Metaphysical Nature of Religion From Mullā Sadrā’s Viewpoint

The existence or non-existence of metaphysical statements in religion constitutes an important issue in religious studies. Mullā Sadrā’s writings are replete with attention to this issue. While he elaborates the status and role of the intellect in the realm of religion, he speaks of both the lower levels of the intellect that fail to comprehend religion and the obstacles in the path of intellectual perception of religion as well as the circumstances under which this form of perception becomes actualized. He challenges the ideas of those who go to extremes in holding that the intellect plays a crucial role in religion and refute the existence of metaphysical statements in religion (Muʹtazilite). In a detailed discussion, he also reveals some metaphysical statements, but at the same time, challenges and disagrees strongly with the ideas of some individuals like esotericists who go to extremes in their theological ideas. The present paper seeks to explore Mullā Sadrā’s views on the metaphysical statements of religion.