Clearly Veiled Expressions in Mulla Sadra's Works: Exploring the Concepts of Emanation, Birth, and Union

Islamic philosophy is a simple yet inaccessible knowledge, in the sense that if its concepts are correctly understood, acceptance of many of its judgments will be simple. However, arriving at such an understanding can be exceedingly difficult, leading to the affirmation of even its self-evident and innate judgments, such as the principle of Al-Wāḥid, becoming as challenging as a singular rule. One of the factors contributing to the difficulty in grasping philosophical concepts is the prevalence of allegory and metaphorical expressions, which have been used to avoid accusations of heresy or to accommodate less knowledgeable audiences of philosophy. This abundance of allegory and metaphor has led uninitiated individuals to consider even clearly and genuinely used philosophical concepts as metaphorical and veiled, to the point where a clear concept becomes hidden and enigmatic. This phenomenon can be described as "clearly veiled" (Serr-e- wādhih). Among these concepts, the notions of emanation (Sudūr), birth (Wilādat), and union (Tanākoh), due to their presumed metaphorical usage, have acquired a veiled nature, making it harder to grasp the natural and self-evident principles of Mulla Sadra's philosophy. Thus, utilizing a descriptive-analytical method and Mulla Sadra's philosophical bases, this paper aims to prove the genuine use of these terms in Mulla Sadra's philosophy without resorting to materialistic interpretation of God.