A Philosophical Account of the Possibility of Love’s Transcendence from the Perspective of Sadrian Theosophy

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 M.A. in Islamic Philosophy and Theology, Department of Islamic Philosophy, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi, Iran

2 Assistant Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi, Iran

3 Professor, Department of Islamic Philosophy, Faculty of Theology and Islamic Studies, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi, Iran

Abstract

One of the most significant topics in Islamic philosophy of ethics, mysticism, and spirituality concerns the relationship between majāzī (metaphorical) love and ḥaqīqī (true) love—a question that returns to the possibility, modality, and criterion of love's sublimation (taʿālī) from the sensible domain to the intelligible and divine order. Ṣadrian theosophy (al-ḥikma al-mutaʿāliya), by virtue of its foundational principles—including substantial motion (al-ḥaraka al-jawhariyya), gradational being (tashkīk), the union of intellect and intelligible (ittiḥād al-ʿāqil wa-l-maʿqūl), and personal unity of existence (waḥda shakhṣiyya al-wujūd)—affords a comprehensive explanatory framework for the possibility of love's sublimation; a trajectory that commences with metaphorical love and, through the existential journey (sulūk) of the soul, culminates in divine love and annihilation (fanāʾ) in the Absolute Beauty. Employing a philosophical-conceptual method of analysis, this study extracts and analyzes three distinct models of the possibility of love's sublimation within Ṣadrian theosophy: the first model is grounded in substantial motion and the soul's intensifying (ishtidādī) course; the second is based upon imaginal (mithālī) and intellectual (ʿaqlī) perceptions; and the third is founded upon the unity of existence and divine vision (shuhūd). Subsequently, these three models are compared along axes such as their compatibility with empirical approaches to love, the role of human volition in the sublimation of love, the boundary between metaphorical and true love, and the spiritual function of love. The findings indicate that these explanations, despite their conceptual differences, are reconcilable within the framework of the transcendent theosophy and may be regarded as complementary levels of a single philosophical-spiritual system concerning love

Keywords

References

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