فصلنامه آینه معرفت
پیاپی 72 (پاییز 1401)

The present article, adopting a comparative descriptive-analytical method, deals with the role of "attention" in sensory perception from Molla Sadra's point of view. Mulla Sadra has presented various interpretations of sensory perception. In all these interpretations, the role of attention as a fundamental characteristic of the soul is undeniable. This role expresses the active feature of the soul in sensory perception and other processes, which is based on Mulla Sadra’s specific principles underlying his view of the soul and its divine nature. Mulla Sadra's theory of attention can be explained using two bases: a) the theory of multiplicity of powers of the soul and b) the theory of the unity of powers and belief in the levels of the soul. According to the perspective of the powers of the soul which is closer to the peripatetic views, attention acts as a kind of limiting filter and a bottleneck in the process of perception and abstraction, which prevents a lot of data from moving across the stages. Based on the levels of the soul, and the specific principles of Sadra's wisdom, the soul uses the source of attention for its specific actions according to its power. In this explanation, attention is like a source of light that reflects on things sometimes involuntarily and sometimes voluntarily through the will of the soul to make them clear and presentable to the soul. The model of attention presented by Mulla Sadra has similarities with and differences from the latest models proposed by psychologists. The main advantage of this model is that it highlights attention in all in- human processes.

Divinity and Lordship are two levels of the absolute unseen worlds in existence that have a special place in ontology. The present paper reports on a comparative study of Ibn-Arabi’s and De Leon’s views on the absolute unseen worlds. The concept of the absolute unseen worlds is defined as the level of divinity considering the essence and names, and the level of lordship considering the essence, both of which have no direct relationship with the real world ontologically. The results of this study are based on close reading of Ibn Arabi’s and De Leon’s works and the commentaries added to them. The study aimed to explain the causes of the absolute unseen worlds and their relationship with unity of essence and the lower worlds. Based on the ontological approach of these two thinkers, it can be inferred that divinity is the setting of essence names and lordship is the setting where acts appear, all with their specific aspects. These levels are independent by nature from creation and are the starting point for the emergence of names. As from both thinkers’ point of view divinity is not much different from essence, contradiction in their description of this level is remarkable. Despite considerable similarities between the two thinkers' approach, Ibn Arabi's epistemological approach is is different from De Leon's ontological one.

God's relationship with man (and its requirements) has always been a controversial topic among theologians. One of the most important themes of this topic is "God’s mutability”. Pinnock (one of the founders of open theism) believes that since -according to the Bible - God has always been in contact with the world, and the planning of the changing world logically requires a manager who can have appropriate plans under changing conditions, God must necessarily be mutable. This issue is explained in a different way in Imamieh theology. From the point of view of Imamieh theologians, although God is in contact with the creatures every moment and oversees the planning of the changing world, this does not necessarily lead to His mutability. In fact, God, in spite of being immutable, under some circumstances, may give some things precedence over others. However, these new appearances does not reflect God's essence, but His actions showing the external realization of things. The present paper is an effort to evaluate the foundations of Pinnock's views on God's mutability based on Imamieh theology adopting a descriptive-analytical method.

Verses 60 to 82 of Al-Kahf Sureh narrate the story of the meeting between Moses and Khidr. The events taking place while these two divine figures meet have been discussed or documented in the form of views expressed in the science of jurisprudence, ethics, education, theology, etc. The present paper, organized as a descriptive-analytic report, tries to infer the belief implications and to respond to doubts stemmed from some of the verses narrating the story. Exegetical works, with a theological approach, have addressed this topic in a scanty brief manner. Meanwhile, it is to be noted that the articles written about the mentioned verses mostly lack a theological approach. They rather deal with this topic from a moral, educational and mystical perspective. The present paper focuses on religious teachings that can be directly and indirectly deduced from the Qur'anic verses without reference to extra-Qur'anic reports and conflicting presuppositions. The most important religious implications of the verses in question can be listed as follows: the possibility that some people have the knowledge of the unseen world emanated from the divine source, the obligations attached to some types of occult knowledge of the God’s elected people, confirmation of the verbal rule of grace, deciphering the wisdom of some unfortunate phenomena and an answer to doubts stemmed from the problem of the evil.

The theory of religious pluralism is one of the latest theories that has been developed and pursued by its followers with different goals. In Tasnim commentary, this theory, which has created a lot of controversies, has been introduced in detail and criticized. The author's mastery of this theory and his presentation of a comprehensive discussion that explores various aspects of this theory and the use of rational and narrative arguments are some of the advantages of the discussion. Lack of a transparent answer to the question of salvation, which is one of the most important questions of religious pluralism, the presentation of some intra-religious topics which seem not to be dependable in response to pluralist thought, and the presentation of some Qur'anic citations to confirm the denial of pluralism without taking into consideration some other related verses are criticisms levelled against the issues discussed in this commentary. The present paper, relying on a descriptive-analytical method using library sources, critiques religious pluralism in Tasnim commentary.

One of the most important concerns of Sanai is confrontation between reason and religion and their commonalties. Sana'i's varied opinions on reason and Sharia have led some to consider him a theologist, and some have called him a religiously devoted poet. In some cases, he has even been considered anti-rationalist. Seemingly, the main reason for these varied reactions to Sana'i’s views on these issues is his consideration of the various aspects of reason and religion. The main question is what reason and sharia meant to Sana'i and under what conditions he preferred reason to sharia and sharia to reason. In this article, adopting a library type of research, we try to explain the contradictions in his statements on this topic. The conclusion is that Sana'i did not see any conflict between rationality and religiosity. He rather considered the two to be complementary at a level that transcend linguistic expression.

Farabi’s views and ideas on bridging the gap between knowledge and moral act are identified when we study the role of virtuous city. According to Farabi, the role of government and the virtuous city is laying the ground for virtuous habits and traditions in cities among nations through education. In fact, according to Farabi, the city and the government can set the scene for proper education, and as a result, for the emergence of the desirable moral behaviors so far as the city is a virtuous one. Meanwhile, the city can pave the way for the gap between knowledge and moral act when it is a vicious one. The vicious city is a city whose citizens share the same beliefs with the virtuous city inhabitants but they do not act according to those beliefs and their acts are similar to those of the ignorant city inhabitants. The reason can be traced back to the education of the people of the vicious city and its government. In fact, education is the basis for moral acts irrespective of whether they are proper or improper. Of course, it should be mentioned that Farabi also refers to the role of habit, pleasure, weakness of will and weakness in evaluation in the emergence of the gap between knowledge and moral act.