Hadith of the Hidden Treasure (Kanz-i-Makhfī) in the Mirror of Transcendent Philosophy

Many of Muslim scholars have cited the following Sacred Hadith in their books: «I was a treasure that was not known، so I loved to be known. Hence I created the creatures and I made Myself known to them، and thus they came to know Me.» Some have doubted the authenticity and the content of the hadith، but many have verified it and tried to draw out the implications of its content. With a descriptive-analytic attitude، this article shall study this hadith from the perspective of the founder of Transcendent Philosophy and some of his disciples. Mullā Sadrā regards God as purpose of Itself as well as that of other beings، adjusting the former to the divine name «the First» and the latter to «the Last». He interprets the hidden treasure as a reference to “the stage of Unity”. Besides، he mentions four methods in order to explain concealment and manifestation of God in this hadith. Also، this hadith can be considered as an exegesis of 51:56 (I have not created jinn and mankind except to serve Me)، based on which worship is wisdom and anthropos teleios، as the mirror of all divine attributes، is regarded as the final goal of all creation.