The Role of Mullā Ṣadrā’s Philosophical Thought in Understanding Religious Texts

This study aims to explore Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophical thoughts, portray the salient features of his philosophy, and demonstrate the influence of philosophical thought on his understanding and interpretation of religious texts. Using a descriptive-analytic method, the author describes some of the elements of Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophy in the fields of theology, cosmology, and anthropology and, in this way, tries to explain his hermeneutic principles in the perception of religious texts. Next, he presents some of his interpretations of such texts in order to reveal the influence of Sadrian philosophical trend and hermeneutic principles in understanding religious texts. Given his prominent role in the development of Shī‘ī philosophy and wisdom, it seems necessary to deliberate over his philosophical theories and works and examine his methods and principles of interpretation in the field of Sadrian studies. The findings of this study indicate that Mullā Ṣadrā’s philosophical thought, in general, and his philosophical views, in particular, as well as his hermeneutic principles, which originate in the Transcendent Philosophy, and utilizing certain concepts in explaining philosophical problems distinguish him from other thinkers in the presentation and analysis of religious categories. Finally, the author concludes that benefitting from philosophical and metaphysical categories and theories, while being harmful in certain respects, could result in having a different understanding of religious texts.