MULL ADR'S CONCEPT OF MAN Author(s): MUHAMMAD 'ABDUL HAQ Reviewed work(s): Source: Islamic Studies, Vol.

11, No. 4 (DECEMBER 1972), pp. 281-296 Published by: Islamic Research Institute, International Islamic University, Islamabad Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20846857 . Accessed: 14/01/2013 22:15
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MULL?

SADR?'S CONCEPT OF MAN

MUHAMMAD 'ABDUL HAQ

Introduction: Few Muslim thinkers have been able to develop a comprehensive gravity, and fewer still have in view of his cosmic

concept of man with regard to his ontological been able to expound a consistent notion of man character. It is Mulla

this task and acosmic ?adr? who accomplishes with an uncommon clarity of thought and with an unusual depth of insight. From the point of view of his cosmic status, man, according to Mull? ?adr?, is the total form of all the forms of this world of matter and form, a world in a nutshell and the greatest evidence of God for man;1 while from the point of view of his acosmic character, man is pregnant with unlimited possibilities, for he can transcend all the ontological gradations of Being and become what is humanly unimaginable and unforeseeable.

most exaltedposition in thegalaxy of Beings, the In spiteof the conditionof man is subject to ambiguity and irony. His condition is because ontologically he is a possible Being; (^^i ambiguous cf~) that is, his Being is minlged with possibility, and possibility ( o&i ) is Being.2 For a possibleBeing isonewhose Being and non-being possible
at the same time. That in the philosophical sense, implies a determination is why man and uncertainty for an angel

of by risingto thepositionof thehighest thehigh,or tobecome a disciple

of Satan by falling down to the position of the lowest of the low. the entire fabric of the metaphysics of Mull? Throughout ?adr?, this idea of the ambiguous condition of man reigns supreme; sometimes this idea is explicitly expressed; sometimes it is so implicit in discursive and

is liable either to become

argumentation that it reveals itself only after a long contemplation; sometimes it is camouflaged inmystical utterances. Mull?

He

?adr? attaches great importance to the study of man. as an indispensable means to reach the ultimate truth. He, regards it therefore, maintains that the knowledge of the human soul is like a ladder that will lead one to the knowledge of God.3 For there is a deep metaphy

sical resemblance the activitiesof the soul to thoseofGod. of

It is a

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unique mirror inwhich the reflections of themetaphysical world are found. There is a Sufic tradition which supports this idea; "whoever knows his

self (soul) best, knowsGod best." (

**?Jl ) to have been identical with speaks of the Sophia Perennis ( the knowing of self. For whoever knows his self becomes a sage and, in

?&jb\

?fr^ ) Mulla ?adr?

Mulla ?adr?, there j^' turn, comes to know theDivine Self. (*Jfr fore, avoids what is superficial and superfluous and gropes deeper to set forth an exhaustive account of man.

Material World Man is the Synthetic Totalityof the

Man, Sadr?, is the total form of this world according to Mulla of matter and form. For the essence of all the material elements are Quoting from the Qur'?n, Mulla ?adr? synthetically integrated in man. maintains that God has employed the essence of all material elements in God the constitution of the physical framework of man. says that He out of dust (v1/ <>*) which implies the primary material in another place, He says that He created man out of clay ( c& ?* ) stuff; which means the mixture of water and dust; in another place, out of an extraction of clay ( c&k& ?* ) which means a clay detached from or in another place, out of clinging clay (vj^ o?> Cx4)which dinary clay; so as to be able to implies the clay that persists in a moderate condition created man

everything has its counterpart (jjx) inman in a synthetic sense.5 man is the entelechy of thisworld of matter, (?nui ,ju). But Mulla goes ahead and asserts that man soul (oj50Ji *). is equally

accept any form; in another place, out of clay of mud moulded ( JW*> & dj^4 ?V) which means the clay that is changeable with the air and still in another place,*out of a clay like the potter's (j&air JW^ ?*) which means the clay that accepts the effect of fire.4 God then,proclaims that He comp Cx* leted human body by breathing His Spirit into him. -0 At last, God informs that He completed human soul with the knowledge and wisdom of all things.5 j). All this implies that the essences r?T ?J* of all the phenomena of the universe are kneaded into the existence of man. For this reason, man can know all the phenomena and confer name on them; his mind can accept abstract concepts and intelligible forms. For Thus, ?adr? the synthesis of the world of

