Sadrian Metaphysics

Allamah Tabatabai in Tafseer al Mizan rejects the notion prevalent among the laity, concerning miracles being essentially-impossible ممتنع بالذات occurrences on the ground that an essentially-impossible event or occurrence is one the existence of which is not possible due to the essence ماھیت of that thing itself ; in other words the essence of the thing under consideration lacks the capacity or the disposition استعداد to receive existence from an existence-bestowing source م بداء for instance a ‘non-caused effect’ ; the proposition of a non-caused effect is self-contradictory because by its very definition an effect is a contingent existent ممکن بالذات and as such can only come into existence when its existence is necessitated by a cause in other words when the possibility of its existence امکان وجود is granted preference by a cause over the possibility of its non-existence ; therefore it is impossible for a contingent to exist without having been caused by another ; according to the ...

While speaking about the Universal Law of Causality in his monumental exegesis on the Quran, the Tafseer Al-Mizan, Allama Tabatabai mentions that there is a mutual implication between a cause and its effect, such that whenever a perfect-cause علت تامہ is realized into existence, its effect is also unfailingly realized into existence, and it is impossible for a perfect-cause to exist without its effect also existing with it ; similarly it is also equally impossible for an effe ct to exist without its perfect-cause also existing together with it; this is due to the fact that a perfect or complete cause is regarded as such only when it realizes the existence of its effect, and hence a cause cannot be considered as being complete or perfect in the absence or non-existence of its effect ; now since the effect is essentially-contingent ممکن بالذات therefore it cannot come into existence and remain in existence without a perfect cause granting preference to the possibility of its existence ام...

Allama Tabatabai states in Tafseer Al Mizan that nothing in this physical world comes into existence without a cause علت such that every originated phenomenon حادٹ occurring in the material cosmos is dependent for its origination and existence upon a cause ; according to the Grand Philosopher the human mind considers the dependence of every created and contingent ممکن بالذات thing upon its cause as a self-evident fact بدیھی ; this is due to the reason that the origination حدو ث of that which did not exist previously but came into being later is sufficient evidence in itself of the fact that existence is not integral and necessary for its essence ماھیت, which in itself is neither inclined towards existence nor non-existence but is equidistant in relation to both, and is therefore in need of an external cause for granting preference ترجیح to either one of the two possibilities امکان عدم و وجود. According to the Allama this rational judgement emanates from man's primord...

Imam Reza (as) is reported to have stated the following in his sermon on Divine Unity: ”مَوْجُودٌ لا بَعْدَ عَدَمٍ“ translation: “(God is) Existent, not after nonexistence” [Uyun-al-Akhbar,chapter#11,hadith#51] The temporal-non-existence [عدم زمانی] of a thing means that there was a period of time [زمان] prior to the existence of the thing in which that thing was non-existent [معدوم] and then subsequently came into being [وجود] where its non-being [عدم] prior to its coming into being is evidence of the fact that existence is not integral to and inseparable from, the essence [ذات] of the thing, because had existence been identical and integral [عين ذات] to the essence of the thing so it would never have been non-existent and there would not have been any period of time in which the said thing was non-existent, and consequently that thing would have been a Necessary Existent [واجب الوجود] ; but the previous non-existence of the thing is proof of the fact that existence is accidental a...

Imam Reza (as) states in his sermon on Divine Unity: ”وَمَنْ قَالَ لِمَ فَقَدْ عَلَّهُ“ translation: “whoever says 'why?' has professed for Him a cause”[Uyun-al-Akhbar,chapter#11,hadith#51] A Final-Cause [علت غائی] is defined as that for the sake of which something exists or that which is sought as an end but everything which exists for the sake of something else or for achieving some end is imperfect [ناقص] since the act of seeking good [خير] implies the absence or the non- existence [عدم] of some good in the seeker, and it is this absence or privation of good that causes the thing bearing the privation to seek and move towards an end, and since a moving thing [متحرک] cannot move itself because a thing in potentiality [قوۃ] cannot actualize [فعليۃ] itself or give to itself what it does not possess therefore it is dependent [محتاج] upon a mover [متحرک] for being moved, but God cannot be something moved since He cannot be dependent since everything dependent is contingent [مم...

In the famous sermon on the doctrine of Divine Unity Imam Reza (as) states: ”وَأَدْوُهُ إِيَّاهُمْ دَلِيلٌ عَلَى أَنْ لا أَدَاةَ فِيهِ لِشَهَادَةِ الأَدَوَاتِ بِفَاقَةِ المادّين“ translation: “That He has created them possessing means (of accomplishing things) is proof that He has no means, for means are witness to the poverty of those who use them” [Uyun-al-Akhbar,chapter#11,hadith#51] All corporeal agents are composites [مرکب] of matter [مادۃ] and form [صورۃ] where matter is denoted by the body [جسم] and form by the soul [نفس] because the soul is the form of the body and perfects it ; according to Mullah Sadra the soul which is corporeal in origination but spiritual in subsistence [جسمانيۃ الحدوث و روحانيۃ البقا] is extremely weak [ضعيف] in existential [وجودی] terms and due to this existential weakness it is dependent [محتاج] upon the material-body for its origination [حدوث], since the soul emanates [صدور] from the material-body just as a flower’s-fragrance emanates f...

Imam Reza (as) states in His sermon on Divine Unity: ”وَابْتِدَاؤُهُ إِيَّاهُمْ دَلِيلُهُمْ عَلَى أَنْ لا ابْتِدَاءَ لَهُ لِعَجْزِ كُلِّ مُبْتَدَإٍ عَنِ ابْتِدَاءِ غَيْرِهِ“ translation: “That He is their origin [principle] (ibtida’) is proof for them that He has no origin [principle], for none that has an origin [principle] can originate others” [Uyun-al-Akhbar,chapter#11,hadith#51] Things that exist and possess the light of being [نور وجود] are either necessary in essence [واجب بالذات] or possible in essence [ممکن بالذات ], but that which is possible in essence or contingent is such that it negates both the necessity of existence [وجوب وجود] and the necessity of non-existence [وجوب عدم], inclined neither towards being nor towards non-being [عدم], but oscillating between both in a state of equilibrium ; such an essence is dependent [محتاج] upon an external agent or a cause [علت] for converting the possibility of its existence [امکان وجود] into a necessity and thereby preferring the...