History of Islamic Philosophy

History of Islamic Philosophy

Ibn Sina’s and Mulla Sadra’s Conception of the Human Body and its Influence on their Explanation of Bodily Resurrection

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Hamedeh Rastaei 1
Seyed Hadi Rezaeiyan 2
1 Assistant Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Kalam, Al-Taha Institute of Higher Education.
2 Assistant professor of Imam Sadiq University, Tehran, Iran
10.22034/hpi.2025.525101.1152
Abstract
Bodily resurrection is a challenging issue in Islamic philosophy, with distinct explanations from Ibn Sina (Avicenna) and Mulla Sadra. This article argues that their disagreement primarily stems from different conceptions of the “human body’s” nature, role, and fate.



Ibn Sina, with a dualistic and instrumental view, considers the body a substance distinct from the soul, corruptible, and an obstacle to the soul’s perfection. This perspective creates significant philosophical difficulties for explaining the return of the exact same elemental body (e.g., recreating the non-existent, identity problems). Consequently, he leans on religious scripture (taʿabbud) for this matter.



In contrast, Mulla Sadra, using principles of Transcendent Theosophy like the primacy of existence and substantial motion, views the body as a lower, dynamic level of the soul’s existence. He posits that the body undergoes essential transformation through substantial motion. This unitarian and developmental perspective allows for a philosophical explanation of bodily resurrection. For Sadra, the otherworldly (imaginal) body isn’t a re-creation of the non-existent but the developed stage of the worldly body, manifested by the soul in a higher realm according to its acquired dispositions.



The article concludes that the “philosophy of the body” is the crucial point of departure and key to understanding the transition from the Peripatetic to the Sadrian approach concerning bodily resurrection. This differing understanding of the body itself shapes their respective views on its ultimate fate and the possibility of its return.
Keywords
Ibn Sina
Mulla Sadra
Body
Soul
Bodily Resurrection
Substantial Motion
Imaginal Body

Subjects

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  • Receive Date 21 May 2025
  • Revise Date 30 May 2025
  • Accept Date 01 June 2025