The Role of Imagination in Explaining Revelation from the Perspective of Hakim Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra

Abstract

This study compares and explains the explanation of revelation in minor matters and the role of the Prophet's imagination in this process from the perspective of Ibn Sina and Mulla Sadra. The research findings indicate that the source of revelation knowledge is active intellect (= angel of revelation); The teachings of the active intellect are general, and both philosophers have given an important role to the imagination of the prophet in explaining the quality of receiving the revelatory partial teachings. The role of imagination from Ibn Sina's point of view is to imitate and formulate general revelatory truths in the realm of the prophet's imagination. From Sadr al-Mutallahin's point of view, however, the represented forms of revelatory truths are present in the Imaginal World (= like Plato), and the imagination of the prophet is united with these forms represented in the Imaginal World. Although in some of Sadra's works, imitations and imaginative formulations of revelatory facts have been discussed, but according to the evidence in his works, this explanation is a well-known theory that he has only reported. The present study has used the library method in collecting information and the descriptive-analytical method in inference.

Keywords

• imagination
• ibn sina
• mulla sadra
• revelation
• mesal world
• platonic idea.