World ofSoul Man is the Totalityof the Synthetic

Man, according toMull? ?adr?, is the synthetic fruit of the world of soul or psychic kingdom. He maintains that the reality of man stands

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MULL5 on

sadrS's

concept

of man

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four supreme psychic forces known as the four great angels. The first force is called the great soul of Isr?fil whose function is to breathe and to infuse life, sense perception, motion and The second one is called M?k?'?l whose function consists acquistive power. in providing food, sustenance and growth in a proportionate manner. The third one is called Jibra?lwhose function is to bring revelation to prophets soul into human bodies and to communicate 'Azr?'?l whose secret divine message to sages. The fourth is called function is to abstract forms from matter and to snatch and to transfer them from this

away rational soul from human bodies world to the hereafter.7 These

four great psychic powers or angels are always in touch with faculties of the human soul. The Isr?fil? force is responsible for the working of the thought process and the imagination of the human the various
soul.

force deals with the faculty of memory and preserva The Jibra'?l? force is responsible for the faculty of speech, reading tion. The *Azr?'?l? power looks after the forms of the human and eloquence. The Mik'??l? body and soul.8 If there were no share of the Isr?fil? power in thehuman soul, there be no inquisitiveness, struggle and movement inmen towards per

would would

fection and fulfilment. Likewise, without help of theMik?'?l? force, there be no spontaneous growth, assimilation of food, enjoyment of the good things of life and no acquisition of a priori knowledge (oL$?a? 3 oUjl).

Without

the aid and inspiration of the Jibra"?l? force, there would be no comprehension of discourses and deriving of benefit from speeches and talks; and no heart would receive any divine revelation and inspiration. the participation of the 'Azra'?l? power, therewould be no change in human bodies and no departure from thisworld to the hereafter.9 Now

Without

it is clear that the human soul is the synthetic fruit of the world as human body is the integrated whole of all the forces of psychic This reflects the ontological gravity and potentiality the material world. of man because only he has a total, synthesized and integrated character in the whole behave created order. of the Jibra'?l? force and vice versa, of material world The Isr?fil? force cannot perform the function likewise the plant kingdom cannot

humanly inscrutable how God

like the animal kingdom. But man can perform all the activities as well as psychic world It seems simultaneously.

has synthesized inman all the forces of the

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284 material

muhammad

'abdul

haq is an unprecedented

and of the psychic world. prodigy in the creation of God. While

In fact, man

world of divinekingdom. There is a deepmetaphysical belongingto the of of with a diffe resemblance theactivities thesoul to thoseofGod only
The soul contains in rence that exists between reality and its example. itself a particular world which resembles that of God10 and the unity of the human world as human soul is a shadow of the divine unity. God dominates the angelic soul dominates the human body and th? five senses. As

the ontological superiority of man, Mulla emphasizing maintains that the human soul is a divine substance ?adr? (<?~tf

In the Qur'?n, the angels are mentioned as the army of God ( ^).n As the eye sees everything but does not see itself and is not conscious of itself, likewise the angels are not conscious of any thing except divine Amr (^1 ) or order which they are meant for. To be more precise, they are totally identical with divine 'Amr or order on account of their complete submission to God.

to do something, the five senses perform their duties of seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching im respective These sense organs have no power to mediately in a timeless manner. disobey the soul. Likewise, the angels have no power to disobey God. soon as the soul wants

of any eye. As God says in theQur'?n, "And (He) revealed its command JL-.$ j ^ j ) and in another place," ment in every heaven."13 ( u^l And our commandment is but one word, as the twinkling of an eye." (^b ?4f ?JbJjV!b>l Uj).i4 Thus God

the Absolute Since God, Being, is ubiquitous everywhere, His knowledge is equally immanent everywhere. As the Qur'?n says, "Our Lord, Thou embracest every thing inmercy and knowledge" ('^J^c-wj u?j id* j 2u*j).12 Similarly, God's *Amrcan be indwelling everywhere in a twinkle

is present at every level of Being through His knowledge and Amr, and everything is, therefore, sacred ontologically because divine knowledge knows it and divine Amr guards it. That is why Mull? ?adr? that all the gradations of Being, even every drop of rain, every blade of grass and every particle of dust have a share from the world of asserts tence (oj^i verse would r'u) that manage their ontological affairs; otherwise the uni not persist to appear intact and as usual through the ravages of time.15 According toMull? ?adr? every object is not an independent

