Order of Being and Ought-tos in the Book of Creation and the Book of Religion

The discussion regarding the problem of order in Islamic wisdom are classified under two titles: “book of creation” and “book of divine legislation/religion”. The book of creation explains and describes the necessary order dominating the world. The book of religion contains the rules which have been devised to grant order to Man’s process of perfection. The major feature of the book of religion is that it has been developed based on the idea of Man as a free-willed being. Therefore, it contains a collection of recommended rules rather than obligatory laws. In the Transcendent Philosophy, these two types of order match each other. Mulla Sadra, himself, refers to them as “genetic” and “religious” affairs. Based on this view, we can say that, even with regard to human and social laws, the order intended by Mulla Sadra is of the type of real and objective, rather than mentally-posited, affairs. In the Transcendent Philosophy, obeying religious teachings is considered to be the right path leading to human perfection. This is the same as obeying the principles dominating the system of being or, in ‘Allamah Tabataba’i’s words, obeying fitrah or the primordial nature. This path and order are shared by all individuals and societies at all times and in all places and provide the possibility for happiness and living a social life for all human beings.