Identity and Difference of Unity and Multiplicity in Ṣadra’s Monotheistic Order According to the Rule of Simple Truth

In his discussion of God’s oneness, Mullā Ṣadrā, by presenting an argument based on the rule of Simple Truth (baṣīṭ al-ḥaqīqa), attributes the true simplicity to God. This argument seems to be in line with the argument of negating the combination of Essence and besides other arguments for God’s oneness, but in fact its purpose is to present a monotheistic system distinct from all philosophical schools in terms of the relation between the unity and multiplicity at the level of Essence and levels lower than Essence. The purpose of this article is to explain the co-existence of God’s unity with the multiplicity of creatures and to explain how it can be reconciled with His transcendence based on this rule. For this purpose, the position of the argument of Simple Truth in the arguments of God’s unity is explained because it is one of the necessary premises of the explanation of God’s oneness. The study of the simplicity of God or the reconciliation of infinite multiplicity with unity at the level of Essence and also the unity of the Divine attributes in Mullā Ṣadrā's philosophy, which completes the meaning of simplicity, is among the issues discussed in this research. Finally, the special co-existence resulted by the simplicity of God is explained. This co-existence can seemingly lead to multiplicity in Essence as well as the violation of His transcendence. However, the result of the research is that Ṣadrā, on the basis of true simplicity of God or the fact that He is the totality of all things, establishes such a relationship between God and creatures that does entail His transcendence.