exis kingdom(ojSUl ^Ju)and a sharefromtheworld of spiritual psychic

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in its cause, rather containing itself own sufficient entity every grainof dust a divine light. There isnot an object but ithas a kind of is encircled by
soul, intellect and a divine name to preserve it.16 This ontological fact furnishes a conclusive explanation why an object iswhat it is and why things appear as they do; otherwise the objective Being of a particle of dust seems inscrutable. How exist? These

there came to be any world? Why does it persist to are ontological questions to which most of the men, in the view of Mulla ?adr?, are indifferent.17 To sum up, the universe as an ordered whole, its symmetry, preci

Even a particle of dust is not in vain, rather His knowledge and Amr. it has an ontological role to play, a fact which makes one understand the ontological gravity of man who, according to Mull? ?adr?, is an epitome of thismaterial world and the synthesis of the psychic world. Thus,

have been createdand sustained God through sionand beautyall these by

Mull?

menon

of of life is not a collection days and nights.In fact,thereality the pheno of with and relatedto the totality thephenomena. His reality identical
stands on the deepest ontological mystery which is humanly In spite of his apparent littleness,man is potentially indecipherable.18 of man

taking in view the cosmic and acosmic character of man, maintains thatman is not just a body and its shape, existence ?adr? is not mere eating and drinking, religion is not mere prayer and fasting and

in its complete actuality becomes identified with the whole universe in a synthetic sense. That is why he is called a miniature universe or micro cosm.19 This is the secret of his ability to dominate the entire universe. Significance of the domination ofman over the entire universe above, man is the universe in a nutshell. Every of the created order, therefore, is part of his Being and he, phenomenon to the entire universe. In other words, despite his littleness, is related are kneaded into the essence and the knowledge of the entire phenomena For this reason, man, according the ontological nature (s>*) of man. As mentioned would not have been responsible for his action.20 or an ontological whole can become held For only an

to Mull? ?adr?, isheld tobe a responsible Being. Had itnot been so, he

accomplished Being Being. And the question Trust ( *jU ), or the most

a responsible of responsibility evokes the question of divine sublime position of the vicegerency of God on earth. In the Qur'an, God says, "we offered the trust to the heavens and the earth and the mountains, but they refused to carry it and were afraid

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of it, and man carried it.

Surely he is sinful, very foolish."21

that every object in the universe is a fragmentary Being, broken and disintegrated and is, therefore, unable to under ontologically stand and shoulder this responsibility. But man bore this responsibility This means because he is a total Being ontologically, an integrated whole, a universe a nutshell, and is therefore, capable of knowing and understanding the in gravity of this responsibility. Thus ,man accepted the divine trust, that is,

he is the vicegerent of God on the earth and he is, therefore, a responsible And the problem of vicegerency evokes the Being accountable to God. of domination over the universe. That is why God has subjuga problem ted the entire universe to the service ofman in order that he may be able to act as a vicegerent of God in a responsible manner.

is a divine secret. He maintains that there are two and subjugation (j^) kinds of subjugation, real and quasi-real j? j ^-iuj)22. The quasi real subjugation is divided into three categories. The lowest one is that of material and accidental with which God

Mull? ?adr?, thehidden According to meaning of thisdomination

has rendered the

earth smooth, fertile and fit for cultivation and caused mountains, seas, rivers, mines, trees, animals etc, to be useful, beneficial and profitable for mankind. The middle one is that of human nature ( ja^l ) with which God has subjugated the human nature such as the employment of the vegetative faculties for the assimilation of food, growth, digestion, circula tion of blood, procreation and absorption. The which God highest one is called the psychic subjugation (<yi~* j?<~*) with has subjugated the external five senses and four internal senses

for the human soul; while external five senses are projected to the sensible world, the internal four senses are projected of themetaphysical world.23 The real subjugation (Jv* ja*~0> according toMull? ?adr?, is one

the withwhichGod makes subservient world of intelligences

to the perfect man or universal man. This enables him to transcend the world ofmatter and senses and to be in touch with the unseen world. Thus subjugation proves that potentially the entire phenomena of the universe are parts of man's it and Being and it is the duty of man to actualize have domination over every thing.24

^)

