Sadrian Metaphysics

“ A quiddity does not come into existence unless brought into existence by the cause. Its being brought into existence by the cause depends on the quiddity’s existence becoming necessary, which again depends on its being necessitated by the cause. From what was said earlier, it becomes clear that the cause’s making its existence necessary depends on the quiddity’s need for it and the quiddity’s need for it depends on its contingency. For were it not contingent, and were it necessary or impossible, of necessity it would not need any cause. Hence its need depends necessarily on its contingency ” [ Bidaya ,IV,VIII] From the viewpoint of the Philosophers, the criterion for being an effect معلول and hence being dependent on a cause علت is not temporal origination حدوث زمانی but essential-contingency امکان ذاتی; therefore it is by no means necessary for an existent موجود to come into existence from a prior non-existence عدم in order to be an effect and hence depend upon a cause; accor...

The Argument from Origination برهان حدوث is one of the most commonly utilized arguments by the Theologians متکلمین in their efforts to prove that the universe عالم is not without a Creator خالق or a Cause; the argument is based on an assumption that the universe is temporally originated حادث زمانی, which means that it has come into existence وجود from a prior non-existence عدم; now the fact that the universe did not previously exist is sufficient proof that existence is not necessary واجب for its essence ماھیت; because had existence been necessary for its essence, so it would have never been non-existent معدوم to begin with; and everything that exists without being necessary in itself واجب بالذات, must be necessary through another واجب بالغیر; and that which is necessary through another is essentially contingent or possible ممکن بالذات, and consequently in need of a cause علت; this is how the Theists seek to establish the existence of God. Firstly, this argument is only vali...

God is a Necessary Being, and a Necessary Being [wajib bil zat] must be Necessary [wajib] from every aspect [jihat] including the aspect of Independence [ghina], which means that he must not be dependent upon another for anything, because that which is dependent is contingent in essence [zat/mahiyat] and that which is essentially-contingent [mumkin bil zat] cannot simultaneously be Necessary in Itself [wajib bil zat], it therefore follows that God does not need or desire us to praise Him for His Own benefit, because lacking nothing He desires nothing. Desire for something arises only due to a lacking or an imperfection hence that which is Absolute Perfection itself does not lack anything. Therefore the reason why God wants us to pray and praise Him is for our benefit not His, worshiping the divine in terms of seeking perfection and developing within ourselves divine attributes and thereby becoming existentially-perfect, therefore remembrance of an All-Perfect and an All-Good Div...

"GOD, THE ABSOLUTE OR PURE GOOD" God, the Necessary Existent, is either Absolute or Pure Good [ khayr e mehaz ], Absolute or Pure Evil [ sharr e mehaz ] or a composite [ murakkab ] of Good and Evil. Now evil [ sharr ] is described as a negation of good and as such has no independent and entified external reality, but can only exist accidentally as a negation or a privation of goodness [ khayr ] such as darkness [ zulmah ] which is the negation of light [ nur ] or death which is the negation of life [ hayat ], in other words evil is said to be a non-entity identified as non-being and is therefore synonymous with non-existence [ adum ]; therefore if the Necessary Existent is said to be Absolute or Pure Evil so such an assertion would be tantamount to equating the Divine Essence with Absolute-Non-existence [ adum e matlaq ] because evil as has been explained above is a negation of goodness and hence absolute-evil is the absolute or  complete negation of goodne...

The Divine Essence at the level or station of Essential Unity ( Maqam al Ahadiyat ) is absolutely transcendent, completely unknown, inaccessible to all and sundry, too distant to be approached by anyone. At this level the Essence ( Dhat ) and the Attributes ( Sifat ) are one, meaning that the Attributes are identical to the Essence ( Ain al Dhat ) without there being any distinction between the two, because therein is no duality but only unity. It is this Essential Unity at the station of “ Ahadiyat”  that is the subject of the Quranic Chapter of Al-Ikhlas in the verse “ قُل هُوَ اللَّهُ أَحَدٌ ”. The Essence is absolutely concealed & hidden such that it cannot even be apprehended by the most perceptive intellects, as is explained by the Prince of the Monotheists Imam Ali (as)  “ يَا هُوَ يَا مَنْ لاَ يَعْلَمُ مَا هُوَ ”, translation: “  O He Whom none knows what He is ”( Dua-e-Mashlul ). This Essential Unity has no manifestation since nothing can manifest the Divine...

