The Subject Matter of Transcendent Philosophy: Unconditional Existence

Ṣadr al-Dīn Muḥammad ibn Ibrāhīm Shīrāzi (Mullā Ṣadrā) in his “Transcendental Philosophy” tries to come closer to ‘irfān (Islamic mysticism). One of the occasions of such a conversion is in the debate over the subject matter for his philosophy. By suggesting “unconditional existent” as the subject matter of transcendent philosophy, he aims a kind of harmony and conversion with theoretical ‘irfān. Of course, each of them approaches the issue with its unique methodology, namely, rational argument in transcendent philosophy, and intuition and heart-illumination in theoretical ‘irfān. The article tries to elaborate on this conversion.