to the indi/idual soul& Such images
'elong to the contiguous imagination $al(khayal al(muttasil%, as o""osed to the
discontiguous imagination $al(khayal al(munfasil%& The former term denotes the fact that
there is a su'<ecti/e element to the imaginal forms "resented to us& In other words, the
imaginal o'<ects which a""ear to us are intimately connected to our "ersonality, human
e*"erience, and nature& The latter term, on the other hand, denotes the fact that there is an
o'<ecti/e element to the imaginal forms "resented to us& ;ut those images which come to
us from the world of imagination o'<ecti/ely are nonetheless conditioned 'y the +field+ of
our contiguous imagination& It is therefore the contiguous imagination which can "roduce
forms in this world and the ne*t world& @hen the soul dies, it sim"ly awakens to the
reality of imagination itself& It is here that I'n +Ara'i $d& 35B2,-40% has immediate
rele/ance& In his works he makes it /ery clear that the dream state of this world is nothing
'ut a dream within a dream& $,0% @hen "eo"le "ass from this life to the ne*t, they mo/e
on to another dream state& This time, howe/er, the dream in which they "artake is seen
for what it really is& They will ne/er cease 'eing in a dream state, since e*istence itself is
nothing 'ut Aod+s dream& Eor I'n +Ara'i, this dream is what allows for e*istence to
emerge, for if there were no dreaming, there would 'e no creation&
Souls which de"art the world and are still /ery much drawn to the 'ody will not 'e a'le
to clearly make their way a'out the terrain of the Afterlife& Their "otency will 'e
weakened 'y their attachments to those material forms((now non(e*istent((to which they
were attached during their earthly e*istence& >n the other hand, those souls which are
a'le to free themsel/es from the shackles of materiality during their stay on earth will,
once freed from the 'ody, 'e a'le to actuali)e their full "otentialities, and will therefore
'e a'le to "ercei/e the forms in the ne*t world with utmost clarity& ;ut the clarity of the
soul+s /ision is always colored 'y one+s contiguous imagination, as has 'een demonstrated
a'o/e& .et insofar as the soul remains "inned down 'y matter, the forms it imaginali)es
will 'e 'lurred& They will 'e distorted images of the true nature of things8
So long as the soul remains attached to this dense, darkish
'ody((com"rised as it is of contraries((it will not 'e "ossi'le
for it to 'ring a'out the forms and sha"es which it desires and
wills, 'ut will 9'ring a'out: im"otent and 'odily e*istence
9which "roceeds: from the station of remnants and traces, from
which the sought after effects do not result& $,,%
@hat Mulla Sadra is saying here a""ears to 'e contrary to the influential doctrine of the
soul de/elo"ed 'y I'n Sina $d& 4-B2,057%& Eor I'n Sina, the soul is not a com"osite thing
$murakka'% 'ut is sim"le $'asit%& $,-% ;ecause it is sim"le, it cannot 'e com"osed of 'oth
5
form and matter& The soul for I'n Sina does not consist of matter and is therefore "ure
form& Since it is "ure form, it can only "ossess actuality $fil%, and ne/er "otentiality
$6uwwah%& $,5% If this is the case, then the function of the soul is "urely acti/e& I'n Sina
held that the state of actuality which characteri)es the soul o'tains e/en when it is
attached to the 'ody $the soul is not +attached+ to the 'ody essentially 'ut rather
accidentally%& Sadra maintains that insofar as the soul is in some way attached to the 'ody
it will remain only "otential& The tene'rous matter of the 'ody will not allow the soul to
actuali)e its "otentialities 'ecause of the nature of the 'ody itself8