Just as every existent in the lower worlds has an intelligible reality subsisting in the higher realms namely the World of Intellects ( alam al aqal ) which happens to be absolutely perfect, sublime and actual, similarly Man also has an intelligible human reality (  Haqiqat al Insaniya ) which is absolutely perfect, sublime and actual without any blemish ( nuqs ) and potentiality subsisting in that higher world of Immaterial Intellects ( Al Uqul al Mujarred ); this intelligible human reality (  Haqiqat al Insaniya ) is none other than the sublime Muhammadan Reality ( Haqiqat al Muhammadiya ), which represents the reality of Man in all its perfection, nobility and sublimity. The Muhammadan Reality ( Haqiqat al Muhammadiya ) is the universal or the immutable source form ( al a’yan al thabit ) of The Perfect Man ( al insan al kamil ) and the Perfect Man is the earthly image, reflection or manifestation of the Muhammadan Reality. It has been mentioned in the first part of this di...

“The existence of an effect is among the necessary concomitants of the existence of its perfect and complete cause such that the twain are inseparable. The question is that is the agent-cause effective in the existence of its effect directly through it own ipseity [zat] or not; now if the agent-cause is not effective in the existence of its effect directly through it own ipseity, so it is obvious that an additional factor is required for the causal-agency to be effective for instance a condition [shart] or will [irada] would have to be increased over and above the ipseity of the agent-cause, and in that case the entity which had been presumed to be the agent-cause would no longer remain the agent-cause, and instead the ipseity of that agent together with that additional feature in combination will have to be regarded as the true agent-cause and the question which was asked concerning the existent which had initially been presumed to be the agent-cause will then revert to this combinati...

A perfect cause علت تامه is one, which when its existence وجود is realized, it simultaneously also realizes the existence of its effect معلول, without any delay or interval between the realization of the existence of the said perfect cause and the realization of the existence of its effect; in other words, a perfect cause is one that is sufficient in itself for the emanation صدور of its act فعل or effect, without needing the addition to its essence ذات, of any further attribute or part جزء; conversely speaking, a cause is said to be imperfect علت ناقصه if by its existence, it fails to realize the existence of its effect; to elaborate further, any delay or interval between the realization of the existence of a cause and the realization of the existence of its effect, implies that the said cause is not sufficient in its essence for the emanation of its act or effect; and is therefore dependent محتاج upon some factor extraneous to its essence, in combination with which it could perform th...

Is it beyond God's power قدرت to bring the world عالم into existence وجود from a prior non-existence عدم; is it impossible for an Omnipotent Being قادر مطلق to create something from absolute nothingness?; An adequate resolution of these questions involves an analysis of the concept of Divine Power; power in relation to the Necessary Being واجب بالذات is defined by the Philosophers as the emanation صدور from the Divine Essence ذات حق of the Divine Act فعل الاھی, with God's will ارادہ; as per this definition it is nowhere necessary for God to bring into existence His act from a prior non-existence, in order for Him to qualify as an Agent with Might or Power فاعل قادر و مختار; in fact the only attribute صفت necessary for the said qualification is for the Divine Act to proceed from the Essence with His Will, such that if the act were to proceed or emanate from the Essence without His Will, as is the case with natural فاعل بالطبیعه and coerced agents فاعل بالقسر, then He would fail ...

According to the Philosophers a Necessary Being in Itself واجب بالذات must be necessary from all aspects واجب بالذات واجب من جمیع الجحات; this is because not being necessary from even a single aspect would render God a composite مرکب of necessity وجوب from certain aspects, and possibility امکان or impossibilityامتناع from the aspect in which it is not necessary; and every composite is dependent upon its parts اجزاء and hence necessary through another واجب بالغیر; and that which is necessary through another is contingent in essence ممکن بالذات and cannot simultaneously be Necessary in Itself; but if God existed without the world existing with Him, then He was not an Agent in actuality فاعل بالفعل because there was no actual effect in existence; but He was an Agent in potentiality فاعل بالقوہ since it was possible for Him to create the world; this renders God or the Necessary Being, a composite of actuality or necessity from the other aspects and potentiality or possibility from the aspe...

One of the arguments presented by the theologians for proving the existence of God is their assertion that the receptacle محل of originated phenomenon حوادث must also be originated, and since the world is a receptacle of such originated phenomenon, therefore the world is originated; now since everything originated is contingent ممکن بالذات and an effect that is dependent upon a cause for its existence; the world also, is an effect of some cause; the theologians assert that, that cause is God; but the theologians have not been intellectually honest in their application of the principle "the receptacle of originated phenomenon must also be originated"; this is because it is the theologians who assert that the Divine Essence existed without the world existing with it; this initial or prior absence of the world was due to the fact that God had not willed it to be; and then the world came into existence when its existence was willed by the  Divine Essence; this clearly means that ...

