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Responsive Name: Esteemed Philasopher Dr.Mousavi
Date of Answer: 14 Nov 2009
Answer from ostad-mosavi.com: The following is derived from the Booklet "The Tablet and the Pen (Lawh wa al-Qalam)" which is the outcome of teachings and researches of esteemed philosopher, Professor Mosavi regarding page 293 of Volume 6 of Mulla Sadra's book, Asfar. و اما اللوح و القلم فبیان القول بینهما ان الباری جلت کبریائه: اول ما برز من ذاته و نشأ هو جوهرقدسی فی غایه النور و الضیاء و السناء بعد الاول تعالی Wa amma al-Lawh wa al-Qalam fa bayanul qaul baynahoma anna al-bari jalat kibriyauhu: Awwala ma baraza min dhatihi wa nashaa huwa jawharun qudsi fi qayatin nur wa ziae wa sana bada al-awwali taala What Allah manifested first was the holy essence (Jawhar Qudsi) at the highest level of light! و نشأ بتوسطه جواهر الاخری قدسیه مترتبه فی الشرف و الکمال، و شده النوریه علی حسب ترتبها فی القرب منه (تعالی) Wa nashaa betawasutehi jawahir al-ukhra qudsiyatun motiratibatun fi sharafe wal kamal wa shidaton nuriya ala hasabe taratubiha fil qurbe menh (taala) And through the above mentioned, He created other holy essences (Jawahir Qudsi). It is thereafter emphasized that the order in being created is based upon nobleness, position and rank, perfection and closeness to Allah. But did this creation take place through the word "Kun" (Arise! Come into being!)? If so how did it take place? Or did creation take place during 6 days? Or was it in some other way? Mulla Sadra (May Allah exalt him) has discussed this in details in Volume 6 of Asfar pages 286 to 303. He says: "When Allah decided to create, He passed on His Beauty (Jamal), His Majesty (Jamal), His Magnificence and His Power to a light and that was the light of Wilayat of our Master (Maula) and our Leader (Muqtada), Imam Ali (AS) [up to our last Imam, Imam Mahdi (A.S.) who are all one single light]." Thereafter Mulla Sadra, based on some Ayat from the Holy Quran such as the Aya "Num wal-qalam wa ma yasturun", discusses the facts of Lawh wa al-Qalam (The Tablet and the Pen), Qada wa Qadar (Decree and Destiny) and Mahw wa Isbat (Wiping out or Registering Deeds) and asks "What was the
first thing The Pen (Qalam) manifested?" Professor Mosavi, through 4 Booklets and around 400 pages, has provided his research on the above issues and the viewpoints of some scholars. These include the viewpoint of Reynold Nicholson on the self-manifestation of God in His Essence, Attributes, and Names (Tajallí), the opinion of Muhyiddin Ibn Arabi and the viewpoint of "Perfect Gnostics", who believe the illumination of the essence of the Holy Prophet Muhammad (SAW) was the first thing Allah created. On page 220 of Volume 2 of Asfar, Mulla Sadra explains the viewpoint of Sheikh Yahya Suhrawardi on the issue of whether Allah's Divine Will and Power is the cause of all creations, changes, growths, etc or does an intermediary cause also play a role? Sheikh Yahya Suhrawardi says: «فالقوه القاهره الواجبه لا تمکن الوسائط لوفور فیضه و کمال قوته» Fal Quwatul Qahera al-wajibahu la tumakin al-wasait liwufur feizehi wa kamala quwate. "The Light of Allah, the Essential Existence, is so strong that the role of an intermediary cause is overshadowed and one can not say that intermediaries are the main cause in creation!" In the book "The Philosophy of Illumination" by Sheikh Yahya Suhrawardi, Aristotle's viewpoint is mentioned as follows: The intermediary cause did not have any role by itself in creation but it received God's Blessings through closeness to Him and then this intermediary cause manifested itself. This was a brief answer to your question.