@e ha/e alluded to the fact that the descent of something
from its original dis"osition $fitrah% $,4% 9entails: its 'ecoming
com"ounded and weakened& These senses, 'ecause they are
com"ounded, 9act: as if they are the e*istent attri'utes of the
soul in its essence, which 'ecomes satiated with one 9mode:
of e*istence and com"ounded in the 'ody& @eakness is what
necessitates com"oundedness and di/ision, like the "ulse whose
9s"eed: multi"lies and ra"idly "ulsates 'ecause of 9the "erson+s:
weak state& $,1%
In other words, so long as the soul is attached to the 'ody, it is in some way to 'e
understood as com"ounded and therefore not acti/e 'ut merely "otential& It will thus not
'e a'le to 'ring a'out the true imaginali)ed forms a""ro"riate to it& ;ut souls free from
the 'ody, that is, souls which are not com"ounded, are acti/e, and can thus "roduce forms
in accordance with their true natures& Such souls will 'e felicitous in the ne*t world
'ecause their knowledge will 'e acti/e while their sense "erce"tion will 'e "otent, this
'eing an in/ersion of their state while attached to the 'ody on earth8 !@hen the soul
returns from this world to its original dis"osition and essence, its "erce"tion of things will
'ecome its /ery "otency $6udrah%# its knowledge will 'ecome acti/e and its sense
"erce"tion "otent&! $,3%
As the soul rises away from the material realm and intensifies in 'eing $wu<ud% through
the "rocess of su'stantial motion or change $al(harakah al(<awhariyyah%, it "artakes in
higher degrees of "erce"tion $idrak%& $,7% This is why Sadra also states that some souls
can witness the things of the >ther @orld e/en while still attached to the 'ody& Although
Sadra does not s"eak of +"erce"tion+ as such, he does say that such a state is "ossi'le for
some souls on account of their su'limity and their "ro*imity to Aod, as well as
9t:heir shaking off the dust of these sense "erce"tions from the
hems of their souls, and their not looking u"on the forms of
this 9worldly: a'ode e*ce"t with the eye of derision& Fone of
the world+s affairs occu"y them, and no station /eils them, nor
does 'uying or selling di/ert them from Aod+s remem'rance& They
are in contem"lation of the matters related to the ne*t world,
which are like the acti/e "rinci"les in their essence, attri'ute
and action& $,B%
4
Such souls are a'le to e*ercise what Sadra refers to as free dis"osal $tasarruf% o/er the
two configurations $al(nash+atayn%& $,G% Sadra+s usage of the term tasarruf is another way
of stating that the un'ounded soul will 'ecome acti/e& Insofar as the soul is not +'ound+ to
the 'ody((although still attached to it in this worldly life((it is uncom"ounded and can, in
turn, e*ercise free dis"osal o/er the images it 'rings a'out& Such un'ounded souls are
therefore fully awake and !ha/e the a'ility to e*istentiate forms and to 'ring a'out
entities& This is 'ecause the authority of the ne*t world and 9the fact of: their 'eing
resurrected from these trial(filled gra/es is manifest u"on their hearts&! $-0% @hat such
souls e*"erience in this world, e/ery other soul will e*"erience in the Afterlife& At death
e/ery soul shall indeed awaken8
It is known that e/ery soul, whether it 'e felicitous or misera'le,
while it is disengaged from the 'ody and tra/els to this a'ode((and
is taken from 'eing occu"ied with the com"any of others,
returning to its essence and its world((its inner faculties 9will:
'ecome "owerful and "iercing 'ecause of 9its: "erce"tion of the
matters related to the ne*t world, as in ?is Most ?igh+s saying,
9.ou were in heedlessness concerning this: 'ut @e ha/e now
