A Comparativs Study of the Divine Will from the Viewpoint of Mulla Sadra and Narrations

Will occurs in man along with imagination, affirmation and spiritual changes. This kind of will definitely is not apt forthe necessarily existent nature ofGod. On the other hand, all the qualities of perfection have been attributed to the Supreme Essencesince the pre-time eternity. Will is among the attributes of perfection too; therefore, the Supreme Essence rationally cannot be devoid of this eternal perfection. Hence, MullaSadra considers will one of the inherent attributes of God and the very knowledge, enthusiasm and delight of God for the most befitting system in all his philosophical works. But apparentlyrejecting inherent will and its unity with knowledge, narrations stress that God's will is an acquired attribute and His creation and action. To obviate the discrepancy between the perspective of intellect and that ofnarrations,Sadra affirmscreated will and believes that, like knowledge, will is of various degrees and its highest degree is the undifferentiated primordial will and its lowest level is the differentiated will or the very acquired willwhile stressing primordial will and its identicalitywith knowledge. However, considering the strong emphasis narrations place on rejecting primordial will and its lack of identicalitywith knowledge, this view is not very expedient. Following a review of Sadra’s views and the implications of narrations aimed at resolving the above-mentioned discrepancy,this paper suggests thatprimordial will can denote controlover will. And the acquired will emphasizedin narrationsis its manifestationand realization. Therefore, God has enjoyed will since the pre-time eternity. The emphasis of narrations on the acquisition ofwillindicates God’s using will power the fulfillment of whichnecessitates action and is unnecessary for His essence. That's why it will not lead to any change in the Divine essence.