Philosophy of the Imāmat according to Mullā Ṣadrā: An analysis of the personality and attributes of the Imams in the light of the transcendent theosophy

Abstract

ABSTRACT: This paper is an attempt to clarify and analyse the Imāmat and the attributes of the Imams based on the transcendent theosophy of Ṣadr al-Muta'allihīn Shīrāzī, known as Mullā Ṣadrā. I will examine here one of the creedal foundations of Shi'ism: the rank and status of the Imāmat together with related topics of great subtlety such as the objective reality of the Imāmat the basis for each of the attributes of the Imams, the connection between these attributes and the persons of the Imams, and the relation of these attributes with each other.