lifted your co/ering from you, so today your sight is "iercingH $I&
108--%& The unseen forms which store the results of the soul+s
actions, its am'itions, the intentions of its dis"osition and the
aims and shortcomings of its as"irations, will 'e witnessed& $-,%
The second "art of Mulla Sadra+s commentary on the hadith of awakening is a kind of
"olemic against another towering figure of Islamic thought, Shiha' al(=in Suhrawardi $d&
1B72,,G,%& At issue here is Sadra+s contention with a notion in Islamic "hiloso"hy
concerning the soul+s attachment to one of the celestial 'odies after it de"arts from its
terrestrial 'ody& Sadra already e*"lained how the human soul will awaken after de"arting
the 'ody& ;ut what he has not discussed is the 6uestion of the different ty"es of souls and
their corres"onding states of awareness once they are se"arated from the 'ody& It is clear
that some souls will 'e more awake than others& .et, insofar as death is an awakening as
such, each soul must go through a "rocess of awakening a""ro"riate to its own nature&
In earlier Islamic "hiloso"hy some held the "osition that non("hiloso"hical or non(
intellectual souls would encounter imaginali)ed forms of rewards and "unishments in the
Afterlife& @hy this was e/en an issue is the result of the am'iguous nature of the destiny
of the souls of non("hiloso"hers e*"osited 'y the first Feo"latonic Islamic "hiloso"her,
A'u Fasr al(Eara'i $d& 55G2G10%& Al(Eara'i 'elie/ed that many of the souls of non(
"hiloso"hers who were wicked would sim"ly "erish after their 'odily deaths& $--% Such a
"osition could not characteri)e the wider "ers"ecti/e of Islamic "hiloso"hy+s
eschatological teachings 'ecause Islam "laces so much em"hasis on the fact that all souls
will li/e on after their 'odily deaths& It was through the conce"tion of imagination that a
solution was offered which would allow for the souls of non("hiloso"hers, whether good
or e/il, to continue on into the Afterlife, e*"eriencing a "osthumous state commensurate
to their non(intellectual natures&
1
The way this "ro'lem was resol/ed was alluded to 'y I'n Sina in the section de/oted to
meta"hysics $ilahiyyat% in his monumental Shifa& It was 'elie/ed that in the Afterlife non(
intellectual souls would attach to one of the celestial 'odies in order to imaginali)e their
rewards or "unishments& =iscussing the /iews of those scholars who u"held this "osition,
I'n Sina states8
The instruments 9these scholars go on to e*"lain: 'y means of
which 9such souls: are ena'led to imagine would 'e something
that 'elongs to celestial 'odies& They thus e*"erience all that
they ha/e 'een told in the 9terrestrial: world a'out the states of
the gra/e, the resurrection, and the good in the hereafter& $-5%
This is in fact a "oint to which I'n Sina gi/es credence 'ut is not dogmatic a'out& ?e
does not state whether or not he adheres to it and Sadra notes this in his commentary& $-4%
;ut in the case of Suhrawardi, the situation is 6uite different& As Sadra himself remarks,
he is "articularly at odds with Suhrawardi since he u"held 'elief in a /ersion of this
"osition& $-1% In his Talwihat Suhrawardi states8
As for what some of the scholars ha/e said a'out there 'eing a
celestial 'ody which acts as a "lace for the imaginali)ations 9of
either rewards or "unishments: for grou"s amongst the 'lessed
and the damned((this 'eing so 'ecause the intellectual world
was not com"rehended 'y them and 9'ecause: their attachment
to 9terrestrial: 'odies was not se/ered, while still 9ha/ing: the
9imaginal: faculty from whose stand"oint the soul needs to 'e
attached to the 'ody((this is sound& As for the 'lessed, they