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MULL? SADR?'S CONCEPTOF MAN

universe has been effected by God and understand

287

and man has been empowered to know them and to exploit them for his benefit. As God says in the Qur'?ri, "And He subjected to you the ships to run upon the sea at His commandment; and He subjected to you the rivers and He subjectecd to you the sun and moon constant upon their courses, and He subjected to you the night and day, and gave you of all you asked Him. If you count is sinful, unthank God's blessing, you will never number it; surely man

It shouldbe riotedthattheact of subjugation theforcesof the of

ful!^5

In many other places of the Qur'?n, God reminds man that He subjugated to him whatever there is in th? heaven and on the earth, and sometimes mentions all objects by their name as His blessing ) grace

( J?i ) and sign(

is to drive man

by reminding him that God in the universe in order to complete every object His bounties and grace on him so that he may submit to Him, and be grateful and thankful to Him, so that he may reflect and contemplate over the phenomena and try to understand their ontological aim and signifi has harnessed for man says in theQur'?n' "It isHe who subjected to you the sea, that you may eat of it fresh flesh, and bring forth out of itornaments for you to wear; and thou mayest see the ships cleaving through it; and that you may seek of His bounty, and so haply you will be thankful."26 The initial aim of these verses of the Qur'?n is to edge man towards That these bounties, good things of are not human creation; that every cance. As God

towards submission to God

mankind. Thus the aim of subjugation ) for primary

an intellectual submission to God. life and the wonders of phenomena

mena of the universe are signs, index and points of reference to a Mysterious Cause, who is present in every effect through thewisdom that has been in laid in it. Now it is the duty ofman to be conscious of the Supreme Cause a posteriori through his enjoyment and exploitation of the effect, and to
Cause.

object ismeant to serve a particular purpose of man, reflecting a pre-con ceived design and furnishing a clue to the supreme wisdom of a benevolent, all knowing and all-seeing creator. According to the Qur'?n, the pheno

visualize in thefragile the beautyof theeffect eternal beautyof theIneffable

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This iswhatMull? ?adr? understands subjugation. by

To sum up, the subjugation, on the one hand, means thatman should be conscious of the absolute power of God, who is active and a decisive factor in every phenomenon; and on the other hand, it implies thatman should be simultaneously conscious of his limitation, weakness and helples sness. He does not know what he will earn tomorrow or where he will

That is why God says in the Qur'?n, water he drinks might disappear. :what think you? If in themorning your water should have vanished "Say into the earth, then who would bring you running water?"27 ?!* jl ??*? ?k* f??t ?** Ji This double consciousness

die. He must know thattheair he breathes mightbe deniedhim,and the

c^y "And faces shall be humbled unto the Living, the Eternal"28 (?*u <y??\ This is the central point ofMull? ?adr?'s concept of subjugation. ^1).

of the absolute power of God and the corresponding human weakness and helplessness will lead man to bow down his head before God in complete submission. As God says in theQur'?n,

It should be noted that this subjugation does not at all mean any man and the forces of the world?an anta deep-rooted hostility between that compels man to conquer natural forces and subdue them by gonism arbitrary method. become a modern the slogan of the conquest of nature has Now-a-days obsession whose appeal is not logici but magical. But

the idea ofMull? ?adr? iswholly opposed to it.

According to him, the natural forces are not something foreign and to the reality of man, rather the entire phenomena of the universe alien It is, therefore, logical that to violate nature, are the parts of man's Being. to destroy its integrity and to pollute its purity would amount to destroy man therefore, cannot survive the violation of nature. That is why God says, "O believers, forbid not such good things as God has permitted you: and transgress not; God loves not transgressors."29 himself. Man, In fine, man is a microcosm, because he is the synthetic epitome of This ontological fact makes him deserve the whole cosmogonie process. to be the vicegerent ofGod on earth. This exalted position of vicegerency, on the one hand, empowers him to have domination over the entire universe and on the other hand, makes him a responsible Being. As mantioned ?adr?, above, the domination of the natural forces, according to Mull? is the lowest kind of domination of which the highest one is the domina

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MULLS SADR?'S CONCEPTOF MAN

stage of universal man and realizes fully his cosmic and acosmic character. It is in this sense that man is a microcosm. But many modern thinkers It is perhaps on account of their failure recoil from the idea ofmicrocosm. to grasp the ontological gravity of man and his cosmic and acosmic possi bility. In view of all these facts,Mull? ?adr? considers man to be the grea test evidence of God forman.30 Man is theGreatest Evidence of God for Man Mull?

