MollaSadra, Iran's greatest philosopher, responsible for the intellectual rennaissance movement of Iran in the 17th century. Mulla Sadra (aka Molla Sadra or Mollasadra) also called Sadr Ad-Din Ash- Shirazi (b.c. 1571, Shiraz, Iran - d. 1640, Basra, Iraq) was a philosopher, who led the Iranian cultural renaissance in the 17th century.
The foremost representative of the illuminationist, or Ishraghi school of philosopher-mystics, he is commonly regarded by Iranians as the greatest philosopher their country has ever produced.
A son from a notable Shirazi family, Mulla Sadra completed his education at Isfahan, which was the leading cultural and intellectual center of his day.
After his studies with scholars there, he produced several works, the most famous of which was his Asfar (Journeys). Asfar contains the bulk of his philosophy which was influenced by a personal mysticism bordering on the ascetic that he experienced during a 15-year retreat at Kahak, a village near Qom, Iran.
Expounding his theory of nature, Mulla Sadra argued that the entire universe - except God and his knowledge - was originated both eternally as well as temporally. Nature, he asserted is the substance of all things and is the cause for all movement. Thus, nature is permanent and furnishes the continuing link between the eternal and the originated.
Toward the end of his life, Mulla Sadra returned to Shiraz to teach. His teachings however, were considered heretical by the orthodox Shiite theologians of his day, who persecuted him, though his powerful family connections permitted him to continue to write. He died on a pilgrimage to Mecca and was buried in present day Iraq.
See also
External links
- [1] (http://www.islamic-studies.org/sadra.biography.htm)
- [2] (http://www.salaam.co.uk/knowledge/biography/viewentry.php?id=2091)
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