shall imaginali)e wondrous and delightful images and forms
and shall en<oy them& In this way shall the case 'e with all that
is en<oyed 9'y them:, in our o"inion& $-3%
Suhrawardi, although acknowledging the general truth of this idea, only goes on to
e*"lain the state of the 'lessed and not the damned& Sadra is aware that Suhrawardi in
fact disagrees with the /iew of his "redecessors that the damned should attach to the
same celestial 'odies as the 'lessed& $-7% This is 'ecause the celestial 'odies to which the
'lessed attach are themsel/es no'le and luminous and thus cannot allow for the souls of
the damned to attach to them& $-B% In order to o/ercome this "ro'lem Suhrawardi says
that the damned will go to an interstitial world $'ar)akh% in order to undergo the
imaginali)ations of their wicked deeds on earth8 !Therein shall their e/il actions 'e
imaginali)ed for them 9in the form of: images such as fire, 'iting snakes, stinging
scor"ions, and the 9tree of: Ja66um 9whose fruit: is eaten&! $-G%
3
Sadra's Response to Suhrawardi
In his res"onse to Suhrawardi Mulla Sadra says that the only way good non("hiloso"hical
souls can 'e attached to celestial 'odies is "ositionally $wad+i%# that is, where the 'ody
acts as a ty"e of mirror which reflects the soul+s state to itself& $50% Since a soul+s state
reflects into the mirror of the celestial 'ody, the image which is reflected 'y it is an
imaginali)ation of the state of the soul& $5,% In other words, the celestial 'odies are
una'le to affect the souls attached to them& ;ut the celestial 'odies, owing to the fact that
they "lay a "urely "assi/e and re"resentational role for that which is "laced 'efore them,
cannot 'e said to actually reflect the imaginali)ations of the soul& Sadra e*"lains why this
is the case8
Assuming that they 9the celestial 'odies: are in fact mirror(like
$mira+i%, the forms im"ressed u"on their mirrors would 'e the
imaginali)ations of the celestial s"heres $aflak% and whate/er is
under their control, not the imaginali)ations of these souls& So
how can they state that it is "ossi'le for these forms to 'e that
which the 'lessed en<oy or 9that: through which the damned
are "unishedK $5-%
Sadra then says that the soul is the locus of imaginali)ations, which means that it need
not attach to any ty"e of celestial 'ody& Eor him, the e/ents which take "lace during
man+s "osthumous state occur within the human soul itself8
ather, the truth is that the forms of en<oyment for the
'lessed and "unishment for the damned will 'e in the second
configuration $al(nash+ah al(thaniyah% <ust as the true, Pro"hetic
Sacred law has "romised& 9&&&: Their loci are the souls of these
two grou"s& $55%
After e*"ressing his disagreement with Suhrawardi concerning the destiny of good non(
"hiloso"hical souls, Sadra draws on the authority of one of the key mem'ers of the
school of I'n +Ara'i, =awud al(Iaysari $d& 7102,510%& $54% ?e 6uotes al(Iaysari as
saying that the 'odies to which the souls 'ecome attached are nothing 'ut the actual
imaginali)ations of the acts "eo"le "erformed during their earthly e*istence& $51% ?e then
ends his discussion 'y 6uoting from the si*ty(third cha"ter of I'n +Ara'i+s Eutuhat& In this
cha"ter I'n +Ara'i discusses the nature of the 'ara)kh, likening the entire situation of
e*istence to a horn of light& $53% The things which will 'e "ercei/ed in the Afterlife, I'n
+Ara'i tells us, will a""ear to us as imaginali)ed re"resentations of our actions, de"ending
on the degree of the light+s intensity which colors them within the horn8 !All of the things
