Relation of Levels of Existence to the Levels of Perception in Mullā Ṣadrā's View

In Mullā Ṣadrā’s view, there are three general worlds of existence: 1. World of the senses, i.e. this world, 2. World of ideas, i.e. the world of quantity forms, which is exactly like the world of the senses, with the difference that it is free from matter, and 3. World of intelligibles, which is free from matter and material properties. On the other hand, man has three types of perceptions: 1. Sensual perception, 2. Imaginal perception, and 3. Intellectual perception. Man is a reality who, by virtue of each faculty of his perceptive faculties, takes place in one of the worlds of being, in the manner that with the perception of senses, he settles in the world of sensation, when perceiving imaginally, he settles in the world of ideas, and while in the world of universals and intelligibles, he settles in the world of intellects.In this article, each level of perception is compared with the levels of existence and the conclusion is drawn that in Mullā Ṣadrā’s view the levels of perception, which lie within mankind, conforms to the external levels of existence.