Contemporary Wisdom

The Ontological Levels of the Human Body and Their Formation According to Mulla Sadra

Document Type : Biannual Journal

Authors

morteza hoseinzadeh 1
sahar kavandi 2

1 Assistant Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran. Email: mhoseinzadeh@znu.ac.ir (Corresponding Author

2 Professor of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran.

https://doi.org/10.30465/cw.2026.53011.2132
Abstract
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.

Keywords

Mulla Sadra
ontological levels of the body
imaginal body
eschatological body
corporeal resurrection
Subjects
·         Amidi, Sayf al-Din. (1423 AH). Abkar al-Afkar fi Usul al-Din [The First Fruits of Thoughts in the Principles of Religion] (Vols. 1-5; ed. Ahmad Muhammad Mahdi). Cairo: Dar al-Kutub.
·         Ash’ari, Abu al-Hasan Ali ibn Isma’il. (1400 AH). Maqalat al-Islamiyyin wa Ikhtilaf al-Musallin [The Doctrines of the Islamists and the Differences of the Worshippers] (3rd ed.). Wiesbaden, Germany: Franz Steiner.
·         Ashtiyani, Jalal al-Din. (1999). Sharh-i Hal va Ara-yi Falsafi-yi Mulla Sadra [Biography and Philosophical Views of Mulla Sadra]. Qom: Islamic Propagation Office of Qom Seminary.
·         Fanniasl A. Sadr al-Muta`allehin on human hereafter body. ANDISHE-NOVIN-E-DINI A Quarterly Research 2011; 7 (25) :115-136 [in Persian]
·         Astarabadi, Muhammad Ja’far. (2003). Al-Barahin al-Qati’ah fi Sharh Tajrid al-'Aqa’id al-Sati’ah [Decisive Proofs in Explanation of the Refinement of Resplendent Beliefs] (Vols. 1-4; ed. Islamic Studies and Research Center; 1st ed.). Qom: Islamic Information Office.
·         bathayi, S. (2017). Sadrolmote'allehin and Allameh Tabataba'ee on the Heavenly Body. SADRĀ’I WISDOM, 6(1), 41-51. [in Persian]
·         Descartes, René. (2007). I’tirazat va Pasukhha [Objections and Replies] (trans. Ali Mousavi Afzali; 1st ed.). Tehran: Scientific and Cultural Publications. [in Persian]
·         Dehkhoda, Ali Akbar. (1960). Loghatnameh-yi Dehkhoda [Dehkhoda Dictionary]. Tehran: University of Tehran Press. [in Persian]
·         Fadil Miqdad, Miqdad ibn Abdullah Suyuri. (1405 AH). Irshad al-Talibin ila Nahj al-Mustarshedin [Guidance of Seekers to the Path of the Rightly Guided] (ed. Sayyid Mahdi Raja’i). Qom: Ayatollah Mar’ashi Najafi Library Publications.
·         Hamsi Razi, Sadid al-Din. (1412 AH). Al-Munqidh min al-Taqlid [The Savior from Blind Following] (Vols. 1-2; 1st ed.). Qom: Islamic Publishing Foundation.
·         Ibn ‘Arabi, Muhyi al-Din. (1994). Al-Futuhat al-Makkiyyah [The Meccan Openings]. Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-'Arabi.
·         Ibn Maytham Bahrani. (1406 AH). Qawa’id al-Maram fi 'Ilm al-Kalam [Rules of Purpose in the Science of Theology] (ed. Sayyid Ahmad Husayni; 2nd ed.). Qom: Ayatollah Mar’ashi Najafi Library.
·         Ibn Sina. (1996). Al-Isharat wa al-Tanbihat [Remarks and Admonitions]. Qom: Nashr al-Balaghah.
·         Ibn Sina. (2000). Al-Najat [Salvation]. Tehran: University of Tehran Press.
·         Ibn Sina. (2007). Risalah fi al-Nafs wa Baqa’iha wa Ma’adiha [Treatise on the Soul, Its Survival, and Its Return]. Paris: Dar Biblion.
·         Ibn Sina, Husayn ibn 'Abdullah. (1953). Rasa’il Ibn Sina [Treatises of Ibn Sina] (Vols. 1-2; ed. Hilmi Ziya Ulken). Istanbul, Turkey: Faculty of Literature, Istanbul.
·         Ibn Sina, Husayn ibn 'Abdullah. (1981). Al-Mabda’ wa al-Ma’ad [The Origin and the Return]. Tehran: Institute of Islamic Studies.
·         Ibn Sina, Husayn ibn 'Abdullah. (1992). Al-Mubahithat [Discussions]. Qom: Bidar.
·         Ibn Sina, Husayn ibn 'Abdullah. (2003). Al-Udhuwiyyah fi al-Ma’ad [The Adhawiyyah on Resurrection] (ed. Hasan 'Asi; 1st ed.). Tehran: Shams Tabrizi.
·         Ibn Sina, Husayn ibn 'Abdullah. (1404 AH). Al-Shifa’ – Al-Ilahiyyat [The Healing – Metaphysics] (ed. Sa’id Za’id and Father Qanawati). Qom, Iran: Ayatollah Mar’ashi Najafi Library.
·         Ibn Sina, Husayn ibn 'Abdullah. (1404 AH). Al-Shifa’ – Al-Tabi’iyyat [The Healing – Physics] (Vols. 1-3; ed. Sa’id Za’id et al.; 2nd ed.). Qom, Iran: Ayatollah Mar’ashi Najafi Library.
·         Jameh Bozorgi, Muhammad Ja’far, and Sa’idi Mehr, Muhammad. (2015). Ruykard-i Nowkhasteh-gara’i beh Mas’aleh-yi Zehn dar Pasukh beh Chaleshha-yi Afarinesh-gara’i va Fizikal-ism [The Emergentist Approach to the Mind Problem in Response to the Challenges of Creationism and Physicalism]. Shenakht [Cognition], pp. 51-70.