which man will "ercei/e after death in the 'ar)akh will only 'e "ercei/ed through the
/ery forms in which they are in the horn, and through its light, which is true "erce"tion&!
$57% Souls closer to the ti" of the horn will 'e characteri)ed with more light& The
imaginal images which will a""ear to these souls will 'e clearer and truer than those
7
imaginal images which a""ear to souls closer to the wider end of the horn& Sadra then
cites I'n +Ara'i+s closing lines of this cha"ter8
E/ery man in the 'ar)akh will 'e recom"ensed with what he has
earned, 9'eing: confined to the forms of his actions until he is
taken on the =ay of esurrection from these forms to the last
configuration $al(nash+ah al(Akhirah%& And Aod s"eaks the truth,
and ?e guides the way $I& 5584%& $5B%
Mulla Sadra clearly distances himself from Suhrawardi+s "osition that good non(
"hiloso"hical souls will attach to one of the celestial 'odies in order to e*"erience the
imaginali)ations of their good deeds& @hat is interesting to note is that Sadra+s general
"osition concerning the imaginali)ed state of the Afterlife is almost identical to
Suhrawardi+s "osition concerning the destiny of wicked non("hiloso"hical souls& Sadra,
like I'n +Ara'i, 'elie/ed that souls must attach to 'odies in order to e*"erience the
imaginali)ations of their actions& ;ut this occurs for e/ery indi/idual soul, not sim"ly for
the non("hiloso"hical ones, let alone the wicked non("hiloso"hical ones& These 'odies to
which the souls attach in the Afterlife are formed in the 'ar)akh, $5G% and are therefore
su'tle and "sychic, not material& $40% The most im"ortant "oint which o'tains from
Sadra+s +criti6ue+ of Suhrawardi is that Sadra holds the "osition that souls 'ecome the /ery
mirrors which reflect the imaginali)ations of their actions to themsel/es& That 'odies are
still re6uired for the souls+ imaginali)ations to come a'out should not 'e confused with
Sadra+s disa""ro/al of Suhrawardi+s 'elief in the destiny of good non("hiloso"hical souls
'ecoming attached to celestial 'odies& There, as we ha/e seen, the celestial 'odies
somehow 'ecome mirrors which reflect the souls+ imaginali)ations to themsel/es& .et for
Sadra, u"on dying each indi/idual will awaken to his own reality reflected in the mirror
of his soul&
L L L
B
Notes
$,&% The hadith of awakening is often ascri'ed to the Pro"het or Imam Ali& It is not to 'e found in
the ma<or Sunni hadith collections& In his Ahadith(i mathnawi $Tehran8 Cha"(khanah(yi
=anishgah, ,G13%, ,B, $M 455%, ;adi al(Jaman Euru)anfar notes that this tradition is attri'uted to
the Pro"het 'y I'rahim '& Ali al(?usri $d& 4,52,0--% in the latter+s Jahr al(AdA', 4 /ols& $Cairo8
Al(Makta'ah al(Ti<Ariyyah al(Nu'rA, ,G15%, ,830& Eor an attri'ution of this tradition to Ali in
Shii sources, see Muhammad ;a6ir Ma<lisi, ;ihar al(anwar, ,,0 /ols& $Tehran8 DawwAd al(Alawi
wa Muhammad Ckhwundi, ,G13(,G7-%, 4845& The hadith of awakening does not a""ear to 'e
cited in the Fah< al('alAghah&
$-&% See Muhyi al(=in '& al(+Ara'i, Al(EutChAt al(makkiyyah, 4 /ols& $;eirut8 =ar al(Sadir, n&d%,
,8-07, 5,5# -85,5, 51,, 57G, 5B0# 48,G, 404, 454 $cited twice%# Idem, Eusus al(hikam, ed& A&A&
Afifi $;eirut8 =Ar al(Nutu' al(+Ara'i, ,G43%, GG, ,1G# A'u I'rahim Mustamli ;ukhari, Sharh(i
taarruf $Cucknow, ,G,0%, 58GB# A'u ?amid Muhammad al(Aha)ali, Ihya ulum al(din, 3 /ols&
$;eirut8 =Ar al(@ai, ,GG7%, ,8,1# 585B,# 48-43, -30# Idem, Al(Mun6idh min al(aalAl, ed& A&?&
Mahmud $Cairo8 =ar al(Nutu', ,G3B%, 7G# Ahmad al(Aha)ali, isAlat al(tayr, 3, in Aha)ali,
Ma<muahyi Athar(i farsi(yi Ahmad Aha)ali, ed& A& Mu<ahid, -nd ed& $Tehran8 Mua+assasah(yi
