Mulla Sadra

Mulla Sadra was a Persian Islamic philosopher, theologian, and mystic who led the Iranian cultural renaissance in the 17th century. He is considered the master of the Illuminationist school of philosophy, which he developed into a new system called Transcendent Theosophy. He synthesized the doctrines of various Islamic schools, such as Avicennism, Suhrawardism, Ibn Arabism, and Ash'arism, into a comprehensive and original framework based on the principles of existence, unity, causality, motion, and intuition. He also integrated rational inquiry, scriptural exegesis, and mystical experience into his philosophical method. He wrote more than fifty books, the most famous of which is his magnum opus, al-Asfar al-arba'a (The Four Journeys), which covers various topics in ontology, epistemology, cosmology, psychology, theology, and eschatology. He also wrote commentaries on the Qur'an and hadith, as well as treatises on ethics, politics, law, and education. He was a prominent figure in the Safavid intellectual and political circles, and had many students and followers who continued his legacy. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest philosophers in the history of Islam and one of the most influential thinkers in the Muslim world.