The Metaphysics of Prayer Acceptance in Sadra’s Philosophy

Document Type : Scientific-research

Authors

1 Department of Islamic Studies, Faculty of Literature and Humanities, Yasuj University, Yasuj, Iran.

2 Master’s Degree, Department of Kalam, Jāmiʿah al-Noor Specialized Seminary, Shiraz, Iran.

Abstract

The acceptance of prayer has long been a subject of inquiry in philosophy and theology, with the central question revolving around how prayer is realized and the possibility of its fulfillment from an metaphysical perspective. The necessity of this study stems from the fact that Sadrian philosophy, as a profound philosophical tradition with a thoroughly Metaphysical approach, can offer a novel and systematic understanding of this spiritual phenomenon and its conditions of realization. The research method is deductive and analytical, focusing on the analysis of four fundamental principles of Mulla Sadra’s philosophy: the principality of existence, the gradation of existence, substantial motion, and the intensifying substantial motion of the soul, in order to elucidate the relationship between human existence, prayer, and the fulfillment of desires. The findings indicate that prayer is an metaphysical and graded process whose acceptance depends on the intensity of the soul’s existence, the purity of intention, and the congruence of cause and effect. Furthermore, the substantial motion of the human soul serves as the groundwork for existential transformations and proximity to the divine essence, thereby facilitating the acceptance of prayer. Consequently, prayer, as an metaphysical process, must be examined within the framework of the causal system and existential hierarchies; thus, the acceptance of prayer is not solely dependent on divine will but also on the existential compatibility between the supplicant and the desired outcome. This study emphasizes the intimate connection between prayer and the gradual perfection of the human being.

Keywords

References

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The Mirror of Knowledge
Volume 25, Issue 4 - Serial Number 85
January 2026
Pages 109-132

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