tionof the intelligible whichman reachesthe world, a domination through

?adr? maintains that man is the greatest evidence of God forman because God has poured the largest number of his bounties upon man. While describing this point, Mull? ?adr? maintains that man is not a mere material body, hard, weighty and unintelligible, but God has infused the rational soul into his opaque framwork and opened many doors and

windows in it in order tohelp thesoulgain knowledgethrough judgement

and analysis. Every door and window ismeant to comprehend a particular fact and wonder of creation.31 Thus, the five senses are projected to the sensible world and every sense-perception is designed to open a new dimen

sion into our life. Likewise, four internal senses are meant to put us into a new context of life. When a blind man receives his sight, a completely new and unimaginable dimension is added to his life. He gradually reali zes that to see more is to know more and to know more is to become more. This God to be grateful. "And we made him hearing and seeing. Surely we guided says, him upon the way whether he be thankful or unthankful."32 fact is expressive of the real worth of the five senses. speaks of these faculties repeatedly and reminds man In the Qur'?n,

As God

In the same manner, the internal four senses imagination, memory, apprehension, and intellection?are projected to the metaphysical world. With these faculties man can emerge from the limits of time and space and become conscious of the Infinite. That tains that there is a deep metaphysical human soul to those of God. The ?adr? main resemblance of the activities of the is why Mull?

soul in itself contains a particular world like that of God, and it, through the activities of sense perception and internal four faculties, appears to be a creator like God though on a subjective level; that is, it is active rather than passive. But most Of themen are indifferent to the

are of infinite possibilities thehuman soul. In fact,they obliviousofGod

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290 who in turn causes

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them to forget their own soul.34 As God says in the Qur'?n, "Be not as those who forgot God, and so He caused them to forget their souls ; those they are the ungodly".3 5

Thus

to forget God

amounts

proves the deep metaphysical soul and God.

to forgetting of one's own soul. This resemblance and communication between

to Mulla According ?adr?, sense-perception is the first stage of lacks sense-perception lacks knowledge. He main knowledge. Whoever tains that cognition ( ?Tij^i ) of something implies the dormant power in man to grasp the reality of that thing, and when a man starts to have cogni tion of a priori truths of life ( oU$^ j o?jl ), he begins his journey towards the hereafter.36 Mulla ?adra, therefore, concludes that the reality of five senses are metaphysical in nature. The first fragrance of themetaphysical

world

and the flavour of the psychic world (efflu? ^ju) that are (c-^i fJi*) man is the faculty of touch. The second is the faculty of taste found in

perceive the forms of the odours. The third one

to enjoy theforms theeatablesand the thirdis thefaculty smellto of of

is subtler than the second one. The fourth is the

five senses are the example of a spiritual lightbelonging to themetaphysical It is on account of it, that the material body, a dead substance, world. ambiguous in itself, can touch, taste, smell, hear and see.37 While soul, Mulla whatever

the faculty of sight to know the forms of the visibles. The last two are the subtlest of all. The faculty of sight is active in relation to the visibles and the faculty of hearing is receptive in relation to the audibles. These

of faculty hearing to perceive the formsof the audibles and thefifthis

tion and contemplation, these, do^not reside inhis brain, nor in any heavenly bodies, nor in any outside world, but belong to the world of his soul itself, not as content remains in the container, (J**Ji? JWl) but as action accom panies the actor.38 Mull?

emphasizing the infinitenature of the internal faculties of the Sadr? maintains thatwhatever cognitions a man may have and forms he observes with his imagination, apprehension, intellec

?adr? asserts that all thatman imagines and perceives, either sense perception or intellection, is not, in reality, something through separate and independent of his self, foreign and alien to his nature, but

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SADRA'S

CONCEPT

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Mull?