Since a contingent essence ممکن بالذات is equidistant in relation to both the possibility to exist امکان وجود and the possibility of non-existence امکان عدم without being inclined towards either one of the two possibilities, therefore any inclination or preponderance ترجیح in favour of either one of the two possibilities cannot be realized without a determinant or a preponderant مرجح; in the absence of such a preponderant the said preponderance shall not be realized and given the existence of this determinant, the preponderance cannot remain unrealized; this is because a determinant can only be a preponderant in the true sense if it causes the preponderance, and not if it doesn't. Now given that the world is a contingent being its preponderant would either be the Divine Essence alone; or it is some factor other than the Divine Essence such as the will to create; or it is a combination of the Divine Essence and that other factor; now if something other than the Divine Essence, suc...

In philosophy, time زمان is defined as a means for measuring motion حرکت or gradual change تغیر; therefore time exists due to the existence of motion and in the absence of motion there can be no time, because the concept of time مفهوم زمان is abstracted by the intellect from motion; but motion is an accident عرض, which means that it is dependent upon a subject موضوع in which to inhere for its concrete existence وجود خارج; the subject of motion is a moving body جسم متحرک; and not just any body, but a material مادی one, because it is matter that bears the potential قوه for motion; now that which depends on an accident is also an accident; therefore time which depends on motion, must also be an accident; to reiterate, time exists because motion exists, and motion exists due to the existence of matter; without matter there will be no motion, and absent motion there can be no time. Now given the existence of an accident, one can easily deduce from it with certainty the existence of its subj...

The theologians assert that the world عالم is temporally originated حادث زمانی or created in time زمان, such that there was a time when the world was non-existent معدوم because God had not willed it to be, and then the world came into being وجود from a prior non-being when God willed its existence; but the Philosophers find this view to be problematic because according to the account presented by the theologians, the prior non-existence of the world, given the existence of the Divine Essence ذات حق was due to the absence, within the Essence, of the will to create it; then the subsequent existence of the world is due to the arising of the will to create it, within the Divine Essence; this explanation renders the Divine Will ارادہ الاہی to create the world, originated حادث like the world itself; such that the initial absence of the will to create the world, in the Divine Essence, is succeeded by its subsequent presence within the Essence; this renders God mutable or changeable متغیر; but...

For the theologians the world is temporally originated حادث زمانی or created in time, which means that it has come into existence from temporal non-existence عدم زمانی; to elaborate further the existence of the world was preceded by a period of non-existence; in other words this world is posterior to time مسبوق بالزمان; but the only way the world could be posterior to time or temporally originated is for time to have existed prior to the world; but time itself is believed to be a creation of God; a contingent existent ممکن الوجود like the world; therefore according to the theologians, being something created and contingent, it cannot be eternal قدیم as God alone to the exclusion of everything else is eternal; but if time is not eternal then it must be temporally originated like the world; but being temporally originated necessitates that the existence of time must be preceded by a period of its non-existence; which actually means that in order for time not to be eternal there must be a...

The Philosophers assert that even if the world were to be eternal, it would still be an effect and consequently dependent upon a cause for its existence due to its essential contingency امکان ذاتی; the theologians object to this assertion by stating that an eternal world would be independent of a cause for bringing it into being, since it was never non-existent to be brought into existence in the first place; for the theologians, in order for an existent to be an effect it is necessary for its existence to be preceded by non-existence; here their eyes are fixed on temporal non-existence عدم زمانی only; they failed to realize that, that which an effect has due to its cause is its existence, whereas that which it has due to itself is essential-non-existence عدم ذاتی; therefore even an eternal world is brought into existence by its cause from essential non-existence albeit the world was never temporally non-existent.  The theologians also object to the notion of the eternity of the ...

From the viewpoint of the Philosophers, the criterion of being an effect معلول and hence being dependent on a cause علت is not temporal origination حدوث زمانی but essential-contingency امکان ذاتی; therefore it is by no means necessary for an existent موجود to come into existence from a prior non-existence عدم in order to be an effect and hence depend upon a cause; according to the Argument from Contingency برھان امکان an existent would be an effect and consequently dependent on a cause if its essence negates both the necessity of existence and the necessity of non-existence, such that it is neither necessary for it to exist nor is it necessary for it not to exist, but both existence and non-existence are possible in relation to it; such an essence is equidistant with respect to both the possibility of being and non-being, in that it is inclined towards neither of the two possibilities; due to this equidistance it is in need of an external preponderant مرجح or determining factor for gra...