Abstract
The Ontological Levels of the Human Body and Their Formation According to Mulla Sadra
Abstract
Problem: One of the major challenges in philosophical anthropology and eschatology is to explain the relationship between soul and body and to offer a rational account of bodily resurrection. In this context, Mullā Ṣadrā’s theory of the existential levels of the body raises important questions concerning personal identity and the ontological unity of the worldly and otherworldly body.
Method: This study employs a descriptive-analytical method and relies on Mullā Ṣadrā’s original texts, especially the foundational works of Transcendent Philosophy, to examine the existential levels of the body and analyze their theoretical foundations within the Sadrian philosophical framework
Findings: The findings show that Mullā Ṣadrā, through his fourfold theory of the body—elemental, vaporous, imaginal, and eschatological—and on the basis of such principles as the primacy of existence, the gradational unity of being, and substantial motion, presents a gradual ontological account of the human body. The elemental body is the material and natural body; the vaporous body mediates natural life and vital faculties; the imaginal body is shaped by actions and moral dispositions and serves as the link between soul and body; and the eschatological body is the imaginal body at a more intense level of existence appropriate to the Hereafter.
Conclusion: This theory provides a coherent model for reconciling bodily and spiritual resurrection and offers a rational explanation of personal identity after death.
Keywords: Mulla Sadra, ontological levels of the body, imaginal body, eschatological body, corporeal resurrection.
Introduction
The nature of human existence and the reality of the soul–body relationship have remained among the most enduring questions in philosophy and theology. A central issue within these discussions concerns whether the human being is a purely material entity, a purely immaterial substance, or a composite reality possessing multiple existential dimensions. Classical dualist theories, such as those advanced by Descartes and later defended by thinkers like Swinburne, posit a strict distinction between soul and body as two independent substances. In contrast, monist and integrative approaches attempt to explain their unity but often fail to account for post-mortem existence and bodily resurrection.
In Islamic philosophy and theology, debates over resurrection, barzakh, and the persistence of personal identity reveal a significant conceptual gap: the insufficient analysis of the body’s ontological status. Many theologians assume that the body, both in this world and in the hereafter, is the same elemental and material body. This assumption leads to unresolved problems, such as explaining how an immaterial soul can essentially relate to a material body, how bodily resurrection is possible after physical decay, and what kind of body accompanies the soul in the intermediate realm.
Mulla Sadra (Sadr al-Din Shirazi), through his Transcendent Philosophy (al-Hikmah al-Muta‘aliyah), proposes a fundamentally different framework. By introducing the doctrines of the principality of existence, gradational unity of being, and substantial motion, he reconceptualizes both the soul and the body as dynamic and multi-leveled realities. This study seeks to examine whether Sadra’s theory of the ontological levels of the body can provide a coherent solution to the soul–body problem and offer a philosophically robust account of bodily resurrection.
Materials & Methods
This research adopts a descriptive–analytical methodology grounded in library-based study. The primary sources consist of Mulla Sadra’s authentic philosophical works, including al-Asfar al-Arba‘ah, al-Shawahid al-Rububiyyah, al-Mabda’ wa al-Ma‘ad, and Mafatih al-Ghayb. Secondary sources include commentaries, comparative studies, and contemporary philosophical analyses related to the mind–body problem and Islamic eschatology.
The research process involves several stages:

Collecting and categorizing Sadra’s explicit statements regarding the nature and levels of the body.
Analyzing the metaphysical principles underpinning his theory, particularly the principality of existence, substantial motion, and the abstraction of the imaginative faculty.
Examining the defining characteristics of each bodily level (elemental, vaporous, imaginal, and eschatological).
Investigating the manner of the soul’s attachment to each level of the body.
Comparing Sadra’s approach with alternative philosophical and theological views on the soul–body relationship.

Discussion & Result
The findings of this study indicate that Mulla Sadra does not restrict the concept of “body” to the elemental and material form. Instead, he conceives the body as possessing multiple ontological levels that correspond to different stages of the soul’s existential journey.
The elemental body is composed of material elements and characterized by temporality, composition, change, and decay. Although there is a real unity between the soul and this body, the soul does not have an essential attachment to it due to its purely material nature.
The vaporous body (ruh bukhari) functions as a subtle intermediary arising from the refinement of the elements. It carries perceptual and vital faculties and mediates between the soul and the elemental body, enabling life and sensation.
The imaginal body is formed through the soul’s imaginative power and is shaped by human intentions, actions, and beliefs. Because it originates from the soul itself, it possesses inherent life and remains with the soul after death. This body constitutes the true personal body of the human being and serves as the primary locus of reward and punishment in barzakh.
The eschatological body represents the intensified and perfected form of the imaginal body in the hereafter. Its identity with the worldly body is preserved not through material continuity but through the soul’s existential accompaniment. In this framework, bodily resurrection becomes intelligible without requiring the reassembly of decayed matter.
Sadra’s theory establishes the soul–body relationship as one of existential unity rather than external interaction, thereby resolving the central difficulties of dualism.
Conclusion
This study concludes that Mulla Sadra’s theory of the ontological levels of the body provides a comprehensive and philosophically coherent solution to the soul–body problem and the challenge of bodily resurrection. By recognizing multiple degrees of corporeality and grounding their unity in existence itself, Sadra reconciles bodily and spiritual dimensions of human identity while preserving continuity across worldly life, barzakh, and the hereafter.
Moreover, this theory highlights the ethical and existential significance of human actions, as each individual actively shapes their imaginal and eschatological body through moral and spiritual conduct. Consequently, Sadra’s framework not only resolves classical metaphysical issues but also offers profound insights into the nature of human responsibility and the meaning of life beyond death.