?adr?, therefore, concludes that the cognition of any object is nothing the cognition of that object as it is related to theAbsolute Being. Now but whoever perceives any object, with any kind of perception, perceives God

exists ontologicallyin the essence of his Being. This implies its reality therelies a unityof Being.39 thisapparent thatunderlying multiplicity,

in a certain fashion, though he is unaware of it.40 Thus, through cogni tion, man is always in touch with God, but he is unconscious of it due to

man

possibly know any better. Yet he is so much indifferent ontologically that he has hardly ever thought of the reason why he is what he is. He just takes everything for granted.4* In spite of his forgetful and indifferent character, man has come to know his self and become conscious of it without any evidence, or teacher or media. Instinctively he has an un shakeable faith in his self. Similarly man is conscious of God in the deep recess of his subconscious. 42 Thus, man is the greatest evidence of God For he alone can be conscious of God as the Absolute Being. forman. He what alone has the gift of speech and is, therefore, able to give witness to is unseen, unimaginable and unheard of before. He alone has the

his ontological poverty. For this reason, Mull? ?adr? asserts that every is so much intimate with his own self that there seems nothing he can

intellection and intuition and can, therefore, be gift of consciousness, In fine, he alone is the total conscious of the Infinite and the Eternal. Being and is, therefore, the total sign and the greatest evidence of God forman. to Mulla ?adr?, human According which is the origin of man's acosmic tence soul has a pre-temporal exis character. This pre-temporal

existence of the soul does not involve the question of transmigration or the It is beyond our temporal categories of understand eternity of the soul. 3 It is in this sense, the Prophet of Islam said, "I was a Prophet when ing.4 j *ui Adam was between water and clay." ( ^' j 'y *^ ). After ^ creation* however, man has two ontological stations, temporal and post temporal or the world and the hereafter. These two stations, according to Mulla That is why Sadr?, belong to the category of relation. these two corelatives ( ?>i?U?Ji ) are kftown together. Thus whoever does not know the reality of this world, cannot know that of the hereafter.44

As God

is blind in this world shall says in the Qur'?n, "And whosoever be blind in the world to cpme, and he shall be ever further astray from the *} 3 ?f*\ Mull? ?adr? maintains ??.?i ?*?o?&j) way"45. (%~ j & thatman will have other categories of series to understand the realities of the

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292 hereafter. a place That

MUHAMMAD

'ABDUL HAQ

iswhy the Prophet of Islam said that heaven would be such that no eye has seen, no ear has heard and no mind can think of*

world road.

In the opinion of Mull? ?adr?, man is a road extending from this to the hereafter and he is at the same time the traveller on the same When

some body blackens his soul with evil deeds, he will destroy his road and lose his way. He would suffer on the way as he is unable to reach the goal.46 Ambiguity attached to the condition of man

To sum up, man is a total Being ,a synthesized and integrated whole, a Universe in a nutshell, the vicegerent of God on the earth, empowered to dominate In spite of thismost the entire universe but with responsibility. and sublime qualities, the condition of man is ambiguous exalted position He is hedged in by many limitations?ontological and and precarious.

He should overcome these limitations and obstacles, if he is to As far as ontological limitations are concer attain that exalted position. man is nothing but an effect of an Ineffable Cause. And an effect ned, is unreal in itself but becomes real only in relation to its cause, because natural. effect is ontologically subservient to its cause.47 That is why Mulla ?adr? asserts that an effect does not exist by its own right and whatever does not exist by its own right is liable to perish inevitably, although it appears in the phenomenal screen on account of being ontologically attached to the Absolute Being.48 Thus, as an effect the condition of man is ambiguous and contingent. Moreover, although man is the best of all possible Beings, (ou?~ ) his condition is ambiguous and precarious, because his Being ismingled yet and determination

with possibility.(oW) This aspect of possibilityis a kind of narrowness

that grips his Being.49 For Being always demands and necessity ( vj^'j J**N ) and is, therefore, incompatible with actuality and potentiality. (u??Vi 3 ?>^) This fact accounts for the onto possibility is, therefore, defined to be that logical crisis of a possible Being who the con

whose Being and non-being is possible at the same time. Thus dition of man as a possible Being is ambiguous and precarious. In the view of Mulla

?adr?, this possibility is the source of matter, in other words, the petrified state of possibility is matter. That is why Mull? that matter needs composition, while possibility ?adr? maintains

