Religion and Politics in Sadrian Philosophy

Religion and politics and the relationship between them are among the important problems in Mulla Sadra’s philosophy. In fact, the issue of politics, which is one of the noteworthy realms of human life, never escaped his attention. Mulla Sadra always emphasized Man’s social nature in his works and did not consider individual life to be enough even if it were intertwined with religion. In his view, the development of Man is possible only through living a social life. He also maintained that a society which is geared to provide the context for the growth and development of its members should be governed based on Islamic laws. Politics is different from religion in terms of origin, end, act, and passivity; however, it is completely melted in religion, which is the innermost and truth of politics. Mulla Sadra considered the relationship between religion and politics to be the same as the one between the intelligible and the sensible or between the inward and outward aspects. He argues that as the knowledge of physics is incomplete without the knowledge of metaphysics, using politics without resorting to religion will result in Man’s plunge into forms and ignorance of transcendent truths. This will cause some irreparable damages to human life. A correct clarification of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy is the best barrier against secularism, which emphasizes the separation of religion from politics.