Mullā Ṣadrā on the Efficacy of Prayer (Duʿā)

Abstract

This article presents the manner in which Mullā Ṣadrā explains the influence of prayer ( duʿā ) on the world, drawing as he does on Ibn ʿArabī’s ideas against the backdrop of his own dynamic metaphysical psychology. Mullā Ṣadrā eventually distances himself from Ibn Sīnā’s position on the passive nature of prayer, and instead opts for Ibn ʿArabī’s reading of the intimate divine–human interplay in prayer itself. In doing so, Mullā Ṣadrā provides a formulation of prayer in which the supplicant plays an active role in eliciting the divine response to her prayer. For Mullā Ṣadrā, prayer therefore fashions the human soul, while the human soul also fashions the outcome of prayer.