Cause of Death from Avicenna's and Mulla Sadra's Perspective

Death is of three types: death in accident, voluntary death and natural death. There is consensus over the cause of voluntary death and death in accident. The cause of death in accident is the incapacity of the body to sustain its possession of the soul. The cause of voluntary death is the refinement of the soul, the eradication of passions and the dependency of the soul to the body of the mystic. The major concern of the present article is an explanation of the cause of natural death. In relation to the cause of natural death there are three approaches in the Islamic philosophy. The approach of Avicenna and the physicians is to deal with the receptive physical causes of death which leads to a physiological explanation. The second approach is the theological one which deals with the accidental ultimate cause of death. The third one is Mulla Sadra’s ontological approach which deals with the ultimate inherent cause of death demonstrating the necessity of death to all human beings. From Mulla Sadra’s point of view, the completion of soul is the real cause of natural death. Due to its novelty and systematicity, this point of view deserves close attention and research. The present article tries to analyze and explain the similarities and distinctions of the current views on the cause of death and to demonstrate their deficiencies.