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MULLS ?ADR?'S CONCEPTOF MAN

2?3

is the element-of composition and composition is the form of possibility.50 Thus matter and possibility are identical with each other more or less. ?adr? asserts that this possibility was an aspect of the subs or itwas the determination of his ontologica! substance? a factor that was responsible for his fall.51 It is, therefore, said that Mulla tance of Adam matter or possibility is an inversion of the ontological substance?an inver sion which is responsible for its recalcitrant and resilient character. Man's condition and

is why man has no power to add one more sense organ or to come out of his physical limitation. He is unable to know the totality of the phenomena at the same time. He is born alone and dies limitations. That alone. At

ing toMull? ?adr?, the sourceof all ambiguity( rW ),53 evil,weakness

is ambiguous because he ismade

of thismatter which is, accord

death all his self-confidence, experience, sobriety, pride and arrogance drop like a garment leaving him helpless like a lost child. is responsible for the recalcitrant and resilient iswhy God describes man as forgetful, indifferent and heedless, (ojtfu) reckless and aggressively foolhardy, (Y#* Ljik) arro boastful, defiant and ungrateful gant, haughty and transgressor, (oj^) All these are obstacles and impediments forman on his way ( ??IT jiki ). The character of man. That That exalted towards that exalted position, and ultimately towards God. and sublime qualities* are in a dormant and potential state in him position on account of these obstacles. He must overcome these obstacles through self -purification and inward struggle, ifhe is to reach that exalted position In case of his failure, these obstacles will and realize those qualities.54 lead him towards the position of the lowest of the low. Between these two possibilities, the destiny of man is suspended. That iswhy his condi tion is ambiguous and precarious. Now it is up toman to tap his dormant and possibilities and conjure up his hidden genius in order potentialities to realize that exalted position and dispel thereby the incubus of ambiguity. Conclusion ?adr? places man in themost exalted position in the grada tions of Beings. But at the same, he points out the ambiguity attached to his condition. Taking the cosmic and acosmic character of man into con Mull? sideration, he maintains that man is a total Being, a synthesized and in* tegrated whole, a universe in a nutshell and a responsible vicegerent of God on the earth having the power to dominate the forces of the universe. The destiny of man is, thus, pregnant with unlimited possibilities. But same matter

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MUHAMMAD

'ABDUL HAQ

these possibilities usually remain in a dormant and potential state on account of many obstacles and limitations?ontological and material. That is why man does not know how tomorrow will be like; he does not the mystery of his ability to say T\ He does not know why is ever incomplete; and he is unable to grasp the Hikmah his knowledge or wisdom underlying the totality of the phenomena. It is up to man to understand transcend these limitations and shortcomings by realizing his true self and This realization will come only when he is acutely hidden possibilities. conscious of the fact that he is real only in relation to theAbsolute Being.

is the state of certainty and the cessation of all ambiguity. Otherwise the condition of man in the universe is ambiguous, precarious, futile and if he is considered alone, an isolated phenomenon, destined meaningless, This to be lost after a while in the cosmic solitude. This of man as has been enshrined in the Perennial Philosophy.

is the traditional view

But in thismodern age, many conflicting ideas and views are floating and vitiating the traditional atmosphere. We never had the choice of so many ideologies. On encountering too many paths, we have lost our bear ings. The modern thinkers consider man to be a temporary product of a blind evolution, a fungus growth of a purposeless nature and an alien intruder on her domain.

This kind of concept does not at all furnish the true ex planation of man's place in the universe. The spread of this arbitrary concept of man together with the total rejection and disdain for the past has ledman to drift into a way of life from which the crucial questions of the true worth deteriorated noblest All of man are set aside. Now our search for knowledge has into a search for annihilation. The mirror that man is the

creation and the vice-gerent of God on earth has been tranished. that has hitherto given meaning to human life has been lost. Man is, therefore, trying in vain to defend himself against himself. But it is well-known that perverted conscious-ness is the most is, therefore, trying to escape from the grim shadow

perverse. Modern man of his wrong-doings by means of modern subterfuges and euphemisms. He boasts that the commonplaces of today were utterly unimaginable to our ancestors. He prides himself on the conquest of nature, on the bend ing of natural forces, on themodern feat of tapping atomic energy, on the

modern man.

scientific and techno emanipation of women and on the unprecedented But all these are a mockery and travesty of the true logical progress. human progress, a subterfuge to camouflage the follies and blunders of This method, however, would not lessen the gravity of the