·         Khademi,E. , Zabihi,M. and Arabi,A. (2021). Nature of Soul and Body in Sadraic Solution to Soul and Body Problematique. Religious Anthroplogy, 17(44), 5-25. doi: 10.22034/ra.2021.115890.2415. [in Persian]
·         Marvarid, Hasan 'Ali. (1418 AH). Tanbihat Hawl al-Mabda’ wa al-Ma’ad [Warnings about the Origin and Return] (2nd ed.). Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi.
·         Matlab Karbkandi, Husayn. (2018). Arzyabi-yi Didgahha-yi Ra’ij dar Mas’aleh-yi “Zehn – Badan” dar Do Mas’aleh-yi “Huviyyat-i Ma’rifat” va “Irtibat-i Zehn va Badan” [Evaluation of Common Views on the “Mind-Body” Problem in Two Issues of “Identity of Knowledge” and “Mind-Body Connection”]. Zehn [Mind], pp. 179-209. [in Persian]
·         Mufid, Muhammad ibn Muhammad. (1413 AH). Al-Irshad fi Ma’rifat Hujaj Allah 'ala al-'Ibad [Guidance in Knowing God’s Proofs upon the Servants] (Vols. 1-2; 1st ed.). Qom: Shaykh Mufid Congress.
·         Raghib Isfahani. (1412 AH). Al-Mufradat fi Gharib al-Qur’an [Vocabulary of Qur’anic Terms] (ed. Safwan 'Adnan Dawudi). Damascus: Dar al-Qalam.
·         Razi, Fakhr al-Din. (1986). Al-Arba’in fi Usul al-Din [The Forty Principles of Religion] (Vols. 1-2). Cairo: Maktabat al-Kulliyyat al-Azhariyyah.
·         Sabzavari, Mulla Hadi. (1416 AH). Sharh-i Manzumeh-yi Hikmat [Commentary on the Philosophical Poem]. Tehran: Nab. [in Persian]
·         Sharif Murtada, 'Ali ibn Husayn. (1411 AH). Al-Dhakhirah fi 'Ilm al-Kalam [The Treasury in Theology] (ed. Sayyid Ahmad Husayni). Qom: Islamic Publishing Foundation.
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (1302 AH). Majmu’at al-Rasa’il al-Tis’ah [Collection of Nine Treatises]. Qom: Mustafawi Library.
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (1975). Al-Mabda’ wa al-Ma’ad [The Origin and the Return]. Tehran: Iranian Society of Wisdom and Philosophy. [in Persian]
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (1981). Al-Hikmah al-Muta’aliyah fi al-Asfar al-'Aqliyyah al-Arba’ah [Transcendent Philosophy in the Four Intellectual Journeys]. Beirut: Dar Ihya’ al-Turath al-'Arabi.
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (1984). Mafatih al-Ghayb [Keys to the Unseen]. Tehran: Ministry of Culture and Higher Education, Iranian Islamic Society of Wisdom and Philosophy, Institute of Cultural Studies and Research. [in Persian]
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (1987). Tafsir al-Qur’an al-Karim [Commentary on the Holy Qur’an]. Qom: Bidar. [in Persian]
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (1996). Al-Shawahid al-Rububiyyah fi al-Manahij al-Sulukiyyah [Divine Witnesses in Spiritual Methods]. Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Tarikh al-'Arabi.
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (1999). Majmu’eh-yi Rasa’il-i Falsafi-yi Sadr al-Muta’allihin [Collection of Philosophical Treatises of Sadr al-Muta’allihin]. Tehran: Hikmat. [in Persian]
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (2001). Sharh-i Zad al-Musafir [Commentary on the Traveler’s Provisions]. Qom: Bustan Kitab. [in Persian]
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (2001). Sharh al-Hidayah al-Athiriyyah [Commentary on the Athiri Guidance]. Beirut: Mu’assasat al-Tarikh al-'Arabi.
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (2004). Al-Hashiyah ‘ala Ilahiyyat al-Shifa’ [Glosses on the Metaphysics of the Healing]. Qom: Bidar.
·         Shirazi, Muhammad Sadr al-Din (Mulla Sadra). (n.d.). Ta’liqat 'ala Hikmat al-Ishraq [Glosses on the Philosophy of Illumination]. Qom: Bidar.
·         Suhrawardi, Shihab al-Din, and Corbin, Henry. (1993). Majmu’eh-yi Musannafat-i Shaykh-i Ishraq [Collected Works of the Master of Illumination]. Tehran: Institute of Cultural Studies and Research. [in Persian]
·         Swinburne, R. (1986). The Evolution of the Soul (pp. 145-148). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
·         'Allamah Hilli, Hasan ibn Yusuf. (1413 AH). Kashf al-Murad fi Sharh Tajrid al-I’tiqad [Unveiling the Purpose in Explaining the Refinement of Belief] (ed., introduction, and notes by Hasan-zadeh Amuli; 4th ed.). Qom: Islamic Publishing Foundation.
·         Zamaniha, H. and Yavari, T. (2018). Imaginal Body and Its Role in Explaining Body-Soul Relationship in the Teachings of Sadr al-DīnShīrāzī. Contemporary Wisdom, 8(3), 171-188. doi: 10.30465/cw.2018.3053. [in Persian]
 
 
Contemporary Wisdom
Volume 16, Issue 2
February 2026
Pages 289-323

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us