Rethinking the Divine Vicegerency of the Human in Sadrian Wisdom

In Sadrian theology and wisdom, the station of the "Divine Vicegerency” is the ultimate end of the existence of the man and the Universe. Mulla Sadra is trying to explain this idea with the help of rational specifications and explanations based on the teachings of the divine revelation. The writers’ purpose in this essay is to re-read Mulla Sadra's theory and contemplate on some of his rational interpretations. According to this theory, the Vicegerent human is the representative and symbol of Sublime God, whether in the form of minor Vicegerency (on earth) or major Vicegerency (in the heavens and spiritual worlds). Mulla Sadra asserts that the human has got the competence to be the divine Vicegerent and the object of the angels’ prostration because of the knowledge taught him by God. The difference in the existence, nature, and destiny of the human and other beings – including angels, demons, animals, plants, and inanimate beings – is based on this. For this reason, the man is the "trustee" of God; that is to say, an existential attribute and a kind of luminous perfection has been bestowed upon the human and is allocated only and solely to him.