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SADR?'S

CONCEPT

OF MAN

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seamy side of this civilization, since man is deeply involved in the process This modern civilization is precocious and modern of dehumanization. a dismal failure. The evils of this civilization are be man is, therefore, coming cumulatively lethal and the world is becoming progressively inhu man. Now we tremble in discoveries; our glory is tinged with our misery and shame. Modern man is, therefore, a poor earthling, living in a vicious circle of his own making and groping in vain for a clue to his safety, secu rity and survival. But the traditional man of Mull? Sadr? is a true man, a real vice

gerent of God on the earth. His mission is to perfect the world morally, socially and politically and to edify man spiritually. His aim is not to conquer nature, but to seek nature. The question of security and survival does not does not arise to him and the incubus of total annihilation disturb him. However, in theory and practice, extermination. the concept of traditional man should be revived if the whole civilization is to be saved from total

Notes 1. Mulla Sadr?, al-Asf?r, vol. 8, p. 356.

2. 3.
4.

Mulla Sadr?, al-W?rid?t al-Qalb?yyah,p. 274. Mull? Sadr?, al-Asf?r,vol : 8, p. 224.

Mulla Sadr?, al-Maz?hir al-Il?hiyyah, p. 51.

5. 5.
7.

Ibid, p. 52. Mull? Sadr?, Iks?ral-'?rif?n,p. 289.

Mull? Sadr?, Iks?r al-'Arifin. p. 306.

8.
9.

Ibid, p. 306, 307.

Ibid, p. 307.

10.
11. 12.

Mull? Sadr?, al-Shaw?hid al-Rub??biyyah, 26 p.

Mull? Sadr?, A.J. al-Asf?r The vol. 8, p. 137. Interpreted, The Believers, V. 7. Arberry, koran

13.
14.

Ibid.Distinguished,V. 12
Ibid. The Moon. V. 50.

15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Mull? Sadr?, al-W?rid?t al-Qalbiyyah,p. 245. Mull? Sadr?, al-Shaw?hid al-Rub??biyyah, 151. p. Mull? Sadr?, Iks?ral-'Arifin, 288. p. Mull? Sadr?, al-W?rid?t al-Qalb?yyah,p. 264. Mull? Sadr?, Iks?ral-'?rif?n, p. 289. Ibid, p. 302.

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21. AJ. Arberry, The

MUHAMMAD
kor?n Interpreted,

'ABDUL HAQ
The confederates, V. 72.

22. 23.
24. 25.

Mulla Sadr?, Iks?ral-'?rifm, p. 289. Ibid, p. 290.

Ibid. AJ. p. 291. The koran Interpreted, Abraham, V. 36-37.

Arberry,

26. 27. 28. 29.

30.

Ibid,The Bee. V. 14 Ibid,Kingdom, V. 30. Ibid-TAHA,V.110. Ibid. The Table. V. 86.

Mull? Sadr?, al-Asfar vol. 8. p. 356.

31.
32.

Mull? Sadr?, al-W?rid?tal-Qalb?yyah.p. 253.

A J. Arberry. The koran Interpreted, Man, V. 4.

34.
35.

Mull? Sadr?, al-Shaw?hid al-Rub??b?yyah, 26. p.

AJ. Arberry, The Mustering. V. 18.

36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42.

43.

Mulla Sadr?, Iks?ral-'Srif?n, 303, 304, 355. Mull? Sadr?, Trshiyyah,p.m. 232. Ibid, p. 238. Ibid, p. 248. Mull? Sadr?, Asf?r. Vol. I, p. 116. Vol. 8, p. 44. Mull? Sadr?, al-Asf?r, Mull? Sadr?, al-Shaw?hid al-Rub?b?yyah, 112,115. p.
Mull? Sadr?, 'Arshiyyah, p. 239.

44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. 51.

53.

Ibid, p. 274. V. The The Koran Interpreted, Night journey 72. AJ. Arberry, al-Shaw?hid al-Rub??b?yyah, 42, 223. Mull? Sadr?, p. Mull? Sadr?, al-Shaw?hid al-Rub??b?yyah, 68. p. Mull? Sadr?, al-W?rid?t al-Qalb?yyah,p. 241. Ibid, p. 274. Vol. I, p. 188. Mull? Sadr?, al-Asf?r Mull? Sadr?, al-Muz?hir al-Ilah?yyah. 45. p.
Mull? Sadr?, al-Asf?r, Vol. I, p. 188.

54.

Mull? Sadr?, al-Shaw?hid al-Rub??biyyah, 255. p.

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