Intisharat wa Cha"(i =anishgah(i Tihran, ,GG,%, -,B# Ayn al(Iudat ?amadani, Tamhidat, ,0B, in
?amadani, Musannafat, ed& A& >sseiran $Tehran8 Cha"(khanah(yi =anishgah, ,G3-%# A)i) al(=in
Fasafi, Sukhan(i ahl(i wahdat dar 'ayan(i alam, -7,, in Fasafi, Ce li/re de l+homme "arfait, ed&
M& Mole $Tehran8 =e"artement d+Iranologie de l+Institut Eranco(Iranien, ,G3-%& As noted 'y
Euru)anfar $o"& cit&%, the hadith of awakening is alluded to 'y Dalal al(=in umi $d& 37-2,-75% in
'ook 5, line ,7- of his famous Mathnawi& See umi, The Mathnawi of Dalaluddin umi, ed& and
trans& &A& Ficholson, B /ols& $Condon8 Cu)ac, ,G-4(,G40%, 58GG $Persian%, 48G7 $English%&
>utside Sufi literature, the tradition a""ears $unattri'uted% in the asaail of the Ikhwan al(Safa+
$fl& 4th2,0th c&%& See Ikhwan al(Safa, Al(asa+il, 4 /ols& $;eirut8 =ar al(Sadir, ,G17%, -8411&
$5&% Although Mulla Sadra wrote a "artial hadith commentary on al(Nulayni+s $d& 5-G2G4,% Osul
al(kafi $a/aila'le in four /olumes as Sharh usCl al(kafi, ed& M& NhwA<awi $Tehran8 Mu+assasah(
yi Mutala+at wa Tah6i6at(i Earhangi, ,533 A&?& solar%%, his commentary on the hadith of
awakening is to 'e found in his Tafsir al(Iur+an al(karim, ed& M& Nhwa<awi, 7 /ols& $Iom8
Intisharat(i ;idar, ,GB7(,GG0%, 18-5G(-4B& The commentary occurs in the conte*t of Sadra+s
discussion of /erse 17 of Surah yasin& According to one of the "ast century+s leading authorities
of Islamic "hiloso"hy, Allamah Muhammad ?usayn Ta'ata'a+i, Sadra+s commentary on the
hadith of awakening was written as a se"arate treatise& See Muhammad ?usayn Ta'ata'a+i, !Iadr
al(=in Muhammad i'n I'rahim Shira)i8 the renewer of Islamic Philoso"hy in the ,,th2,7th
Century,! trans& S&?& Fasr in Fasr $ed&%, Mulla Sadra Commemorati/e Polume $Tehran8
=anishgah(i Tihran, ,G3,%, 55& See also S&?& Fasr, The Transcendent Theoso"hy of Iadr al(=in
Shira)i, 4B# 1-, n& -7& Sadra cites the hadith elsewhere in his oeu/re, often attri'uting it to Ali&
See, for e*am"le, his Al(?ikmat al(muta+aliyah fi al(asfar al(a6liyyah alar'a+ah, G /ols& $;eirut,
=ar Ihya+ al(Turath al(+Ara'i, -00-, re"r& ed&%, 78-B# Mafatih al(ghay', ed& M& Nhwa<awi $;eirut,
Mua+assasah al(Tarikh al(+Ara'i, -00-, re"r& ed&%, B,# Tafsir, -81, 38-0-& In his Al(Ma'daa wa al(
ma+ad, ed& Dalal al(=in Ashtiyani $Tehran8 Im"erial Iranian Academy of Philoso"hy, ,G73%, 4-7,
Sadra seems to attri'ute this tradition to the Pro"het& ?e also cites it at least one other time in this
G
work, namely on "& 40G, this time without attri'uting it to anyone& See Sayyid Sadruddin Taheri,
!A Critical Study of esurrection in the Iur+anic Commentary and Philoso"hical Ideas of Sadr al(
Muta+allihin $sic&%&! Islam(@est Philoso"hical =ialogue8 The Pa"ers Presented at the @orld
Congress on Mulla Sadra $May, ,GGG, Tehran%, /ol& ,0 $Eschatology, E*egesis, ?adith% $Tehran8
Sadra Islamic Philoso"hy esearch Institute, -001%, 1G& In the conte*t of his treatment of Sadra+s
/iews on resurrection, Taheri discusses a few "assages from Sadra+s commentary on the hadith of
awakening& See Taheri, o"& cit&, 10, 33(37&
$4&% Eor a sur/ey of the nature and de/elo"ment of theoretical or doctrinal Sufism, see S& ?& Fasr,
!Theoretical Anosis and =octrinal Sufism and their Significance Today! in Transcendent
Philoso"hy 3 $-001%8 ,(53&
$1&% Sadra, Tafsir, 18-5 & Onless otherwise stated, translations are my own&
$3&% I'id&
$7&% I'id&
$B&% I'id&
$G&% See ?enry Cor'in, Creati/e Imagination in the Sufism of I'n +Ara'i, trans& al"h Manheim
$Princeton, FD8 Princeton Oni/ersity Press, , 7%, -,G(--4# @illiam Chittick, The Sufi Path of
Nnowledge8 I'n al(+Ara'i+s Meta"hysics of Imagination $Al'any8 State Oni/ersity of Few .ork
