Mulla Sadra’s Four Journeys as the Four Levels of Self-Consciousness

Mulla Sadra’s philosophy is a creative synthesis of the main currents of thought in the Islamic culture before him. One of the most fruitful amongst these currents is the mystical current which reaches to its climax with Ibn Arabi and his commentators. Mulla Sadra not only has adapted many of the mystical concepts in his philosophy, but he has also used the symbolism of four spiritual journeys as the main theme in his philosophy inasmuch as he named his greatest book after this symbolism as Journeys (Asfār). These journeys in his philosophy in addition to mystical aspect finds philosophical aspect as well. A comprehensive interpretation of these journeys should take in consideration both philosophical and mystical aspects. In this article I have proposed an interpretive approach that include both aspects by taking these four journeys as the four levels of self-consciousness and self-realization. Accordingly, these journeys can be considered as the journey from the self to the self and in the self

Imaginal Body and Its Role in Explaining Body-Soul Relationship in the Teachings of Sadr al-DīnShīrāzī

Apart from the fact that the ‘corporeal body’ is a natural container for the origination and progression of the soul, Sadr al-DīnSīrāzī(1569-1640) distinguishes another ontological level of body, i.e.  the ‘imaginal body’,predicated upon the existence of an ontological state of being known as the ‘imaginal’ (mithālī) that mediates between an intelligible and the sensible realms.The ‘imaginal body’ or ‘body of the resurrection’is ‘perceiving’ (mudrik) and ‘living’ (hayy) and contrary to the ‘corporeal body’, is inseparable from the soul and it is through the intermediary function of this ‘imaginal body’ that the human ‘rational soul’ (al-nafs al-nātiqa)presides over the ‘corporeal body’. In fact, Sadr al-Dīn explains the relation between the ‘rational soul’ and the ‘corporeal body’ through two intermediaries, first the‘imaginal body’ and second, the ‘steam/animal spirit’. The ‘steam spirit’ is ontologically closer to the ‘corporeal body’ and the ‘imaginal body’ is ontologically closer to the ‘rational soul’. In other words, the ‘imaginal body’ presides over the ‘corporeal body’ through an intermediate link,i.e. a kind of ‘subtle mass’ known in the Peripatetic philosophy as the ‘steam spirit’