Press, ,GBG%, ,,3(,,7& Eor Mulla Sadra+s teachings on imagination, see ?enry Cor'in, En islam
iranien, /ol& 4 $Paris8 Aallimard, ,G7-%, ,03(,--# Christian Dam'et, The Act of ;eing8 The
Philoso"hy of e/elation in Mulla Sadra, trans& Deff Eort $;rooklyn8 Jone ;ooks, -003%, -B5(
541&
$,0&% See I'n +Ara'i, Eusus, (,00# Toshihiko I)utsu, Sufism and Taoism8 A Com"arati/e Study of
Ney Philoso"hical Conce"ts, -nd ed& $;erkeley and Cos Angeles8 Oni/ersity of California Press,
,GB4%, 7(--&
$,,&% Sadra, Tafsir, 18-40&
$,-&% A'u Ali '& Sina, A/icenna+s =e Anima, ed& E& ahman $Condon8 >*ford Oni/ersity Press,
,G1G%, -5,& In his A/icenna+s Psychology $Condon8 >*ford Oni/ersity Press, ,G1-%, ,0G, ahman
rightly o'ser/es that I'n Sina+s doctrine of the soul is, in the final analysis, a com'ination of Feo(
Platonic and Aristotelian notions of the soul&
$,5&% I'n Sina, A/icenna+s =e Anima, -5,&
$,4&% Eor the soul+s +second fitrah+ in Sadra+s eschatology, see Maria Massi(=akake, !The Soul as
;ar)akh8 Su'stantial Motion and Mulla Sadra+s Theory of ?uman ;ecoming! in Muslim @orld
G4 $-004%, ,-4&
,0
$,1&% Sadra, Tafsir, 18-4,& See also @illiam Chittick, !Eschatology! in Islamic S"irituality8
Eoundations, ed& S&?& Fasr $Few .ork8 Crossroad, ,GB7%, 5BG(5G,&
$,3&% Sadra, Tafsir, 18-4,&
$,7&% Eor "erce"tion in Sadra, see S&A& Safa/i $ed&%, Perce"tion According to Mulla Sadra
$Condon8 Salman A)adeh, -00-%&
$,B&% I'id& The words in italics allude to I& -4857&
$,G&% Sadra, Tafsir, 18-4,& Tasarruf 'ecomes a key technical term in later Islamic thought, largely
due to I'n +Ara'i+s influence& Eor tasarruf in I'n +Ara'i+s writings, see Chittick, The Sufi Path of
Nnowledge, , ,,4& ;y +the two configurations+ $al(nash+atayn%, Sadra has in mind the
configuration of this world, or +the first configuration+ $al(nash+ah alula, referred to in I& 1383-%
and the configuration of the ne*t world, or +the last configuration+ $al(nash+ah al(ukhra, referred to
in I& -G8-0, 15847%& See Sadra, The Eli*ir of the Anostics, trans& @illiam Chittick $Pro/o8
;righam .oung Oni/ersity Press, -005%, GB, n& 5,# Idem, The @isdom of the Throne, trans&
Dames Morris $Princeton8 Princeton Oni/ersity Press, ,GB,%, -10, n& 50-& Eor Sadra+s discussion
of +the three configurations+ $the intellect, the soul, and sense "erce"tion2nature% and their
corres"ondence to this world, the ne*t world, and the world of the Command res"ecti/ely, see
The Eli*ir of the Anostics, ,,&
$-0&% Sadra, Tafsir, 18-4,&
$-,&% I'id&, 18-4-&
$--&% Ma<id Eakhry, Al(Eara'i8 Eounder of Islamic Feo"latonism8 ?is Cife, @orks and Influence
$>*ford8 >neworld, -00-%, ,, &
$-5&% I'n Sina, The Meta"hysics of the ?ealing, trans& M&E& Marmura $Pro/o8 ;righam .oung
Oni/ersity Press, -001%, 513&
$-4&% Sadra ascri'es this same /iew to Aha)ali $d& 1012,,,,% at Tafsir, 18-45& In order to refute
I'n Sina+s "osition on the non(resurrection of the 'ody, Aha)ali hy"othetically argued in his
Tahafut al(falasifah that a +re"lica+ of the human 'ody would 'e re"roduced for the soul to attach
to it at the time of resurrection& See M&E& Marmura, !Al(Aha)ali on ;odily esurrection and
Causality in the Tahafut and the I6tisad! in Aligarh Dournal of Islamic Thought - $,GBG%, 43(71,
re"rinted in M&E& Marmura, Pro'ing in Islamic Philoso"hy $Few .ork8 Alo'al Academic
Pu'lishing, -001%, -75(-GG&
$-1&% Sadra, Tafsir, 18-45&
$-3&% Shiha' al(=in Suhrawardi, >eu/res "hiloso"hi6ues et mysti6ues, eds& ?& Cor'in $/ols& ,(-%
and S&?& Fasr $/ol& 5% $Tehran8 Im"erial Iranian Academy of Philoso"hy, ,G73(,G77, re"r& ed&%,
,8BG(G0& Sadra cites most of the "assage in 6uestion at Tafsir&
,,